Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the response by Safe Passage, the Hummingbird Project, and Kent Refugee Action Network to their proposed new plan for immigration; and what provision they intend to make for the specific needs of refugees and asylum seekers for (a) accommodation, (b) education, and (c) employment.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We note the joint report by the young people of Safe Passage, the Hummingbird Project and Kent Refugee Action Network, ‘Safe routes from the perspective of young refugees – our response to the New Plan for Immigration’, published on 25 June 2021.
As part of the New Plan for Immigration, there was an engagement and consultation process which ran from 24 March 2020 to 6 May 2021. During this time, the Home Office encouraged stakeholders and members of the public to share their views on its proposals via an online questionnaire.
The Home Office’s response to the consultation was published in July 2021 and can be found here:
The New Plan for Immigration will deliver the most comprehensive reform of the asylum system in decades. It includes plans to set up accommodation centres to provide basic accommodation for asylum-seekers who would otherwise be destitute. We will only accommodate people in the centres after an individual assessment shows it’s suitable and safe for them. We also continue to seek opportunities to expand the number of areas participating in our dispersal area accommodation system.
Asylum seekers’ children under 18 will continue to have access to full-time education and continuous support in line with our duty under section 55 of the Borders Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.
In terms of employment, we will allow asylum seekers to work if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months or more through no fault of their own. Those permitted to work are restricted to jobs on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL).
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when any (1) minister, or (2) senior civil servant, last visited the refugee accommodation at Napier Barracks; and what assessment they made of the living conditions there.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
There is a weekly home office presence at Napier Barracks, with senior civil servants regularly visiting the site, most recently on 2 June. Significant improvements to conditions at Napier have been recognised.
Ministers Foster and Philp have visited Napier Barracks.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance is being given to employers to avoid racial discrimination when verifying employees' eligibility to work; and what redress is available to people who may have been racially discriminated against in this manner.
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 has published statutory codes of practice on GOV.UK for employers on how to avoid unlawful discrimination when undertaking checks. This guidance clearly stipulate that employers should provide individuals with every opportunity to demonstrate their right to work and should not discriminate on the basis of race, or any of the other protected characteristics.
We are clear that those who discriminate are breaking the law. Anyone who believes they have been discriminated against, either directly or indirectly, may bring a complaint before the courts or before an employment tribunal. The Equality Advisory Support Service is there to support people who may have experienced discrimination in England, Scotland or Wales, and an equivalent is provided by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.
Avoiding discrimination while preventing illegal working: code of practice, can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checks-code-of-practice-on-avoiding-discrimination.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will arrange for a Minister to meet representatives of the No Recourse to Public Funds Network, following a request for such a meeting in their letter to the Prime Minister on 1 October; and if not, why not.
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 has a long-established partnership with the NPRF Network and officials meet representatives from the network on a regular basis. This dialogue is supported by shared use of the Connect database.
The Connect database allows the Home Office to assist local authorities in confirming immigration status and prioritising the resolution of local authorities’ NRPF caseloads.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the numbers of street homeless people of the Home Office’s decision to restart asylum evictions from 15 September in England; and what plans they have to delay the proposed extension of this policy to Scotland and Wales until the data to permit such an assessment is available.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We have worked, and continue to work, with colleagues at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to understand rough sleeping pressures within Local Authorities in England. We have considered guidance from MHCLG on the aforementioned pressures as part of the phased resumption of negative asylum support cessations.
Cases continue to be triaged for cessation in a manner that considers feedback and guidance from colleagues at MHCLG but above all considers that those receiving a cessation notification will have a route of return as well as access to assistance to leave the country through a Voluntary Returns Service without impacting on Local Authority rough sleeping pressures.
Discussions are ongoing with colleagues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as to when negative asylum support cessations will resume in there.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of (1) homeless, and (2) unaccompanied child, asylum seekers (a) in total, and (b) in each local authority area.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
(1) Homeless
The Government publishes quarterly statistics on statutory homelessness, and the latest published statistics covering January – March 2020 are available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/910414/DetailedLA_202003.xlsx.
