Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied children seeking asylum who have not yet received a decision on their case have been waiting for a decision for (1) over two years, (2) 18 months to two years, (3) one year to 18 months, and (4) six months to one year.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office does not publish this data in the format requested, however we are committed to publishing more detailed figures in future data releases.
We are able to provide a breakdown of total applications pending by duration (±6 months), but we can’t separately identify UASC’s in the dataset. The table has been reproduced below:
Pending Duration (Initial Decision) | Main applicants | Main + dependants |
More than 6 months | 12,213 | 16,555 |
Less than 6 months | 15,043 | 19,300 |
Total | 27,256 | 35,855 |
Children and unaccompanied children seeking asylum, like anyone else claiming asylum in the UK, can claim in two ways; either at port of entry or at one of the national intake units.
The Home Office takes its responsibility for the welfare of children very seriously, including ensuring that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in every decision taken in respect of the child. There are stringent statutory and policy safeguards in place in the asylum process for unaccompanied children, in recognition of their additional needs.
While in the UK, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are looked after by local authorities who have a statutory duty to ensure that they safeguard and promote the welfare of all children, regardless of their immigration status or nationality. Under these arrangements, children are assessed with regard to their individual needs and provided with access to education, accommodation and health services, as would be provided to any other looked after child in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children transferred to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 have now received section 67 leave to remain since its creation in June 2018.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In June 2018 we announced a new route to settlement for those children transferred under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 who do not qualify for international protection.
Over 220 unaccompanied children have been transferred to the UK under section 67, and transfers of eligible children are ongoing. We will not provide a running commentary on numbers and will publish the details, including the specific form of leave granted, once all children are in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the educational impact on children of removing them from school rolls between January 2016 and January 2017, in particular on those who (1) have special educational need or disabilities, and (2) receive free school meals.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Information on the number of pupils’ names deleted from schools’ admissions registers is not held centrally.
In 2016 the department amended the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, placing a duty on all schools to notify the local authority whenever a pupil’s name is added to or deleted from the admission register and to provide the authority with relevant information. The aim of this change was to protect vulnerable children at risk of harm, exploitation or extremism and going missing from education. Evidence of non-compliance can lead to a school inspection. In addition, local authorities should trace those children and ensure that they receive full-time education.
The department is in the process of reviewing these regulations and a report setting out the conclusions of that review will be published later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of children who were off-rolled from school rolls between January 2016 and January 2017; and what action they intend to take to prevent schools treating vulnerable students in this way.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Information on the number of pupils’ names deleted from schools’ admissions registers is not held centrally.
In 2016 the department amended the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, placing a duty on all schools to notify the local authority whenever a pupil’s name is added to or deleted from the admission register and to provide the authority with relevant information. The aim of this change was to protect vulnerable children at risk of harm, exploitation or extremism and going missing from education. Evidence of non-compliance can lead to a school inspection. In addition, local authorities should trace those children and ensure that they receive full-time education.
The department is in the process of reviewing these regulations and a report setting out the conclusions of that review will be published later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the next Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner will be appointed; and what has caused the delay in their appointment.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government is committed to appointing a new Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to carry on this vital work. A recruitment campaign was launched in June 2018 and extended over the summer to allow time to attract the strongest possible field of candidates. The recruitment process is nearing completion and we expect to announce a new appointment shortly.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Zimbabwe following reports of recent violence; and what plans they have for continued engagement with that government on that issue.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Minister for Africa, Harriett Baldwin MP, summoned the Zimbabwean Ambassador on 17 January to express our concern at the ongoing situation in Zimbabwe. Minister Baldwin urged Zimbabwe to stop disproportionate use of force by the security forces and investigate any cases of alleged human rights abuses. On 21 January the Foreign Secretary, in a public message to President Mnangagwa, urged him not to turn back the clock and to work with all Zimbabweans in dialogue for a better future.
We will continue to raise our serious concerns, and push for a thorough investigation, with the Government of Zimbabwe through our Embassy in Harare and Ministerial interventions.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the government of Zimbabwe has instructed internal providers to disconnect and restrict internet access.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware that the Zimbabwean government shut down the internet and blocked a number of social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp from 15 January.
