Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many serious incident notifications regarding unaccompanied children seeking asylum and placed in Home Office commissioned accommodation were made to the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel in the period from April to October.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
We take the welfare of those in our care extremely seriously. We have safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in emergency interim hotels are as safe and supported as possible whilst we seek urgent placements with a local authority. Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses.
The Home Office has no power to hold asylum seekers, including children, in hotels or any temporary accommodation if they wish to leave.
All Home Office staff and contractors engaging with asylum seekers are trained to adopt a risk-based approach towards potential indications of vulnerability and to refer relevant cases onto the Safeguarding Hub, a dedicated resource assigned to identifying and safeguarding vulnerable asylum seekers.
Safeguarding Hub staff advocate for an individual’s needs with the statutory agencies to promote appropriate safeguarding interventions. The statutory agencies retain responsibility for all decisions on intervention activity.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many referrals to the National Referral Mechanism regarding unaccompanied children seeking asylum and placed in Home Office commissioned accommodation were made in each month from July to October.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
We take the welfare of those in our care extremely seriously. We have safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in emergency interim hotels are as safe and supported as possible whilst we seek urgent placements with a local authority. Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses.
The Home Office has no power to hold asylum seekers, including children, in hotels or any temporary accommodation if they wish to leave.
All Home Office staff and contractors engaging with asylum seekers are trained to adopt a risk-based approach towards potential indications of vulnerability and to refer relevant cases onto the Safeguarding Hub, a dedicated resource assigned to identifying and safeguarding vulnerable asylum seekers.
Safeguarding Hub staff advocate for an individual’s needs with the statutory agencies to promote appropriate safeguarding interventions. The statutory agencies retain responsibility for all decisions on intervention activity.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied children went missing from Home Office commissioned hotel accommodation in each month in the period from April to October.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
We take the welfare of those in our care extremely seriously. We have safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in emergency interim hotels are as safe and supported as possible whilst we seek urgent placements with a local authority. Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses.
The Home Office has no power to hold asylum seekers, including children, in hotels or any temporary accommodation if they wish to leave.
All Home Office staff and contractors engaging with asylum seekers are trained to adopt a risk-based approach towards potential indications of vulnerability and to refer relevant cases onto the Safeguarding Hub, a dedicated resource assigned to identifying and safeguarding vulnerable asylum seekers.
Safeguarding Hub staff advocate for an individual’s needs with the statutory agencies to promote appropriate safeguarding interventions. The statutory agencies retain responsibility for all decisions on intervention activity.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there will be a further public consultation regarding proposed new data protection legislation; whether Parliament has been previously informed about such a consultation; and when the consultation is to take place.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The second reading of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill was postponed to allow new ministers to consider the legislation. We will continue to engage with businesses and civil society organisations to ensure the regime works for all, but this will not take the form of another formal public consultation and will not affect the timeline of the Bill.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 4 July (HL1093), which stated that the Home Office is liaising with the Ministry of Justice and the Legal Aid Agency to finalise details of the provision of legal advice and representation for asylum seekers accommodated at Linton-on-Ouse, what consultation has taken or will take place with specialist immigration lawyers as to such provision.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The proposed site at Linton-on-Ouse is designed to facilitate and support interaction between Asylum Seekers and their chosen legal advisors, whereby those accommodated at Linton-on-Ouse will have the ability to access the support of legal representation, either face-to-face or remotely.
If a decision is made to use the site, there will be dedicated private rooms where remote asylum case interviews and conversations between asylum seekers and their legal reps along with access to printers and scanners. The Service Provider will be the point of contact for support on-site for asylum seekers, legal reps and Case Workers. Additionally, individuals will also have 24/7 access to the Migrant Help hotline via the provision of phones which will enable issue reporting and complaints, plus signposting to legal aid.
The Home Office continues to liaise with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice and Legal Aid Agency to finalise the details of this provision at Linton-on-Ouse.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 4 July (HL1091), which stated that the policy guidance for the assessment of the suitability of individual asylum seekers to be accommodated at Linton-on-Ouse will be reviewed as part of preparations to open the accommodation, what consultations have been undertaken or will take place with medical and other experts regarding the review; and what is the expected timetable for the review and the publication of new guidance.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Internal considerations are ongoing.
The guidance will be published once a final decision is taken on Linton-on-Ouse.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of far-right extremist activity in relation to proposed asylum accommodation at Linton-on-Ouse; what steps they are taking to address the issue; what support they are providing to people affected by any such activity; and what additional policing costs are anticipated in light of such activity.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The safety and security of the local community, asylum seekers, staff and visitors to potential future sites is of paramount importance. We are committed to engagement with local authorities and local partners to understand and mitigate risks and concerns of the wider community. This includes working closely with the police in matters relating to the operation of the site, safety and security and the handling of any protests. The Home Office will work closely with the Counter Extremism Unit as well as the Community Tensions Team to discuss and inform any developments at Linton-on-Ouse. These partnerships will ensure the site, if the decision is made to progress, is fit for purpose and operates safely and securely, whilst minimising impacts on local services.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 4 July (HL1093), which stated the that experience and lessons learnt from Napier Barracks would be applied to the provision of health services at the Linton-on-Ouse reception centre, what lessons were learnt.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The lessons learnt from the provision of healthcare at Napier were of the benefits to service users of having easy access to healthcare based on site. This model prevents strain on the provision of services and healthcare for local residents.
The Home Office are working closely with NHS colleagues to design an appropriate healthcare model for the Linton-on-Ouse Accommodation Centre should a decision be taken to use the site. Furthermore, the Service Provider will be required to have a Partnership Manager on site who will oversee safeguarding and wellbeing, working in collaboration with their onsite Risk & Assurance Manager, who will be responsible for the risk and safety elements of welfare.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement by the Prime Minister on 2 May, what were the reasons why the proposed asylum reception centre at Linton-on-Ouse was “pivotal” to the plan to send people seeking asylum to Rwanda.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
There is no link between the proposed non-detained site at Linton-on-Ouse and the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) with Rwanda.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the UNHCR has visited the proposed asylum reception centre at Linton-on-Ouse; and whether they will publish the report made following any such visit.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UNHCR have visited the proposed site on 19 May and advised they would be writing a report.