Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to section 4 of the Asylum accommodation support transformation: policy equality statement, updated by his Department on 8 September 2020, when the Asylum Accommodation and Support Transformation project was established; and what monitoring mechanisms are in place to help ensure accommodation providers are considering and understanding the (a) protected characteristics and (b) other specific needs of people in their accommodation.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts (AASC) Statement of Requirements below gives a detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by our accommodation providers and to the standards we expect. This includes expectations on accommodation providers, recognising protected characteristics and ensuring individual’s specific needs are met. Full details of our polices: AASC_-_Schedule_2_-_Statement_of_Requirements.pdf (parliament.uk).
The AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting & Eligibility) service has also introduced more independent and transparent oversight of standards through clearer complaints mechanisms for asylum seekers and supporting data that allows more intelligent targeting of performance improvement. The Home Office also employ a dedicated contract assurance team whose core activity scrutinising the providers’ monthly performance is one of three main strands of work, the other two being property inspections and assurance reviews.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to section 3c of the Asylum accommodation support transformation: policy equality statement, updated by his Department on 8 September 2020, what steps his Department is taking to ensure Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts (a) tackle prejudice and (b) foster good relations between LGBTQI+ people and others accommodated in hotels; what reports asylum accommodation providers have provided on the experiences of their LGBTQI+ service users; what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that asylum accommodation providers are (i) proactive in monitoring and identifying specific needs or risks and (ii) taking appropriate measures to respond; and what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that accommodation providers are not accommodating people identified as having specific needs or being at risk in the same sleeping quarters as other unrelated service users.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We expect high standards from all of our providers, and we have a robust governance framework in place to manage service delivery of the Asylum Accommodation Support Contracts (AASC). Further details can be found at: AASC_-_Schedule_2_-_Statement_of_Requirements.pdf.
Section G.2 of the AASC provides examples of factors which accommodation providers should consider as part of their case-by-case assessment of an individual’s needs in room sharing, including whether they identify as LGBTQ+. This aligns with the allocation of accommodation policy which sets out that the circumstances of every person in asylum accommodation should be assessed individually. Where an individual need or safeguarding concern exists, accommodation may be provided to meet such need.
The AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting & Eligibility) service has also introduced more independent and transparent oversight of standards through clearer complaints mechanisms for asylum seekers and supporting data that allows more intelligent targeting of performance improvement.
Additionally, the Home Office has published the Asylum Support Contracts Safeguarding Framework at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-support-contracts-safeguarding-framework. This framework sets out a joint, overarching approach, as well as the key controls and reporting mechanisms in place, across the AASC contracts, for safeguarding arrangements. All asylum seekers have access to a 24/7 AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) service provided for the Home Office by Migrant Help where they can raise any concerns regarding accommodation or support services, and they can get information about how to obtain further support.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of families with no recourse to public funds who are unable to access the 30 hours extended childcare offer for three- and four-year-olds.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition applies to millions of people, the vast majority of whom are visitors or other temporary migrants who have no need for public funds during their stay. It also applies to those without status, many of whom may not be in touch with the Home Office.
The Home Office’s Chief Statistician wrote to the Office for Statistics Regulation on 3 July 2020 to explain why the Home Office does not feel that it is of practical application to produce an estimate of the total population subject to the NRPF condition present in the UK at any one time. His letter can be found at: https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/correspondence/response-from-daniel-shaw-to-ed-humpherson-parliamentary-question-response/.
To note, 30 hours’ free childcare is not considered a ‘public fund’ for immigration purposes. However, the eligibility criteria, as set by the Department for Education, requires at least one parent to have permission to access public funds, which means it may not be available to all families.
Parents with NRPF are able to access the 15 hours’ free early education entitlement available for all three- and four-year-olds regardless of their family circumstances and, if eligible, 15 hours free early education for disadvantaged two-year-olds. These 15-hour entitlements primarily benefit the child and their educational development and outcomes. While there are some benefits to parents in reduced childcare fees, this is not the main purpose of these entitlements. The 30 hours’ free childcare entitlement is primarily focused on supporting the parent(s) into work.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people are being investigated for social media posts supporting (a) Palestine and (b) Israel.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not collect this data.
However, ministers expect police forces to investigate, without fear or favour, social media posts linked to recent events in Israel and Gaza which may cross the criminal threshold.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's move-on period for asylum seekers to find new accommodation after being granted refugee status on trends in the level of homelessness.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
An individual remains eligible for asylum support for a prescribed period from the day they are notified of the decision on their asylum claim. Where someone is given notice that their asylum claim has been granted, their appeal has been allowed or their asylum claim has been refused but they have been given leave to enter or remain, the prescribed period in legislation is 28 days. There has been no change to the prescribed period.
