Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2024 to Question 19034 on Asylum: Rwanda, when he plans to publish the Memorandum of Understanding on the voluntary relocation of people to Rwanda.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
A Memorandum of Understanding has been agreed with the Government of Rwanda for the voluntary relocation of individuals and will be published in due course.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the impact of the (a) removal of the ability of students on taught masters courses to bring dependants and (b) increase in (i) visa and (ii) Immigration Health Surcharge fees on levels of demand for the Graduate visa.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
An Impact Assessment has been prepared to accompany the dependant changes to the Student route, announced in May 2023, which came into force in January 2024. The Impact Assessment will be published in due course.
Impact assessments estimating the impacts of increasing visa fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge were published alongside the explanatory material for the changes. These can be found at The Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2023 - Impact Assessment (legislation.gov.uk) and The Immigration (Health Charge) (Amendment) Order 2023 - Impact Assessment (legislation.gov.uk).
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the terms and conditions of the next round of the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant will be announced; and if he will take steps to ensure that there is no gap in the provision of funding from that grant.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The safety and security of the Jewish community is of the utmost importance to the Government. In light of the Israel/Hamas conflict and its impact on domestic hate crime, the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement confirmed that protective security funding for the Jewish community will be maintained at £18 million in 2024/25. In February 2024, in response to reports of increased incidents of antisemitism in the UK, the Prime Minister announced that CST will receive the same level of funding each year to 2027/28 (totalling £54 million for 2025-2028).
The Community Security Trust will continue to manage the grant on behalf of the Home Office, providing protective security measures (such as guarding, CCTV and alarm systems) at Jewish schools, colleges, nurseries, and other Jewish community sites, as well as a number of synagogues.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the agreement with Rwanda to host individuals relocated from the UK under the voluntary departures scheme was made; how many individuals can be relocated under that scheme; and if he will publish a Memorandum of Understanding relating to the scheme.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The option of voluntary relocation will be given to failed asylum seekers. It would be inappropriate to provide a running commentary on individual cases or numbers.
A Memorandum of Understanding has been agreed for the voluntary relocation of individuals and will be published in due course.
People who voluntarily decide to relocate to Rwanda, if they are relocated, will be entitled to permanent residence in Rwanda.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what form of immigration status people relocated to Rwanda under the voluntary departures scheme will receive once in Rwanda; and whether that status will be (a) permanent or (b) time-limited.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The option of voluntary relocation will be given to failed asylum seekers. It would be inappropriate to provide a running commentary on individual cases or numbers.
A Memorandum of Understanding has been agreed for the voluntary relocation of individuals and will be published in due course.
People who voluntarily decide to relocate to Rwanda, if they are relocated, will be entitled to permanent residence in Rwanda.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to coordinate activity across Government in order to improve the UK’s preparedness for extreme wildfire events.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office are the lead Government Department for Wildfire Response and own the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA) wildfire risk.
This Wildfire Framework outlines the work being undertaken to improve the UK’s preparedness for wildfires in England. The Home Office works closely with other departments and key stakeholders including Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities to mitigate the risk of wildfire.
The Home Office have committed to scoping a wildfire strategy and action plan by mid 2024, with support from Defra and its agencies. This commitment is outlined in the third National Adaptation Plan.
The Home Office maintains regular engagement with National Bodies including the National Fire Chiefs Council and England and Wales Wildfire Forum to monitor and review sector led improvements to wildfire response and mitigation.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to provide safe and legal entry routes for people in Gaza seeking to join family members in the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK Government is monitoring the situation in Israel and Gaza closely to ensure that it is able to respond appropriately.
British citizens and those with settled status in the UK, together with their foreign national dependants, may come to the UK provided that they have valid travel documents and existing permission to enter or remain in the UK; or are non-visa nationals. They must also pass appropriate security checks.
The Government allows individuals with protection status in the UK to sponsor their partner or children to stay with, or join, them here through our refugee family reunion policy, provided they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country of origin to seek protection.
There are additional safe and legal routes for people to come to the UK should they wish to join family members here, work, or study. They would need to meet the requirements of the relevant Immigration Rule under which they were applying to qualify for a visa.
The Home Office has not considered establishing a separate resettlement route for Palestinians to come to the UK. Since 2015, over half a million people have been offered safe and legal routes into the UK. Our approach is considered in the round, rather than on a crisis-by-crisis basis.
UK Visas and Immigration is working closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in supporting family members of British nationals evacuated from Gaza who require a visa, signposting the necessary steps and expediting appointments at the Visa Application Centre.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the barriers to people in Gaza who are seeking to join their family members in the UK reaching their closest visa application centre in Egypt.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Immediate family members of British citizens, individuals with protection status, and those settled in the UK, who wish to come and live in the UK and do not have a current UK visa, can apply under one of the existing Family visa routes.
The Home Office is working closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in supporting family members of British nationals evacuated from Gaza who require a visa, signposting the necessary steps and expediting appointments at the Visa Application Centre (VAC). VACs in the region, such as Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, are open and offering a full service.
In the vast majority of circumstances, the UK requires biometrics to be taken as part of an application; this is vital so we can conduct checks on the person’s identity and suitability to come to the UK. Biometrics, in the form of fingerprints and facial images, underpin the current UK immigration system to support identity assurance and suitability checks on foreign nationals who are subject to immigration control.
Applicants who are at risk of embarking on an unsafe journey must provide evidence they need to make an urgent journey to a VAC that would be particularly unsafe for them, and they cannot delay their journey until later or use alternative routes.
When considering a pre-determination or an excusal of the requirement for an applicant to enrol their biometrics request under the Unsafe Journey’s policy, decision-makers must refer to the Biometric Enrolment and the Unsafe Journey’s guidance.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2024 to Question 12970, what options he is considering.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
We are in the process of developing options for publication.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2023 to Question 5245 on Hate crime: research, if he will publish the final reports of the research projects commissioned from (a) IPSOS UK and (b) RAND Europe.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
We are considering options to publish the final reports of the commissioned research projects in due course.