Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any systems or software supplied by Fujitsu are used in the process of determining immigration status.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Fujitsu do not supply the Home Office with any systems or software used in determining immigration status.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness of the benefits to business of employing prison-leavers and to support businesses to do so.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We remain committed in increasing the number of prison leavers securing employment on release. The proportion of prison leavers who were employed six months after release more than doubled in the two years to March 2023, from 14% to over 30%. Meanwhile, the proportion who were in employment six weeks after their release almost doubled in the same period, from 9.8% to 19.4%
We know that supporting businesses and raising awareness around the benefits of employing prison leavers are integral in continuing this upward trend.
New Futures Network is the prison service’s specialist employment team that supports businesses to fill skills gaps and prisoners to find employment on release. They use a dedicated website and social media pages to inform the public, including employers, about the opportunities to recruit from prisons. New Futures Network brokers three main types of partnership between prisons and employers:
To increase awareness across sectors facing labour market shortages, in October 2022 New Futures Network began running a series of ‘Unlocking Potential’ recruitment drives in prisons. The most recent event in October 2023, Unlocking Hospitality, saw around 65 events held across 40 sites, attended by 40 employers and 885 prisoners. This resulted in 184 interviews and 45 job offers to date.
We also know that employers want to hear from other employers when talking about the benefits of employing prison leavers. Employment Advisory Boards bring together experienced professionals across the private and third sectors and have been established across 93 prisons. Chaired by business leaders, these are a forum to collaborate with leadership teams within prisons, to support them in creating a positive culture of employment.
Similarly, we continue to work with the Employers Forum for Reducing Re-offending (EFFRR), an HMPPS-led group currently chaired by Greggs. This is a collective of local and national employers that provide training and employment opportunities for ex-offenders, including Greene King, Timpson, Marks & Spencer, Willmott Dixon and many more.
New Futures Network have also partnered with the Department for Education to raise awareness by featuring an employing prison leavers item on their business webpages: Find training and employment schemes for your business (education.gov.uk).
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to their proposals to increase the minimum income requirement for a spouse or partner visa to £38,700, how income other than from employment and property and savings will be regarded, the additional income required for each child of the family, and what length of visa will be issued and how that will be determined.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The revised minimum income requirement (MIR) will be implemented in spring 2024.
The Government will set out any transitional provisions associated with the increase in the MIR, and further policy details, in due course.
Any applications already submitted will be considered in line with the existing policy.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to their proposals to increase the minimum income requirement for a spouse or partner visa, (1) how savings and income from property and sources other than employment will be regarded, (2) the additional income required for each child of the family, (3) what length of visa will be issued, and (4) what other changes related to family visas they propose.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The revised minimum income requirement (MIR) will be implemented in spring 2024.
The Government will set out any transitional provisions associated with the increase in the MIR, and further policy details, in due course.
Any applications already submitted will be considered in line with the existing policy.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what fees they intend to charge in connection with the increased minimum income requirement for a spouse or partner visa, in particular (1) what fee will be payable on the initial and subsequent applications for a spouse or partner on a 10-year route to settlement, and (2) what immigration health charge will be due.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
There will be no changes to the fees payable for any visa applications or the health surcharge as a result of the minimum income requirement changes announced by the Home Secretary.
For those applying on a spouse or partner visa, the current application fees of £1,846 for entry clearance, £1,048 for Limited Leave to Remain and £2,885 for Indefinite Leave to Remain will remain the same.
Subject to the passage of the necessary legislation, the Immigration Health Surcharge will increase to £1,035 per year for migrants applying on the partner visa route.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to their proposals to increase the minimum income requirement for a spouse or partner visa to £38,700, what fee will be payable on the initial and subsequent applications for a spouse or partner on a 10-year route to settlement, and what immigration health charge will be due.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
There will be no changes to the fees payable for any visa applications or the health surcharge as a result of the minimum income requirement changes announced by the Home Secretary.
For those applying on a spouse or partner visa, the current application fees of £1,846 for entry clearance, £1,048 for Limited Leave to Remain and £2,885 for Indefinite Leave to Remain will remain the same.
Subject to the passage of the necessary legislation, the Immigration Health Surcharge will increase to £1,035 per year for migrants applying on the partner visa route.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of using (1) X-rays, (2) magnetic resonance imaging, and (3) any other scientific methods, as provided for by the Illegal Migration Act 2023 and the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office does not yet hold this information. Work is ongoing to determine the level and type of capacity required to support the imaging service.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of using X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging and any other ‘scientific methods’ as provided for by the Illegal Migration Act 2023 and the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 30 December 2022 (HL4283) that the Home Office intended to set out their plans to review the Life in the UK handbook as part of wider nationality reforms “in the first half of next year”, and further to the letter dated 7 September 2022 from the then Minister for Safe and Legal Migration to the Justice and Home Affairs Committee, what is the timetable for their review of the handbook.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
We are still considering the timetable for potential work to review the handbook. We aim to set out the timetable for reviewing the handbook later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to appoint a Victims Commissioner.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
A recruitment campaign to appoint the next Commissioner is underway and it is right that the new Lord Chancellor looks at this carefully. We hope to announce the outcome of the campaign as soon as possible.
At both Ministerial and official level, we engage with the victims’ sector on a regular basis to ensure the voices of victims and witnesses are heard while the appointment of the next Victims’ Commissioner is being made.