Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Oral contribution of the Minister for Immigration of 20 February 2023, Official Report, column 33, for what reason the Government is undertaking monitoring of human rights lawyers acting for asylum seekers.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
People who make dangerous journeys by putting their lives at risk to reach the UK often seek immigration advice. When considering representations, the Home Office ensures that firms raising such immigration matters have the correct regulatory credentials. If evidence exists that obligations have been breached, we may refer the firm to regulators.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many human rights lawyers acting for asylum seekers are monitored by her Department in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Wales.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
People who make dangerous journeys by putting their lives at risk to reach the UK often seek immigration advice. When considering representations, the Home Office ensures that firms raising such immigration matters have the correct regulatory credentials. If evidence exists that obligations have been breached, we may refer the firm to regulators.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of 20 February by the Minister for Immigration, Official Report, column 33, how many human rights (a) solicitors, (b) advocates and (c) barristers acting for asylum seekers are being monitored by the Government.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
People who make dangerous journeys by putting their lives at risk to reach the UK often seek immigration advice. When considering representations, the Home Office ensures that firms raising such immigration matters have the correct regulatory credentials. If evidence exists that obligations have been breached, we may refer the firm to regulators.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of 20 February by the Minister for Immigration, Official Report, column 33, in what way her Department is monitoring the activities of a small number of legal practitioners.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
People who make dangerous journeys by putting their lives at risk to reach the UK often seek immigration advice. When considering representations, the Home Office ensures that firms raising such immigration matters have the correct regulatory credentials. If evidence exists that obligations have been breached, we may refer the firm to regulators.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policy of the High Court ruling on R v Secretary of State for the Home Department.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
It is not clear from the Hon. Member’s question which case he is referring to, however, the Home Office will always consider the implication of relevant High Court judgments as part of policy development.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contracts the Home Office currently has with Nick Timothy.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Nick Timothy is undertaking a short piece of work to advise on structures and systems which support the Home Secretary in the Home Office.
Nick Timothy started in the role on December 12 and the current appointment period is to the end of February. It is unpaid
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vacancies there are in the Fire and Rescue Service.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Home Office does not collect information on the number of vacancies in the Fire and Rescue Services in England.
The Home Office collects data annually on the size and diversity of the Fire and Rescue Service workforce in England. These statistics are published here: Fire statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
It is the responsibility of each Fire and Rescue Authority to determine what resources they need to meet their anticipated risk.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers are housed in hotels in England.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide accommodation and other support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute while their application for asylum is being considered.
The significant increase in dangerous journeys across the Channel is placing unprecedented strain on our asylum system and it has made it necessary to continue to use hotels to accommodate some asylum seekers. The use of hotels is a short-term solution, and we are working hard with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral statement by the Prime Minister of 13 December 2022, Official Report, column 885, whether she plans to publish further details on the changes to the asylum claim system.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
As the Prime Minister outlined last month, we are radically re-engineering the end-to-end asylum process, for instance, by drafting shorter and simpler guidance, and omitting long, substantive interviews where decisions can be taken on the evidence available. We are committed to engaging with external organisations working in the asylum and immigration sector and will continue to work with such organisations in existing stakeholder forums.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what external organisations were consulted when drafting the changes to the asylum claim system announced in the Prime Minister’s statement on 13 December 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
As the Prime Minister outlined last month, we are radically re-engineering the end-to-end asylum process, for instance, by drafting shorter and simpler guidance, and omitting long, substantive interviews where decisions can be taken on the evidence available. We are committed to engaging with external organisations working in the asylum and immigration sector and will continue to work with such organisations in existing stakeholder forums.