Individuals should make plans to move on from asylum support as quickly as possible. We offer support through Migrant Help or their partner organisation in doing this. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. Newly recognised refugees are entitled to housing assistance from their local authority and are treated as a priority need if they have children or are considered vulnerable. Individuals do not need to wait for their BRP to make a claim for benefits and are encouraged to do so as early as possible if they require them.
We are ensuring our cross government partners, such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) are sighted on data to enable them to consider the impacts of increased decision making and effectively plan. We are also working with DLUHC to ensure the right asylum decision data is being shared with local authorities to enable effective planning and to lessen the impact on existing homelessness and rough sleeping pressures. Our accommodation providers are directly working with local authorities to notify them when an individual is due to have their asylum support ended.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's move-on period for asylum seekers to find new accommodation after being granted refugee status on the number of refugees.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
An individual remains eligible for asylum support for a prescribed period from the day they are notified of the decision on their asylum claim. Where someone is given notice that their asylum claim has been granted, their appeal has been allowed or their asylum claim has been refused but they have been given leave to enter or remain, the prescribed period in legislation is 28 days. There has been no change to the prescribed period.
Individuals should make plans to move on from asylum support as quickly as possible. We offer support through Migrant Help or their partner organisation in doing this. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. Newly recognised refugees are entitled to housing assistance from their local authority and are treated as a priority need if they have children or are considered vulnerable. Individuals do not need to wait for their BRP to make a claim for benefits and are encouraged to do so as early as possible if they require them.
We are ensuring our cross government partners, such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) are sighted on data to enable them to consider the impacts of increased decision making and effectively plan. We are also working with DLUHC to ensure the right asylum decision data is being shared with local authorities to enable effective planning and to lessen the impact on existing homelessness and rough sleeping pressures. Our accommodation providers are directly working with local authorities to notify them when an individual is due to have their asylum support ended.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with suppliers of facial recognition technology and equipment on the use of live facial recognition surveillance in the retail sector.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Any form of retail crime is completely unacceptable, and I am determined to drive down crimes in the retail sector.
As I told the House on 19 July during the adjournment debate on retail crime, I encourage the innovative use of new technology including facial recognition, where legal and appropriate. It is for individual retailers to decide what tools to use to prevent retail crime.
I have met with companies which provide live facial recognition systems, to understand the service they provide and the impact it can have on preventing crime in retail settings.
Retailers hold a lot of information, intelligence and evidence that can assist the police; they should share information such as CCTV recordings to help police crack down on repeat offenders and criminal gangs across the country.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of introducing a cap on the number of children that international students can bring to the UK on (a) the number of international students studying in the UK, (b) the potential economic cost to the UK and (c) women.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Our offer to international students is extremely competitive and ensures that we continue to attract the best and brightest students from around the world.
The Government’s International Education Strategy set out a target of attracting 600,000 international Higher Education students to the UK by 2030, which we have achieved almost a decade early.
The public also rightly expects us to control immigration and ensure we have a system that works in the UK’s best interests.
In launching the Student and Graduate immigration routes we published detailed impact assessments, and we continue to routinely publish Impact Assessments where they are required as a result of any changes to our routes.
As the Growth Plan set out, the Government is looking at how immigration contributes to growth and will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the graduate visa route, introduced in 2021, remains his Department's policy; and what his future plans are for that policy.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Our offer to international students is extremely competitive and ensures that we continue to attract the best and brightest students from around the world.
The Government’s International Education Strategy set out a target of attracting 600,000 international Higher Education students to the UK by 2030, which we have achieved almost a decade early.
The public also rightly expects us to control immigration and ensure we have a system that works in the UK’s best interests.
In launching the Student and Graduate immigration routes we published detailed impact assessments, and we continue to routinely publish Impact Assessments where they are required as a result of any changes to our routes.
As the Growth Plan set out, the Government is looking at how immigration contributes to growth and will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential (a) loss of tuition fee income, (b) loss of living cost expenditure, (c) loss of knock-on expenditure and (d) total economic cost of restricting the number of international students and their dependents to the UK's university sector.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Our offer to international students is extremely competitive and ensures that we continue to attract the best and brightest students from around the world.
The Government’s International Education Strategy set out a target of attracting 600,000 international Higher Education students to the UK by 2030, which we have achieved almost a decade early.
The public also rightly expects us to control immigration and ensure we have a system that works in the UK’s best interests.
In launching the Student and Graduate immigration routes we published detailed impact assessments, and we continue to routinely publish Impact Assessments where they are required as a result of any changes to our routes.
As the Growth Plan set out, the Government is looking at how immigration contributes to growth and will set out further details in due course.