Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who took the recent decision to stop cash payments for asylum seekers placed in hotels in Glasgow.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office have not taken the decision to stop support for any service users in Glasgow or anywhere else the UK, where they remain entitled to it.
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 effect of an Exceptional Assurance visa extension of four weeks on a person's ability to remain in or secure rental accommodation.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Each request for Exceptional Assurance is dealt with on its own merits. There is no condition in place limiting Exceptional Assurance to a maximum of four weeks.
Exceptional Assurance allows for the conditions of a previous grant of leave to continue until its expiration, including the right to rent. We have provided clear guidance on GOV.UK stipulating landlords must take extra care to ensure no one is discriminated against if they are struggling to evidence their right to rent during this pandemic.
The Landlord Checking Service is in place to verify the confirmation of Exceptional Assurance.
This service provides a response within two working days, from receipt of request, providing the landlord with a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-landlord-right-to-rent-checks
https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outreach/lcs-application.ofml
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 extend Exceptional Assurance from four weeks to six months for people who are unable to travel to their home country due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Each request for Exceptional Assurance is dealt with on its own merits and the end date is under constant review.
There is no condition in place limiting Exceptional Assurance to a maximum of four weeks.
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 effect of the need to reapply for an Exceptional Assurance visa every three to four weeks on a person's (a) mental health, (b) financial situation and (c) ability to maintain stable accommodation.
Answered by Kevin Foster
There is no current condition in place limiting Exceptional Assurance to four weeks or requiring all covered by one to reply every three to four weeks, each request for Exceptional Assurance is dealt with on its own merits.
Exceptional Assurance allows for the conditions of a previous grant of leave to continue until its expiration, including the right to rent and the right to work where relevant.