Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the needs of disabled asylum seekers and refugees for healthcare, including mental healthcare; and what assessment they have made of enabling asylum seekers with relevant qualifications and cultural knowledge to provide such care.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Afghan women who have applied for asylum in the UK since the fall of Kabul in 2021 have been denied that status; and what provision they are making for such women and their families.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum claims and initial decisions by nationality in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the 'Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release' on GOV.UK. The latest data relates to 2024. Data for the year ending March 2025 will be published on 22 May 2025.
In 2021 Q3 to 2024 Q4, there have been 137 refusals at initial decision to adult Afghan women, of which 44 were to main applicants and 93 to dependants.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 20 January (HL3720), how many Burmese people have been granted asylum in each of the past ten years.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes details of the numbers of people granted asylum in the Immigration Statistics quarterly release on gov.uk. This includes grants of protection and of other leave last 10 years for Myanmar (Burma) nationals.
2014 | 44 |
2015 | 55 |
2016 | 7 |
2017 | 7 |
2018 | 7 |
2019 | 7 |
2020 | 5 |
2021 | 17 |
2022 | 26 |
2023 | 114 |
2024(Q1 to Q3 only) | 129 |
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals from the Rohingya community have been granted refugee status each year over the past ten years; what consideration they have given to creating a special asylum route for Rohingya refugees; and what assessment they have made of the humanitarian impact of pushback policies conducted by nations in the region, including Malaysia.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold any data on specific asylum claims from the Rohingya community as data is only held and published at the nationality level.
However, the UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to support Rohingya refugees having contributed £406 million to the response in Bangladesh since 2017, as well as providing over £48 million to supporting the Rohingya and other Muslim minorities in Rakhine state, Myanmar.”
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the full range of assistance services, including housing and other provision, will be available to Syrian asylum seekers while their applications are on hold.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has a legal obligation, as set out in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, to support asylum seekers (including any dependants) who would otherwise be destitute. This includes Syrian claimants who have had their cases paused temporarily.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of "prostitute’s cautions", on opportunities for employment and other stigmatisation of those affected and what relationship this holds with the natural right to justice; and whether they plan to abolish such cautions.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
For too long, people have been trapped within commercial sexual exploitation under the guise of prostitution. This Government will use every lever available to stop this. As prostitution is an extremely complex issue and there are a wide range of potential legislative approaches, further work is required to understand the options. We are currently considering policy options on how we can best support those impacted by prostitution and sexual exploitation as part of work towards a new strategy on tackling Violence Against Women and Girls.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the levels of transnational repression and other politically linked harassment taking place in the UK towards British residents and visitors with links to Bangladesh; and what steps they have taken in response.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The first duty of the government is to keep the country safe.
This Government is committed to responding to foreign interference, including those actions which amount to transnational repression. Home Office officials work closely with operational partners, the FCDO and other government departments to review the threat picture and determine how best to respond.
We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously including individuals with links to Bangladesh. Any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated and will be thoroughly investigated.
We will continue to implement measures in the National Security Act 2023, which make the UK a harder target for those states which seek to conduct hostile acts.
Anyone who thinks they might be a victim should report incidents or suspicious activity to the Police.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of funding for the Dover Port Health Authority in conjunction with UK Border Force to carry out checks for illegal personal imports of meat; and whether funding is adequate at other border points for arrivals by air and sea.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold this information in an easily accessible format; budget information is available only at overall directorate level and not at individual unit levels.
However, previous published financial figures for Border Force from 2023 to 2024 can be found at Home Office annual report and accounts: 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to assist women in Afghanistan who are at risk because of their activities promoting or supporting women's rights, democracy or human rights to come to the UK as refugees.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) currently provide routes for eligible people in Afghanistan to come to the United Kingdom.
The ACRS was designed to support those who have assisted UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for UK values, as well as vulnerable people. We have welcomed individuals under all three referral pathways on the ACRS, providing a route for resettlement to the UK for at-risk women and girls in Afghanistan and the region.
Flights are continuing to bring those eligible to the UK at pace.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increase in the risk of wildfires as a result of climate change, what plans they have to ensure the safety of firefighters and communities in light of this increased risk, and whether they plan to introduce a national wildfire plan.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Preparing for the future not only means tackling the climate emergencies, but also adapting to the changes they will bring to our environment.
The Home Office works closely with other departments including the Met Office, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and stakeholders including National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and the England and Wales Wildfire Forum (EWWF) to understand and mitigate the risk of wildfire as set out in the Wildfire Framework for England. The framework can be found at Wildfire Framework for England | Fire England.
In 24/25, the Home Office is funding a new National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.