Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of removing the non-administrative costs of British citizenship application fees.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office publishes data on citizenship applications and grants at
Immigration statistics data tables, year ending June 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
An incomplete payment is just one of a number of reasons which could lead to an application being rejected and included under the ‘rejected applications’ heading in Table 4.
The Home Office does not have accessible management information on applications rejected in Wales specifically, as a result of being unable to pay the non-administrative costs of citizenship fees.
Fees are regularly reviewed and set within the parameters agreed by Parliament in section 68 of the Immigration Act 2014.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to initiate a public inquiry to investigate safeguarding failures in the alleged historic child sex abuse on Caldey Island.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government recognises the pain and lasting trauma endured by victims and survivors of child sexual abuse, and we understand their need for answers as well as reassurance that the systems that let them down so badly will not do so again.
This Government continues to be clear that it is for the local authorities in individual areas, which are responsible for delivering services, to commission local inquiries. Pembrokeshire local authority must ensure that all lessons have been learnt and that local partners are doing everything possible to protect children from harm.
At a national level, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is focused on uncovering institutional failings, including through their recent report into child protection in religious organisations. A final report is expected in 2022, and we will continue to carefully consider all of the Inquiry’s recommendations to ensure real and permanent change is delivered in how children are safeguarded.
The Home Office is also helping local regions to improve their response to child sexual abuse. We are funding the Prevention Programme, delivered by The Children’s Society, which delivers tailored interventions to improve collaboration and help identify specific regional threats. We support the College of Policing in providing specialist training for senior officers, to develop high standards of leadership in safeguarding, as well as the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme which identifies and shares best practice across forces in England and Wales.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2021 to Question 45228 on Immigration Controls: Coronavirus, how travellers without access to the internet are able to complete the Passenger Locator Form for a return journey to the UK, in the context of there being a 48 hour window for people to complete that form before arriving in the UK.
Answered by Kevin Foster
As stated in the Government’s response to Questions 45228, all passengers must complete the Passenger Locator Form online, however, once completed they can print off their finished form to show carriers before departing to the UK.
Passengers may seek assistance, from family, friends or another third party, to complete on their behalf.
There are dedicated helplines for members of the public who are encountering issues with completing the PLF form. Whilst these helplines can provide advice, they cannot complete the form on behalf of the passenger.
The contact telephone number from within the UK is 0800 678 1767 and is open Monday to Friday between the hours of 9am to 5pm. These calls are free of charge.
The contact telephone number when outside the UK is 0044 207 113 0371 and is open Monday to Friday between the hours of 9am to 5pm. These calls are charged dependant on the network provider.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent animal testing for cosmetic (a) products and (b) product ingredients.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Home Office is responsible for the operation of the regulatory framework underpinning the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
The Home Office’s role is to protect the animals used in science by ensuring in so far as possible that relevant bodies and individuals comply with their duties under the ASPA.
The Home Office do this through considering and making decisions on applications for licences for testing, based on the underlying legal requirements, as well as carrying out enforcement activity and compliance assurance activities during the lifetime of a licence, for example through inspections. This includes ensuring that no animal testing is conducted in circumstances where there are practicable alternatives.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the number of potential sponsors who have left the UK since 2013 as a result of close relatives not being able to join them under the Adult Dependency visa rule.
Answered by Kevin Foster
It is not possible to make such an estimate as the Home Office does not record the reason why individuals leave the UK.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, of the Extended Area Services (EAS) mast sites that are located in Ceredigion how many (a) have been designed and have received planning approval, (b) are awaiting physical work to connect the mast to the network and (c) are awaiting final activation.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
In your constituency of Ceredigion, there are 11 EAS sites, 8 of which have been designed and have completed the planning approval stage. 4 of the sites have completed the passive build stage.
For reference the key stages are:
1) building the structure (this is known as ‘passive build’)
2) connecting the mast to the network, either by a cable link, microwave link or (on occasions) via a satellite connection
3) activating the mast for operational use for the emergency services
The table attached provides an update on each sites’ progress and shows when power is forecast to be provided along with a forecast for site activation. After the award of the contract to connect to the network in Autumn 2021, we anticipate that a survey of each site will result in activation timelines varying depending on the work involved, therefore the dates forecast for activation may change accordingly.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the New Plan for Immigration policy paper, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the upholding of its obligations under (a) Article 31 of the Refugee Convention (b) the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties to interpret the Refugee Convention in good faith, and (c) Article 35(1) of the Refugee Convention on States’ duties to cooperate with UNHCR.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK remains committed to meeting our obligations under international law. Any legislative changes will be assessed against these obligations.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what evidence base was used to determine the projected efficacy of the policy proposals outlined in her Department's New Plan for Immigration policy paper in (a) limiting irregular arrivals and (b) breaking the business model of people smugglers.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office draws on various sources of analysis and insight to support policy development. A consultation and engagement exercise is underway to further inform these considerations.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2021 to Question 157144 on Emergency Services Network: Strathconon, for what reason her Department is unable to accelerate the process for activating extended area service masts.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
We expect the contract for connecting all 292 EAS masts to the network to be awarded in Autumn 2021. We do need to follow government procurement processes fully in this award and are unable to accelerate this aspect of the process. Each site has to be individually designed, with planning approval granted, built and then integrated into the EE/ESN network. By default, EAS masts are in the most remote and rural areas of the country, situated in difficult terrain and with accessibility issues. After the award of the contract we anticipate that a survey of each site will result in activation timelines varying depending on the work involved. We will then complete the physical work to connect the mast to the network and, separately, activate the mast. Although we cannot give firm dates for the final activation of masts at this stage, we expect this work to commence in 2022 and complete towards the end 2024.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the publication of site inspection findings by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of waiving the 1 per cent threshold requirement for special grant funding for policing costs relating to the temporary asylum accommodation sites at Penally training camp and Napier barracks.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
All police forces should have reasonable contingency within their budgets for unplanned or unexpected events, but in some cases we recognise that these events may place force finances under additional pressure, and in those instances the Police and Crime Commissioner may apply for additional funding through the Police Special Grant. Any force applying for Special Grant funding must meet the criteria set out in the published guidance.
We continue to work closely with the local police forces at Penally training camp and Napier barracks, and have provided £2.5m of funding to Dyfed Powys and £1m to Kent police for costs incurred to date.
The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration announced an inspection of contingency asylum accommodation on 25 January 2021. The department acknowledges the ICIBI’s decision to publish on 8 March the initial findings from site visits to Napier Barracks and Penally. The ICIBI’s inspection continues and a full inspection report will follow. The duration of the inspection is a matter for the ICIBI and upon its conclusion, following standard procedure set out in the UK Borders Act 2007, the Department will issue a formal response alongside the inspection report as it is laid before Parliament and published on Gov.UK.