Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the medical research sector will be able to recruit talented overseas professions through the immigration system that will be introduced after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government will publish a White Paper setting out its plans for the future immigration system later this autumn. We have always been clear that we want decisions about the future immigration system to be based on evidence and we will carefully consider the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations in its recent report before setting out our plans .
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has for the Passport Office in Edinburgh; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Due to an over-capacity for passport interviews, Her Majesty’s Passport Office will be closing some offices that only offer this element of the passport service.
Less than three per cent of UK passport applicants will be interviewed as part of the application process each year. These office closures will ensure that passport fee payers are not subsidising excess offices.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visa applications made in Scotland were (a) rejected as a result of the income threshold regulations and (b) granted an appeal in each of the last five years.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
I am sorry but the information you have requested is not included in statistics published by the Home Office.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mechanisms are in place to enable people to bring allegations of war crimes to the attention of the appropriate authorities.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The investigation and prosecution of individuals suspected of war crimes is an operational matter for the police. Any decision to investigate or prosecute is the responsibility of the police in consultation with Crown Prosecution Service. In particular, the War Crimes Team of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) has national responsibility within England and Wales for the investigation of such offences, including genocide, crimes against humanity and torture; it is their responsibility, accordingly, to determine the recourses necessary to carry out this function.
Referrals from the public can be made directly to the War Crimes Team at the following email address:
- SO15Mailbox.WarCrimesunit@met.pnn.police.uk
Guidelines on this referral process can be found on the Crown Prosecution Service’s website:
- https://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/agencies/war_crimes.html
As policing is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the responsibility for investigations into alleged war crime offences, and the referral system, is an operational matter for Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, respectively.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what process is in place for individual constituents to bring alleged cases of war crimes to the attention of the war crimes unit and the relevant authorities.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The investigation and prosecution of individuals suspected of war crimes is an operational matter for the police. Any decision to investigate or prosecute is the responsibility of the police in consultation with Crown Prosecution Service. In particular, the War Crimes Team of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) has national responsibility within England and Wales for the investigation of such offences, including genocide, crimes against humanity and torture; it is their responsibility, accordingly, to determine the recourses necessary to carry out this function.
Referrals from the public can be made directly to the War Crimes Team at the following email address:
- SO15Mailbox.WarCrimesunit@met.pnn.police.uk
Guidelines on this referral process can be found on the Crown Prosecution Service’s website:
- https://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/agencies/war_crimes.html
As policing is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the responsibility for investigations into alleged war crime offences, and the referral system, is an operational matter for Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, respectively.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the capacity of the War Crimes Unit and the Home Office to (a) receive and (b) act on complaints from members of the public on alleged war crimes.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The investigation and prosecution of individuals suspected of war crimes is an operational matter for the police. Any decision to investigate or prosecute is the responsibility of the police in consultation with Crown Prosecution Service.
In particular, the War Crimes Team of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) has national responsibility for the investigation of such offences, including genocide, crimes against humanity and torture; it is their responsibility, accordingly, to determine the recourses necessary to carry out this function.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Twelfth Report of the Home Affairs Committee, Asylum Accommodation, HC 637, whether the Government plans to publish the outcome of its assessment of the equality impacts of the Compass contracts.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Government will consider the Twelfth Report of the Home Affairs Committee and respond due course.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Twelfth Report of the Home Affairs Committee, Asylum Accommodation, HC 637, what plans the Government has to include the number of asylum seekers in temporary accommodation in its future quarterly statistical releases.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Government will consider the Twelfth Report of the Home Affairs Committee and respond due course.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will hold a consultation on deciding the commissioning of asylum accommodation to regional strategic partnerships; and what steps she is taking to ensure that devolved governments have a role in deciding on arrangements for decentralising commissioning and ensuring a fair distribution of accommodation.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Government will consider the Twelfth Report of the Home Affairs Committee and respond due course.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to (a) ensure that the initial discussions on asylum applications are correct and (b) reduce the number of asylum decisions overturned at appeal.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
All asylum claims lodged in the UK are carefully considered on their individual merits against a background of relevant case law and up to date country information. We ensure that claimants are given every opportunity to disclose information relevant to their claim before a decision is taken, even where that information may be sensitive or difficult to disclose.
We are working to improve the quality of decision-making to ensure that we properly consider all the evidence provided and get decisions right the first time. UK Visas and Immigration has an internal audit process, consisting of reviews by senior case workers and independent auditors, which assesses whether Home Office policy has been followed.
An allowed appeal is not in itself an indication that our decision was incorrect at the time it was made though we aim to reduce the allowed appeal rate by analysing the reasons why appeals are allowed and using this to further improve guidance and training.