Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the longest waiting time is for a decision on a British citizenship application as of 13 May 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases. Published data regarding naturalisation applications can be found in the migration statistics which are published quarterly: Visas and citizenship data: Q4 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Repeal of the Vagrancy Act 1824: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 factsheet, updated on 20 August 2022, whether he plans to repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824 once the Criminal Justice Bill is passed.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Nobody should be criminalised for simply being having nowhere to live. That is why we are committed to bringing into force the repeal of the outdated Vagrancy Act 1824.
We have tabled amendments for Report stage of the Bill which will bring the Repeal of the Vagrancy Act into force three months after the Criminal Justice Bill receives Royal Assent.
At this same time, the provisions on nuisance begging and nuisance rough sleeping in the Criminal Justice Bill will also come into force.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time is for a fee waiver application decision; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of those waiting times on people without leave to remain.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Please find published transparency data regarding consideration times for fee waivers in relation to permission to stay here: Immigration and protection data: Q4 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Where a fee waiver application is submitted in relation to a subsequent application for permission to stay, while the applicant still has valid permission, and that permission expires while the fee waiver application is outstanding, section 3C of the 1971 Immigration Act will automatically extend the person’s permission while the fee waiver and linked application are still pending.
In the case of applicants where there is evidence of significant vulnerability, for example homeless individuals, the department makes efforts to prioritise consideration of their fee waiver application to support resolution of status.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of local staff of the British Embassy in Khartoum who have been resettled in the UK in the last three years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office do not hold this information.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) do not hold central data of anyone who has resettled in the UK as they would have done so on their own accord. The FCDO has not facilitated any resettlement of Sudanese CBS to the UK in the last 3 years.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his timetable is for recruiting a Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The process to recruit a new Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration follows the principles set out within the Cabinet Office Governance Code on Public Appointments:
Governance Code on Public Appointments - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The competition opened on 21 February, and the closing date for applications is 2 April 2024. Our intention is to make the appointment as soon as possible, and an indicative timetable is available on the Public Appointments website:
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time was between an immigration decision being made and a biometric residence permit being delivered in the last six months.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We aim to deliver a BRP within 7 working days of the immigration decision.
BRPs are produced at the secure delivery facility (Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA)) within 48 hours of the production request being made and are collected by our secure delivery partner the same day. Our secure delivery partner (Royal Mail Group) aims to attempt to deliver the BRPs within 48 hours of receipt of the BRPs. This equates to a minimum of 5 working days from date of production request being made to delivery of the BRP. We have added an additional 2 working days to the timeline advised to applicants to allow us to resolve any production issues.
In November, DVLA produced all BRPs within 24 hours of the production request. In November RMG attempted to deliver 99.1% of BRPs within 48 hours.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the average processing time to print a Biometric Residence Permit after a decision to grant leave to remain has been issued.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We aim to deliver a BRP within 7 working days of the immigration decision.
BRPs are produced at the secure delivery facility (Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA)) within 48 hours of the production request being made and are collected by our secure delivery partner the same day. Our secure delivery partner (Royal Mail Group) aims to attempt to deliver the BRPs within 48 hours of receipt of the BRPs. This equates to a minimum of 5 working days from date of production request being made to delivery of the BRP. We have added an additional 2 working days to the timeline advised to applicants to allow us to resolve any production issues.
In November, DVLA produced all BRPs within 24 hours of the production request. In November RMG attempted to deliver 99.1% of BRPs within 48 hours.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to (a) extend the leave to remain and (b) offer a route to indefinite leave to remain status for individuals on the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We are mindful that permission will start to expire, for the first arrivals under our Ukrainian schemes, from March 2025, and their need for certainty beyond that point to help them to plan ahead, for example if remaining in the UK, entering into rental agreements and living here independently.
In line with the situation in Ukraine, working closely with the Ukrainian Government, as well as our international counterparts, we keep the need for a possible extension of sanctuary in the UK, beyond March 2025, under consistent review.
The UK Government stands with Ukraine and firmly believes that Ukraine will be safe again. When it’s safe to do so, Ukraine will need the repatriation of its citizens to help recover and rebuild their economy and infrastructure. Our approach therefore has been to provide 36 months sanctuary under our Ukraine visas which are temporary and do not lead to settlement or indefinite leave to remain.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken to bring forward legislative proposals to replace the Vagrancy Act 1824 on the number of arrests of rough sleepers.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government does not collect figures on police usage of the Vagrancy Act where this does not result in prosecution.
As the Government made clear at the time, the repeal of the Vagrancy Act will be brought into force once suitable replacement legislation is in place to ensure local authorities and police have the powers, they need to support vulnerable individuals and keep communities safe.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many leave-to-remain applications cannot be progressed because of a technical issue.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office does not hold this information in a reportable format.