Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 8 May 2018 to Question 140136 on UK Border Force: Northern Ireland, whether the UK Border Agency (a) supports the Military Covenant and (b) recognises its UK-wide applicability.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government is in full support of the Military Covenant and its application across the UK.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answers of 26 April 2018 to Question 137082 on UK Border Agency: Northern Ireland, 23 April 2018 to Question 137083 on UK Border Agency: Staff, 24 April 2018 to Question 137583 on UK Border Agency: Staff and the 26 April 2018 to Question 137086 on Public Sector Employment, what the (a) processes and (b) requirements are for people to demonstrate UK nationality.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Civil Service Nationality Rules govern eligibility for employment in the Civil Service on the grounds of nationality and must be followed by government departments and other bodies within the Home Civil Service and Diplomatic Service in their recruitment and appointment procedures.
These rules are a matter of public record at:
The guidance to these rules sets out the documentary evidence which should be provided by candidates who are recommended for appointment. This evidence is requested during the recruitment process.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons people making Border Force applications in Northern Ireland cannot supplement their qualifying experience with military or police service in the same way as their counterparts in Great Britain can.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Border Force values the experience of people who have worked in the military and law enforcement. Current and former members are free to apply for all our recruitment campaigns.
The requirement was removed by Border Force for this campaign following concerns raised by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland on using military and law enforcement as a specific criterion.
This was in the interest of ensuring we have a representative profile of candidates in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the reasons are for certain posts in the UK Border Force BA to be classified as reserved for people with British Citizenship.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Home Office Policy on non UK national appointments is governed by the Nationality Rules. These are a matter of public record at:
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Ministerial approval was sought by UK Border Force prior to re-advertising roles in the Northern Ireland office without the requirement to hold a British passport.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Ministerial approval to re-launch the advert was not required. In line with the Civil Service Management Code, the decisions relating to the management of this campaign have been taken by officials.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is the policy of the UK Border Force no longer to require its employees across the UK to be British citizens.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Recruitment to all Home Office functions is conducted in accordance with the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Not all Home Office roles are Reserved for UK nationals; however operational roles in Border Force are Reserved there has been no policy change to this.
The Civil Service Nationality Rules are available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/536134/civil_service-nationality_rules_20_june__2016.pdf
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
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 use of ePassport gates on queue waiting times at Heathrow Airport.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
There are a total of 69 ePassport gates across the 4 Heathrow terminals:
Terminal 2 = 15
Terminal 3 = 15
Terminal 4 = 10
Terminal 5 = 24 in main arrivals hall and 5 in International/Domestic Transfer area
An average of 1 million passengers use the eGates every month, across Heathrow, which is 79.4% of the total number of passengers who are eligible. Whilst the number of eGates open is demand led, current performance addresses volume of passengers with very limited wait times.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many ePassport gates there are in each terminal at Heathrow Airport; and what proportion of those gates were operational in each month between August 2016 and August 2017.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
There are a total of 69 ePassport gates across the 4 Heathrow terminals:
Terminal 2 = 15
Terminal 3 = 15
Terminal 4 = 10
Terminal 5 = 24 in main arrivals hall and 5 in International/Domestic Transfer area
An average of 1 million passengers use the eGates every month, across Heathrow, which is 79.4% of the total number of passengers who are eligible. Whilst the number of eGates open is demand led, current performance addresses volume of passengers with very limited wait times.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consultation her Department has undertaken with councils and Police Service Northern Ireland to review the effects of legislation on legal highs.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Government liaised with the Northern Ireland Executive during the progress of Psychoactive Substances Bill through Parliament. We are undertaking a review of the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. The review will report its findings by late 2018. The framework for the review was published on 14 July 2017, and is available at www.gov.uk.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on safeguarding British football fans travelling to Russia for the 2018 World Cup.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Home Office is working closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport about the safety and security preparations for the 2018 Russia World Cup. In the event of one or more Home Nations qualifying for the 2018 World Cup finals these preparations will include a range of assessments and actions to minimise the risk to travelling fans.