Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what dates he plans to publish the inspections completed by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration on (a) Country of Origin Information – Thematic review of statelessness, (b) Afghan resettlement schemes, (c) ePassport gates, (d) the use of powers to deprive British nationals of citizenship, (e) contingency asylum accommodation for families with children in Northern Ireland, (f) Border Force operations at Portsmouth International Port, (g) Border Force’s fast parcel operations, (h) Border Force practices and procedures in relation to firearms, (i) the use of hotels for housing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, (j) illegal working enforcement activity, (k) country of origin information, Albania and Pakistan, (l) asylum casework and (m) the immigration system as it relates to the social care sector.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The department takes every inspection report seriously and considers the findings and recommendations carefully. This can sometimes mean the publication process is longer than expected. We will publish the reports in due course.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed increases in the minimum income threshold for family visas on people in each region.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
On 4 December 2023 the Home Secretary announced his intention to raise the MIR to £38,700, aligned to the level at which the General Skilled Worker threshold is set. On 21 December 2023 we set out further details on how we would implement this through a staged implementation.
On 30 January 2024, we confirmed the Immigration Rules we intend to lay on 14 March will set out that from 11 April we will raise the threshold to £29,000 - that is the 25th percentile of earnings for jobs which are eligible for Skilled Worker visas.
We will incrementally increase the threshold to the 40th percentile (currently £34,500), and finally to the 50th percentile (currently £38,700, and the level at which the General Skilled Worker threshold (GSWT) is set) by early 2025.
It is important that the changes are delivered in a sensible and pragmatic way that gives families time to adapt, but ensures they deliver the reduction in numbers the British people expect.
Whilst the level of the minimum income requirement (MIR) is being raised, other aspects of the MIR will remain unchanged including exceptions.
For example, where the applicant’s partner is in receipt of specified benefits or allowances in the UK, such as Disability Living Allowance, the applicant will be able to meet the financial requirement by providing evidence of “adequate maintenance”, rather than meeting an income threshold.
The family Immigration Rules also contain provisions to allow for a person to be granted a Family visa even where they do not meet the MIR, where they show that their case raises exceptional circumstances, and a refusal of family leave would lead to unjustifiably harsh consequences for them or their family.
The published guidance on the current MIR is contained in the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chapter-8-appendix-fm-family-members.
Analytical work has been undertaken across Government to support decision making in this process, and an Impact Assessment will be developed in due course.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason his Department has changed the timescale for the introduction of the new salary threshold for legal migration.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
On 4 December 2023 the Home Secretary announced his intention to raise the MIR to £38,700, aligned to the level at which the General Skilled Worker threshold is set. On 21 December 2023 we set out further details on how we would implement this through a staged implementation.
On 30 January 2024, we confirmed the Immigration Rules we intend to lay on 14 March will set out that from 11 April we will raise the threshold to £29,000 - that is the 25th percentile of earnings for jobs which are eligible for Skilled Worker visas.
We will incrementally increase the threshold to the 40th percentile (currently £34,500), and finally to the 50th percentile (currently £38,700, and the level at which the General Skilled Worker threshold (GSWT) is set) by early 2025.
It is important that the changes are delivered in a sensible and pragmatic way that gives families time to adapt, but ensures they deliver the reduction in numbers the British people expect.
Whilst the level of the minimum income requirement (MIR) is being raised, other aspects of the MIR will remain unchanged including exceptions.
For example, where the applicant’s partner is in receipt of specified benefits or allowances in the UK, such as Disability Living Allowance, the applicant will be able to meet the financial requirement by providing evidence of “adequate maintenance”, rather than meeting an income threshold.
The family Immigration Rules also contain provisions to allow for a person to be granted a Family visa even where they do not meet the MIR, where they show that their case raises exceptional circumstances, and a refusal of family leave would lead to unjustifiably harsh consequences for them or their family.
The published guidance on the current MIR is contained in the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chapter-8-appendix-fm-family-members.
