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 assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the policy of pursuing constrained Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and Afghan citizens resettlement schemes at the same time as seeking to implement reform of the asylum and immigration system under the terms of the Nationality and Borders Bill.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The UK has a proud track record of helping those who need our protection – and this will continue.
The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) launched on 1 April 2021. More than 7,000 people have been relocated under ARAP so far, with more continuing to arrive.
The ARAP scheme remains open to eligible applicants.
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) is separate to ARAP and commenced on 6th January, providing up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
Alongside our response to Afghanistan, the UK continues to welcome those most at risk, including refugees through the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and Mandate Resettlement Schemes. Since 2015, we have resettled more than 26,000 refugees through safe and legal routes direct from regions of conflict and instability - around half of whom were children.
The Nationality and Borders Bill is the most significant overhaul of our asylum system in over two decades with the aim of promoting safe and legal routes. Only by tackling illegal migration can we effectively help those in greatest need. It will bring in a new, comprehensive, fair but firm long-term plan, which seeks to address the challenge of illegal migration head on, and to take down the serious organised criminals exploiting people and profiting from human misery.
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 steps her Department is taking to (a) urgently move families evacuated from Afghanistan in August 2021 out of hotel accommodation and (b) enable families to retain reasonable proximity and connection with each other.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We are working at pace across government and with local authorities (LAs) to source appropriate accommodation for Afghan families who were evacuated to the UK.
Once properties are identified and referred to the Home Office, a matching exercise is undertaken which enables us to offer the property to a suitable family. Where possible, we will match families from local bridging hotels allowing them to remain in the area where they may have started to form connections and settle.
The Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities have set up an online housing portal Afghanistan housing portal - offers of support - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) to allow people to submit offers of housing support for people who have arrived from Afghanistan. We are also engaging with landlords, letting agencies and industry bodies to promote the portal and encourage participation in the resettlement programme.
This includes a partnership with Rightmove to identify potential properties available in the private rented sector, providing councils with additional information to source appropriate properties.
We give families seven days’ notice of their move to long-term accommodation. This allows families time to prepare and discuss any concerns with their Home Office Liaison Officer. We also make them aware of their LA contacts.
Once families move, LAs will support them to settle and integrate, into their new community including help accessing local services such as a GP, schools and employment.
To assist with the successful integration of families to life in the UK we are piloting a ‘Jobs First Pilot’ in partnership with the Department of Work and Pensions. This pilot went live on 31 January. Participants will receive a range of support from Work Coaches to move into work. Importantly, participants will also receive support from a specialist cross government case working team to tackle non-employment barriers. LAs and charities are also actively supporting the pilot. The focus on both employment and non-employment barriers that prevent the take up of job offers will, it is hoped, increase the likelihood of a person moving into work, either in their current geographical area or in another part of the country.
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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 recognise at-risk cultural heritage workers from Afghanistan who have been threatened for their work with international bodies under her Department's refugee programme; and whether those individuals need to be outside of Afghanistan to be processed for re-settlement in the UK.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme will provide up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
The scheme will prioritise those who have assisted UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for UK values such as democracy, women’s rights, freedom of speech and rule of law; and vulnerable people such as women and girls at risk, and members of minority groups (including ethnic / religious minorities and LGBT+).
Those we resettle will be prioritised according to risk and protection need. Further details on referral for resettlement can be found in the recent statement to Parliament on 6 January: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/oral-statement-on-the-afghan-citizens-resettlement-scheme
The capacity of the UK to resettle people is not unlimited, and therefore difficult decisions about who will be prioritised for resettlement will have to be made.
The UK is committed to working with our international partners to protect and promote the human rights of those in Afghanistan including cultural heritage workers, and encourage the international community to share our long-term interest in providing homes for those whose lives are at risk in Afghanistan.
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 funds have been paid by her Department to Global Butterflies in each of the last five years; and to what projects those funds were allocated.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Home Office have no records of any such payments or grants.
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 funding her Department has allocated to Stonewall in each of the last five years; and for what projects.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office has not allocated any grant funding to Stonewall Equality Ltd in any of the last five years. However payments have been made as a supplier of services. Please see the table below which detail payments made in each of the last five years, and the reason for payment.
| Invoice Date | Amount £ | Description |
1 | 31-Mar-17 | 708.00 | Fee for attending the Stonewall Workplace Conference |
2 | 18-Aug-17 | 3,000.00 | Diversity Champions annual membership |
3 | 14-Feb-18 | 6,300.00 | Stonewall In-house Allies Programme |
4 | 02-May-18 | 813.60 | Fee for attending the Stonewall Workplace Conference |
5 | 22-Aug-18 | 3,000.00 | Diversity Champions membership |
6 | 16-Nov-18 | 1,200.00 | Fee for attending the Stonewall Scotland Workplace Conference |
7 | 26-Sep-19 | 3,000.00 | Diversity Champions membership |
8 | 05-Nov-20 | 3,000.00 | Diversity Champions Membership |
9 | 19-May-21 | 3,000.00 | Diversity Champions Membership |
10 | 31-May-21 | 240.00 | Network Group Masterclass |