Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that asylum seekers resident in Scotland are able to submit evidence on their claim to offices in Scotland.
Answered by Mike Penning
The changes to the further submissions process only apply to failed asylum seekers whose claims have already been carefully considered and refused and, where applicable, had any appeal against that decision rejected by an
independent court. Asylum seekers who are yet to receive a decision on their claim are unaffected by the new arrangements. They are given every opportunity to disclose all relevant evidence and remain able to submit it by post or at
offices in Scotland.
Home Office officials meet asylum partners on a regular basis through the National Asylum Stakeholders Forum (NASF) and several sub-groups of this forum. The Government is familiar with the range of views about the asylum
system and how it is operated and these views were considered when developing this policy change. NASF were notified of the change in a letter dated 13 January and Home Office officials met partners on 22 January to discuss their
concerns. We will continue to discuss these issues with partners and have scheduled forthcoming meetings for this purpose. We are not aware of any direct approach from Scottish stakeholders.
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect on asylum seekers in Scotland of the recent changes to rules which provide that evidence related to asylum claims must be submitted in Liverpool.
Answered by Mike Penning
The changes to the further submissions process only apply to failed asylum seekers whose claims have already been carefully considered and refused and, where applicable, had any appeal against that decision rejected by an
independent court. Asylum seekers who are yet to receive a decision on their claim are unaffected by the new arrangements. They are given every opportunity to disclose all relevant evidence and remain able to submit it by post or at
offices in Scotland.
Home Office officials meet asylum partners on a regular basis through the National Asylum Stakeholders Forum (NASF) and several sub-groups of this forum. The Government is familiar with the range of views about the asylum
system and how it is operated and these views were considered when developing this policy change. NASF were notified of the change in a letter dated 13 January and Home Office officials met partners on 22 January to discuss their
concerns. We will continue to discuss these issues with partners and have scheduled forthcoming meetings for this purpose. We are not aware of any direct approach from Scottish stakeholders.
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received about the rule change which means that asylum seekers must submit claims in Liverpool.
Answered by Mike Penning
The changes to the further submissions process only apply to failed asylum seekers whose claims have already been carefully considered and refused and, where applicable, had any appeal against that decision rejected by an
independent court. Asylum seekers who are yet to receive a decision on their claim are unaffected by the new arrangements. They are given every opportunity to disclose all relevant evidence and remain able to submit it by post or at
offices in Scotland.
Home Office officials meet asylum partners on a regular basis through the National Asylum Stakeholders Forum (NASF) and several sub-groups of this forum. The Government is familiar with the range of views about the asylum
system and how it is operated and these views were considered when developing this policy change. NASF were notified of the change in a letter dated 13 January and Home Office officials met partners on 22 January to discuss their
concerns. We will continue to discuss these issues with partners and have scheduled forthcoming meetings for this purpose. We are not aware of any direct approach from Scottish stakeholders.
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unresolved immigration cases there are relating to people currently residing in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.
Answered by James Brokenshire
According to internal management information, as at 30 September 2014 the Home Office was dealing with 30 unresolved asylum and immigration cases relating to individuals with an address located in the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Scottish Government on co-ordination of inquiries into historic child sexual abuse.
Answered by Baroness Featherstone
The Home Secretary has spoken with her ministerial colleagues in the Scottish Government about coordination of their Inquiry with the Independent Panel Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales. The details of how this
will work in practice will be a matter for the Inquiry to determine going forward.
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugees have settled in Scotland in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Unfortunately it is not possible to answer the Honourable Member’s question as we do no hold this information. Once an individual has been granted refugee status they are no longer subject to reporting requirements and there is no
requirement for them to inform the Home Office of their current place of residence.
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she last met the Scottish Refugee Council; and when the next meeting is planned.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Home Office Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of
these meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website:
http://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the cost of calling the 101 non-emergency number on use of the number.
Answered by Mike Penning
Consumer research undertaken by the Department following the launch of the 101 non-emergency service showed that the majority of respondents felt that the 15 pence call charge was reasonable.
Research by Ofcom shows that a small fixed charge does not deter people from calling the service and reduces the likelihood of it being used inappropriately.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows that 51% of the public are aware of 101. Awareness and use of the number have increased steadily since 2011, when 30% of the public were aware of it. Calls almost trebled during the period
December 2011 to October 2014, increasing from 908,600 to 2,645,593.
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many calls have been made to the 101 non-emergency number in each month since it began operating.
Answered by Mike Penning
The 101 police non-emergency number was launched in England and Wales in December 2011. Police Scotland joined the service in April 2013 and British Transport Police and Police Service Northern Ireland joined in March 2014. The
number of calls recorded by Vodafone for each month since the 101 service began operating is outlined in the following table.
Monthly calls to 101
Month | Number of Calls |
Dec-11 | 908,600 |
Jan-12 | 1,119,330 |
Feb-12 | 1,184,619 |
Mar-12 | 1,435,289 |
Apr-12 | 1,411,854 |
May-12 | 1,652,665 |
Jun-12 | 1,613,180 |
Jul-12 | 1,793,556 |
Aug-12 | 1,805,039 |
Sep-12 | 1,750,952 |
Oct-12 | 1,869,345 |
Nov-12 | 1,790,376 |
Dec-12 | 1,614,478 |
Jan-13 | 1,806,475 |
Feb-13 | 1,711,863 |
Mar-13 | 1,925,430 |
Apr-13 | 1,981,357 |
May-13 | 2,092,817 |
Jun-13 | 2,150,765 |
Jul-13 | 2,468,420 |
Aug-13 | 2,298,656 |
Sep-13 | 2,161,386 |
Oct-13 | 2,247,907 |
Nov-13 | 2,118,871 |
Dec-13 | 2,016,084 |
Jan-14 | 2,114,913 |
Feb-14 | 2,051,587 |
Mar-14 | 2,328,316 |
Apr-14 | 2,321,836 |
Feb-14 | 2,051,587 |
Mar-14 | 2,328,316 |
Apr-14 | 2,321,836 |
May-14 | 2,488,839 |
Jun-14 | 2,589,003 |
Jul-14 | 2,832,191 |
Aug-14 | 2,557,127 |
Sep-14 | 2,638,006 |
Oct-14 | 2,645,593 |
TOTAL (Dec 11 – Oct 14) | 75,939,993 |
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with Ministers in the Scottish Government on the contract for the operation of the 101 non-emergency number.
Answered by Mike Penning
There have been no discussions between the Secretary of State and Ministers from the Scottish Government on the contract for the operation of the 101 non-emergency number.