Written Question
Thursday 28th July 2022
Asked by:
Alison McGovern (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question
to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan refugees remain in hotels following their arrival in the UK in summer 2021.
Answered by Kevin Foster
In 2021, the UK Government undertook the biggest and fastest emergency evacuation in recent history, helping over 15,000 people to safety from Afghanistan. Since the end of Op PITTING, we have brought a further c.4,000 Afghans to the UK. Due to the scale and pace of the evacuation we were not able to source appropriate accommodation in the normal way, so we have had to use hotels as a temporary measure.
As of 18 July 2022, we are currently providing temporary accommodation for c.9,500 individuals resettling in the UK under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) or Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), whilst they await permanent accommodation.
Over 7000 Afghans have already moved or are in the process of being moved into their permanent accommodation. In addition to the work, we are doing to provide appropriate accommodation for Afghans, a number of families have, in recent months, taken steps to secure their own accommodation.
The cost of accommodating those resetting under ACRS or ARAP, whilst they await permanent accommodation, is estimated at £1 million a day. The Home Office works to secure contracts which offer the best value for money, whilst providing an appropriate level of support to those under its care.
We do not want to see Afghan families in temporary accommodation for any longer than is absolutely necessary. We are therefore working with local authorities across the UK to identify more opportunities for those being housed in bridging hotels to move into permanent accommodation.
Written Question
Tuesday 19th July 2022
Asked by:
Alison McGovern (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question
to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the expected completion time is for a child's first passport application submitted in 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
All applicants using the standard service from the UK are advised to allow up to ten weeks to get their passport, including children applying for their first passport.
Written Question
Wednesday 13th July 2022
Asked by:
Alison McGovern (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question
to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the expected completion time is for applications to the Homes for Ukraine scheme made in 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
UKVI have issued thousands of visas under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme. The latest figures can be found here: Ukraine Family Scheme and Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine) visa data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Applications are being processed as quickly as possible, with an aim of deciding the majority within 48 hours where we can do so.
Written Question
Thursday 28th April 2022
Asked by:
Alison McGovern (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question
to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) target response time for visa applications through the Homes for Ukraine scheme is and (b) current response time is.
Answered by Kevin Foster
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 30 Jun 2020
Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill
"That was an interesting contribution from the hon. Member for Rother Valley (Alexander Stafford). If he is concerned about Labour’s policies and about “leaving our borders open” then heaven knows what he will make of his own Government’s policy and how they are dealing with what could potentially happen at …..."Alison McGovern - View Speech
View all Alison McGovern (Lab - Birkenhead) contributions to the debate on: Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 30 Jun 2020
Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill
"How welcoming was the hostile environment?..."Alison McGovern - View Speech
View all Alison McGovern (Lab - Birkenhead) contributions to the debate on: Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 18 May 2020
Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill
"The Bill offers more questions than answers, it has so much missing from it. We do know, given the coronavirus crisis, that how much someone earns is not related to how skilled they are; we have seen that with the careworkers in our country, but this Bill does not tell …..."Alison McGovern - View Speech
View all Alison McGovern (Lab - Birkenhead) contributions to the debate on: Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 09 Apr 2019
Rwandan Genocide: Alleged Perpetrators
"Thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting this urgent question. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) on asking it. As he mentioned, it was very important for us to attend the Kwibuka 25 remembrance ceremonies in Kigali on Sunday. I must tell the House that the …..."Alison McGovern - View Speech
View all Alison McGovern (Lab - Birkenhead) contributions to the debate on: Rwandan Genocide: Alleged Perpetrators
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 05 Mar 2019
Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Tenth sitting)
"It is a pleasure to be back under your chairship, Mr Stringer.
To continue the point that I was making, the Bill will have a huge impact on our health service and, specifically, the social care sector—even though, ironically, the social care sector is the prime example of where a …..."Alison McGovern - View Speech
View all Alison McGovern (Lab - Birkenhead) contributions to the debate on: Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Tenth sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 05 Mar 2019
Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Tenth sitting)
"The hon. Lady is obviously a top feminist, because she identifies probably the single biggest reason why the care sector is low paid. The work done by women has traditionally, for reasons of structural power, been paid much worse than similar jobs that have traditionally been done by men, and …..."Alison McGovern - View Speech
View all Alison McGovern (Lab - Birkenhead) contributions to the debate on: Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Tenth sitting)