Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the cost to the public purse of (a) digital and (b) print advertising in Scotland by her Department was in each month of the last eight years.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Hon Member to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities transparency pages where we regularly publish any spend exceeding £250: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dluhc-departmental-spending-over-250
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the safety of Afghan people who have been accepted for transfer to the UK who have remained in Pakistan after 1 November 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are in close contact with the Government of Pakistan to try to ensure that Afghans eligible to resettle in the UK are not subject to deportation. The former Foreign Secretary, received assurances from Foreign Minister Jilani on 27 October that they would be safe (recorded in their exchange on X (formerly Twitter) the same day). We have provided photo ID approved by the Government of Pakistan to all eligible families to show that they are part of the UK's schemes. And we have provided guidance to those families on what to do if they are approached by the police and a telephone number to allow them to contact the British High Commission if needed.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many private limited companies that formed in 2021 have filed accounts with HMRC as of 7 November 2023.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
HMRC has interpreted this question to refer to details of Corporation Tax (CT) returns filed by companies incorporated in 2021.
The deadline for filing all of those CT returns has not yet been reached, and some companies will have, or may still inform HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that they are not trading, therefore HMRC would not expect returns from them. Given this, up to date and accurate information cannot be provided.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2023 to Question 200463 on Refugees: Afghanistan, if she will take steps to establish the number of Afghan people based in Pakistan awaiting applications to be processed by the Visa Application Centre.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The number of Afghans awaiting applications to be processed at Visa Application Centre is internal management information and is not for public release at this time.
Cross government work continues at pace to provide resettlement to those located in third countries.
Data on Afghanistan resettlement is released quarterly and the latest release is available to view at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to respond to the final report of the Brook House Inquiry.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Government will carefully consider the findings of the Brook House Inquiry in its detailed report, including the recommendations in relation to the management of the immigration detention estate and the welfare of detained individuals.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has not been reappointed.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) is a statutory public appointment. These appointments are made by Ministers in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, which states “there is no automatic presumption of reappointment; each case should be considered on its own merits”.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of Afghans people based in Pakistan awaiting applications to be processed by the Visa Application Centre.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Ministry of Defence first consider all applications under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). Afghan citizens and their family members assessed as eligible for relocation will then be referred to the Home Office for permission to enter the UK.
As of June 2023, we have relocated over c.12,200 people under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy Scheme (ARAP) initiative, while over 11,500 people have been granted settled status, since the scheme launched in April 2021.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many expressions of interest have been made to the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme in each month since the opening of that scheme.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The FCDO launched an online system on 20 June 2022, where eligible individuals were able to express an interest in UK resettlement under the first stage of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) Pathway 3. The online system remained open for 8 weeks and closed on 15 August 2022. During these 8 weeks, the FCDO received over 11,400 expressions of interest (EOI) under the first stage of ACRS Pathway 3.
In June, we received approximately 2,900 EOIs (25 per cent of total), in July we received approximately 5,200 EOIs (46 per cent of total), and in August we received approximately 3,300 EOIs (29 per cent of total).
The FCDO has been in contact with all individuals who submitted expressions of interest (EOIs) under ACRS Pathway 3 in its first stage, and we have communicated an outcome on over 11,200 (98 per cent) of the over 11,400 EOIs received. We are continuing to work at pace to allocate remaining places, and will notify others of the outcome as quickly as we can.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she (a) last met and (b) plans to meet the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The last meeting between the Home Secretary and the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) was on 13 June 2023.
The Home Secretary will seek to schedule a further meeting with the ICIBI in due course.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when will appoint the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The role of the Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) as set out in the 2015 Modern Slavery Act is to encourage good practice in the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of slavery and human trafficking offences and the identification of victims.
The Home Secretary recognises the importance of the IASC and had launched a new open competition to recruit for this role on the 23 February 2023, the process for which is now at an advanced stage.