Asked by: Lord Eames (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidelines are in place for the Security Services relating to the monitoring of personal phone calls by Members of Parliament and members of the House of Lords; and how frequently such guidelines are reviewed, and by whom.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the then Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.
Since then the Government has passed the Investigatory Powers Act, which strengthens the protections for Parliamentarians and places the protections of the Wilson Doctrine into statute for the first time. The Investigatory Powers Act provides that an application for a targeted warrant to intercept or examine the communications of a Parliamentarian must be approved by the Secretary of State, a Judicial Commissioner and the Prime Minister.
Asked by: Lord Eames (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ireland regarding security arrangements on the border with the Republic following the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
There is regular engagement between UK and Ireland officials, including with the Department of Foreign Affairs, and there continues to be excellent government and operational cooperation. These discussions focus on existing joint work and the implications of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. This is supported by the annual summit, held in London this autumn, between the Permanent Secretaries of the UK Government and Irish Government which overseas and takes forward this work. The Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangement pre-dates the EU and we remain committed to it. The Prime Minister and the Taoiseach have stated their intention for both countries to work together to maintain the CTA.
Asked by: Lord Eames (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the cost of accepting unaccompanied child refugees into the UK to date; and what provision has been made to meet the cost of an increase in the number of qualified children being accepted into the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
In response to the French Government’s decision to close the camp in Calais, we have transferred over 200 asylum-seeking children to the UK, and we plan to transfer several hundred more children over the coming days and weeks.
Between 1 January and 1 October, over 140 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Europe were accepted for transfer to the UK under the family reunion provisions of the Dublin Regulation, of which over 80 are from France. This is in addition to our efforts in Calais.
Almost 3,000 people have been granted humanitarian protection under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme since it began. In the year ending June 2016, almost 50% of those were children.
There were 3,472 asylum claims from unaccompanied asylum seeking children in the year ending June 2016, a 54% rise compared to the year ending June 2015.
We continue to consult with every part of the UK including the devolved administrations, to encourage local authorities across the country to accept unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children under the National Transfer Scheme.
In July 2016, we increased the national rate of funding to local authorities taking responsibility for unaccompanied asylum seeking children; from £34,675 to £41,610 a year for those aged under 16 and from £25,915 to £33,215 a year for those aged 16 or 17. These rates were set following analysis of the costs of providing support to the two age groups based on financial information supplied by local authorities. We will keep these arrangements under review.
Asked by: Lord Eames (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the devolved administrations of the UK have been consulted on the plans for acceptance of unaccompanied child refugees.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
In response to the French Government’s decision to close the camp in Calais, we have transferred over 200 asylum-seeking children to the UK, and we plan to transfer several hundred more children over the coming days and weeks.
Between 1 January and 1 October, over 140 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Europe were accepted for transfer to the UK under the family reunion provisions of the Dublin Regulation, of which over 80 are from France. This is in addition to our efforts in Calais.
Almost 3,000 people have been granted humanitarian protection under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme since it began. In the year ending June 2016, almost 50% of those were children.
There were 3,472 asylum claims from unaccompanied asylum seeking children in the year ending June 2016, a 54% rise compared to the year ending June 2015.
We continue to consult with every part of the UK including the devolved administrations, to encourage local authorities across the country to accept unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children under the National Transfer Scheme.
In July 2016, we increased the national rate of funding to local authorities taking responsibility for unaccompanied asylum seeking children; from £34,675 to £41,610 a year for those aged under 16 and from £25,915 to £33,215 a year for those aged 16 or 17. These rates were set following analysis of the costs of providing support to the two age groups based on financial information supplied by local authorities. We will keep these arrangements under review.
Asked by: Lord Eames (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many unaccompanied children have been accepted into the UK from the refugee camp at Calais.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
In response to the French Government’s decision to close the camp in Calais, we have transferred over 200 asylum-seeking children to the UK, and we plan to transfer several hundred more children over the coming days and weeks.
Between 1 January and 1 October, over 140 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Europe were accepted for transfer to the UK under the family reunion provisions of the Dublin Regulation, of which over 80 are from France. This is in addition to our efforts in Calais.
Almost 3,000 people have been granted humanitarian protection under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme since it began. In the year ending June 2016, almost 50% of those were children.
There were 3,472 asylum claims from unaccompanied asylum seeking children in the year ending June 2016, a 54% rise compared to the year ending June 2015.
