Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the date on which the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme will commence.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme is not yet open and remains under development. Officials are working urgently to stand up the remaining elements of the scheme. The first to be resettled through this scheme will be some of those who arrived in the UK under the evacuation programme, which included individuals who were considered to be at particular risk.
Further information on the eligibility, prioritisation and referral of people for the ACRS is set out in the policy statement published on gov.uk on 13 September, available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether police forces collect data in the event that a victim of a violent crime against the person perceives that the motivation for that crime was their gender.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Home Office have asked police forces, on an experimental basis, to record and identify any crimes of violence against the person, including stalking and harassment, and sexual offences where the victim perceives it to have been motivated by a hostility based on their sex (not gender).
Each new data requirement incurs an administrative burden on the police and needs close engagement with forces to ensure data recording is accurate and consistent.
We are in consultation with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and forces on how to take this forward.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which databases held by the Department for Work and Pensions her Department has accessed in order to determine whether people may need to apply for EU settled status.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government is using every possible channel to encourage everyone who may be eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) to apply.
The Home Office is currently working with HMRC and DWP to send letters to EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who receive benefits, but it appears are yet to apply to the EUSS.
The information shared with the Home Office by DWP was sourced from the DWP Data Analytics Data Warehouse (DADW) which holds data from Legacy systems, the Universal Credit (UC) database and the Migrants Workers Database (MWDB).
In trying to reach as many people as possible, there may be a small number of instances where these letters are sent to recipients who are naturalised as a British citizen. The letter may also be received by a small number of individuals who have already applied to the EUSS, for example because they applied after the initial exercise with DWP or HMRC was completed, but before the letter was sent out. The letter makes clear anyone who is a British citizen or already has EUSS status does not need to take any action.
As of 30 April 2021, 4.9m grants of EUSS status have been made. The Home Office urges anyone eligible for the EUSS to apply before the 30 June deadline to ensure their rights are protected following the end of the grace period.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which Government departments she has shared data with to identify people who may be eligible for the EU settled status scheme but who have not yet registered for that scheme.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government is using every possible channel to encourage everyone who may be eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) to apply.
The Home Office is currently working with HMRC and DWP to send letters to EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who receive benefits, but it appears are yet to apply to the EUSS.
The information shared with the Home Office by DWP was sourced from the DWP Data Analytics Data Warehouse (DADW) which holds data from Legacy systems, the Universal Credit (UC) database and the Migrants Workers Database (MWDB).
In trying to reach as many people as possible, there may be a small number of instances where these letters are sent to recipients who are naturalised as a British citizen. The letter may also be received by a small number of individuals who have already applied to the EUSS, for example because they applied after the initial exercise with DWP or HMRC was completed, but before the letter was sent out. The letter makes clear anyone who is a British citizen or already has EUSS status does not need to take any action.
As of 30 April 2021, 4.9m grants of EUSS status have been made. The Home Office urges anyone eligible for the EUSS to apply before the 30 June deadline to ensure their rights are protected following the end of the grace period.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
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 British citizens who have been sent a letter telling them to register for EU settled status.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government is using every possible channel to encourage everyone who may be eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) to apply.
The Home Office is currently working with HMRC and DWP to send letters to EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who receive benefits, but it appears are yet to apply to the EUSS.
The information shared with the Home Office by DWP was sourced from the DWP Data Analytics Data Warehouse (DADW) which holds data from Legacy systems, the Universal Credit (UC) database and the Migrants Workers Database (MWDB).
In trying to reach as many people as possible, there may be a small number of instances where these letters are sent to recipients who are naturalised as a British citizen. The letter may also be received by a small number of individuals who have already applied to the EUSS, for example because they applied after the initial exercise with DWP or HMRC was completed, but before the letter was sent out. The letter makes clear anyone who is a British citizen or already has EUSS status does not need to take any action.
As of 30 April 2021, 4.9m grants of EUSS status have been made. The Home Office urges anyone eligible for the EUSS to apply before the 30 June deadline to ensure their rights are protected following the end of the grace period.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2021 to Question 162580 on Youth Mobility Scheme, how many visas her Department plans to include in any reciprocal Youth Mobility Scheme (a) with the EU and (b) with individual EU Member States.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We have indicated our intention to continue operating and further expanding our youth mobility arrangements both to countries within the EU and beyond.
Any agreement must be reciprocal hence there is no timeframe for when formal discussions will take place as this involves other nations. The specific terms of each scheme, including the numbers of places available under it, will be confirmed with the relevant parties during such negotiations.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2021 to Question 162580 on Youth Mobility Scheme, whether she plans to include au pairs be in any future Youth Mobility Scheme with the EU or individual EU Member States.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We have indicated our intention to continue operating and further expanding our youth mobility arrangements both to countries within the EU and beyond.
Any agreement must be reciprocal hence there is no timeframe for when formal discussions will take place as this involves other nations. The specific terms of each scheme, including the numbers of places available under it, will be confirmed with the relevant parties during such negotiations.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2021 to Question 162580 on Youth Mobility Scheme, when she plans to commence formal discussions with the EU collectively or any EU member state individually on a reciprocal youth mobility scheme.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We have indicated our intention to continue operating and further expanding our youth mobility arrangements both to countries within the EU and beyond.
Any agreement must be reciprocal hence there is no timeframe for when formal discussions will take place as this involves other nations. The specific terms of each scheme, including the numbers of places available under it, will be confirmed with the relevant parties during such negotiations.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on a reciprocal youth mobility scheme.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We remain open to expanding our Youth Mobility Scheme to more nations, based on agreeing suitable reciprocal arrangements.
We have not commenced formal discussions with any EU member states or with the EU collectively but remain open to doing so.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in immigration removal centres have refused fluid and food for 24 hours or more in the last 12 months.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
We take the welfare and safety of persons detained in our care very seriously and their health is monitored closely at all times and particularly during periods where they appear to be or are not consuming food and or fluid. Persons detained who appear to be or are not consuming food and or fluid are managed in line with published guidance, Detention Services Order (DSO) 3/2017, ‘Care and Management of Detainees Refusing Food and Fluid’.
It is not uncommon for persons detained to refuse set meals at times of fasting, or for religious or dietary reasons. Individuals may also prefer to purchase their own food and drink from the local shop within an Immigration Removal Centre.
As there may be many reasons why an individual is not eating set meals, the Home Office does not publish data on the number of individuals who are being managed in line with the DSO.