Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to support vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers, including those who are children and those with mental health needs, following the announcement on 29 March of plans to use former military bases to house refugees and asylum seekers.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office are engaged with a number of Local Authorities and key stakeholders on sourcing appropriate accommodation for asylum seekers including those announced on 29th March 2023. We are committed to engaging with local authorities and local partners to support successful delivery.
For any large sites the Home Office are exploring use, Multi-Agency Forums are being held with the Local Authority and other key stakeholders before implementation. Any concerns relating to the Local Authority’s ability to meet statutory requirements can be raised and discussed in that forum. We are committed to continuous engagement with local authorities and local partners to understand and mitigate identified risks, including impact on local services.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the quality of accommodation for housing refugees and asylum seekers will be monitored, following the announcement on 29 March of plans to use former military bases to house refugees and asylum seekers.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office are engaged with a number of Local Authorities and key stakeholders on sourcing appropriate accommodation for asylum seekers including those announced on 29th March 2023. We are committed to engaging with local authorities and local partners to support successful delivery.
For any large sites the Home Office are exploring use, Multi-Agency Forums are being held with the Local Authority and other key stakeholders before implementation. Any concerns relating to the Local Authority’s ability to meet statutory requirements can be raised and discussed in that forum. We are committed to continuous engagement with local authorities and local partners to understand and mitigate identified risks, including impact on local services.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with local councils regarding their plans to house refugees and asylum seekers at former military bases announced on 29 March
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office are engaged with a number of Local Authorities and key stakeholders on sourcing appropriate accommodation for asylum seekers including those announced on 29th March 2023. We are committed to engaging with local authorities and local partners to support successful delivery.
For any large sites the Home Office are exploring use, Multi-Agency Forums are being held with the Local Authority and other key stakeholders before implementation. Any concerns relating to the Local Authority’s ability to meet statutory requirements can be raised and discussed in that forum. We are committed to continuous engagement with local authorities and local partners to understand and mitigate identified risks, including impact on local services.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 22 March (HL6242), how many of those 30,055 people resettled in the UK through UNHCR routes were resettled since 2015.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
Between 2015 and 2022, 28,302 people have been resettled to the UK through UNHCR resettlement routes. The UK ranks 2nd highest of European countries over this period.
Between 2015 and 2022, people were offered safe and legal routes into the UK via BN(O) Hong Kong Visas (153,708 visas granted), Ukraine Visa and Extension Schemes (233,770 visas granted), family reunion visas (44,659 visas granted) and established resettlement or relocation schemes (49,667 people).
Of the 49,667 people resettled or relocated over this period, 28,302 were through UNHCR resettlement routes and 21,365 were through non-UNHCR routes (i.e. Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 1 and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy).
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what quotas they place on the numbers of persons to be resettled on the recommendation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The UK does not set a quota on the overall number of persons to be resettled on the recommendation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria they apply when considering applications for resettlement from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is uniquely placed to help identify and refer the most vulnerable individuals for resettlement in accordance with their standard resettlement submission categories. These are based on people’s needs and vulnerabilities
We do not seek to intervene in or influence UNHCR’s selection processes.
The seven resettlement submission categories used by UNHCR are set out here:
https://www.unhcr.org/46f7c0ee2.pdf
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many persons identified by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as needing resettlement in the UK have been so resettled in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
Between 2013 and 2022, 30,055 people have been resettled to the UK through UNHCR resettlement routes. The UK ranks 3rd highest of European countries over this period.
Between 2013 and 2022, people were offered safe and legal routes into the UK via the following:
- 153,708 BN(O) Hong Kong Visas
- 233,770 visas granted under Ukraine Visa and Extension Schemes
- 53,230 family reunion visas
- 51,420 resettled or relocated. 30,055 resettled through UNHCR resettlement routes and 21,365 through non-UNHCR routes (i.e. Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 1 and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy).
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 25 January (HL4660), what are the names of the 10 police forces who do not conduct a post Online Assessment Process face-to-face interview.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In the response to the question tabled on 12 January, it was stated that there were 10 forces that did not hold a post Online Assessment Process interview as part of the police recruitment process. Further information provided by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing shows that this figure is nine – one force had incorrectly stated it did not complete an interview.
According to information provided by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing these nine forces are Avon & Somerset, City of London, Dorset, Hampshire, Humberside, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Midlands and Wiltshire. These forces engage with all candidates face-to-face as part of the recruitment process. Six forces (Avon & Somerset, City of London, Dorset, Humberside, Norfolk and Suffolk) routinely require applicants to attend a face-to-face meeting through familiarisation events or similar; the remaining three have face-to-face engagement at other stages in the recruitment process, such as during the medical and fitness assessments.
Following engagement with the Home Office, the College of Policing will write to Chief Constables in early February with updated guidance on post assessment interviews that will strengthen the requirement for forces to use the College of Policing’s standard post Online Assessment Process interview process, as part of the police recruitment process.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 9 January (HL Deb col 1218), how many police forces (1) do, and (2) do not, routinely require applicants to attend a post assessment face-to-face interview before proceeding to appointment as a police officer.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Decisions about police recruitment, including how recruitment and selection processes are run, are a matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners and are therefore managed locally by forces. This is done within a national application, assessment and selection framework, in line with national guidance maintained by the College of Policing.
All 43 forces across England and Wales use the College of Policing Online Assessment Process (OAP) which was launched in May 2020. This improved process includes an interview, which is assessed by a fully trained assessor and ensures quality assurance is in place. This is vastly different to level of quality assurance which existed before the Police Uplift Programme, when forces undertook face-to-face interviews with no national standards for assessors.
Post OAP interviews were introduced as a non-mandatory step by the College of Policing in 2022. These interviews were introduced to standardise various local processes that forces were using following applicants passing the OAP.
The latest available data provided by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing indicates that 23 forces use this standard College process. In addition, 10 forces continue to use a local face-to face interview post OAP. A further 10 do not hold a post OAP interview, however these forces engage with all candidates face-to-face as part of the recruitment process, for example through familiarisation events or during other stages in the recruitment process.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the debate on Port Examination Codes of Practice and National Security Determinations Guidance Regulations 2020 on 10 July (HL Deb, cols 1327–46), whether they plan for those regulations to apply to the proposed Free Ports which are intended to be established from 2021.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The powers under Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 or Schedule 3 to the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 may only be used to examine goods at the following locations: a port (as defined at paragraph 1(3) of Schedule 7); at premises operated by a sea cargo agent or an air cargo agent; at a temporary storage facility; or at a location designated by the Secretary of State. The government consultation on Freeports closed on Monday 13th July. Any UK Freeport model will ensure that the UK’s high standards with respect to security will not be compromised.