Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect on the UK of the introduction of citizenship-by-investment schemes by other EU member states; and what representations she has made on increasing transparency in that area.
Answered by James Brokenshire
We are monitoring such schemes and are in contact with other EU Member States where appropriate. Every country has the right to decide its own citizenship laws, but we would object if another Member State made changes that could lead to abuse of free movement rights.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to protect legally privileged communications from surveillance.
Answered by John Hayes
The Covert Surveillance and Property Interference Code of Practice, which came into force on 10 December 2014 following approval by Parliament, set out the safeguards in relation to covert surveillance activity under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 which is likely or intended to result in the acquisition of knowledge of matters subject to legal privilege.
There are similar safeguards in the existing Interception of Communications and Equipment Interference Codes of Practice which were approved by the House of Lords in December 2015 and the House of Commons earlier this month. The Investigatory Powers Bill and its associated codes of practice will replace the existing codes of practice for the interception of communication and equipment interference and will set out the powers available to public authorities to obtain communications and communication data and the safeguards that will apply.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funds the Government has provided for (a) humanitarian efforts and (b) security at the refugee camp in Calais in the last 12 months.
Answered by James Brokenshire
As part of the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015, the UK committed to providing £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to facilitate the movement of migrants away from Calais by providing support and facilities elsewhere in France.
Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 (or €750,000) to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.
Security at the camps in Calais is the responsibility of the French Government, and the UK Government has not committed funds for this purpose.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many child refugees the Government granted asylum to in each of the last 24 months; and how many were from the Calais refugee camp.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Figures on initial decisions for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) are published quarterly by the Home Office in the Immigration Statistics release, in table as_09q. The belowtable shows the total grants of asylum or some other form of protection to UASC in each quarter of the last two years.
Table: Grants of asylum or some other form of protection to Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children1, at initial decision2 | |||||||||||||||
Quarter | Total Grants3 | ||||||||||||||
2013 Q4 | 140 | ||||||||||||||
2014 Q1 | 122 | ||||||||||||||
2014 Q2 | 123 | ||||||||||||||
2014 Q3 | 263 | ||||||||||||||
2014 Q4 | 398 | ||||||||||||||
2015 Q1 | 328 | ||||||||||||||
2015 Q2 | 331 | ||||||||||||||
2015 Q3 | 281 | ||||||||||||||
Table Notes | |||||||||||||||
(1) Figures exclude dependants | |||||||||||||||
(2) Initial decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period, and exclude the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions | |||||||||||||||
(3) Total grants include grants of Asylum, Humanitarian Protection (HP), Discretionary Leave (DL), grants under family and private life rules, Leave Outside the Rules (LOTR) and UASC leave | |||||||||||||||
A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics July – September 2015 is available from https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release and the Library of the House. The Home Office does not hold information on the route of asylum applicants into the UK
.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what humanitarian support the Government is offering in refugee camps in (a) Lesbos, (b) Idomeni, (c) Calais, (d) Dunkirk and (e) other locations.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Asylum seekers and refugees in other Member States are the responsibility of the authorities of those countries. Member States, furthermore, are bound by EU and international legal obligations to provide adequate care and reception to asylum seekers and refugees within their territory.
The UK, nevertheless, continues to provide practical support to other Member States and both France and the UK are committed to finding a sustainable solution to the situation in Calais. Under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August, the UK committed to providing a £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help support a range of work to manage the migrant population in Calais, in particular to provide support and facilities elsewhere in France. Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 (€750,000) to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, to transfer them to places of safety; and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.
In addition to our work with France, we are also providing practical support to Greece through the European Asylum Support Office by deploying UK asylum experts to the border control ‘hotspot’ in Lesbos to assist with the swift screening of asylum applicants arriving there. We stand ready to provide further such assistance where necessary.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which Government Ministers or officials have visited the Calais refugee camp.
Answered by James Brokenshire
I have been to the Calais migrant camp and UK officials regularly visit the Jules Ferry Day Centre.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has made to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees with regards to the Calais refugee camp.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The management of the migrant camps in Calais is the responsibility of the French Government. This includes decisions on whether to involve any particular organisation in the camps’ management.
The UK Government notes however the welcome given by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the joint declaration to address the issues in Calais signed by the UK and France on 20 August 2015. The UNHCR welcomed the plan to move migrants away from Calais to suitable facilities elsewhere in France and the effort to identify those vulnerable to trafficking, particularly women and children. Both Governments agree with the UNHCR that Calais is a symptom of the wider migration issue facing Europe, which must be addressed.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugees have (a) died and (b) been injured during an attempt to reach Britain from the Calais refugee camp.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Data on migrants who have died or been injured is a matter for the French authorities and would be held by them.
The UK and France are unified in our joint efforts to address the migrant situation in Calais, and are clear that migrants should not risk their lives by making dangerous journeys in order to attempt to enter the UK illegally.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to amend the Act which results from the Investigative Powers Bill in the event of repeal of the Human Rights Act 1998.
Answered by John Hayes
The draft Investigatory Powers Bill will provide law enforcement and the security and intelligence agencies with the powers they need to keep the UK safe in a world of internet-enabled communications and evolving technologies. The Bill specifies that all the powers will be subject to appropriate safeguards and robust oversight arrangements.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the change in the number of police officers in Hammersmith and Fulham as a result of her proposed changes to the Metropolitan Police.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Home Office has not made an assessment of future police numbers in Hammersmith and Fulham. The size and distribution of the Metropolitan Police workforce is an operational matter for the Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis, working with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime.