Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what number and proportion of notices to quit were issued within (a) 7 days, (b) 14 days, and (c) 21 days of an asylum decision for each month between April 2022 and July 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, asylum seekers are provided with housing and basic living expenses whilst the outcome of their claim is determined. This is known as Section 95 support. When an asylum seeker’s claim has been successful, then they will be notified in writing that their Section 95 support will cease in 28 days. If their claim has been unsuccessful, they will be notified in writing that their Section 95 support will cease in 21 days.
These figures are not available in a readily reportable format.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when he plans to announce upgrades to the South Wales mainline railway.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
In February 2023, the UK Government announced £2.7 million funding for a study to improve transport connectivity by developing options for new stations and services on the South Wales Main Line, including the development of 5 brand new stations between Cardiff and Severn Tunnel.
In addition, a proposed upgrade to the South Wales relief lines is being progressed to a full business case by Network Rail for consideration by the Department for Transport.
The UK Government has committed over £390 million to rail improvements in Wales in recent years.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart regarding (a) security and (b) human rights in Pakistan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We continue to monitor the human rights situation in Pakistan closely and regularly raise the issue at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia, spoke with the Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada on 27 June to emphasise the importance of peaceful democratic processes, human rights and adherence to the rule of law. He spoke with the APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group) for Pakistani minorities on 5 September. In a letter to caretaker Foreign Minister Jilani on 21 August, Lord Ahmad emphasised the need for Pakistan's citizens to be able to exercise their democratic rights and participate in peaceful, inclusive, credible elections.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of security of the Pakistani diaspora in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
While we do not comment on specific security measures within the United Kingdom, the Home Office takes the security and safety of all citizens very seriously, and does all it can to protect everyone, including those from differing diasporas.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time is for Afghan refugees to be held in bridging hotels in the UK before being permanently resettled.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK has made one of the largest commitments of any country to support those impacted by events in Afghanistan.
The latest Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), published on 25 May 2023, shows that since their first arrivals in 2021, the Afghan schemes – the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) - have resettled a total of 21,004 people.
As of 25 May 2023, we were providing temporary accommodation for around 8,799 individuals resettled in the UK under the ARAP or ACRS, whilst they await permanent accommodation. More information on those that we are temporarily accommodating in hotels can be viewed at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
It is not accurate to describe Afghan families as being ‘held’ in bridging accommodation. They are living there temporarily, and we don’t want to see them in bridging accommodation for any longer than is necessary. We continue to work at pace to support Afghan families into homes of their own, so that they can settle into their local communities, feel safe and independent, pursue education, and rebuild their lives in the UK.
The government is providing £285 million of new funding to local authorities supporting the Afghan resettlement schemes. This includes £35 million in new cash for local authorities, which will go towards increasing the level of support available and overcoming key barriers in accessing the housing system and employment and a £250 million expansion of the Local Authority Housing Fund to help councils to source homes to house Afghans currently in bridging accommodation.
This new, generous package of support comes in addition to the existing support available for people on the ACRS and ARAP schemes, including access to welfare and the right to work, as well as access to public services. A dedicated cross-government casework team, made up of Home Office Liaison Officers and DWP staff, are based in hotels and work alongside local authority officials to provide advice to Afghans, including information on how to rent in the private sector, support people find jobs and English language training.
The move from hotels into settled accommodation is in the best interests of families and individuals and will enable them to benefit from the security of housing and long-term consistency of public services. This includes schooling, and the freedoms of independent living that only suitable non-hotel accommodation can provide
Data on the average length of stay in bridging accommodation is not available for publication.
Afghan operational data is released quarterly with the next release due for publication in August 2023.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan nationals have been resettled in the UK under the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme Pathway 3.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK has made one of the largest commitments of any country to support those impacted by events in Afghanistan.
The latest Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), published on 25 May 2023, shows that since their first arrivals in 2021, the Afghan schemes – the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) - have resettled a total of 21,004 people.
As of 25 May 2023, we were providing temporary accommodation for around 8,799 individuals resettled in the UK under the ARAP or ACRS, whilst they await permanent accommodation. More information on those that we are temporarily accommodating in hotels can be viewed at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
It is not accurate to describe Afghan families as being ‘held’ in bridging accommodation. They are living there temporarily, and we don’t want to see them in bridging accommodation for any longer than is necessary. We continue to work at pace to support Afghan families into homes of their own, so that they can settle into their local communities, feel safe and independent, pursue education, and rebuild their lives in the UK.
The government is providing £285 million of new funding to local authorities supporting the Afghan resettlement schemes. This includes £35 million in new cash for local authorities, which will go towards increasing the level of support available and overcoming key barriers in accessing the housing system and employment and a £250 million expansion of the Local Authority Housing Fund to help councils to source homes to house Afghans currently in bridging accommodation.
This new, generous package of support comes in addition to the existing support available for people on the ACRS and ARAP schemes, including access to welfare and the right to work, as well as access to public services. A dedicated cross-government casework team, made up of Home Office Liaison Officers and DWP staff, are based in hotels and work alongside local authority officials to provide advice to Afghans, including information on how to rent in the private sector, support people find jobs and English language training.
The move from hotels into settled accommodation is in the best interests of families and individuals and will enable them to benefit from the security of housing and long-term consistency of public services. This includes schooling, and the freedoms of independent living that only suitable non-hotel accommodation can provide
Data on the average length of stay in bridging accommodation is not available for publication.
