Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to take steps to provide emergency support for highly skilled migrants with pending indefinite leave to remain applications and without rights including access to public funding under section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Highly skilled migrants within the cohort affected by the Judgement in the case of Balajigari (and others) are considered to have 3C leave by virtue of the fact that the original decisions were quashed by the Court of Appeal.
Section 3C leave allows an individual to continue on the conditions attached to their last grant of permission to stay and therefore in the case of these individuals they were not permitted to access public funds under Tier 1 (General).
Where an individual applied for indefinite leave to remain when their permission to stay had already expired they would not benefit from Section 3C leave. However, individuals in this position have been issued with Immigration Bail letters confirming their right to work and study.
As such we do not consider access to public funds is necessary for the purpose of these applicants as they are able to undertake employment.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Immigration Health Surcharge exemption will extend to international volunteers from other countries working in (a) Camphill communities and (b) other health and social care settings under the Tier 5 arrangements.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Prime Minister has asked the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to work together to exempt overseas NHS and care staff from the Immigration Health Surcharge.
The Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Care officials are currently working on how to implement this and further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Immigration Health Surcharge exemption will extend to people from other countries who are (a) applying and (b) plan to apply for visas under the Tier 5 arrangements to work as volunteers in (i) Camphill communities and (ii) other health and social care settings.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Prime Minister has asked the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to work together to exempt overseas NHS and care staff from the Immigration Health Surcharge.
The Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Care officials are currently working on how to implement this and further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many licences for the cultivation of industrial hemp are in effect in the UK.
Answered by Nick Hurd
There are currently 55 licences in extant to cultivate low THC cannabis (Industrial Hemp) in England, Wales and Scotland.
There are currently 2 licences in extant to cultivate low THC cannabis (Industrial Hemp) in Scotland.
The licences are generally issued for a validity period of three growing seasons and therefore will include licences issued in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many licences for the cultivation of industrial hemp are in effect in Scotland.
Answered by Nick Hurd
There are currently 55 licences in extant to cultivate low THC cannabis (Industrial Hemp) in England, Wales and Scotland.
There are currently 2 licences in extant to cultivate low THC cannabis (Industrial Hemp) in Scotland.
The licences are generally issued for a validity period of three growing seasons and therefore will include licences issued in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-disclosure agreements have been entered into by his Department in respect of a personnel matter relating to a Minister in his Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
We have checked our records and confirm that we have no record of an NDA entered into by the Home Office in respect of a personnel matter relating to a Home Office Minister in the last 5 years.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff of his Department are working on programmes relating to UK-EU law enforcement information-sharing following the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Home Office does not hold information that is broken down in this way, and it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Department's Iraq: country policy and information notes, updated in November 2018, what assessment his Department has made of the safety of (a) Yazidis and (b) other religious minorities in Basra.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Our position on handling claims made by religious minorities in Iraq, including Yazidis, is set out in the Home Office’s country information and guidance document of August 2016 published on gov.uk website.
Each case is considered on its individual facts against relevant country information and relevant caselaw. The country information is taken from a range of reliable sources, including reputable media outlets; local, national and international organisations, including human rights organisations; and information from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Consideration of an individual’s personal circumstances, including their ability to relocate, would be considered as part of an assessment.
Our conclusions are that, in general religious minorities, including Yazidis, are not at risk of persecution or serious harm from the state authorities in Iraq. However, a person from a religious minority is likely to be a risk of persecution from Daesh in the ‘contested’ areas (Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninewah and Salah al-Din), and from armed groups, including the Shia militia, in Baghdad.
A person from a religious minority may not be able to obtain protection from the state in areas outside the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). However, decision makers would consider whether there are any circumstances, including family, tribal or political links, in which a person can obtain effective protection.
A person from a religious minority at risk can relocate to the southern governorates (including Basra), and the KRI, if not unduly harsh for them based on their individual circumstances.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department's country guidance on Iraq recognises that Yazidis face persecution across that country.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Our position on handling claims made by religious minorities in Iraq, including Yazidis, is set out in the Home Office’s country information and guidance document of August 2016 published on gov.uk website.
Each case is considered on its individual facts against relevant country information and relevant caselaw. The country information is taken from a range of reliable sources, including reputable media outlets; local, national and international organisations, including human rights organisations; and information from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Consideration of an individual’s personal circumstances, including their ability to relocate, would be considered as part of an assessment.
Our conclusions are that, in general religious minorities, including Yazidis, are not at risk of persecution or serious harm from the state authorities in Iraq. However, a person from a religious minority is likely to be a risk of persecution from Daesh in the ‘contested’ areas (Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninewah and Salah al-Din), and from armed groups, including the Shia militia, in Baghdad.
A person from a religious minority may not be able to obtain protection from the state in areas outside the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). However, decision makers would consider whether there are any circumstances, including family, tribal or political links, in which a person can obtain effective protection.
A person from a religious minority at risk can relocate to the southern governorates (including Basra), and the KRI, if not unduly harsh for them based on their individual circumstances.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) number and (b) location of new mobile sites under the Emergency Services Network contract which will be located in Argyll and Bute constituency are; how many sites in that same area have gained planning approval; how many sites in that same area have entered the build phase; how many sites in that same area were live as of 1 January 2018; how many sites in that same area are being built with the capacity for multi-occupancy; and how many sites in that same area have a confirmed second tenant.
Answered by Nick Hurd
I can confirm there will be c.75 new EE sites and 17 Extended Area Service (EAS) sites located in the constituency of Argyll and Bute.
All new EE sites are being built and delivered to agreed Home Office timeframes and where possible will go live earlier to support commercial coverage. Of the 75 sites, 59 have planning permission. 7 of the new sites are commercially available.
In respect of EAS sites I can confirm that there are currently 17 sites proposed in Islay, Jura, Mull and the Kintyre Peninsula and 3 have planning permission approved (or 3 HoTs signed – as none have yet entered the build phase).
Of the c.500 new sites EE is building, 291 will transfer over to the Home Office at the end of the contract term. EE is making available details of all shareable new sites to other mobile network operators proactively both directly and through an existing website used by the industry to arrange site sharing. EE has made available the details of 350 sites. EE is confident that the 291 sites will transfer to the Home Office will be selected from this portfolio, and the Home Office and EE have now agreed 104 of these sites (and are working on confirming on which of the remainder will make up the rest of the 291). These will be shareable in accordance with the terms of the EC Decision in relation to State aid for this Programme.
Separately the Home Office, through the EAS project are delivering circa 292 individual sites. I would also like to reassure you that the Home Office has been proactive in seeking to build masts that support multi-operator use where practicable.
Finally I thought it helpful to remind you that the Emergency Services Network is designed to, first and foremost, deliver a ‘blue-light’ communications service.