Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they are making to welcome those Sudanese refugees fleeing violence who want to come to the UK.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
There are no plans to create a country specific scheme for refugees fleeing Sudan.
The UK continues to welcome refugees through existing resettlement schemes which are global in scope, including the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship, the Mandate Resettlement Scheme and the Family Reunion Scheme.
Under these schemes, the UNHCR will refer refugees for resettlement after undertaking an assessment of people’s needs and vulnerabilities. The UK does not seek to influence which cases are referred by the UNHCR under these schemes.
The UK has provided sanctuary to almost 500,000 individuals since 2015. However, our resources are futile and we cannot provide resettlement to everyone.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) review, and (2) update, their (a) refugee resettlement programme, and (b) emergency migration contingency measures, in response to the shifting nature of the war in Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
As the war in Ukraine evolves, the Government will continue to monitor the situation and offer support, including through safe and legal pathways.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the prevalence of forced labour exploitation in the hand car wash sector in England and Wales.
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 raising awareness and tackling labour exploitation in hand car washes. We have reformed the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, giving it a wider remit and police powers to investigate labour market offences, including modern slavery across all sectors of the economy.
Tackling labour exploitation at hand car washes has been the focus of increased law enforcement activity in recent years, with 195 operations led by the police and 19 led by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority since 2016.
We are also improving our evidence base to better understand the extent of the issue across the country and encourage reporting, so that the police and the GLAA can focus resources where they are needed. The Clewer Initiative’s Safe Car Wash App is supporting this work.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address forced labour exploitation in the hand car wash sector.
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 raising awareness and tackling labour exploitation in hand car washes. We have reformed the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, giving it a wider remit and police powers to investigate labour market offences, including modern slavery across all sectors of the economy.
Tackling labour exploitation at hand car washes has been the focus of increased law enforcement activity in recent years, with 195 operations led by the police and 19 led by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority since 2016.
We are also improving our evidence base to better understand the extent of the issue across the country and encourage reporting, so that the police and the GLAA can focus resources where they are needed. The Clewer Initiative’s Safe Car Wash App is supporting this work.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the report by the University of Nottingham Rights Lab Safe Car Wash App Report, published on 7 April.
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 raising awareness and tackling labour exploitation in hand car washes. We have reformed the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, giving it a wider remit and police powers to investigate labour market offences, including modern slavery across all sectors of the economy.
Tackling labour exploitation at hand car washes has been the focus of increased law enforcement activity in recent years, with 195 operations led by the police and 19 led by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority since 2016.
We are also improving our evidence base to better understand the extent of the issue across the country and encourage reporting, so that the police and the GLAA can focus resources where they are needed. The Clewer Initiative’s Safe Car Wash App is supporting this work.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Iranian citizens made asylum applications in (1) 2015, (2) 2016, (3) 2017, and (4) 2018; and how many applications have been granted.
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 publishes data, in its quarterly Immigration Statistics release, on (a) the number of applications in the UK (table as_01_q Asylum, volume 1), and (b) the number of applications that were granted (in the same table), by nationality.
Latest edition available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/758192/asylum1-sep-2018-tables.ods
| Iranian nationals | ||
Year | Total applications | Total grants | Grant rate |
2015 | 3,242 | 1,532 | 55% |
2016 | 4,184 | 1,456 | 37% |
2017 | 2,570 | 1,260 | 47% |
2018 (to end Sept) | 1,977 | 706 | 40% |
Note that initial decisions are based on date of decision and do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period. For example, a decision in 2017 may relate to an application made in 2016.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the level of immigration required, if any, to support the Northern Powerhouse.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
On 27 July the Government commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to gather evidence on the role of migration in the economy and aligning the immigration system with a modern industrial strategy for the United Kingdom.