To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Visas: Ukraine
Tuesday 14th June 2022

Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Harrington of Watford on 1 June (HL337), and his remarks on 7 June in relation to Ukraine that “visas take between two and three days" and that "the number of applications awaiting conclusions is about 19,000" (HL Deb col 1088), how many of those applicants have been waiting for clearance for (1) one, (2) two, (3) five, and (4) more than 10, weeks; and what are the reasons for the longer delays.

Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford

Information on the number of visas granted under these schemes can be on the GOV.UK webpage: Ukraine Family Scheme and Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine) visa data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Applications are normally processed in date order from when documents were uploaded, or after an appointment at a Visa Application Centre (VAC). We are working seven days a week to process applications.


Written Question
Peers: Correspondence
Wednesday 1st June 2022

Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will respond to the email from Lord Berkeley to Lord Harrington of Watford sent on 22 April concerning the visa applications GWF064118049 and GWF064118784.

Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford

The Lord Harrington responded to the Lord Berkeley’s correspondence on 19 May 2022.


Written Question
Driving: Mobile Phones
Tuesday 24th May 2022

Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence they hold, or what estimates they have made, of the numbers of drivers (1) arrested for motoring offences, or (2) who are involved in (a) collisions, (b) serious collisions, or (c) fatal collisions, who were using hands-free mobile phone devices at the time of the offence or collision.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)

The information requested is not available.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on arrests for notifiable offences on Gov.uk. Motoring offences are non-notifiable unless they involve death by dangerous driving, these would be recorded under violence against the person offences, more detailed breakdowns are not held centrally. Furthermore, information on whether a hands-free device was involved, is not collected.

The Home Office also publishes data on Fixed Penalty Notices and other outcomes for motoring offences, by broader offence group. However, data is not held centrally on whether a hands-free device was involved or if a collision occurred. The most recent data can be found on Gov.uk.

The Department for Transport publish data on road casualties, which can be found on Gov.uk. This data provide information on the severity of the accident however they do not include information on whether a hands-free device was involved.


Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 31 Mar 2022
Homes for Ukraine Scheme

"My Lords, the Minister has said several times how helpful the Polish Government have been. That is really good, because the Polish Government have been infamous for bureaucracy in the past. I hope that they are not learning bureaucracy of biometrics from us, because they have more important things to …..."
Lord Berkeley - View Speech

View all Lord Berkeley (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 23 Feb 2022
Passenger, Crew and Service Information (Civil Penalties) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

"At the end insert “but that this House regrets that they remove the sunset clause from the 2015 Regulations, and therefore make permanent the civil penalties of £10,000 per offence for rail, air and ferry companies that fail to send accurate and timely information on passengers, crew and services to …..."
Lord Berkeley - View Speech

View all Lord Berkeley (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Passenger, Crew and Service Information (Civil Penalties) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 23 Feb 2022
Passenger, Crew and Service Information (Civil Penalties) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

"My Lords, I am very grateful to the Minister for her comprehensive introduction to the regulation. My amendment would disapply the sunset clause, and I shall briefly explain why. If the provision has been successful—and I accept that it has—why do we need to keep it anymore?

I spent a …..."

Lord Berkeley - View Speech

View all Lord Berkeley (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Passenger, Crew and Service Information (Civil Penalties) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 23 Feb 2022
Passenger, Crew and Service Information (Civil Penalties) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

"I am grateful to the Minister for her comprehensive response, but I did not quite understand what she said about the European Union and not applying to people. From my reading of the regulation—it is definitely a draft regulation— it does apply when carriers take people across frontiers. My worry …..."
Lord Berkeley - View Speech

View all Lord Berkeley (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Passenger, Crew and Service Information (Civil Penalties) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 23 Feb 2022
Passenger, Crew and Service Information (Civil Penalties) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

"The definition that the Commission puts in its regulation will need studying. Those arrivals may be clandestine, or they may be something else. It may be just its attempt to deal with what it sees as a clandestine invasion from outside Europe —I do not know—but I am worried that …..."
Lord Berkeley - View Speech

View all Lord Berkeley (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Passenger, Crew and Service Information (Civil Penalties) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 23 Feb 2022
Passenger, Crew and Service Information (Civil Penalties) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

"I beg leave to withdraw the amendment...."
Lord Berkeley - View Speech

View all Lord Berkeley (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Passenger, Crew and Service Information (Civil Penalties) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Written Question
Road Traffic Offences: Insurance
Tuesday 22nd February 2022

Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of uninsured motor vehicles on UK roads; what they are doing to support police in removing uninsured vehicles from the roads; and what other measures they have considered to reduce this crime, including the use of automatic number plate recognition at petrol stations.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)

There are an estimated one million uninsured motor vehicles on UK roads each day.

Operation Tutelage is a national policing initiative where police forces issue advisory letters to drivers who appear to have no motor insurance. The letter encourages the registered keeper to identify if there is a problem with the insurance for the vehicle, and to put things right. The initiative which is led by the NPCC and supported by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), was introduced in January 2020 to help reduce uninsured driving levels across the UK.

The Government has established a Roads Policing Review (RPR), consisting of the Department for Transport, Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council, to understand what can be done better to tackle road crime and improve roads safety. The review brings together partners from several agencies including the DVLA, DVSA, and Highways England and is the most comprehensive examination of roads policing ever conducted.

The Government will continue to support the police to ensure that they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation. This includes the continued investment in ANPR technology to tackle crime.