Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect on people detained in immigration removal centres of there being no time limit on immigration detention.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Although there is no formal time limit on detention for the purposes of immigration removal, individuals cannot be detained indefinitely. However, the Government commissioned Stephen Shaw to carry out a review of the welfare of vulnerable people in immigration detention and, as part of this, Mr Shaw commissioned Professor Mary Bosworth to assess the evidence in respect of the impact of immigration detention on mental health. The Government has been taking forward reforms of immigration detention in the light of Mr Shaw’s report.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consultation her Department has undertaken on the draft adults at risk policy for vulnerable people detained under immigration powers.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Stephen Shaw carried out a comprehensive consultation in preparing his report of his review of the welfare of vulnerable people in immigration detention and the adults at risk policy, which will come into force on 12 September 2016, forms part of the Government’s response to Mr Shaw’s review. The Government has seen no reason to duplicate this in developing the adults at risk policy. However, when the draft policy was published on 26 May 2016, the Government wrote to a wide range of relevant non-governmental organisations and offered them the opportunity to discuss it. Subsequently Home Office officials held meetings with a number of interested organisations, and received written representations, and the views of these organisations have been taken into account as the policy has been developed further.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to introduce a maximum time limit on the length of time for which a person can be detained under immigration powers.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Government does not believe that it is appropriate for there to be a formal time limit on immigration detention. A statutory time limit would serve only to encourage individuals to frustrate asylum and immigration processes in order to reach a point at which they have to be released.
However, the Government is committed to ensuring that individuals are detained for the shortest period necessary and is introducing a range of reforms to the way in which immigration detention is managed, including greater judicial oversight of immigration detention through the Immigration Act 2016. Section 11 of Schedule 10 imposes a duty to arrange consideration of bail before the First-tier Tribunal at four months from the point of detention, or the most recent Tribunal consideration of bail, and every four months thereafter.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how her Department plans to measure the effect of the adults at risk policy for vulnerable people detained under immigration powers.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Consideration is being given to arrangements for measuring the impact of the adults at risk policy and other initiatives aimed at improving the safeguarding of vulnerable people in immigration detention. The expectation is that these initiatives will result in a reduction in the number of the most vulnerable who are detained. The Government intends to ask Stephen Shaw to carry out a short review next year in order to assess progress against the key actions from his previous report.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the United Nations to provide an update on progress towards the construction of Antony airport near Abyei; and when construction of that airport is expected to be completed.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Through our regular engagement with the UN, we will ask for an update on progress with the construction of Athony airport to be included in the next Secretary General’s Report on Abyei, which is due by 15 October 2016. The UN have faced considerable disruption to the construction of the airport, and have thus been unable to confirm to us an exact date for completion.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received from representatives in Abyei on the alleged detention without charge of members of the Misseriya peace committee in Sudan; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We were aware of the arrest of four members of the Misseriya peace committee in October 2015, and are able to confirm that they were released without charge in early December 2015. We have not received any more recent reports of arrests of this kind from representatives in Abyei.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the correspondence her Department has received from hon. Members has related to matters about visas in the last 12 months.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Published data between April 2015 and March 2016 shows UKVI received a total of 32095 enquiries from hon. Members. Of these, management information shows that approximately 18% related to visas.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the security situation in Juba, South Sudan.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We have been kept regularly updated on the security situation in Juba. Senior officials and the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), have been in touch with leaders in the region and joined the United Nations and the African Union in calling on President Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar to immediately end all violence and protect all South Sudanese civilians. The ceasefire announced on 11 July is currently holding.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the security situation in Juba, South Sudan, on UN operations in that region.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The recent deterioration in the security situation in South Sudan has made UN operations – including protecting civilians and facilitating the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance – more difficult. In the UN Security Council on 13 July, we urged the Council and regional countries to unite in demanding the South Sudanese authorities allow UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan to have freedom of movement and all the equipment it needs in country.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard the wellbeing of UK citizens engaged in UN operations in Juba, South Sudan.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK is a strong supporter of the UN in South Sudan and we are working in the UN Security Council to ensure their peacekeeping mission UNMISS has the equipment and access it needs for its staff to be able to do their jobs safely and effectively. The FCO provided a flight, in the absence of commercial options, for British Nationals, including those working in the UN, who wanted to leave South Sudan on 14 July 2016.