Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate her Department has made of the impact of the no recourse to public funds policy on levels of (a) homelessness and (b) rough sleeping for EU nationals in the UK.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office works closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to reduce the incidence of rough sleeping among non-UK nationals. The Home Office Rough Sleeping Support Service (RSSS) gives real-time immigration information to local authorities and registered charities, to help them assess rough sleepers’ status and entitlements. Where individuals with unresolved immigration status cannot access the support they may be entitled to, the RSSS supports them to resolve their status and gain access to that support.
Migrants with leave under the family and human rights routes, and those who have been granted leave on the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa route as a British National (Overseas) status holder or a family member of a British National (Overseas) status holder, can apply, for free, to have their NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘change of condition’ application if they are destitute or at risk of destitution, if the welfare of their child is at risk due to their low income, or where there are other exceptional financial circumstances.
For those on other routes, we remain clear that councils and partners should exhaust all options within the law to support those who are unable to access statutory homelessness assistance as a result of their immigration status and to ensure everyone has a route off the street, including those with a NRPF condition.
Those who have no recourse to public funds due to not having a lawful immigration status, should seek to regularise their stay or leave the UK. The Voluntary Returns Service offers practical support for most foreign nationals who have decided they want to return home.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of collecting disaggregated data on incidents of domestic violence by (a) ethnicity of the complainant, (b) immigration status of the complainant and (c) police recorded outcome.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
This Government is committed to supporting all victims of domestic abuse. Our landmark Domestic Abuse Act will strengthen our protection to victims and ensure perpetrators feel the full force of the law. It includes the first legal definition of domestic abuse, improved support for victims in the courts, new offences and strengthened legislation around cruel acts of controlling or coercive behaviour.
The definition of domestic abuse included in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 is universally applicable and the Act’s provisions apply to all victims of domestic abuse, regardless of age, ethnic background, immigration status, and should offer greater protections for especially vulnerable individuals.
The Home Office collects data on outcomes assigned to domestic abuse-related offences recorded by the police. These data are published annually by the Office for National Statistics in their articles on domestic abuse. Data for 2020/21 can be found here: Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).
The Home Office has begun collecting data on the ethnicity of victims of all crime from 1 April this year and these data will be published in due course. Information on the immigration status of the complainant of domestic abuse-related offences are not collected centrally.
Collecting data allows us to better monitor the prevalence of domestic abuse amongst different groups and further integrate a diverse range of victim experiences into conversations and policy decisions around domestic abuse.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the report by Hibiscus Initiatives and others, entitled Tackling double disadvantage, published on 22 January 2022.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The recommendations included in the "Tackling Double Disadvantage” report are being considered by the Female Offender Minority Ethnic working group established by the Ministry of Justice.
Collecting data allows us to monitor the prevalence of violence against women and girls amongst different groups and further integrate a diverse range of victim experiences into conversations and policy decisions. The Home Office is committed to establishing a data collection on offences where the crime has been motivated by a hostility to the victim’s sex, with discussions with police forces ongoing. A voluntary collection on the ethnicity of victims of all crime began on 1st April this year. Together, these collections will allow us to assess gender-based violence by ethnicity.
The Home Office does not collect information on whether a victim or perpetrator of crime was a migrant or not.
In July 2021, we published our cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy and on 30th March published the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan. For the first time, our Strategy and Plan were shaped by the public’s views – we ran a national Call for Evidence on Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls which received an unprecedented 180,000 responses. We actively sought input from underrepresented groups and held focus groups to ensure that we heard the perspectives of people from ethnic minority backgrounds and refugee and migrant women expert service providers. In the Tackling VAWG Strategy, we committed to working with the Office for National Statistics to review current available data on violence against women and girls and identify the priorities for data improvement.
The report states its aim to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities for ethnic minority and migrant women in contact with the criminal justice system. We agree it is vital that police officers and criminal justice staff have the right competences and values, and an understanding, especially when dealing with the most vulnerable in our society. The College of Policing’s foundation training for all those entering the service includes substantial coverage of police ethics and self-understanding, including the effects of personal conscious and unconscious bias. The initial training undertaken by all officers also covers hate crimes, ethics and equalities, and policing without bias. In addition, the College of Policing have developed specialist domestic abuse training, the Domestic Abuse Matters programme, which has been, or is in the process of being delivered for, the majority of forces (32 Home Office forces have either completed the training, are currently in process of, or are mobilising). The first responders training makes covers dealing with the specific vulnerabilities of different victims.