The number of households that have been initially assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness can be found in Table A1 in the link below. Tables A5P and A5R show the household composition of those owed a homelessness duty.
(2) Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children
The number of looked after children who are unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) are published annually in the statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoptions’. The latest data refers to the year ending 31 March 2019 and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2018-to-2019. Figures by local authority are available in table LAA4.
UASC are not distributed evenly around the country. The National Transfer Scheme (NTS) was established in July 2016 to achieve a more equitable distribution of UASC. We have worked with local government partners to develop proposals to further improve the NTS. On 28 August we launched an informal consultation with local authorities on these proposals.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional funding is available to local authorities to meet the needs of (1) homeless, and (2) unaccompanied child, asylum seekers; and what plans they have to address the impact of disproportionate patterns of settlement on specific local authority areas.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
(1) Homeless
We provided £4.3 billion to help councils to manage the impacts of COVID-19 which includes their work to support homeless people, including £3.7 billion which is not ringfenced, and £600 million to support social care?and a further £3.2 million in emergency funding for local authorities to support vulnerable rough sleepers.
On 18 July, we launched the Next Steps Accommodation Programme (NSAP). This makes available the financial resources needed to support local authorities and their partners to prevent people from returning to the streets. The NSAP?is?made up of two?sources?of funding: £161?million?to?deliver 3,300 units of?longer-term move-on accommodation?in 2020/2021; and £105 million?of additional funding to pay for immediate?support?to ensure that people do not return to the streets.
£23?million?will be provided so that vulnerable?individuals experiencing rough sleeping, including those?currently in emergency accommodation?as a response to COVID-19,?can access the specialist help they need for substance?dependency?issues, in order to rebuild their lives and move towards work and education.?This funding is part of the £262?million?funding announced at Spring Budget 2020.
274 local councils will share £91.5 million of government funding to ensure interim accommodation and support for the most vulnerable people, including by helping people into the private rented sector, secure interim accommodation such as supported housing, and assess the wider support these people need in order to rebuild their lives. An additional £13.5 million fund will be used to enable local authorities to tackle new or emerging challenges.
(2) Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children
In addition to the money paid to local authorities through the local government finance settlement the Home Office provides additional funding contributions to the costs incurred by local authorities looking after unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) and former UASC care leavers. Increases to these contributions for 2020-21 were announced on 8 June.
For each former UASC care leaver supported, local authorities now receive £240 per person per week. This represented a 60% increase to the lowest rate that was previously paid.
Local authorities supporting UASC totalling 0.07% or greater of their general child population receive £143 per person per night for each UASC. All other local authorities receive £114 per person per night for each UASC in their care.
The National Transfer Scheme (NTS) was established in July 2016 to achieve a more balanced distribution of UASC. The scheme was initially successful, achieving nearly 900 voluntary transfers of UASC from entry local authorities between July 2016 and December 2018.
More recently the NTS has not been working as intended and there is a need to achieve a more equitable distribution of UASC. We have therefore worked with local government partners to develop proposals to further improve the NTS. On 28 August we launched an informal consultation with local authorities on these proposals.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of voluntary organisations in meeting the needs of asylum seekers in terms of the supply of (1) accommodation, (2) food, and (3) other essential items, where there is no eligibility or access on the part of individual asylum seekers to public funds; and how they consult such organisations to inform their understanding of (1) the nature of unmet needs, and (2) the impact on affected individuals and local services, of asylum seekers.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In March the Home Office set up a dedicated engagement channel with the Voluntary and Community sector on asylum and resettlement matters related to Covid-19. The British Red Cross were nominated by the sector as the single point of contact, and they were provided with a dedicated single point of contact within the Home Office. This allowed the Home Office to better understand the impact of Covid-19 on affected individuals and local services, and to work collaboratively with the sector to keep people safe. At the request of the sector, we have returned to a business as usual approach, but are continuing to speak regularly with relevant organisations.
Asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are provided with free accommodation and other assistance to cover their essential living needs.
