Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many immigrants to the UK from Afghanistan are still living in hotels awaiting resettlement; and how long have they been waiting.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
There are currently 12,000 in bridging accommodation. This cohort is made up of British and Afghan nationals who may be eligible for Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme (ACRS)
The UK Government undertook the biggest and fastest emergency evacuation in recent history, helping over 15,000 people to safety from Afghanistan.
We do not want to keep people in temporary accommodation for any longer than is absolutely necessary and we have moved – or are in the process of moving - over 6,000 people into homes since June 2021.
Finding suitable homes for this number of people is a significant challenge. The length of time a family will remain in bridging hotels is dependent on a number of factors including the availability of appropriate housing.
We are working at pace across government and with over three hundred Local Authority partners to move Afghan evacuees into permanent homes as soon as possible so they can settle and rebuild their lives.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with other countries to coordinate the provision of visas for refugees from Ukraine.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Secretary is continuing to speak to her international counterparts to ensure we are taking appropriate action to support the Ukrainian Government and people.
The Home Secretary is in regular contact with the French Interior Minister Darmanin to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the support the UK was offering to those fleeing the conflict. We are also working closely with Five Eyes partners to explore how we can best coordinate our respective offers of migration assistance.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the most recent statistics available for hate crime, broken down by category; and what were the statistics for the previous three periods for which figures are available.
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 collects and publishes statistics annually on the number of hate crime offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, broken down by monitored strand, in the ‘Hate Crime, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin. The latest available data, covering the period 2011/12 (when the data collection began) to 2020/21, can be found in ‘Table 2’ of the data tables, available attached.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of knife crime in (1) urban areas, and (2) rural areas; and what steps they will take as a result of that assessment.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Figures provided by the Office of National Statistics for Crime in England and Wales show in the year ending September 2021, knife or sharp instrument offences were more concentrated in urban areas with the three police force areas with the highest volume of knife-enabled crime being the Metropolitan Police, West Midlands and Greater Manchester. These figures are available on gov.uk.
Tackling knife crime is a priority and the Government is determined to crack down on the scourge of violence devastating our communities. This is why the Government made £130.5m available in 2021 and 2022 to tackle serious violence, including murder and knife crime.
This includes £35.5m for Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) which bring together local partners to tackle the drivers of violence in the 18 areas across England and Wales most affected by serious violence. VRUs are delivering a range of early intervention and prevention programmes to divert people away from violent crime and reached over 300,000 young people in the first two years alone.
It also includes £30m in the same period to support the police to take targeted action in parts of England and Wales most affected by serious violence through the Grip programme, which uses data to identify violence hotspots and target operational activity in those areas. Through the Grip pilot in Essex, Southend-on-Sea, there was a 73.5% drop in violent crime in hot spot areas on patrol days.
The investment includes up to £20m for additional early intervention and prevention programmes to support young people at high risk of involvement in serious violence. We have separately invested £200m over 10 years for the Youth Endowment Fund, which is funding projects to support children and young people at risk of violence and exploitation.
We acknowledge there is more to do which is why the Government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill includes a duty on public sector bodies to take a joined-up approach to addressing serious violence; the requirement for local agencies to review the circumstances when an adult homicide takes place involving an offensive weapon; and Serious Violence Reduction Orders, which give the police the authority to stop and search known knife and weapons carriers.
We have also prohibited certain particularly dangerous types of knife through the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 and have introduced the offence of possessing specified offensive weapons in private. The Act also introduced Knife Crime Prevention Orders which will provide the police with a vital means to steer those most at risk away from serious violence. On 5 July 2021 we introduced a pilot for KCPOs across the Metropolitan Police area.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the economic impact of migration to the UK under the British National (Overseas) visa scheme for people from Hong Kong.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
On 22 October 2020 the Home Office published the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Visa Impact Assessment, which set out estimated volumes of those who would take up the British National (Overseas) visa as well as indicative economic impacts. This estimated the route could have a net positive impact on the UK, benefiting the economy by between £2.4 and £2.9 billion over five years. It is available on Gov.uk
On 31 January 2022, the Home Office published data on the characteristics of British National (Overseas) visa holders, based on information submitted on their visa applications and the results from a sample survey. This is also available on Gov.uk
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent the entry into the UK of new variants of the COVID-19 virus via the UK's borders.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We are committed to protecting the country against the importation of infections and working alongside the devolved administrations given their responsibilities in this area. Every essential check introduced – from testing to the Passenger Locator Form – is helping to reduce the risk of new coronavirus variants making it into the UK.
