Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan citizens have been granted resettlement under Pathway 2 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme to date; what discussions she has held with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on its processes for assessment of Afghan citizens under that scheme; what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the UNHCR's processes; and if she will take steps to encourage the UNHCR to expedite its consideration and referral of cases to that scheme of vulnerable Afghan nationals based in Pakistan.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The latest Immigration System Statistics, year ending December 2022 (published on 23 February 2023), show that since their first arrivals in 2021, the Afghan schemes – the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) - have resettled a total of 21,387 people.
Under the scheme’s second pathway, which opened in 2022, we have now begun to receive the first referrals from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) of vulnerable refugees who have fled Afghanistan for resettlement to the UK. The latest Immigration statistics show that we have now welcomed the first people to the UK under Pathway 2.
We anticipate receiving referrals from UNHCR for up to 2,000 refugees during the first year of pathway 2, although this number will be kept under review.
UNHCR refer those who qualify as refugees in need of resettlement. They have access to detailed case information – which is gathered during interviews conducted during the different stages of resettlement processing – and they have a detailed knowledge of the circumstances refugees face in host countries.
If UNHCR consider that an individual should be referred to the UK for resettlement, they will send the Home Office a Resettlement Registration Form (RRF) which confirms that the individual has been determined by UNHCR to be a refugee and details the reasons why that person is in need of resettlement.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the difficulties victims of domestic abuse experience in (a) severing contracts for services to which their abusers are a party and (b) in continuing to have access to those services; and if she will take steps to strengthen the rights of victims in such circumstances.
Answered by Sarah Dines
Tackling domestic abuse is a government priority and improving the response to economic abuse is integral to this. Economic abuse is now recognised in law as part of domestic abuse included in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. This is in recognition of the devastating impact it can have on victims’ lives. In July 2022, we published our Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance which contains specific information relating to economic abuse and includes examples which will assist relevant parties in recognising economic abuse.
We continue to work closely with and fund organisations that seek to promote awareness of economic abuse and improve public and private sector response. Our Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan doubled our investment to £200,000 of funding per annum up to March 2025.
The Government has provided £567,000 of funding between 2018-2022 to Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA), an organisation that raises awareness of economic abuse and supports victims. Money Advice Plus, in partnership with SEA, run the Financial Support Line for Victims of Domestic Abuse. It offers specialist advice domestic abuse victims in financial difficulty to move forward with economic safety and may be able to support in situations where victims wish to sever contracts for services to which their abusers are a party.
The Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan also calls for more financial sector firms to sign up to the Financial Abuse Code to act to prevent economic abuse and help deliver the best possible outcomes for victims and survivors. In January 2023, The Fairness Group published the Economic Abuse Toolkit, developed alongside SEA and Money Advice Plus. The toolkit brings together proven best practices allowing businesses to recognise and support customers who are experiencing economic abuse.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to simplify the online visa application process; what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the format of that process; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making that process available in (a) Ukrainian and (b) other languages.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office is continually making efforts to simplify the application process for Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, and keeps this under regular review.
As a result of this continuing review, the webpage for the Ukrainian Family scheme and the factsheet for Ukrainians looking to apply for the Homes for Ukraine Scheme are available in English, Russian and Ukrainian.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's policy is on ensuring that those who assisted UK efforts in Afghanistan are referred to the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of expanding the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy to include applicants who were not directly employed by UK armed forces.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) commenced on 6th January. The ACRS will provide up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK. This includes those who supported the UK and international community effort in Afghanistan, as well as those who are particularly vulnerable, such as women and girls at risk and members of minority groups.
The first to be resettled under the new ACRS will be some of those already evacuated and in the UK. They include women’s rights activists, journalists, and prosecutors, as well as the Afghan families of British Nationals. From Spring, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will refer refugees to the scheme, based on assessments of protection need.
In Year One, we will also resettle individuals who supported the UK and international community effort in Afghanistan, including those British Council and GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni who are most at risk. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will be in touch with those eligible to support them through the next steps.
There will not be an application process for the ACRS. More detail on the three referral pathways can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/afghan-citizens-resettlement-scheme.
The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy was expanded in December 2021 to accommodate individuals not directly employed by UK armed forces.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure (a) that EU Settled Status applications are efficiently processed and (b) that applicants are able to contact UKVI in an effective and timely manner.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We are 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.
Our aim is to process all applications to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) as quickly as possible, yet each individual case is considered on its own facts. Cases may take longer dependent on the circumstances of the case, for example, if the applicant is facing an impending prosecution or has a criminal record.
The following link details the expected processing times for EU Settlement Scheme applications:
Anyone awaiting the outcome of their in-time application to the EUSS can evidence their rights with their Certificate of Application which is issued as soon as possible after a valid application is received
Applicants can contact UKVI by calling our Settlement Resolution Centre (SRC) which is open 7 days a week. Customers can also contact us using an on-line enquiry form.
Further information can also be found at www.gov.uk/help-eu-settlement-scheme
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government has taken to provide refuge for Afghan women judges who are eligible for the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme; and when that scheme will open.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We are working across government and with partners such as UNHCR to design the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), amidst a complex and changing picture. We are committed to working in step with the international community to get this right, and we will set out more details soon.
The first to be resettled through the ACRS will be some of those who arrived in the UK under the evacuation programme, which included individuals who were considered to be at particular risk.
Eligible people will be prioritised and referred for resettlement to the UK as set out in the policy statement published on gov.uk on 13 September, available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to enable additional unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in France who have family members in this country to be admitted to the UK.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Under the Dublin Regulation, we will accept requests to transfer an unaccompanied child’s asylum claim from another state which participates in the Dublin Regulation, where the child has eligible family in the UK, and where transfer is in their best interests.
As part of the UK-France Summit (or Sandhurst Treaty) of 18 January, we announced a number of specific measures to strengthen the operation of the Dublin Regulation. We have allocated a £3.6 million development fund, as part of the UK’s overall £45.5 million funding commitment, which is intended to support projects which support eligible claims through the Dublin process and ensure that those with no prospect of transferring to the UK are informed of their options.
The Sandhurst Treaty also commits the UK and France to clear timescales for effecting transfers between the two countries under the Dublin Regulation. Furthermore, the UK will deploy a Liaison Officer to France by 1 April 2018 to support transfers between the UK and France under the Dublin Regulation and section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children she plans to resettle in the UK under the Dubs amendment in the next six months.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
On 8 February, the Government announced that we will transfer the specified number of 350 children to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 following consultation with local authorities on capacity. This includes the more than 200 children already transferred under section 67 from France as part of the UK’s support for the Calais camp clearance. Further transfers are expected to begin shortly.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to assist unaccompanied refugee children in (a) France and (b) other European countries.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
In 2016, we transferred over 900 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to the UK from Europe, including more than 750 from France as part of the UK’s support for the Calais camp clearance. Approximately 200 of these children met the criteria for section 67 of the Immigration Act.
More eligible children will be transferred from Europe, in line with the terms of the Immigration Act, in the coming months and we will continue to meet our obligations under the Dublin Regulation.
In addition to our long standing secondee in Italy, we have seconded an expert to Greece who has been working closely with UNHCR, IOM and the Greek authorities to identify potentially eligible children under section 67 of the Immigration Act and support transfers under the Dublin Regulation.
The Government has also established a £10 million Refugee Children Fund to support the needs of vulnerable refugee and migrant children arriving in Europe.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many local authorites have offered to receive and house Syrian child refugees.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme we are working with more than 170 local authorities to resettle Syrian refugee families in the UK.