Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that unaccompanied migrants under the age of 18 have gone missing from hotel accommodation; what safeguards they have in place to protect such children; and what links they have identified between these disappearances and human traffickers.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
We take the welfare of those in our care extremely seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) in emergency interim hotels are as safe and supported as possible whilst we seek urgent placements with a local authority.
Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses. Staff, including contractors, receive a number of briefings and guidance on how to safeguard children. All UASC receive a welfare interview on arrival in the UK. This includes a series of questions specifically designed to understand whether there are any potential indicators of trafficking. A referral is made to the National Referral Mechanism if indicators are noted. A safety plan is put in place by social services.. The Home Office and its accommodation providers have robust processes in place to ensure that where someone is at risk, they are referred to the appropriate statutory agencies of the police, NHS and social services, to promote appropriate safeguarding interventions
The Home Office has no power to hold asylum seekers, including minors, in hotels or any temporary accommodation if they wish to leave. Once in a hotel where UASC are accommodated, there are various measures in place to ensure that the risk of a child going missing is minimised. Records are kept and monitored of children leaving and returning to the hotel. Support workers will accompany children off site on activities and social excursions, or where specific vulnerabilities are identified.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the current visa of the Myanmar military attaché expires.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
We do not routinely comment on individual cases. All visa applications are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with the Immigration Rules.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State at the Home Office on 27 September (53567), how many Afghan refugees arrived in the UK and were resettled under Pathway 2 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme between 5 January and 5 October.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK has now welcomed its first arrivals under ACRS Pathway 2 from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and we will resettle many more people through it in the coming years.
The Home Office will include Afghan resettlement statistics in its quarterly Immigration Statistics publications in due course.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many emergency visas have been issued by the Home Office, in accordance with the discretionary powers of the Secretary of State, in the last five years.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK does not have an emergency visa system. The Home Secretary has discretion to grant Leave Outside The Rules (LOTR) on compelling compassionate grounds; however, we do not maintain a record of those granted LOTR.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the proposed legislation to introduce a register of lobbyists working on behalf of hostile states will include individuals who work on behalf of the government of Hong Kong.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government recently consulted on a range of legislative proposals to counter state threats to ensure our security services and law enforcement agencies continue to have the tools they need to effectively tackle state threats.
The Home Office is reviewing and considering all responses to the public consultation and will bring forward legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.