Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign nationals held in the prison estate have previously been deported.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The information requested is not available from published statistics.
Our Nationality and Borders Act became law in April 2022. A factsheet can be viewed here: Nationality and Borders Bill: factsheet - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The same act also amended legislation which means a foreign offender who returns to the United Kingdom in breach of a deportation order can be sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. Anyone who enters the UK without leave, or without a visa, also faces a maximum penalty of four years.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign national offenders of which nationality were deported in each of the last five years.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Home Office does publish statistics on the returns of foreign national offenders by nationality and year. These returns are published in the Returns Detailed Datasets, Year Ending December 2023; which are available at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The term ‘deportations’ refers to a legally defined subset of returns, which are enforced either following a criminal conviction, or when it is judged that a person’s removal from the UK is beneficial to the public good. The published statistics refer to enforced returns which include deportations, as well as cases where a person has breached UK immigration laws, and those removed under other administrative and illegal entry powers that have declined to leave voluntarily. Figures on deportations, which are a subset of enforced returns, are not separately available.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his Department's procedure is for the verification of religious conversion when cited as a reason for the validity of an application for asylum.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
All asylum and human rights claims, including those based on religion or belief, are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations, so that we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin.
Detailed Home Office policy guidance provides a framework for considering asylum claims, including those based on religious conversion, and all caseworkers receive extensive training and mentoring support before making such decisions.
Each individual assessment is made against the background of relevant case law and the latest available country of origin information. This is based on evidence taken from a wide range of reliable sources, including reputable media outlets; local, national, and international organisations, including human rights organisations; and information from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
The degree of weight to be given to evidence from church witnesses will depend on how much knowledge and experience a church witness has, and the individuals concerned, and the way in which the claimant may have engaged in church activities. Evidence from a senior church member is not considered to be determinative.
In such cases, decision-makers must decide whether a conversion is genuine on the balance of probabilities. Decision-makers must consider all evidence in the round, including, where relevant, such factors as the claimant’s participation in church activities, the timing of their conversion, their knowledge of the faith, and the opinions of other members of the congregation as to the genuineness of the conversion.
Protection is normally granted where a claimant has a well-founded fear of persecution under the Refugee Convention or a claimant faces a real risk of serious harm. Those found not to need protection are refused, and the decision can be subject to legal challenge where appropriate, either via appeal to the independent courts or through a judicial review, depending on the decision in question. Once appeal rights are exhausted, they are liable for removal and enforcement action pursued where necessary.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the role of the Church of England is on advising on the validity of religious conversion claims where the threat of religious persecution is given as a material basis for the claim.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
All asylum and human rights claims, including those based on religion or belief, are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations, so that we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin.
Detailed Home Office policy guidance provides a framework for considering asylum claims, including those based on religious conversion, and all caseworkers receive extensive training and mentoring support before making such decisions.
Each individual assessment is made against the background of relevant case law and the latest available country of origin information. This is based on evidence taken from a wide range of reliable sources, including reputable media outlets; local, national, and international organisations, including human rights organisations; and information from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
The degree of weight to be given to evidence from church witnesses will depend on how much knowledge and experience a church witness has, and the individuals concerned, and the way in which the claimant may have engaged in church activities. Evidence from a senior church member is not considered to be determinative.
In such cases, decision-makers must decide whether a conversion is genuine on the balance of probabilities. Decision-makers must consider all evidence in the round, including, where relevant, such factors as the claimant’s participation in church activities, the timing of their conversion, their knowledge of the faith, and the opinions of other members of the congregation as to the genuineness of the conversion.
Protection is normally granted where a claimant has a well-founded fear of persecution under the Refugee Convention or a claimant faces a real risk of serious harm. Those found not to need protection are refused, and the decision can be subject to legal challenge where appropriate, either via appeal to the independent courts or through a judicial review, depending on the decision in question. Once appeal rights are exhausted, they are liable for removal and enforcement action pursued where necessary.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who applied for asylum who changed their religious adherence had their claim (a) granted and (b) refused in each of the last five years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
This information is not recorded in a reportable format.
Information regarding initial decisions on asylum applications, by outcome, is contained within the ASY_D02 tab of the Asylum applications, decisions and resettlement dataset: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
This does not include information regarding whether the asylum applicant changed their religion.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applications were granted on the basis of the risk of persecution on religious grounds in each of the last five years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
This information is not recorded in a reportable format.
Information regarding initial decisions on asylum applications, by outcome, is contained within the ASY_D02 tab of the Asylum applications, decisions and resettlement dataset: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
This does not include the grounds for granting leave to remain in the UK.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family reunion decisions did not meet the 60 working days service standard in 2023.
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 and nationality of applicants 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.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family reunion applications have not been processed as of 14 December 2023.
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 and nationality of applicants 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.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many child deaths as a result of spiritual and ritualistic abuse have been recorded in each year since 2011.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Home Office Homicide Index holds detailed information on the homicides of children recorded by the police in England and Wales. However, it is not possible to tell from this information whether the death was the result of spiritual or ritualistic abuse.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will expedite the asylum applications of (a) former Hong Kong elected district councillors and (b) pro-democracy party leadership figures in the context of recent arrest warrants and bounties for exiled Hong Kong pro-democracy activists.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it. All asylum claims are considered on a case-by-case basis in line with published policy including those raised by Hong Kong nationals.
Individuals from Hong Kong may also be able to apply for the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) route which reflects the UK’s historic and moral commitment to those people of Hong Kong who chose to retain their ties to the UK by taking up BN(O) status before Hong Kong’s handover to China. To be eligible, applicants must have BN(O) status, or be the eligible family member of someone with BN(O) status.
In November 2022, the BN(O) route was expanded to allow adult children of BN(O) status holders, aged 18 or over and who were born on or after 1 July 1997 to apply to the route independently. As of 31 March 2023, a total of 166,420 applications to the BN(O) route have been granted since its introduction.