Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to make any changes to the existing 5+1 route to Indefinite Leave to Remain for individuals already on the Hong Kong BN(O) visa route.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.
BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years' residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
The new mandatory requirements for settlement, including the English language requirement, are basic requirements that we think are reasonable for people to meet if they want to settle here. However, we are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether individuals on the Hong Kong BN(O) visa route will have to meet B2 standard of English in order to achieve Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.
BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years' residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
The new mandatory requirements for settlement, including the English language requirement, are basic requirements that we think are reasonable for people to meet if they want to settle here. However, we are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a legal definition of child-to-parent abuse.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this Government and our mission is to halve VAWG within a decade. To achieve this ambitious aim, it is essential that we tackle domestic abuse and all forms of interpersonal abuse. The Home Office is working closely with other Government departments to develop plans to deliver on this ambition and deliver a transformative change to society, and will publish a cross-government VAWG Strategy later this year.
This Government will only succeed if we continue to ensure children and young people are also at the heart of prevention and intervention programmes and policies. Progressing work around child-to-parent abuse is an important part of this. A consultation into the definition of child-to-parent abuse closed in February 2024. The responses are currently being considered and will inform the detail of future work, but child-to-parent abuse does fall under the domestic abuse definition.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Ninth Report of Session 2021–22 of the Home Affairs Select Committee entitled Spiking, HC967, whether her Department plans to follow the recommendations of that report.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office has already implemented a number of the recommendations, or is in the process of doing so. This includes:
- The rollout of an online spiking reporting and advice tool across the UK to encourage more and better reporting of spiking, including anonymously. This is intended to improve data on the prevalence and scale of spiking.
- Providing funding for the development of spiking training to ensure that night time economy staff are trained to respond effectively to reports of spiking and co-ordinate with security staff and the emergency services.
- The government has committed in its manifesto to introduce a new criminal offence for spiking to help police better respond to this crime. This will form part of the Crime and Policing Bill.
- The formation of a rapid testing capability for spiking to gather more accurate results in a quicker time frame (2-3 weeks opposed to 6-8). This is being supported by research into the efficacy of rapid urine testing kits which aim to provide results in a matter of minutes. At this stage however, I urge anyone who believes they have been spiked to contact the police as soon as possible to provide a report and a urine sample for lab testing.
Many of these measures were designed with the aim of addressing the key barriers to prosecution which we have identified as lack of evidence, and identification of perpetrators.