Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State at the Home Office on 27 September (53567), how many Afghan refugees arrived in the UK and were resettled under Pathway 2 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme between 5 January and 5 October.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK has now welcomed its first arrivals under ACRS Pathway 2 from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and we will resettle many more people through it in the coming years.
The Home Office will include Afghan resettlement statistics in its quarterly Immigration Statistics publications in due course.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many emergency visas have been issued by the Home Office, in accordance with the discretionary powers of the Secretary of State, in the last five years.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK does not have an emergency visa system. The Home Secretary has discretion to grant Leave Outside The Rules (LOTR) on compelling compassionate grounds; however, we do not maintain a record of those granted LOTR.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the proposed legislation to introduce a register of lobbyists working on behalf of hostile states will include individuals who work on behalf of the government of Hong Kong.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government recently consulted on a range of legislative proposals to counter state threats to ensure our security services and law enforcement agencies continue to have the tools they need to effectively tackle state threats.
The Home Office is reviewing and considering all responses to the public consultation and will bring forward legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the criteria used by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to assess applicants for the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme (1) gives priority to religious minorities, in particular Hazara Shias, and (2) meets the priorities identified by the Home Office for the scheme.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) commenced on 6th January, providing up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
The scheme will prioritise those who have assisted UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for UK values such as democracy, women’s rights, freedom of speech and rule of law; and vulnerable people such as members of minority groups, including ethnic and religious minorities, as well as women and girls at risk, and LGBT+.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will refer refugees to the scheme. Those referred by UNHCR will be assessed for resettlement by UNHCR using their established process, and in line with their resettlement submission categories.
The third referral pathway will focus on those at risk who supported the UK and international community effort in Afghanistan and the region. In the first year of this third referral pathway, the Government will offer ACRS places to eligible at-risk British Council and GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will be in touch with those eligible to support them through the next steps.
Beyond the first year of the third pathway, we will work with international partners and NGOs to welcome wider groups of people who are at risk in Afghanistan and the region.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether public affairs companies that represent (1) Russian, or (2) Chinese, state-owned clients will be required to declare their interest as part of the proposed legislation introducing a register of lobbyists working on behalf of hostile states.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government consulted on a range of legislative proposals to counter state threats to ensure our security services and law enforcement agencies continue to have the tools they need to effectively tackle state threats. The Home Office is reviewing and considering all responses to the public consultation and will bring forward legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish in draft the statutory guidance on the identification of potential victims of slavery or human trafficking, referred to in clause 64 of the Nationality and Borders Bill, during the current parliamentary session.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We committed in the Lords to engage with Lord Alton of Liverpool, Baroness Butler-Sloss, and others on the development of the guidance for decision makers in relation to the Modern Slavery clauses of the Nationality and Borders Bill.
The guidance will be published in the coming months.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish in draft the statutory guidance on the identification of potential victims of slavery or human trafficking, referred to in clause 64 of the Nationality and Borders Bill, during that Bill's passage through Parliament.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We committed in the Lords to engage with Lord Alton of Liverpool, Baroness Butler-Sloss, and others on the development of the guidance for decision makers in relation to the Modern Slavery clauses of the Nationality and Borders Bill.
The guidance will be published in the coming months.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use by police forces in England and Wales of Chinese-made surveillance cameras made by companies currently subject to US sanctions and investment bans.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The use of surveillance cameras is an operational matter for the police and the Government has therefore not assessed it.
The FCDO and Cabinet Office will issue guidance to enable buyers to more effectively exercise their discretion to exclude suppliers linked with modern slavery and human rights violations. The Public Procurement Bill will further strengthen the ability of public sector bodies to disqualify suppliers from bidding for contracts where they have a history of misconduct, including forced labour or modern slavery.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any risk to the Myanmar community in the UK presented by any Myanmar military attaché in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
As a matter or long-standing policy, the Government does not comment on the detail of security or intelligence matters.
The Government takes potential risks to communities in the UK, including those from Myanmar, very seriously. I would encourage anyone who feels that they are under threat to contact the police in the first instance.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 1 September (HL2328) and 21 September 2021 (HL2472) and her remarks on 2 February (HL Deb col 998), what discussions they have held with the government of the United States about its reasons for banning Hikvision; and why they have not taken similar steps with regard to banning Hikvision.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
I have met with the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner on 13 October last year and discussed the issues raised in the correspondence with Hikvision.
The Government is committed to supporting UK businesses to engage with China in a way that reflects the UK’s values and takes account of national security concerns. We have published guidance to help cutting-edge UK firms negotiate the ethical, legal and commercial questions they may encounter in China or when working with Chinese businesses, supporting safe and appropriate UK-China collaboration in the digital and technology space. The guidance provides firms with clear, up-to-date information and specialist support which reflect the UK’s values and take account of national security concerns. Our Overseas Business Risk guidance also makes clear to UK businesses operating in China the need to consider the risk of exposure to entities that may be providing or developing surveillance technologies. We continue to keep our policy position under review, working closely with our international partners.