Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Knowledge of English Language requirement for citizenship, whether retesting is required after citizenship has been granted.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
With reference to the Knowledge of English Language requirement for citizenship, retesting is not required after citizenship has been granted.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Knowledge of English Language requirement for citizenship, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the validity of that certification to three years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
With reference to the Knowledge of English Language requirement for citizenship, there are currently no plans to change the validity period of a Secure English Language Test certification to three years. A person who successfully made an indefinite leave to remain application on the basis of a B1 level qualification can meet the English language requirement for naturalisation without needing to pass another test.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18307 on Immigration: Applications, whether pictures of language certificates can be used when applying for (a) citizenship and (b) settlement status.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Pictures of language certificates can be used when applying for citizenship and settlement status. The Home Office may request original documents if they are not satisfied that the documents provided are sufficient to demonstrate that English language requirements are met.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether original copies of language certifications are required when applying for (a) citizenship and (b) settlement status.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Original copies of language certificates are not always required when applying for citizenship or settlement. Applicants required to take the Secure English Language Test must provide a unique reference number which the Home Office checks against a central database to verify the qualification. However, where there is insufficient evidence provided to verify that an applicant has passed an approved English language test, an original copy of a language certificate may be required.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his timetable is for announcing further dates on which the minimum income threshold for family visas will increase.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Net Migration is simply too high. This is why we have set out a package of measures to reduce net migration including bring the Minimum Income Requirement for family visas is in line with the new minimum general salary threshold for Skilled Workers, which is £38,700.
We will raise the minimum income for family visas incrementally, in stages. We intend to lay the family Immigration Rules we intend to lay on 14 March which 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.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it remains her policy not to charge visa fees for Ukrainians visiting family members in the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
In response to Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, the UK Government created three bespoke Ukraine Schemes offering 36 months’ temporary sanctuary in the UK. These schemes are free to apply for and have no restriction to rights, access to benefits or services and have a health surcharge waiver. The Standard Visitor route is for anyone wanting to visit the UK for a temporary period, usually up to 6 months, for purposes such as tourism and visiting family and friends, with a fee charged.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2022 to Question 110878 on Speed Limits: Fines, if she will make it her policy to allow people receiving speeding penalty charges related (a) dashboard camera, (b) CCTV and (c) helmet camera footage to review that footage before making the choice about whether to plead guilty or go to court.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Decisions as to whether an offence may be being committed and the provision of any dashboard, CCTV and helmet camera footage in respect of a potential speeding offence is an operational matter for the police.
Before a possible prosecution the police will issue a conditional fixed penalty offer with evidence that can be relied upon at court. It is then a decision for the recipient to decide to accept this offer or to challenge this at court.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's policy is on the use of (a) dashboard camera, (b) CCTV and (c) helmet camera footage for speeding penalties; and whether a driver subject to a potential speeding penalty should be permitted to review the footage before making the choice about whether to plead guilty or go to court.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Unless it is unlawful for some other reason, the police can use any equipment they wish to help detect offences. How the police enforce road traffic law, including speeding offences, and the type of equipment they may use is an operational matter for the police.
However, equipment used by the police to capture evidence of speeding that can be prosecuted in court is type approved by government. This “Type Approval” process involves equipment being subject to rigorous field and laboratory testing to ensure the accuracy and reliability of their speed measurements and to prevent the possibility of spurious speed measurements being produced. This includes a requirement for primary and secondary speed measurement verification. Secondary legislation also prescribes how the camera will perform the speed measurement.
Type approval guarantees that a device is accurate, precise, reliable and consistent so that its evidence can be relied on. Evidence from a type approved device can therefore also reasonably be used to support the offer of a fixed penalty and will be available for use in a prosecution should the fixed penalty offer not be accepted. At this stage no devices described by the member have been submitted for Type Approval.
The provision of any dashboard, CCTV and helmet camera footage in respect of a potential speeding offence is an operational matter for the police.