Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many schoolchildren from the EU who visited UK schools in the last year used identity cards to enter the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We do not record specific details of the number of children from the EU who have travelled to the UK on national identity cards for the purpose of school visits.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children visited the United Kingdom on school visits using identity cards in the last year 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)
We do not record specific details of the number of children who have travelled to the UK on national identity cards for the purpose of school visits.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to announce her Department's policy on support for survivors of modern trafficking who have received a positive conclusive grounds decision.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is committed to ending modern slavery and providing victims with the support they need to rebuild their lives.
Support and assistance for adult victims of modern slavery is provided via the government-funded Victim Care Contract, in England and Wales. This support enables victims leaving situations of exploitation to access specialist care, to begin to rebuild their lives. This includes accommodation, financial support, access to mental and physical health services, and signposting to legal sup-port. Confirmed victims receive a minimum of 90 days Victim Care Contract support; however, many are supported for longer than this.
Our new Recovery Needs Assessment process will improve support for confirmed victims by ensuring their ongoing recovery needs, arising from their modern slavery experiences, are identified and supported through the Victim Care Contract or other services. The Recovery Needs Assessment will inform an individual move-on plan with the aim of establishing longer-term stability by helping victims transition out of Victim Care Contract support and into a community where they can start to rebuild their lives. Where this is not yet possible, Victim Care Contract services will continue to meet the confirmed victim’s recovery needs.
The Recovery Needs Assessment guidance was published on Friday 27 September and assessments will start during the week commencing 30 September. We will keep the Recovery Needs Assessment process and guidance under review throughout its gradually phased implementation over the coming months.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will introduce a new immigration status of survivor of modern slavery for people who have received a positive conclusive grounds decision through the National Referral Mechanism.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
If a confirmed victim of modern slavery does not qualify for asylum, humanitarian protection or other forms of leave to remain under the Immigration Rules, then they are considered for a grant of discretionary leave to remain on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the particular circumstances of each case. There are no plans to change this policy.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many additional police officers she plans to fund through the Uplift operation for each policy force by 31 March 2021.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
HM Treasury has announced that the Home Office will receive £750 million for investment in policing in 2020/21 to enable delivery of the year one officer uplift. HMT has also confirmed that the Home Office will receive an additional £45m of funding in 2019/20 to help forces start recruiting as soon as possible.
Up to 6,000 additional officers are to be recruited by the end of March 2021.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the trafficked status of a confirmed victim of modern slavery is considered when determining their application for leave to remain; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The UK’s policy for confirmed victims of modern slavery is to consider on a case-by-case basis whether a grant of leave to remain is appropriate, taking into account the particular circumstances of each case.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Foreign Secretary on the trafficking of people between the UK and Nigeria; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The UK Government is committed to the eradication of all forms of modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking globally by 2030, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 8.7. The Home Office and Foreign Office work closely to combat modern slavery internationally and to engage governments in dialogue, including countries of origin for victims of modern slavery.
In addition to engagement, the UK has committed £200 million in UK aid to tackle modern slavery. This supports a range of interventions, such as the commitment of £5 million to a programme in Nigeria and £3 million to Vietnam through the Home Office Modern Slavery Fund to prevent modern slavery and build capacity to tackle it at source. HMG also agreed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Countering Human Trafficking with the Vietnamese government in 2018.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Foreign Secretary on the trafficking of people between the UK and Vietnam; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The UK Government is committed to the eradication of all forms of modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking globally by 2030, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 8.7. The Home Office and Foreign Office work closely to combat modern slavery internationally and to engage governments in dialogue, including countries of origin for victims of modern slavery.
In addition to engagement, the UK has committed £200 million in UK aid to tackle modern slavery. This supports a range of interventions, such as the commitment of £5 million to a programme in Nigeria and £3 million to Vietnam through the Home Office Modern Slavery Fund to prevent modern slavery and build capacity to tackle it at source. HMG also agreed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Countering Human Trafficking with the Vietnamese government in 2018.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many confirmed victims of modern slavery are waiting for a decision on their immigration status; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Prior to the transfer of National Referral Mechanism decision making responsibilities to the Home Office Single Competent Authority (SCA) in April 2019, publications were produced by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and can be accessed via the NCA website. https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/component/finder/search?q=national+referral+mechanism+&Search=
Responsibility for publishing the NRM statistics now sits with the Home Office, and the first report (Q2 2019) was published at the end of August. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/827508/national-referral-mechanism-statistics-quarter-2-2019-april-to-june.pdf
The publication does not distinguish the immigration status of confirmed victims but invites stakeholders to submit their interest into a review of how the publication of NRM statistics can be improved.
It is not possible to accurately provide data on the number of confirmed victims awaiting a decision on their immigration status currently due to the range of potential immigration outcomes following an NRM decision.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation will be required as a result of the Government's response to the review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
In response to the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act, on the 9 July the Home Office launched a public consultation to gather views on proposals to strengthen section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act. The proposals under consideration – including extending the reporting requirement to public sector organisations, requiring organisations to report on specific topics and introducing a new civil penalty regime – would require changes to primary legislation. Following the consultation, the Home Office will make any necessary legislative changes as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
The full Government response to the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 was published in July 2019 and is available via the link below.