Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that the port of Dover is able to manage its customs clearance operations after the UK leaves the EU without increasing the level of administration undertaken by small businesses.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government recognises the importance of trade fluidity through the UK’s key ports to the country’s economy, and is committed to ensuring that trade is as frictionless as possible through the Port of Dover, the Channel Tunnel, and the local road network.
Government ministers and officials from several departments have met ports and other relevant stakeholders as part of our comprehensive engagement on EU exit. Most of our detailed engagement with ports and stakeholders has taken place in the context of the Border Delivery Group steering group meetings, and in technical workshops.
The precise nature of any new customs arrangement will be determined in negotiations with the EU.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on resuming the transfer of unaccompanied refugee children from France under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
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. Over 200 of these children met the criteria for section 67 of the Immigration Act.
On 10 March 2017 the Government published the basis on which future transfers under section 67 will take place, up to the specified number of 480. We are fully committed to delivering section 67 and are working very closely with France, Greece and Italy to agree processes for identifying and transferring further children. We have a Home Office secondee in each of Greece and Italy working on transfers of unaccompanied children under section 67 and the Dublin Regulation, who work with a network of partners including the Member State authorities, British Embassies, UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and NGOs. During the Calais operation, at the invitation of the French government, over 200 Home Office officials were deployed to France to interview children for transfer to the UK. Further data on transfers of unaccompanied children from Europe will be published in due course.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff of her Department were seconded to (a) France, (b) Italy and (c) Greece to facilitate the transfer of unaccompanied refugee children under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
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. Over 200 of these children met the criteria for section 67 of the Immigration Act.
On 10 March 2017 the Government published the basis on which future transfers under section 67 will take place, up to the specified number of 480. We are fully committed to delivering section 67 and are working very closely with France, Greece and Italy to agree processes for identifying and transferring further children. We have a Home Office secondee in each of Greece and Italy working on transfers of unaccompanied children under section 67 and the Dublin Regulation, who work with a network of partners including the Member State authorities, British Embassies, UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and NGOs. During the Calais operation, at the invitation of the French government, over 200 Home Office officials were deployed to France to interview children for transfer to the UK. Further data on transfers of unaccompanied children from Europe will be published in due course.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied refugee children were transferred from Italy to the UK in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017 under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
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. Over 200 of these children met the criteria for section 67 of the Immigration Act.
On 10 March 2017 the Government published the basis on which future transfers under section 67 will take place, up to the specified number of 480. We are fully committed to delivering section 67 and are working very closely with France, Greece and Italy to agree processes for identifying and transferring further children. We have a Home Office secondee in each of Greece and Italy working on transfers of unaccompanied children under section 67 and the Dublin Regulation, who work with a network of partners including the Member State authorities, British Embassies, UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and NGOs. During the Calais operation, at the invitation of the French government, over 200 Home Office officials were deployed to France to interview children for transfer to the UK. Further data on transfers of unaccompanied children from Europe will be published in due course.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied refugee children were transferred from Greece to the UK in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017 under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
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. Over 200 of these children met the criteria for section 67 of the Immigration Act.
On 10 March 2017 the Government published the basis on which future transfers under section 67 will take place, up to the specified number of 480. We are fully committed to delivering section 67 and are working very closely with France, Greece and Italy to agree processes for identifying and transferring further children. We have a Home Office secondee in each of Greece and Italy working on transfers of unaccompanied children under section 67 and the Dublin Regulation, who work with a network of partners including the Member State authorities, British Embassies, UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and NGOs. During the Calais operation, at the invitation of the French government, over 200 Home Office officials were deployed to France to interview children for transfer to the UK. Further data on transfers of unaccompanied children from Europe will be published in due course.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied refugee children were transferred from France to the UK in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017 under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
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. Over 200 of these children met the criteria for section 67 of the Immigration Act.
On 10 March 2017 the Government published the basis on which future transfers under section 67 will take place, up to the specified number of 480. We are fully committed to delivering section 67 and are working very closely with France, Greece and Italy to agree processes for identifying and transferring further children. We have a Home Office secondee in each of Greece and Italy working on transfers of unaccompanied children under section 67 and the Dublin Regulation, who work with a network of partners including the Member State authorities, British Embassies, UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and NGOs. During the Calais operation, at the invitation of the French government, over 200 Home Office officials were deployed to France to interview children for transfer to the UK. Further data on transfers of unaccompanied children from Europe will be published in due course.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date the Government plans to ratify the Istanbul Convention.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Coalition Government signed the Istanbul Convention to show its strong commitment to tackling violence against women and girls, and this Government remains committed to ratifying it.
In most respects, the measures already in place in the UK to protect women and girls from violence comply with or go further than the Convention requires.
Further amendments to domestic law, to take extra-territorial jurisdiction over a range of offences, are necessary before the Convention can be ratified. We will seek to legislate when the approach to implementing the extra-territorial jurisdiction requirements in England and Wales is agreed and Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has for her Department to acknowledge and celebrate Anti-Slavery Day 2016; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Anti-Slavery Day on 18 October is an important opportunity to reflect on achievements to date in tackling this appalling crime and to continue to raise awareness of it. We have made good progress, but there is more to do. I will announce my plans in due course.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police raids in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland resulted in potential victims of human trafficking being taken by the police to reception centres in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The number of potential victims referred to the National Referral Mechanism by police is published by the National Crime Agency on an annual basis and can be found in a number of tables which can be accessed here:
http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics
Information on the numbers of potential victims taken to reception centres following police raids, and whether they subsequently entered the NRM, is recorded on an individual case level but is not held centrally.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many potential victims of human trafficking were taken by the police to reception centres following police raids in the last year; what proportion of such potential victims volunteered to enter the National Referral Mechanism; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The number of potential victims referred to the National Referral Mechanism by police is published by the National Crime Agency on an annual basis and can be found in a number of tables which can be accessed here:
http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics
Information on the numbers of potential victims taken to reception centres following police raids, and whether they subsequently entered the NRM, is recorded on an individual case level but is not held centrally.