The accommodation is arranged by private sector providers through contractual arrangements with the Home Office. There was extensive consultation with the voluntary sector about these arrangements before the contracts were let. Support to cover essential living needs is generally proved through a weekly cash allowance, currently set as £39.60 for each person in the household. The level of the allowance is reviewed annually, and voluntary groups are invited to submit their views.
Discussion about on-going matters generally takes place through the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum, which includes key voluntary groups such as the Refugee Council, Refugee Action and the British Red Cross.
The Home Office engages with non-government organisations (NGOs) on the needs of asylum seekers primarily through the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF). This consists of two Strategic Engagement Groups (SEG), one for asylum and one for resettlement. Underpinned by NASF Sub-Groups; including groups focused on asylum decision making, asylum support, integration and mental health. These forums provide a strategic and constructive space for discussion and consultation on asylum and resettlement matters, identifying areas where the Home Office and stakeholders can work jointly to make improvements to the asylum and resettlement systems and their underpinning policies and processes. SEG and NASF meetings are held quarterly and are jointly chaired by senior Home Office officials and their NGO counterparts.
The last Asylum SEG was held on 11 June 2020, the next being 17 September 2020. Immigration ministers have met with NGOs previously, such as Caroline Noakes, the then Immigration Minister, in July 2019.
In addition, the Home Office regularly engages with the sector through informal routes such as bilateral or small group meetings.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when Ministers last met representatives of voluntary organisations working to meet the needs of asylum seekers to discuss the concerns such organisations have about the impact of the Government's policies on asylum seekers and the communities in which they are based; and which (1) Ministers, and (2) Departments, were involved in any such meetings.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In March the Home Office set up a dedicated engagement channel with the Voluntary and Community sector on asylum and resettlement matters related to Covid-19. The British Red Cross were nominated by the sector as the single point of contact, and they were provided with a dedicated single point of contact within the Home Office. This allowed the Home Office to better understand the impact of Covid-19 on affected individuals and local services, and to work collaboratively with the sector to keep people safe. At the request of the sector, we have returned to a business as usual approach, but are continuing to speak regularly with relevant organisations.
Asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are provided with free accommodation and other assistance to cover their essential living needs.
The accommodation is arranged by private sector providers through contractual arrangements with the Home Office. There was extensive consultation with the voluntary sector about these arrangements before the contracts were let. Support to cover essential living needs is generally proved through a weekly cash allowance, currently set as £39.60 for each person in the household. The level of the allowance is reviewed annually, and voluntary groups are invited to submit their views.
Discussion about on-going matters generally takes place through the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum, which includes key voluntary groups such as the Refugee Council, Refugee Action and the British Red Cross.
The Home Office engages with non-government organisations (NGOs) on the needs of asylum seekers primarily through the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF). This consists of two Strategic Engagement Groups (SEG), one for asylum and one for resettlement. Underpinned by NASF Sub-Groups; including groups focused on asylum decision making, asylum support, integration and mental health. These forums provide a strategic and constructive space for discussion and consultation on asylum and resettlement matters, identifying areas where the Home Office and stakeholders can work jointly to make improvements to the asylum and resettlement systems and their underpinning policies and processes. SEG and NASF meetings are held quarterly and are jointly chaired by senior Home Office officials and their NGO counterparts.
The last Asylum SEG was held on 11 June 2020, the next being 17 September 2020. Immigration ministers have met with NGOs previously, such as Caroline Noakes, the then Immigration Minister, in July 2019.
In addition, the Home Office regularly engages with the sector through informal routes such as bilateral or small group meetings.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the Earl of Courtown on 16 April (HL Deb, col 1012), what proposals they have (1) to return the fees already paid by members of the Windrush generation, and (2) to compensate those who were denied benefits, employment or services to which they would otherwise have been entitled and for any losses amassed as a result of decisions taken previously by Home Office officials, in their determinations of the applications by members of the Windrush generation to clarify their status as British subjects lawfully resident in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The former Home Secretary announced to Parliament on 23/04/2018 that she would set up a new scheme to deliver compensation to individuals affected. This will be run by an independent person. Further details will be announced in the coming weeks by the new Home Secretary.