Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the Metropolitan Police Service discontinued its practice of estimating and publishing objective assessments of the number of people attending large demonstrations in London; when that practice was discontinued; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The management of demonstrations is an operational matter for the police, as is the decision on whether to publish estimated numbers attending protests.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria a resident of the UK would have to meet to resist the application of a European Arrest Warrant for extradition to another EU country.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
A decision whether to order surrender under a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is made by a UK judge who considers all relevant legal issues, including whether the conduct would amount to a criminal offence in the UK, applicable bars to extradition such as double jeopardy, politically motivated requests and whether the case against the accused is sufficiently advanced. The requesting State must meet human rights standards, which includes adequate living conditions for the accused. If there is doubt, the UK seeks assurances and ultimately the judge may refuse the EAW if not satisfied these standards will be met.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what standards of prison (a) conditions and (b) accommodation must be met by a country applying under the European Arrest Warrant system for a UK resident to be extradited, before a UK court will agree to such an application; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
A decision whether to order surrender under a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is made by a UK judge who considers all relevant legal issues, including whether the conduct would amount to a criminal offence in the UK, applicable bars to extradition such as double jeopardy, politically motivated requests and whether the case against the accused is sufficiently advanced. The requesting State must meet human rights standards, which includes adequate living conditions for the accused. If there is doubt, the UK seeks assurances and ultimately the judge may refuse the EAW if not satisfied these standards will be met.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what standards of evidence are required in UK courts for an application for extradition under a European Arrest Warrant to be granted; and what the safeguards are to prevent UK residents being extradited to another EU country, without evidence being produced against them in UK courts.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
A decision whether to order surrender under a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is made by a UK judge who considers all relevant legal issues, including whether the conduct would amount to a criminal offence in the UK, applicable bars to extradition such as double jeopardy, politically motivated requests and whether the case against the accused is sufficiently advanced. The requesting State must meet human rights standards, which includes adequate living conditions for the accused. If there is doubt, the UK seeks assurances and ultimately the judge may refuse the EAW if not satisfied these standards will be met.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications have been made for the extradition of residents in the UK under the provisions of the European Arrest Warrant in each of the last five years; which countries made those applications; and how many of those applications (a) were granted, (b) were rejected and (c) are still under consideration by UK courts.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Each year the National Crime Agency publishes statistics on the number of European Arrest Warrants (EAW) received by the UK. These figures include a breakdown of the number of surrenders and arrests, number of EAWs received from each country by nationality of the person requested and offence. The figures are published at:
www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/european-arrest-warrant-statistics
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what remedy exists for enquirers whose electronic communications with the International Enquiry Service are not answered.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The International Enquiry Service currently handles approximately 12,000 emails a week and, from management information received, continues to answer all emails within the published service standards (100% of emails responded to within one working day (24 hours)) . In addition, all email enquiries receive an auto response which states “Your email has been submitted - We have received your email. You will receive a response within one working day.”
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the webchat service offered by the International Enquiry Service has been unavailable when required by enquirers.
Answered by Karen Bradley
In July 2014 a decision was taken to cease the Web chat service provided by the International Enquiry Service. This allowed the provider to focus on the higher volumes of enquiries being received through the email and phone channels. These channels are currently delivering their services within published service standards. In addition, customers can access a range of information on our application processes for free through our pages on gov.uk.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason callers to the International Enquiry Service of UK Visas and Immigration are charged £1.37 per minute.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Home Office sets fees at a level that ensures it has sufficient resources to control migration for the benefit of the UK.
Income from fees helps provide the resources necessary to operate the immigration system. The remainder is provided through general taxation. The Home Office aims to reduce the overall contribution of funding that comes from general taxation and increase the proportion of income generated from fees. We estimate that about 60 per cent of immigration system costs will be recovered through fees, a slight increase from last year. The remainder of the costs will be met by the UK taxpayer.
To ensure that the system is fair and equitable, the government believes it is right that those who use and benefit directly from the UK immigration system make an appropriate contribution towards meeting the costs, thereby reducing the cost to the UK taxpayer. Customers can access a range of information on our application processes for free through our pages on gov.uk.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy for the free email service offered by the International Enquiry Service automatically to acknowledge safe receipt of messages sent to it by enquirers.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The International Enquiry Service currently handles approximately 12,000 emails a week and continues to answer all emails within the published service standards. All email enquiries receive an auto response which states “Your email has been submitted - We have received your email. You will receive a response within one working day.”
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy not to levy telephone charges for enquirers to the International Enquiry Service in addition to the standard rate until such time as the free alternative methods of contacting the organisation are working reliably.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Home Office will continue to charge for telephone calls to the International Enquiry Service. Customers can access a range of information on our application processes for free through our pages on gov.uk. The Home Office works closely with the Government Digital Service to review and improve our guidance on gov.uk.