Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support victims of modern slavery.
Answered by Sarah Dines
Adult victims in England and Wales are supported through the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract, led by The Salvation Army, alongside wider state services
Child victims are supported by local authority safeguarding structures and Independent Child Trafficking Guardians provide support and advocate to reflect the best interests of the child in decision-making processes. Guardians are currently in two thirds of local authorities in England and Wales.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in her Department are responsible for making decisions on family reunion cases.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
In 2022 4,473 family reunion visas were issued to partners and children of those granted protection status. Our family reunion policy has granted more than 44,600 family reunion visas since 2015, with over half issued to children.
We will prioritise applications where there is a particularly urgent or compelling reason to do so.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to bring into force the provisions in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 on (a) priority removal notices and (b) accelerated appeals.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Work is underway to bring the provisions in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 relating to (a) priority removal notices and (b) accelerated appeals into force as soon as possible.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to take steps to help ensure that the Hong Kong diaspora living in the UK are able to protest the Hong Kong Finance Minister's 2023 visit without compromise to their personal security.
Answered by Sarah Dines
We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take the protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously. As you would expect, Home Office officials work closely with the FCDO and DLUHC, as well as other government departments, to ensure that the UK is a safe and welcoming place for both those who hold BN(O) status and other Hongkongers.
Attempts by foreign Governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas, undermining democracy and the rule of law, are unacceptable. Anyone who is concerned for their safety should contact the police.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding has been allocated for implementation of the Serious Violence Duty by police force area in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
This data is expected to be published in due course, once agreed with HM Treasury.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help people entering the UK by irregular means access legal (a) advice and (b) aid before they are removed.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
All migrants (with the exception of those who are removed within 7 days of refusal of leave to enter at the border) are given a notice period prior to removal allowing time for access to justice, and those detained pending removal are able to access legal aid surgeries.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the impact the Illegal Migration Bill on victims of (a) slavery and (b) human trafficking.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
I refer the Hon. Member to my response to Question 161356 on 22 March: Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of reductions in funding for fire and rescue services.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Standalone fire and rescue authorities will see an increase in core spending power of 8.1 per cent in cash terms compared to 2022/23
In 2023-24 no referendum principles were set for Combined Authority Mayors, so the referendum limit for council tax does not apply to Greater Manchester Fire. This means that the Mayor can take a decision to increase council tax above the core referendum principle of £5 without triggering a local referendum.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of the findings on far-right extremism in Hope Not Hate's report entitled State of Hate 2023; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat
The Government is committed to tackling those who spread views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities in our society, and that radicalise others into terrorism.
The important role of the Commission for Countering Extremism continues. The Home Secretary appointed Robin Simcox as Commissioner for the Commission for Countering Extremism in July 2022 for a three-year term to ensure vital continuity in the work of the Commission.
We continue to work with law enforcement agencies to deliver against the national intelligence picture and increase understanding of new and emerging radicalising threats to society.
The Government’s assessment of the threat from terrorism is under continual review. This includes the national threat level, which is set by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre and the Security Service. The current level is substantial, which means an attack is likely. It covers all forms of terrorism, including extreme right-wing terrorism, and is based on a wide range of information. This also includes our threat agnostic counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST. In October 2022, we announced that CONTEST being updated to protect the public from new and emerging threats to our way of life.
Hope Not Hate’s State of Hate 2023 report is welcome, and will be considered alongside other evidence as part of the Government’s ongoing review process. We do not believe a Ministerial Statement is required at this time.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of IT issues in her Department on (a) the production of Biometric Resident Permits since 1 March 2022, (b) the number of individuals who have had a permit printed and (c) individuals waiting for permits.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Due to disproportionate costs UKVI does not hold the recourse to determine how many technical faults have affected (a) the production of Biometric Resident Permits since 1 March 2022, (b) the number of individuals who have had a permit printed and (c) individuals waiting for permits.
However, where an application may require technical intervention or support, our processes and procedures have been strengthened to proactively address technical issues as they are identified.
If you require further information regarding Visa processing times, this can be found on the UKVI website at Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Visa decision waiting times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). UKVI are currently processing applications on all its main visa routes within customer service standards.