We continue to consult with every part of the UK including the devolved administrations, to encourage local authorities across the country to accept unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children under the National Transfer Scheme.
In July 2016, we increased the national rate of funding to local authorities taking responsibility for unaccompanied asylum seeking children; from £34,675 to £41,610 a year for those aged under 16 and from £25,915 to £33,215 a year for those aged 16 or 17. These rates were set following analysis of the costs of providing support to the two age groups based on financial information supplied by local authorities. We will keep these arrangements under review.
Asked by: Lord Eames (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the closure of the refugee camp at Calais, whether they intend to revise the rules concerning the acceptance of child refugees into the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
In response to the French Government’s decision to close the camp in Calais, we have transferred over 200 asylum-seeking children to the UK, and we plan to transfer several hundred more children over the coming days and weeks.
Between 1 January and 1 October, over 140 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Europe were accepted for transfer to the UK under the family reunion provisions of the Dublin Regulation, of which over 80 are from France. This is in addition to our efforts in Calais.
Almost 3,000 people have been granted humanitarian protection under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme since it began. In the year ending June 2016, almost 50% of those were children.
There were 3,472 asylum claims from unaccompanied asylum seeking children in the year ending June 2016, a 54% rise compared to the year ending June 2015.
We continue to consult with every part of the UK including the devolved administrations, to encourage local authorities across the country to accept unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children under the National Transfer Scheme.
In July 2016, we increased the national rate of funding to local authorities taking responsibility for unaccompanied asylum seeking children; from £34,675 to £41,610 a year for those aged under 16 and from £25,915 to £33,215 a year for those aged 16 or 17. These rates were set following analysis of the costs of providing support to the two age groups based on financial information supplied by local authorities. We will keep these arrangements under review.
Asked by: Lord Eames (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to accepting a greater number of unaccompanied child refugees into the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
In response to the French Government’s decision to close the camp in Calais, we have transferred over 200 asylum-seeking children to the UK, and we plan to transfer several hundred more children over the coming days and weeks.
Between 1 January and 1 October, over 140 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Europe were accepted for transfer to the UK under the family reunion provisions of the Dublin Regulation, of which over 80 are from France. This is in addition to our efforts in Calais.
Almost 3,000 people have been granted humanitarian protection under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme since it began. In the year ending June 2016, almost 50% of those were children.
There were 3,472 asylum claims from unaccompanied asylum seeking children in the year ending June 2016, a 54% rise compared to the year ending June 2015.
We continue to consult with every part of the UK including the devolved administrations, to encourage local authorities across the country to accept unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children under the National Transfer Scheme.
In July 2016, we increased the national rate of funding to local authorities taking responsibility for unaccompanied asylum seeking children; from £34,675 to £41,610 a year for those aged under 16 and from £25,915 to £33,215 a year for those aged 16 or 17. These rates were set following analysis of the costs of providing support to the two age groups based on financial information supplied by local authorities. We will keep these arrangements under review.
Asked by: Lord Eames (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to involve charitable relief organisations in the long-term arrangements for resettling Syrian and other refugees in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Bates
The plans to resettle refugees, in particular under the expanded Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme announced on 7 September, will be a national effort involving all parts of the UK.
The Prime Minister and First Minister have already exchanged correspondence on the issue and the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Scotland will work closely with the Scottish administration on the arrangements for resettling refugees, with a Home Office official attending the Scottish refugee taskforce. Further discussions are intended with representatives of the administrations of Wales and Northern Ireland.
We are consulting a range of external partners and charitable organisations on refugee resettlement options and they will need to play a full part in the success of the expanded scheme.
Asked by: Lord Eames (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultations they have had with relevant charitable relief organisations based in the United Kingdom about the future resettlement of Syrian and other refugees in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Bates
The plans to resettle refugees, in particular under the expanded Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme announced on 7 September, will be a national effort involving all parts of the UK.
The Prime Minister and First Minister have already exchanged correspondence on the issue and the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Scotland will work closely with the Scottish administration on the arrangements for resettling refugees, with a Home Office official attending the Scottish refugee taskforce. Further discussions are intended with representatives of the administrations of Wales and Northern Ireland.
We are consulting a range of external partners and charitable organisations on refugee resettlement options and they will need to play a full part in the success of the expanded scheme.