Afghan operational data is released quarterly with the next release due for publication in August 2023.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been resettled in the UK under the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme Pathway 2.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK has made one of the largest commitments of any country to support those impacted by events in Afghanistan.
The latest Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), published on 25 May 2023, shows that since their first arrivals in 2021, the Afghan schemes – the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) - have resettled a total of 21,004 people.
As of 25 May 2023, we were providing temporary accommodation for around 8,799 individuals resettled in the UK under the ARAP or ACRS, whilst they await permanent accommodation. More information on those that we are temporarily accommodating in hotels can be viewed at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
It is not accurate to describe Afghan families as being ‘held’ in bridging accommodation. They are living there temporarily, and we don’t want to see them in bridging accommodation for any longer than is necessary. We continue to work at pace to support Afghan families into homes of their own, so that they can settle into their local communities, feel safe and independent, pursue education, and rebuild their lives in the UK.
The government is providing £285 million of new funding to local authorities supporting the Afghan resettlement schemes. This includes £35 million in new cash for local authorities, which will go towards increasing the level of support available and overcoming key barriers in accessing the housing system and employment and a £250 million expansion of the Local Authority Housing Fund to help councils to source homes to house Afghans currently in bridging accommodation.
This new, generous package of support comes in addition to the existing support available for people on the ACRS and ARAP schemes, including access to welfare and the right to work, as well as access to public services. A dedicated cross-government casework team, made up of Home Office Liaison Officers and DWP staff, are based in hotels and work alongside local authority officials to provide advice to Afghans, including information on how to rent in the private sector, support people find jobs and English language training.
The move from hotels into settled accommodation is in the best interests of families and individuals and will enable them to benefit from the security of housing and long-term consistency of public services. This includes schooling, and the freedoms of independent living that only suitable non-hotel accommodation can provide
Data on the average length of stay in bridging accommodation is not available for publication.
Afghan operational data is released quarterly with the next release due for publication in August 2023.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan refugees were living in bridging hotels in July 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK has made one of the largest commitments of any country to support those impacted by events in Afghanistan.
The latest Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), published on 25 May 2023, shows that since their first arrivals in 2021, the Afghan schemes – the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) - have resettled a total of 21,004 people.
As of 25 May 2023, we were providing temporary accommodation for around 8,799 individuals resettled in the UK under the ARAP or ACRS, whilst they await permanent accommodation. More information on those that we are temporarily accommodating in hotels can be viewed at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
It is not accurate to describe Afghan families as being ‘held’ in bridging accommodation. They are living there temporarily, and we don’t want to see them in bridging accommodation for any longer than is necessary. We continue to work at pace to support Afghan families into homes of their own, so that they can settle into their local communities, feel safe and independent, pursue education, and rebuild their lives in the UK.
The government is providing £285 million of new funding to local authorities supporting the Afghan resettlement schemes. This includes £35 million in new cash for local authorities, which will go towards increasing the level of support available and overcoming key barriers in accessing the housing system and employment and a £250 million expansion of the Local Authority Housing Fund to help councils to source homes to house Afghans currently in bridging accommodation.
This new, generous package of support comes in addition to the existing support available for people on the ACRS and ARAP schemes, including access to welfare and the right to work, as well as access to public services. A dedicated cross-government casework team, made up of Home Office Liaison Officers and DWP staff, are based in hotels and work alongside local authority officials to provide advice to Afghans, including information on how to rent in the private sector, support people find jobs and English language training.
The move from hotels into settled accommodation is in the best interests of families and individuals and will enable them to benefit from the security of housing and long-term consistency of public services. This includes schooling, and the freedoms of independent living that only suitable non-hotel accommodation can provide
Data on the average length of stay in bridging accommodation is not available for publication.
Afghan operational data is released quarterly with the next release due for publication in August 2023.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan citizens resettlement scheme applications were (a) received and (b) processed with a decision of eligibility between April 2021 and July 2023; and how many applications are awaiting an initial eligibility decision.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The latest Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2023 - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab) (published on 25 May 2023), show that since their first arrivals in 2021, the Afghan schemes – the ACRS and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) - have resettled a total of 21,004 people.
The UK has made one of the largest commitments of any country to support those impacted by events in Afghanistan. The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme will see up to 20,000 eligible individuals from Afghanistan and the region resettled to the UK over the coming years.
There is no application process for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). Instead, those who are eligible will be prioritised and referred for resettlement to the UK through one of the scheme’s three referral pathways. Further information on the ACRS can be found on the gov.uk website at:
Afghan citizens resettlement scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan nationals are eligible for relocation in the UK under the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The latest Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2023 - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab) (published on 25 May 2023), show that since their first arrivals in 2021, the Afghan schemes – the ACRS and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) - have resettled a total of 21,004 people.
The UK has made one of the largest commitments of any country to support those impacted by events in Afghanistan. The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme will see up to 20,000 eligible individuals from Afghanistan and the region resettled to the UK over the coming years.
There is no application process for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). Instead, those who are eligible will be prioritised and referred for resettlement to the UK through one of the scheme’s three referral pathways. Further information on the ACRS can be found on the gov.uk website at:
Afghan citizens resettlement scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)