Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to provide safe passage to the UK for unaccompanied child refugees in Europe who have relatives in the UK.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Throughout the transition period, we will continue to honour our commitments under the Dublin III Regulation, including the transfers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to the UK who have qualifying family members in the UK where it is in their best interests. We continue to remain in close contact with sending states, to facilitate transfers as quickly and safely as possible in accordance with respective governments’ decisions on Covid-19 and the Dublin Regulation.
Furthermore, we will continue to process all Take Charge Requests made under the family reunion provisions of the Regulation which are received on or before the 31 December 2020.
The UK has presented a genuine and sincere offer to the EU for a new, reciprocal arrangement for the family reunion of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children post-transition, and on 19 May published its draft legal text as a constructive contribution to negotiations.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department is providing to migrant women who have experienced domestic abuse during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Home Office has put in place a range of measures to support those affected by the covid-19 outbreak, and victims of domestic abuse are treated first and foremost as victims. That is why the Home Office launched the #YouAreNotAlone campaign to ensure that all victims of domestic abuse, regardless of immigration status, are aware that existing sources of support remain open to them, such as the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, which is staffed 24 hours a day, every day of the year, by a dedicated team of experts.
The campaign has been backed by an additional £2 million in funding to support technological capability, such as online services, helplines and technology support. £12 million of this funding has already been allocated. The advice and information from the campaign has been made available in multiple languages to reach out to as many people as possible, including languages from Asia/South-East Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The campaign has so far generated almost 250 million impressions.
In May, the Government announced £76 million of the £750 million package of support for charities would go towards groups supporting survivors of?domestic abuse, sexual violence and modern slavery?as well as to ensure that vulnerable children and young people continue to get the help they need.
MHCLG have so far awarded £8.76 million through the Domestic Abuse Covid-19 Emergency Support Fund. Over a third of successful applications include organisations providing specialist support services and safe accommodation for BME, LGBT and disabled survivors of domestic abuse. Moreover, £22 million of the £76 million support package is being distributed by the Ministry of Justice to 548 local domestic abuse and sexual violence charities in England and Wales.
The Home Office is providing £2 million in extraordinary funding for domestic abuse support services to support national charities who would not be eligible for the support that is being distributed by either the MHCLG or the MOJ. The Bid Prospectus made clear that charities who support victims of domestic abuse with no recourse to public funds were eligible to apply. Successful applicants include; Karma Nirvana, the Muslim Women’s Network, the Black Association of Women UK and Southall Black Sisters.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department is providing to LGBTQ+ individuals who have experienced domestic abuse during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
We are working closely with domestic abuse organisations, police and Domestic Abuse Commissioner to monitor and assess the impact of COVID-19 on victims of domestic abuse, including LGBTQ+ individuals.
The Government has posted advice regarding national helplines, including specialist helplines, on gov.uk to guide victims to the most appropriate support for their individual needs https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help .
This has been extensively promoted through our awareness raising campaign #YouAreNotAlone.
The National LGBT Domestic Abuse helpline provides emotional and practical support for LGBTQ+ people who are experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse and remains available during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Home Office has provided £120,000 of funding each year since 2016 for the helpline.
Galop also received an additional £71,000 for the National LGBT Domestic Abuse Helpline from the £2m fund announced by the Home Office to help support helplines and online services during this period. This is in addition to the £750 million funding package announced by the Chancellor, £76 million of which was allocated to support survivors of?domestic abuse, sexual violence and modern slavery?as well as ensure that vulnerable children and young people continue to get the help they need. From this funding the Home Office launched a £2m fund for national and regionally based domestic abuse organisations, of which £1.73 million has been allocated to 28 organisations.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department is providing to BAME women who have experienced domestic abuse during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
We are working closely with the sector, the police and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on victims of domestic abuse, including BAME women, and have published guidance and advice online.
The awareness campaign, #YouAreNotAlone, launched by the Home Secretary, signposts victims to further support, including specific resources for BAME women.
