Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the status of the relationship is between the UK and Frontex as at 18 October 2021.
Answered by Kevin Foster
As at 18 October 2021, the UK is not currently participating in any formal or informal cooperation with Frontex and has no relationship with Frontex.
Furthermore, the UK does not make any financial contribution to Frontex.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the UK contributes financially to Frontex.
Answered by Kevin Foster
As at 18 October 2021, the UK is not currently participating in any formal or informal cooperation with Frontex and has no relationship with Frontex.
Furthermore, the UK does not make any financial contribution to Frontex.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the UK still participates in (a) formal and (b) informal cooperation with Frontex.
Answered by Kevin Foster
As at 18 October 2021, the UK is not currently participating in any formal or informal cooperation with Frontex and has no relationship with Frontex.
Furthermore, the UK does not make any financial contribution to Frontex.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many full-time equivalent officials (a) worked 12 months ago, (b) currently work and (c) are expected to work in 12 months' time for the EU Settlement Scheme team and its service centre.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Since the start of the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) we have maintained 1500 full-time equivalent officials within its casework operation, and a further 250 staff within the Settlement Resolution Centre in place to provide assistance to applicants with any questions about the scheme or who need help applying.
Over the next 12 months staffing numbers for the casework operation and the EU Settlement Scheme resolution centre will be aligned to future forecasting.
We remain committed to ensuring our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department plans to update the right to work and rent guidance to align that guidance with the EU Settlement Scheme Certificates of Applications which are not time limited to six months.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Applicants who were resident by 31 December 2020 and who made an online application by the deadline now have a digital Certificate of Application. This can be used now to prove their protected rights in the UK pending the final determination of their application, which includes any appeal.
The durations of the statutory excuses provided to employers and landlords are six months and one year respectively. These are the standard durations of statutory excuses when right to work and rent checks are conducted on individuals who have an outstanding, in-time, immigration application.
These processes are not limited to applications under the EUSS and there are no plans to change them. In the event an application is not resolved within these timeframes, follow-up checks should be conducted.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by what date EU citizens who have made an in-time EU Settlement Scheme application will be able to use the View and Prove service with a certificate of application to generate a shared code instead of requiring an employer or landlord to use the Checking Service.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Applicants who were resident by 31 December 2020 and who made an online application by the deadline now have a digital Certificate of Application. This can be used now to prove their protected rights in the UK pending the final determination of their application, which includes any appeal.
The durations of the statutory excuses provided to employers and landlords are six months and one year respectively. These are the standard durations of statutory excuses when right to work and rent checks are conducted on individuals who have an outstanding, in-time, immigration application.
These processes are not limited to applications under the EUSS and there are no plans to change them. In the event an application is not resolved within these timeframes, follow-up checks should be conducted.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding has been allocated to provide support to those with pre-settled status to secure settled status over the next (a) 12 months, (b) two years, and (c) five years.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office remains committed to ensuring those who are eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) can apply, including those who are vulnerable or need extra support.
We have provided £4.5 million of grant funding for the period from 1 April to 30 September 2021 so the current network of 72 organisations across the UK can continue to provide a range of support to vulnerable groups in applying to the EUSS. These organisations have helped more than 310,000 vulnerable people to apply to the EUSS already. We are working closely with the grant-funded organisations and other stakeholders, collating feedback and data, to help establish the needs and scale of support required beyond September 2021.
The Home Office has a dedicated team of more than 1,500 people working on the EUSS, with support available to applicants seven days a week by telephone or email via the Settlement Resolution Centre. We are also continuing to engage extensively with a wide range of stakeholder organisations and other government departments, to provide the materials they need to communicate about the EUSS and encourage those who need to apply to do so.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what long-term funding is in place to support (a) local authorities and (b) community organisations providing support to late applications for the EU Settlement Scheme over the next 12 months.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office remains committed to ensuring those who are eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) can apply, including those who are vulnerable or need extra support.
We have provided £4.5 million of grant funding for the period from 1 April to 30 September 2021 so the current network of 72 organisations across the UK can continue to provide a range of support to vulnerable groups in applying to the EUSS. These organisations have helped more than 310,000 vulnerable people to apply to the EUSS already. We are working closely with the grant-funded organisations and other stakeholders, collating feedback and data, to help establish the needs and scale of support required beyond September 2021.
The Home Office has a dedicated team of more than 1,500 people working on the EUSS, with support available to applicants seven days a week by telephone or email via the Settlement Resolution Centre. We are also continuing to engage extensively with a wide range of stakeholder organisations and other government departments, to provide the materials they need to communicate about the EUSS and encourage those who need to apply to do so.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers and their dependents are awaiting an initial decision on their application after six months; and how many of those applicants are over 18 years old.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum applications in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of asylum applications that awaiting an initial decision are published in table Asy_D03 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets. This can be broken down by applicant type and duration.
Information on how to use dataset Asy_D03 can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate to as at 31 March 2021.
Additionally, the Home Office publishes a high-level overview of the data in the ‘summary tables’. The ‘contents’ sheet contains an overview of all available data on asylum and resettlement.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish legislative proposals to support the New Plan for Immigration.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Secretary of State introduced the Nationality and Borders Bill in Parliament on 6 July 2021. The bill will give effect to many of the legislative proposals set out in the New Plan for Immigration. The policy statement on the New Plan for Immigration was published on 24/3/21 which outlines the proposals New Plan for Immigration - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).