Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the recent proposed increase of the minimum income threshold to £38,700 for a family visa will apply to (1) serving members of the Brigade of Gurkhas, and (2) other serving foreign and commonwealth members of the armed forces.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
It is the government’s intention to increase the minimum income required for British citizens and those settled in the UK (including serving members of HM Armed Forces who are exempt from immigration control and those applying for settlement upon discharge, at the same as their family member) who want their family members to join them. This reinforces that all those who want to work and live here must be able to support themselves, are contributing to the economy, and are not burdening the state.
The fees and policies that apply to the dependants of members of HM Armed Forces are closely aligned with those that apply to the dependants of other British citizens and settled persons under the standard family immigration rules, although they do recognise the unique position of Armed Forces family members.
Until the Immigration Rules are amended the MIR level remains the same. The Government will set out any transitional provisions associated with the increase in the minimum income requirement in due course. Any applications already submitted will be considered in line with the existing policy.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to allow Ukrainian refugees who are on three-year visas to extend those visas.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In line with the situation in Ukraine, working closely with the Ukrainian Government, as well as our international counterparts, we keep the need for a possible extension of UK sanctuary, beyond March 2025, under consistent review. We are also mindful that permission will start to expire, for the first arrivals under our Ukrainian schemes, from March 2025, and their need for certainty beyond that point to help them to plan ahead, for example if remaining in the UK, entering into rental agreements and living here independently.
The UK Government stands with Ukraine and firmly believes that Ukraine will be safe again. When it’s safe to do so, Ukraine will need the repatriation of its citizens to help recover and rebuild their economy and infrastructure. Our approach therefore has been to provide 36 months sanctuary under our Ukraine visas which are temporary and do not lead to settlement.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 25 May (HL Deb, col 1063), what plans they have to reform the application process for student visas for British Overseas Territory passport holders.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
While a British Overseas Territory (BOT) passport holder is not automatically a British Citizen, a person who is both a British citizen and British overseas territories citizen will have the right of abode in the UK, and so will not need to apply for a visa to study here. However, they may need to show that they are a British citizen, and so may wish to apply for a British citizen passport or certificate of entitlement to the right of abode. British overseas citizens who are not also British citizens will need to apply for a visa.
BOT citizens who are not eligible for British citizenship can apply for a student visa online, which requires biometrics to be provided.
Biometric enrolment services for those who hold a BOT passport and who wish to make a UK visa application are available in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, St Helena and, for those in the Sovereign Base areas of Akrotiri or Dhekelia, via Nicosia.
It would not be commercially viable to operate a visa application centre or temporary biometrics enrolment service in the remaining BOTs due to the small volume of customers and/or remote locations of these territories. This may mean travelling to a nearby location.
As part of our Future Borders and Immigration System programme, we continue to roll out digitisation of all our application processes, which in future will minimise the requirement to attend visa application centres.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 18 November (HL9994), when they plan to implement the changes to strengthen and future proof transparency of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 highlighted in their response to the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act, published on 22 September.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 established the UK as the first country in the world to require businesses to report annually on steps taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. To comply with the requirement, statements must be:
The injunctive power in the legislation has not been used to date. The Government has committed to strengthening the legislation and our response to the transparency in supply chains consultation, published on 22 September 2020, announced an ambitious package of changes to section 54, including introducing mandatory reporting topics, a single reporting deadline and a central Government-run registry, to enable Government and others to continuously monitor compliance. These measures require primary legislation and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.
In the meantime, we will be asking organisations to start preparing for the new requirements, including by publishing their statements on the new Government-run modern slavery registry, which is due to launch in 2021. The new registry will enhance transparency by making modern slavery statements available in one place for the first time. It will provide greater visibility of the steps organisations are taking to prevent modern slavery in their global supply chains and empower investors, consumers and civil society to scrutinise action and monitor progress.