Analytical work has been undertaken across Government to support decision making in this process, and an Impact Assessment will be developed in due course.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will issue guidance on exemptions to meeting the minimum income requirement threshold for family visas.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
On 4 December 2023 the Home Secretary announced his intention to raise the MIR to £38,700, aligned to the level at which the General Skilled Worker threshold is set. On 21 December 2023 we set out further details on how we would implement this through a staged implementation.
On 30 January 2024, we confirmed the Immigration Rules we intend to lay on 14 March will set out that from 11 April we will raise the threshold to £29,000 - that is the 25th percentile of earnings for jobs which are eligible for Skilled Worker visas.
We will incrementally increase the threshold to the 40th percentile (currently £34,500), and finally to the 50th percentile (currently £38,700, and the level at which the General Skilled Worker threshold (GSWT) is set) by early 2025.
It is important that the changes are delivered in a sensible and pragmatic way that gives families time to adapt, but ensures they deliver the reduction in numbers the British people expect.
Whilst the level of the minimum income requirement (MIR) is being raised, other aspects of the MIR will remain unchanged including exceptions.
For example, where the applicant’s partner is in receipt of specified benefits or allowances in the UK, such as Disability Living Allowance, the applicant will be able to meet the financial requirement by providing evidence of “adequate maintenance”, rather than meeting an income threshold.
The family Immigration Rules also contain provisions to allow for a person to be granted a Family visa even where they do not meet the MIR, where they show that their case raises exceptional circumstances, and a refusal of family leave would lead to unjustifiably harsh consequences for them or their family.
The published guidance on the current MIR is contained in the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chapter-8-appendix-fm-family-members.
Analytical work has been undertaken across Government to support decision making in this process, and an Impact Assessment will be developed in due course.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visas were granted to associated dependants of care workers who were under the age of 18 in the year ending September 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office does not publish the information on the number of associate dependents for care worker applications granted who were under the age of 18 in the year ending September 2023, as the Home Office does not publish breakdowns by occupation and dependents are not categorised by age within the data.
The Home Office publishes data on visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of dependents for Health and Care applications granted, are published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance visas applications and outcomes detailed dataset.
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates up to, and including, 2023 Q3 (July to September).
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of (a) care workers and (b) senior care workers issued a health and care worker visa were (i) female and (ii) male in each of the last five years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office publishes data on sponsored work visas by occupation in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on grants of visas are published in table ‘Occ_D02’ of the sponsored work visas by occupation and industry dataset. Selecting ‘6145 – Care workers and home carers’ and ‘6146 – Senior care workers’ from the occupation filter will output data on care workers and senior care workers respectively. Selecting ‘Skilled Worker – Health and Care’ will also output data on health and care worker visas. Nationality and time frames can also be filtered.
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data is from January 2021 up to the end of September 2023.
We are unable to provide a gender breakdown in the published dataset.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral statement of the Secretary of State for the Home Department on legal migration of 4 December 2023, Official Report, column 41, whether his Department conducted an equality impact assessment of his policies on reducing net migration.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The policy proposals do not directly discriminate against people on the basis of the protected characteristics. There may be some indirect impacts. We consider the measures to be proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aims of managing immigration, attracting high-skilled individuals, controlling our borders and protecting the UK taxpayer.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made a comparative assessment of the potential impact of the ban on overseas care workers bringing their dependents to the UK on (a) women and (b) men.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The policy proposals do not directly discriminate against people on the basis of the protected characteristics. There may be some indirect impacts. We consider the measures to be proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aims of managing immigration, attracting high-skilled individuals, controlling our borders and protecting the UK taxpayer.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Statement on Illegal Immigration on 15 November 2023, Official Report, column 649, whether he plans to lay the treaty with Rwanda on asylum processing before Parliament for 21 sitting days before ratification.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The treaties the Government wishes to ratify are subject to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaG) 2010. As provided for under CRaG, Parliament has a statutory period of 21 days to scrutinise and potentially debate the treaty prior to ratification. We will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers who arrived in the UK since 20 July 2023 are held in detention centres.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office publishes data on detention in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum seekers in detention is published in table Det_01 of the ‘detention summary tables’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate to September 2022. More recent data on asylum seekers in detention is not available due to the on-going transition to a new case working system. We will seek to include this information in future editions of the publication when available.