Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has produced for UK Visas and Immigration caseworkers on handling requests to escalate delayed applications on the skilled worker route; and what information her Department has published on that process.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
All applications are decided on a case-by-case basis taking into account all relevant compassionate circumstances. There may be some cases that cannot be resolved within the published service standard, due to missing information, or a suitability issue that needs investigating, amongst other reasons. However, the majority of applications are concluded quickly and there are no systemic delays in the route.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of (a) the average length of time for a Skilled Worker visa application from outside the UK to be approved and (b) the number of applications for a Skilled Worker visa that have been delayed because a certificate of sponsorship from the applicant's employer has expired.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office does not routinely publish data on the average time to process visa applications or on application processing delays caused by expired certificates of sponsorship (COS). Provided the application was submitted before the expiry of the certificate of sponsorship (COS), this should not cause any delay.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme to 9 months.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Government currently has no plans to extend the maximum visa grant for Seasonal Worker route beyond the existing six months or to transition the route a five-year rolling programme.
The Government keeps the Seasonal Worker routes under ongoing review.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Scheme to a five-year rolling programme.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Government currently has no plans to extend the maximum visa grant for Seasonal Worker route beyond the existing six months or to transition the route a five-year rolling programme.
The Government keeps the Seasonal Worker routes under ongoing review.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to amend the Seasonal Workers visa scheme to help increase the potential supply of labour in the agricultural sector.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Seasonal Worker route was extended into this year, with 38,000 visas available, to support our farmers growing fruit and vegetables as they adapt to changes in the UK labour market. The Government is keeping the position under close review and I hope to say more on this matter in due course.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the Seasonal Workers visa scheme does not include ornamental crop growers.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Seasonal Worker route already enables growers in the UK ornamental horticulture sector to recruit seasonal workers. This provision was implemented on 1 January 2022.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the proportion of crime committed online.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
By volume, most crime is now wholly or partially online, a trend further accelerated by the pandemic.
The Online Safety Bill, Fraud Action Plan and National Economic Crime Centre are among the key elements of the fight against it.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to provide mental health support services for (a) serving and (b) retired police personnel.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Government takes the issue of police welfare very seriously and has invested in programmes which offer help directly to officers and staff. In July 2017 the Home Office awarded £7.5 million from the Police Transformation Fund to the College of Policing over three years to pilot and, if these pilots were successful, roll out a dedicated national service to help provide enhanced welfare support to serving police officers and staff.
Following two years of development and piloting, the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS) was launched in April 2019. The NPWS has developed evidence-based guidance, advice, tools and resources which can be accessed by forces, as well as individual officers and staff.
In July 2018, we launched ‘A common goal for police wellbeing – to be achieved by 2021.’ This requires that by 2021, policing will ensure that every member of the police service feels confident that their welfare and wellbeing is actively supported by their police force throughout their career. The goal was published by the Home Office and jointly owned by a number of different or-ganisations, including Public Health England. This goal represents the result of six months of engagement by the Home Office with policing partners and health experts, setting out a shared vision for ensuring police officers and staff have the support they need to flourish.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to support police personnel in their transition from service to retirement.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The management and welfare of police officers and members of police staff is the responsibility of Chief Constables. Provisions are in place for police officers and staff to benefit from comprehensive and valuable pension arrangements in retirement, which reflect the nature of the role, including provision for ill-health retirement and injury benefits where appropriate.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the mental health and wellbeing of (a) serving and (b) retired police personnel.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Government takes the issue of police welfare very seriously and has invested in programmes which offer help directly to officers and staff. In July 2017 the Home Office awarded £7.5 million from the Police Transformation Fund to the College of Policing over three years to pilot and, if these pilots were successful, roll out a dedicated national service to help provide enhanced welfare support to serving police officers and staff.
Following two years of development and piloting, the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS) was launched in April 2019. The NPWS has developed evidence-based guidance, advice, tools and resources which can be accessed by forces, as well as individual officers and staff.
In July 2018, we launched ‘A common goal for police wellbeing – to be achieved by 2021.’ This requires that by 2021, policing will ensure that every member of the police service feels confident that their welfare and wellbeing is actively supported by their police force throughout their career. The goal was published by the Home Office and jointly owned by a number of different or-ganisations, including Public Health England. This goal represents the result of six months of engagement by the Home Office with policing partners and health experts, setting out a shared vision for ensuring police officers and staff have the support they need to flourish.