The Home Secretary announced £2 million in funding to ensure that helplines and online services continue to be easily accessible to victims. £1.2 million of this has already been allocated, including to Karma Nirvana, which supports BAME victims. This is in addition to the £750 million funding package announced by the Chancellor, £76 million of which will support survivors of?domestic abuse, sexual violence and modern slavery?as well as ensure that vulnerable children and young people continue to get the help they need.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she had has with her (a) US, (b) Canadian, (c) New Zealand, (d) EU, Japanese and (e) South Korean counterparts on priorities for Interpol’s strategic framework for 2021-24.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Interpol Strategic Framework 2021-24 is currently under development by Interpol, and following its completion it will be shared with Interpol’s 194 members. Therefore, as yet no discussions have been had with the members identified within the question but engagement with members will be undertaken in the future.
Due diligence is undertaken by the UK Government into individuals seeking election to the Interpol Presidency and Home Office officials have discussed with officials in other countries prospective candidates for the role.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the criteria are for the allocation of statutory funding to Interpol.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The criteria for the allocation of statutory funding to Interpol are set out in the Financial Regulations of Interpol and Resolution of the General Assembly GA-2018-87-RES-14. The criteria is based on a scale that is set by the United Nations.
Additional financial contributions are covered by Articles 38-40 of the Interpol Constitution as well as Article 51 of the General Regulations.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the criteria are for the allocation of voluntary funding to Interpol.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The criteria for the allocation of statutory funding to Interpol are set out in the Financial Regulations of Interpol and Resolution of the General Assembly GA-2018-87-RES-14. The criteria is based on a scale that is set by the United Nations.
Additional financial contributions are covered by Articles 38-40 of the Interpol Constitution as well as Article 51 of the General Regulations.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of convening a meeting of nations to consider the abuse of Red Notices and diffusions issued by (a) Interpol and (b) member States.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Matters in relation to Interpol are the responsibility of the Home Office.
The Government strongly supports Interpol in its efforts to improve the safeguards it has in place to protect human rights and preclude interventions or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.
The Government views any allegation of misuse of Interpol’s systems very seriously and works closely with Interpol to ensure the legitimacy of the Red Notice system.
All Red Notices are subject to review by a multidisciplinary Notices and Diffusions Task Force in Interpol prior to publication to ensure legal compliance and prevent abuse of Interpol systems. The Home Office supports Interpol’s commitment to ensuring the legitimacy of the Red Notice system and in November 2019 seconded a senior lawyer to Interpol to support the work of the Taskforce.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with his counterparts in the (a) the US Administration (b) Canada Government, (c) New Zealand Government, (d) Australia Government, (e) EU member states, (f) Japan Government and (g) South Korea Government on a successor to the President of Interpol.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Interpol Strategic Framework 2021-24 is currently under development by Interpol, and following its completion it will be shared with Interpol’s 194 members. Therefore, as yet no discussions have been had with the members identified within the question but engagement with members will be undertaken in the future.
Due diligence is undertaken by the UK Government into individuals seeking election to the Interpol Presidency and Home Office officials have discussed with officials in other countries prospective candidates for the role.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a Minister in her Department has responsibility for matters in relation to Interpol.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Matters in relation to Interpol are the responsibility of the Home Office.
The Government strongly supports Interpol in its efforts to improve the safeguards it has in place to protect human rights and preclude interventions or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.
The Government views any allegation of misuse of Interpol’s systems very seriously and works closely with Interpol to ensure the legitimacy of the Red Notice system.
All Red Notices are subject to review by a multidisciplinary Notices and Diffusions Task Force in Interpol prior to publication to ensure legal compliance and prevent abuse of Interpol systems. The Home Office supports Interpol’s commitment to ensuring the legitimacy of the Red Notice system and in November 2019 seconded a senior lawyer to Interpol to support the work of the Taskforce.