Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of issuing physical back-up copies of immigration documents for people on the EU Settlement Scheme.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
As part of our move to a “digital by default” border and immigration system, physical immigration documents are being replaced by fully digital eVisas (an online record of the person’s immigration status).
All EU, EEA and Swiss citizens granted pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) are now able to prove their rights in the UK digitally, by using the View and Prove service on GOV.UK, instead of using physical documents. Non-EU, EEA or Swiss citizen family members who have a UKVI account can also use the View and Prove service.
Successful applicants continue to receive written notice of their immigration status by email or letter, which they can keep for their personal records if they wish. However, due to the possibility of fraud and abuse this document cannot be used to evidence an individual’s immigration status to external organisations.
There are no plans to provide EU citizens granted status under the EUSS with physical back-up copies of immigration documents.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many animal testing licences for chemical substances used as cosmetic ingredients were for substances used exclusively in cosmetics between 2019 and 2022.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Between 2019 and 2022, the Government granted one licence authorising animal testing for chemicals used exclusively as ingredients in cosmetic products, for the purposes of worker or environmental safety under chemicals (REACH) regulations.
I can confirm that, following the Government’s ban of 17 May 2023, no animal testing is being conducted, nor will any testing be authorised, of chemicals that are exclusively intended to be used as ingredients in cosmetics products.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a nationwide scheme for recovering lost property in public places that has been handed in to the police.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has no plans to establish a nationwide scheme for recovering lost property in public places that has been handed in to the police.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the process for issuing exit visas to Eritrean nationals with UK visas.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Border Force do not issue exit visas.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department plans to open the second stage of Pathway Three of the Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The resettlement of eligible Afghans remains a top priority for this government. As of September 2023, around 24,600 vulnerable people affected by the events in Afghanistan have been brought to safety. This includes the first individuals to be relocated under Pathway 3 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).
In the second stage of Pathway 3, our commitment to work with international partners and NGOs to welcome wider groups of Afghans still stands. We are not able to open for referrals at this present time for the second stage of Pathway 3 but further information will be published in due course.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will take steps to support Sudanese nationals who were given six-month Leave Outside The Rules and whose visas are expiring to extend their leave to remain.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Where a person who has been given leave outside the rules but is unable to return home they should apply for an extension of leave. Further information about applying for an extension can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-extend-stay-in-the-uk-flrhro.
Each case will be assessed on its merits. If they are unable to afford the fee then a fee waiver application can be made. Details about fee waivers can be found at: https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/product/fee-waiver.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the written statement entitled Regulation Update of 17 May 2023, HCWS779, what recent progress his Department has made on administering the ban on animal testing for chemicals used as cosmetic ingredients over the long-term.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Home Secretary’s written statement of 17 May 2023 announced a ban on new licences for animal testing of chemicals used exclusively as cosmetics ingredients, carried out under chemicals (REACH) regulations for the purpose of worker and environmental safety.
The Home Office has reviewed existing ‘legacy’ licences and engaged with the relevant companies. I can confirm that no animal testing is now authorised in Great Britain of chemicals that are exclusively intended to be used as ingredients in cosmetics products.
The Home Office is working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs, to review the effective administration of the ban over the longer term. This will have due regard to the needs of the science industry, the need to ensure worker and environmental safety, and the need to protect animals from unnecessary harm.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to bring into force legislative provisions in the Public Order Act 2023 relating to safe access zones around abortion clinics.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Public Order Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 2 May. Implementation of the Public Order Act measures is staggered.
The Government respects the will of Parliament and is working to commence Safe Access Zones as soon as is practicably possible. We have been considering what needs to be done to ensure Safe Access Zones can be implemented as effectively as possible, with law enforcement agencies having a clear and consistent understanding around enforcement, and abortion service providers and protestors being clear as to what is expected under the new law.
The timescales for commencing the new Section 9 offence of interference with access to, or provision of, abortion services will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of (a) family, (b) student, (c) settlement, (d) visitor and (e) work visas submitted in the last 12 months have taken longer to process than the limits set by their respective customer service standards.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office makes every attempt to meet the service level agreement standard, but in certain cases additional checks are required which can mean visa requests take longer to process.
Data on performance against service standards is published through migration transparency data and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on extending the 90-day period for collecting visas in Sudan.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Where our records confirm that a customer’s passport is being held in the Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Khartoum, UK Visas and Immigration have contacted all those customers that have been issued or refused visa applications in our VAC in Khartoum and offering them a letter confirming that their passport is securely stored and attaching a digital copy of their passport, that may help support their travel out of Sudan and into a third country.
Where our records show that the passport is held in Nairobi or Pretoria and a named individual (either the applicant or a designated 3rd party) is identified to return the passport to outside of Sudan, the passport can be sent (to the named individual) by courier or for collection from another visa application centre. UK Visas and Immigration have contacted all those customers. For customers that have been able to exit Sudan, processes are in place to re-direct printing of their visa and endorsement on a Form for affixing a visa (FAV) to another VAC location of their choice for collection.
Where a customer would normally receive a 90-day vignette, we will defer issuing the vignette until they have been able to safely travel to a location where the vignette can be collected. If the vignette had already been issued and is due to expire, we will assist the customer in applying for a replacement vignette once they have been able to safely travel to a location where the vignette can be collected.