Ian Blackford

All outstanding claims have been cleared subject to receipt of any necessary documentation within usual operating procedures.

SEISS payments are treated as self-employed earnings for Universal Credit, which are taken into account in the month that they are received. We will not therefore readjust previous months’ awards.

Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support were increased by 1.7% in April 2020 following the Government’s announcement to end the benefit freeze.

It has always been the case that claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for Universal Credit (UC) if they believe that they will be better off. There are special arrangements for those in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium, who will be able to make a new claim to Universal Credit from January 2021.

Claimants should check their eligibility before applying to UC as legacy benefits will end when they submit their claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future. For this reason, prospective claimants are signposted to independent benefits calculators on GOV.UK. Neither DWP nor HMRC can advise individual claimants whether they would be better off moving to UC or remaining on legacy benefits.

From 22 July 2020, a two-week run on of Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance (IR) and Jobseeker’s Allowance (IB) is available for all claimants whose claim to UC ends entitlement to these benefits, to provide additional support for claimants moving to UC.

The Department has not made a comparative assessment of the risks of prescribing medicinal cannabis versus methadone and diamorphine. Methadone and diamorphine are licensed medicines, whereas the vast majority of cannabis-based medicines are unlicensed, which means they have not been assessed for their safety, quality and efficacy by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Whilst the evidence-base remains limited, the decision to prescribe unlicensed products remains with specialist doctors who have expert knowledge and take responsibility for prescribing.

Following the end of the Transition Period, non-VAT registered businesses exporting to customers in the EU will not be subject to UK VAT rules but will be subject to any VAT rules in the country to which they are exporting. It would therefore be a matter for the country to which the goods are exported to set any such thresholds.

Following the end of the transition period, there will be no tariffs on the export of goods from the UK to the EU, or any other country. This is irrespective of whether the exporter is VAT registered or not.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer to Parliamentary Question 49808 on 2 June 2020: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-05-20/49808/.

Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHLs) make an important contribution to local economies across the UK, especially in coastal and rural areas. To support FHLs in England during the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has provided full business rates relief and grants of up to £25,000 per business. Consequential funding has been provided to the devolved administrations in line with the Barnett formula.

The Government does not currently plan to review the tax status of FHLs, which are well established and provide equitable tax outcomes.

However, the Government keeps all tax policy, including the tax status of FHLs, under review, including as part of the response to COVID-19.

The Government’s refugee family reunion policy allows a partner and children under 18 of those granted protection in the UK to join them here, if they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country. Afghan nationals recognised as refugees or with humanitarian protection in the UK, including those who will be resettled here under the new Afghanistan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme, can sponsor qualifying family under this route. In the year ending June 2020, over 200 Afghan nationals came to the UK under the family reunion policy, including 130 children.

There are separate provisions in the Rules to allow extended family to sponsor children to come here where there are serious and compelling circumstances. Refugees can also sponsor adult dependent relatives living overseas to join them where, due to age, illness or disability, that person requires long-term personal care that can only be provided by relatives in the UK.

Our policy makes clear that there is discretion to grant visas outside the Immigration Rules, which caters for extended family members in exceptional circumstances.

There are additional safe and legal routes for people to come to the UK should they wish to join family members here, work or study.  They would need to meet the requirements of the relevant Immigration Rule under which they were applying to qualify for a visa.

The Home Office has already taken steps to prioritise any outstanding Family Reunion applications made by Afghan refugees in the UK.

The Home Office will not routinely expedite Afghan cases, as to do so would discriminate against other nationalities who may face similar risks, but we will consider cases on an individual basis to assess, in line with the existing approach on applications for Family Reunion, whether the risks presented mean the case should be expedited.

In March 2020, to protect claimants and Home Office staff, we made changes to the further submissions process to allow for representations to be made remotely. It was always the intention of the Home Office to re-start the process of requiring further submissions from failed asylum seekers to be made in person as this helps to ensure people maintain contact with the Home Office and enables identity to be checked.

In order to make this process more accessible, we have recently increased the number of locations people can lodge submissions, with Glasgow coming on line in mid-August 2021, in addition to the previous locations of Liverpool and Belfast.

Afghan nationals who have an asylum claim or appeal which has not yet been decided are eligible to receive support under section 95 of the 1999 Act if they would otherwise be destitute. Furthermore, failed asylum seekers may be supported under section 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (1999 Act) if they would otherwise be destitute and meet other conditions set out in the Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum-Seekers) Regulations 2005.

Regulation 3(2)(c) provides, subject to the individual being destitute, support may be provided where there is no “viable route of return” to the individual’s country of origin. However, this is not considered to be relevant to the current situation in Afghanistan, where the relevant issue is the safety of individuals if they were to return to the country, rather than the practicalities of travelling there.

Failed asylum seekers who consider they would be at risk of harm on return to Afghanistan because of the recent changes in the country are able to lodge further asylum submissions and would therefore be eligible to receive support under Regulation 3(2)(e) of the 2005 Regulations, subject to meeting the destitution criteria.

There are no plans to change the policy so Afghans may not be evicted from accommodation provided under section 95 or 4(2) in any circumstances. Like others supported under the provisions, their support may be discontinued in a number of circumstances, including where it appears they are no longer destitute, where they are no longer living in the accommodation provided to them and where they are granted refugee status and therefore become eligible to take up employment or apply for mainstream benefits.

Afghan nationals who have an asylum claim or appeal which has not yet been decided are eligible to receive support under section 95 of the 1999 Act if they would otherwise be destitute. Furthermore, failed asylum seekers may be supported under section 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (1999 Act) if they would otherwise be destitute and meet other conditions set out in the Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum-Seekers) Regulations 2005.

Regulation 3(2)(c) provides, subject to the individual being destitute, support may be provided where there is no “viable route of return” to the individual’s country of origin. However, this is not considered to be relevant to the current situation in Afghanistan, where the relevant issue is the safety of individuals if they were to return to the country, rather than the practicalities of travelling there.

Failed asylum seekers who consider they would be at risk of harm on return to Afghanistan because of the recent changes in the country are able to lodge further asylum submissions and would therefore be eligible to receive support under Regulation 3(2)(e) of the 2005 Regulations, subject to meeting the destitution criteria.

There are no plans to change the policy so Afghans may not be evicted from accommodation provided under section 95 or 4(2) in any circumstances. Like others supported under the provisions, their support may be discontinued in a number of circumstances, including where it appears they are no longer destitute, where they are no longer living in the accommodation provided to them and where they are granted refugee status and therefore become eligible to take up employment or apply for mainstream benefits.

We have shaped the methodologies for the UK Community Renewal Fund and the Levelling Up Fund to reflect their individual and distinct objectives and policy goals. For example, the capital-focused Levelling Up Fund will invest in local transport and high street regeneration, and therefore includes metrics around local connectivity and commercial vacancy rates

By contrast, the revenue-focused UK Community Renewal Fund will look to invest across a range of smaller scale trial projects with the overall goal of supporting people and communities in need. For this reason it uses metrics which more broadly aim to assess a place’s general economic resilience

Methodological notes explaining the two indices have been published and can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-community-renewal-fund-prospectus/uk-community-renewal-fund-prioritisation-of-places-methodology-note

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/levelling-up-fund-additional-documents/levelling-up-fund-prioritisation-of-places-methodology-note