On 17 January, the Minister for Africa, Harriett Baldwin MP, summoned the Zimbabwean Ambassador and urged the Zimbabwean government to stop the disproportionate use of force, investigate any alleged human rights violations and restore full access to the internet. On 21 January the Foreign Secretary repeated the call in a public message to President Mnangagwa.
We welcome the 21 January ruling of the Zimbabwean High Court that overturned the government decision to shut down the internet.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of (1) children living with both birth parents, and (2) children not living with both birth parents have met the required level of attainment at each Key Stage in each year since 2012.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The information requested is not held centrally. The department does not collect or hold information on children’s living arrangements or the income of their families. The Office for National Statistics may hold some of this information.
Statistics on pupil attainment organised by entitlement for free school meals or are disadvantaged can be found in the following publications:
Key stage 2: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-key-stage-2.[1]
Key stage 4: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4.[2]
16 to 18 study: For 2011/12 – 2015/16 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-level-attainment-by-pupil-characteristics.[3]
For 2016/17 - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2016-to-2017-revised.[4]
[1] Select the ‘revised’ publication for each year, open the ‘national tables’ and navigate to the tables giving statistics by pupil characteristics.
[2] For 2011/12 – 2013/14, scroll halfway down the page and select the ‘GCSE and equivalent attainment by pupil characteristics’ link and then open the ‘national and local authority tables’. For 2014/15 – 2016/17, select the ‘revised’ publications (at the top of the page) and open the ‘characteristic national tables’. Each of these has an initial table providing headline measures by each of the characteristics we publish.
[3] Select the ‘underlying data’ and navigate to the ‘FSM’ table for each year, figures for disadvantaged pupils were not published in these releases.
[4] Download the ‘A level exam results and A level and vocational participation csv’ (towards the bottom of the page) and open the ‘performance measures by characteristics’ file. You can then filter the data for FSM and disadvantage (columns E and F).
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of children aged (1) zero to five, (2) six to 11, and (3) 12 to 16, from (a) low, (b) middle, and (c) high, income families are not living with both parents.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The information requested is not held centrally. The department does not collect or hold information on children’s living arrangements or the income of their families. The Office for National Statistics may hold some of this information.
Statistics on pupil attainment organised by entitlement for free school meals or are disadvantaged can be found in the following publications:
Key stage 2: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-key-stage-2.[1]
Key stage 4: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4.[2]
16 to 18 study: For 2011/12 – 2015/16 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-level-attainment-by-pupil-characteristics.[3]
For 2016/17 - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2016-to-2017-revised.[4]
[1] Select the ‘revised’ publication for each year, open the ‘national tables’ and navigate to the tables giving statistics by pupil characteristics.
[2] For 2011/12 – 2013/14, scroll halfway down the page and select the ‘GCSE and equivalent attainment by pupil characteristics’ link and then open the ‘national and local authority tables’. For 2014/15 – 2016/17, select the ‘revised’ publications (at the top of the page) and open the ‘characteristic national tables’. Each of these has an initial table providing headline measures by each of the characteristics we publish.
[3] Select the ‘underlying data’ and navigate to the ‘FSM’ table for each year, figures for disadvantaged pupils were not published in these releases.
[4] Download the ‘A level exam results and A level and vocational participation csv’ (towards the bottom of the page) and open the ‘performance measures by characteristics’ file. You can then filter the data for FSM and disadvantage (columns E and F).
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, for each year since 2012, what proportion of the population aged between 18 and 59 over the preceding four years were claiming working age benefits for three of those four years.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
This statistic was part of a series last updated in April 2016 and has since been discontinued. It formed part of the Social Justice Outcomes Framework which was replaced by the Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families indicators, published in April 2017. Any new statistic measuring the duration of working age benefit claims would need to incorporate Universal Credit data. As a result, the information requested is not readily available and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Government still produces data on long-term worklessness and on some individual out-of-work benefit claim durations. The Office for National Statistics publishes data on children in long-term workless households and on households where all members have never worked. There is also available data on the duration of Job Seeker’s Allowance, Income Support and Employment and Support Allowance claims.