The Government has also committed to considering enforcement options in line with the development of the Single Enforcement Body for employment rights, led by BEIS.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 18 November (HL9994), how many (1) complaints related to non-compliance of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 they have received, and (2) subsequent court injunctions the Home Secretary has applied for.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 established the UK as the first country in the world to require businesses to report annually on steps taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. To comply with the requirement, statements must be:
The injunctive power in the legislation has not been used to date. The Government has committed to strengthening the legislation and our response to the transparency in supply chains consultation, published on 22 September 2020, announced an ambitious package of changes to section 54, including introducing mandatory reporting topics, a single reporting deadline and a central Government-run registry, to enable Government and others to continuously monitor compliance. These measures require primary legislation and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.
In the meantime, we will be asking organisations to start preparing for the new requirements, including by publishing their statements on the new Government-run modern slavery registry, which is due to launch in 2021. The new registry will enhance transparency by making modern slavery statements available in one place for the first time. It will provide greater visibility of the steps organisations are taking to prevent modern slavery in their global supply chains and empower investors, consumers and civil society to scrutinise action and monitor progress.
The Government has also committed to considering enforcement options in line with the development of the Single Enforcement Body for employment rights, led by BEIS.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The landmark transparency provisions contained in section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 established the UK as the first country in the world to require businesses to report annually on their work to prevent and address modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.
Under the current provisions, if a commercial organisation does not comply with the duty to provide a modern slavery statement, the Home Secretary can apply for a court injunction which mandates compliance. The Government has also committed to considering enforcement options in line with the ongoing development of the Single Enforcement Body for employment rights, led by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
However, if someone has concerns about an organisation’s modern slavery statement they could write to the Board of Directors (or equivalent) as the Act requires a modern slavery statement to be approved by the Board and signed by a Director (or equivalent) to ensure senior level accountability for modern slavery. The Government expects an organisation’s senior leadership to take responsibility for their company’s modern slavery statement to ensure they are a fair reflection of the circumstances and the action they are taking.
The Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act, which was commissioned in 2018 and delivered its final report in 2019, credited section 54 with making modern slavery “a business-critical issue” and increasing “board-level scrutiny and engagement.”
The Independent Review also made recommendations designed to improve the effectiveness of the Act’s transparency provisions. The Government accepted the majority of the Review’s recommendations and on 9 July 2019 the Home Office launched a public consultation seeking views on proposals to strengthen the Act’s transparency legislation.
Following widespread support from a broad coalition of business, civil society and public sector respondents, the Government response, published on 22 September 2020, committed to taking forwards an ambitious package of changes to strengthen and future-proof transparency, including:
Addressing modern slavery risks is a complex, long-term task, and the new measures are designed to incentivise organisations to demonstrate year-on-year progress in key areas and take targeted action based on where their risks are highest.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the process for a complaint to be made against a company that has failed to make a disclosure under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The landmark transparency provisions contained in section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 established the UK as the first country in the world to require businesses to report annually on their work to prevent and address modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.
Under the current provisions, if a commercial organisation does not comply with the duty to provide a modern slavery statement, the Home Secretary can apply for a court injunction which mandates compliance. The Government has also committed to considering enforcement options in line with the ongoing development of the Single Enforcement Body for employment rights, led by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
However, if someone has concerns about an organisation’s modern slavery statement they could write to the Board of Directors (or equivalent) as the Act requires a modern slavery statement to be approved by the Board and signed by a Director (or equivalent) to ensure senior level accountability for modern slavery. The Government expects an organisation’s senior leadership to take responsibility for their company’s modern slavery statement to ensure they are a fair reflection of the circumstances and the action they are taking.
The Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act, which was commissioned in 2018 and delivered its final report in 2019, credited section 54 with making modern slavery “a business-critical issue” and increasing “board-level scrutiny and engagement.”
The Independent Review also made recommendations designed to improve the effectiveness of the Act’s transparency provisions. The Government accepted the majority of the Review’s recommendations and on 9 July 2019 the Home Office launched a public consultation seeking views on proposals to strengthen the Act’s transparency legislation.
Following widespread support from a broad coalition of business, civil society and public sector respondents, the Government response, published on 22 September 2020, committed to taking forwards an ambitious package of changes to strengthen and future-proof transparency, including:
Addressing modern slavery risks is a complex, long-term task, and the new measures are designed to incentivise organisations to demonstrate year-on-year progress in key areas and take targeted action based on where their risks are highest.