As we integrate arrival checks with border technology, the checks will become automated and will be complemented by pre-departure compliance checks by carriers. Carriers are required by law to check passengers travelling to the UK have completed a Passenger Locator Form and hold a negative Pre-Departure Test. They are subject to a £2,000 fine if they deliver a passenger who does not have proof of a negative test, is not exempt, or does not have a reasonable excuse.
Travel has been banned from red list countries which pose the highest risk. Only British, Irish and third-country nationals resident in the UK are permitted to enter and must enter the Managed Quarantine Service (MQS) for 10 days on arrival.
Another layer of protection is the legal requirement for direct flights from ‘Red List’ countries to arrive into dedicated airport facilities, separate from ‘mixed’ terminals which are open to ‘Green’, ‘Amber’ and indirect ‘Red’ arrivals. Red list arrivals are securely directed to MQS hotels on arrival.
Further checks are made after entry to make sure people are quarantining when required and further action may be taken by the Isolation Assurance & Compliance Service and the police. Breaches can incur fines of up to £10,000.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are putting in place to ensure that individuals arriving from non-‘red list’ countries have not been in ‘red list’ countries in the previous 28 days.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
All passengers who have been in a red list country in the 10 days before travel to the UK must take a pre-departure test (PDT), complete a passenger locator form (PLF), book tests to be taken on days 2 & 8 after arrival and quarantine for 10 days in an approved hotel. Passengers who have declared travel from or through red list countries, and who do not qualify for a work-related exemption, cannot complete a PLF without providing confirmation of a booking in managed quarantine.
Carriers are required to check passengers travelling to the UK have completed a PLF and taken a PDT.
Border Force continue to work with DfT and DHSC to identify passengers who are attempting to circumvent the MQS requirements, but it would not be appropriate to comment publicly on the detail of the operations concerned.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enforce coronavirus restrictions relating to indoor social gatherings in premises other than (1) private dwellings, or (2) education establishments.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Illegal indoor social gatherings are unsafe and the police will continue to take the approach they have throughout the pandemic, which is to engage, explain, encourage and enforce against breaches where appropriate.
The Government fully supports the police in taking swift action against egregious breaches and fixed penalty notices can be issued ranging from £200 to £6,400 to those gathering illegally in indoor premises contrary to existing regulations.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Modern Slavery Act 2015; and what action, if any, they are taking as a result of any such assessment.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK is regarded as a world-leader for its response to modern slavery. The UK response is underpinned by the Modern Slavery Strategy 2014 and the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the first legislation of its kind.
In July 2018, the Government commissioned an Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 led by Baroness Butler-Sloss, the then Rt. Hon. Frank Field and the Rt. Hon. Maria Miller MP. The Review considered where the Act is working well and where implementation can be strengthened. The final Review made 80 recommendations across four themes:
The Government response to the Independent Review was published on 9 July 2019, accepting or partially accepting the majority of the Review’s recommendations.
Key work that we have taken forward in response to the Independent Review includes:
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many fixed penalty notices were issued for failure to self-isolate between 28 September and 14 October.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK Border Force issued 16 fines up to the 14th October, to travellers who had failed to provide contact details at the border.
These figures do not include fines issued by the police. The National Police Chiefs’ Council regularly publishes data on the number of fines issued by police forces in England and Wales only under the new emergency health regulations including those issued under the International Travel Regulations.
These statistics are available here: https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/.