Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of family separations that might occur as a result of Brexit.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The agreement we have reached with the EU on citizens’ rights protects those EU citizens and their family members exercising free movement rights in the UK before the end of the implementation period on 31 December 2020.
During the implementation period, family members will be able to join EU citizens on current EU law terms. After the implementation period, close family members will be able to join an EU citizen covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, where their relationship existed before 31 December 2020 and continues to exist when they wish to join the EU citizen in the UK. Close family members are spouses, civil partners and durable partners, dependent children and grandchildren and dependent parents and grandparents. Children born or adopted after the UK leaves the EU to or by those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement will also be protected.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what their freeze and seize programme consists of; when it will be implemented; how; and which Government department will lead on delivery of that programme.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government is committed to ensuring that enforcement agencies have the necessary tools available to effectively seize and freeze the financial assets of criminals and terrorists.
To this end the Government brought in the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (CFA) which amended the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). The CFA provided for the freezing and forfeiture (including administrative forfeiture, without the need for a court order) of terrorist property held in bank accounts, and introduced unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) which allow the seizure/freezing and forfeiture of funds and property over £50,000 where it is believed the owner is involved in serious crime.
The bulk of the secondary legislation implementing the CFA came into force on 31 January 2018. The Home Office are responsible for the legislative implementation of these powers, which are used by enforcement agencies.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is an operational need for the negotiations regarding the supply of new British passports to proceed immediately; and if not, what assessment they have made of whether the awarding of the new contract should be postponed.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Her Majesty’s Passport Office has run a fair and open competition in line with UK law, EU and World Trade Organisation rules that has concluded in the identification of a preferred supplier. There are no grounds for a national security waiver.
The current passport contract expires in 2019 and we will need to proceed immediately to contract award to ensure a smooth and safe transition to the new contract.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their definition of a required skill for the purposes of immigration; in which sectors of the economy such skills are needed; whether they intend that that definition will change following Brexit; and what is their assessment of future skills requirements.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Tier 2 is the main immigration route for skilled non-EEA workers. The Tier 2 (General) route is designed to fill skilled vacancies for which no suitable resident workers are available. Applicants must have an offer of a graduate level job, paying an appropriate salary, from an employer which has been licensed by the Home Office to sponsor migrant workers. The skill level of a post must be level 6 on the Regulated Qualification Framework with some exceptions for the Shortage Occupation List and certain creative roles.
In July 2017, the Government commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on the economic and social impacts of the UK’s exit from the European Union and also on how the UK’s immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy. The MAC’s call for evidence sought information on EU migrants’ skills, amongst other things, and this will be considered in their final report due in September 2018. Details can be found on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/call-for-evidence-and-briefing-note-eea-workers-in-the-uk-labour-market
The Government will take account of the MAC’s advice when making any final decisions about our future immigration system for EU nationals.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether biometric and fingerprint data taken from a visa applicant's application to enter the UK are deleted from any database if that applicant is subsequently refused entry; and if not, for what specific purpose the data are retained.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Fingerprints taken from visa applicants are normally retained for up to ten years regardless of whether the application was successful, as set out in regulations made under the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.
This enables the Secretary of State to identify easily those who make further applications for visas to come to the UK, preventing immigration abuse and those who are a risk of high harm from entering the country.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
Her Majesty's Government, with reference to paragraph 31 of their White Paper Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, published on 26 June, whether EU citizens in the UK and their family members, in particular children of EU citizens eligible for settled status, will be able to apply for settled status as a family unit or whether each member of the family will be required to make a separate application for settled status.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
It is intended to make the application process for the new settled status as streamlined and user-friendly as possible. Further details will be published in due course.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
Her Majesty's Government under what circumstances a British citizen resident in the UK may seek leave for elderly dependants to enter the UK; and whether, following Brexit, the same rules will apply to EU citizens who have been granted permanent residency status.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In ‘The United Kingdom’s Exit from the European Union: Safeguarding the Position of EU Citizens Living in the UK and UK Nationals Living in the EU’ (Cm 9464), published on 26 June 2017, we indicated in paragraph 30 that, in respect of EU citizens who arrived here before the specified date, their family members who come to the UK after we leave the EU will be subject to the same rules that apply to non-EU nationals joining British citizens, or alternatively to the post-exit arrangements for EU citizens who arrive after the specified date. The current Immigration Rules for adult dependent relatives of British citizens are contained in Appendix FM: family members.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the responsibilities imposed on landlords, employers and others to check individuals' immigration statuses, what guidance they will issue to enable those responsible for such checks to differentiate between (1) EU citizens who are entitled to settled status following Brexit, and (2) those who are not entitled to such status.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government has set out its intention in its published document “Safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU” to issue residence documentation to EU nationals who will be granted indefinite leave to remain on the basis of their residence in the UK. The Government will set out its plans in due course for redesigning the immigration system to introduce controls on future migration to the UK by EU citizens, including any plans for adjusting statutory checks by employers, landlords and other service providers.