Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2023 to Question 4543 on Firearms: Licensing, whether the Firearms Licensing Fees working group has completed its work.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Firearms Fees Working Group last met on 3 May 2023 when it discussed proposals for new fees. I am currently considering those proposals with Ministerial colleagues before launching a public consultation.
There are no current plans for the Group to meet again but it can be reconvened if necessary.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November to Question 458 on Immigration: Families, if he will make an estimate of the (a) number of family reunion cases that have been expedited to decision-makers in the last year and (b) average time taken for decisions to be made after they have been expedited in the last year.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government’s refugee family reunion policy provides a safe and legal route to bring families together.
Information regarding processing times is not routinely published and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
We are committed to improving and speeding up processing times for family reunion applications. We are reviewing processes to streamline decision making to enable us to provide a better service to our customers.
We prioritise all applications where the application has been made by an unaccompanied child, under the age of 18. We will also prioritise applications where there is an evidenced urgent or compelling reason.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department's working group on firearms licensing fees last met.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Fees Working Group last met on 3 May 2023.
The Working Group is chaired by the Home Office and includes representation from the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, shooting representative bodies, the Countryside Alliance, Scottish Government, and other Government departments.
The work includes a detailed review of the current cost to the police of administering firearms licensing in order to develop proposals for revised fees, in accordance with HM Treasury guidance.
I am currently considering the proposals for new fees with Ministerial colleagues and I have discussed them with the Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries, Members of Parliament and the NPCC Lead for Firearms Licensing.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of Biometric Residence Permit cards that have been wrongly issued in the last 12 months.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The information is not available publicly and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family reunion cases have been expedited to decision makers in the last year; and what was the average time for decision making after being expedited.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We prioritise all applications where the application has been made by an unaccompanied child, under the age of 18. We will also prioritise applications where there is an evidenced urgent or compelling reason.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Biometric Residence Permit cards have been wrongly delivered in the last 12 months; and how many people granted asylum have not received such cards in that period.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
BRPs are delivered within 48 hours of being produced to the address provided by the applicant on their application form.
Information on incorrect deliveries is not publicly available, and so we are unable to answer this question.
We are unable to answer the second part of the question, as the information is not available in the format requested and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 8 of the report Fight for 52, published by the Fire Brigades Union on 14 September 2023, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of variations in the level of maternity pay for firefighters.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Setting fire pay and conditions, including setting a minimum national maternity entitlement, is the responsibility of employers, working through the National Joint Council. The Home Office plays no role in the negotiation or funding of firefighter pay.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been relocated to the UK under Pathway (a) 2 and (b) 3 of the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme as of 19 October 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 published Operational data fact sheet on Afghan resettlement schemes shows the following by ACRS pathway, we have now resettled: 9,676 individuals under ACRS Pathway 1, 66 individuals under ACRS Pathway 2 and 41 individuals under ACRS Pathway 3.
Operational data is viewable at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Afghan operational data is released quarterly with the next publication due around the 23rd November 2023.
The data requested on arrival dates of pathway 2 and pathway 3 is not anticipated to be publicly released in future iterations of the quarterly Immigration system statistics. It is collected for internal and operational use only. However, arrivals by quarter can be found within the immigration statistics. Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the first Afghans arrived in the UK under pathway (a) two and (b) three of the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.
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 published Operational data fact sheet on Afghan resettlement schemes shows the following by ACRS pathway, we have now resettled: 9,676 individuals under ACRS Pathway 1, 66 individuals under ACRS Pathway 2 and 41 individuals under ACRS Pathway 3.
Operational data is viewable at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Afghan operational data is released quarterly with the next publication due around the 23rd November 2023.
The data requested on arrival dates of pathway 2 and pathway 3 is not anticipated to be publicly released in future iterations of the quarterly Immigration system statistics. It is collected for internal and operational use only. However, arrivals by quarter can be found within the immigration statistics. Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has plans to relocate Afghan people who are (a) eligible for relocation to the UK and (b) in Pakistan before 1 November; and what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of reports that the Government of Pakistan plans to deport Afghans without documentation from November 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Continuing to support the resettlement of eligible Afghans under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) & Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) remains a priority for the Government. To date, we have brought around 24,600 people affected by events in Afghanistan to safety, which includes those evacuated under Op PITTING.
We are aware of recent Government of Pakistan announcements regarding Afghans illegally present in Pakistan. FCDO and the British High Commission are monitoring the situation closely. They are in frequent contact with the Pakistani authorities to try and ensure that no ARAP or ACRS eligible individuals are negatively affected while they await relocation to the UK, and are seeking assurances to this effect.