The new full-time National Policing Lead for Violence Against Women and Girls, DCC Maggie Blyth, has included building trust and confidence as a key pillar of the Policing VAWG National Framework for delivery. This includes working with charities supporting ethnic minority and migrant women and girls to avoid their specific needs being overlooked.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report by Hibiscus Initiatives and others, Tackling Double Disadvantage, published on 22 January 2022, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of the collection of disaggregated data on gender-based violence and its links with (a) Black, (b) Asian, (c) other ethnic minority and (d) migrant women’s pathways into the criminal justice system.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The recommendations included in the "Tackling Double Disadvantage” report are being considered by the Female Offender Minority Ethnic working group established by the Ministry of Justice.
Collecting data allows us to monitor the prevalence of violence against women and girls amongst different groups and further integrate a diverse range of victim experiences into conversations and policy decisions. The Home Office is committed to establishing a data collection on offences where the crime has been motivated by a hostility to the victim’s sex, with discussions with police forces ongoing. A voluntary collection on the ethnicity of victims of all crime began on 1st April this year. Together, these collections will allow us to assess gender-based violence by ethnicity.
The Home Office does not collect information on whether a victim or perpetrator of crime was a migrant or not.
In July 2021, we published our cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy and on 30th March published the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan. For the first time, our Strategy and Plan were shaped by the public’s views – we ran a national Call for Evidence on Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls which received an unprecedented 180,000 responses. We actively sought input from underrepresented groups and held focus groups to ensure that we heard the perspectives of people from ethnic minority backgrounds and refugee and migrant women expert service providers. In the Tackling VAWG Strategy, we committed to working with the Office for National Statistics to review current available data on violence against women and girls and identify the priorities for data improvement.
The report states its aim to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities for ethnic minority and migrant women in contact with the criminal justice system. We agree it is vital that police officers and criminal justice staff have the right competences and values, and an understanding, especially when dealing with the most vulnerable in our society. The College of Policing’s foundation training for all those entering the service includes substantial coverage of police ethics and self-understanding, including the effects of personal conscious and unconscious bias. The initial training undertaken by all officers also covers hate crimes, ethics and equalities, and policing without bias. In addition, the College of Policing have developed specialist domestic abuse training, the Domestic Abuse Matters programme, which has been, or is in the process of being delivered for, the majority of forces (32 Home Office forces have either completed the training, are currently in process of, or are mobilising). The first responders training makes covers dealing with the specific vulnerabilities of different victims.
The new full-time National Policing Lead for Violence Against Women and Girls, DCC Maggie Blyth, has included building trust and confidence as a key pillar of the Policing VAWG National Framework for delivery. This includes working with charities supporting ethnic minority and migrant women and girls to avoid their specific needs being overlooked.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March to Question 143639 on National Crime Agency: Standards, how many cases involving money linked to corruption flowing from African states into the UK were prosecuted following National Crime Agency investigations in (a) 2018, (b) 2019 and (c) 2020.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The NCA has had no prosecutions in respect of money linked to corruption flowing from African states during 2018, 2019 and 2020. The Government regularly assesses the threat posed by corruption and money laundering, including through the NCA-led National Strategic Assessment and the joint Home Office and Treasury National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.
The government also undertakes specific geographic research and analysis as required, including through the FCDO-funded Anti-Corruption Evidence Programme.
In 2020 the National Crime Agency, through the Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce, publicly issued an Amber Alert on the bribery and corruption risks in the independent schools sector. Its focus was country agnostic although it included African case studies.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the efficacy of UK efforts to stem the flow of money linked to (a) state capture and (b) other forms of corruption in African countries entering the UK’s private education system.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The NCA has had no prosecutions in respect of money linked to corruption flowing from African states during 2018, 2019 and 2020. The Government regularly assesses the threat posed by corruption and money laundering, including through the NCA-led National Strategic Assessment and the joint Home Office and Treasury National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.
The government also undertakes specific geographic research and analysis as required, including through the FCDO-funded Anti-Corruption Evidence Programme.
In 2020 the National Crime Agency, through the Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce, publicly issued an Amber Alert on the bribery and corruption risks in the independent schools sector. Its focus was country agnostic although it included African case studies.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the scale of illicit finance in the UK that may be linked to corruption and originates from African states.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The NCA has had no prosecutions in respect of money linked to corruption flowing from African states during 2018, 2019 and 2020. The Government regularly assesses the threat posed by corruption and money laundering, including through the NCA-led National Strategic Assessment and the joint Home Office and Treasury National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.
The government also undertakes specific geographic research and analysis as required, including through the FCDO-funded Anti-Corruption Evidence Programme.
In 2020 the National Crime Agency, through the Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce, publicly issued an Amber Alert on the bribery and corruption risks in the independent schools sector. Its focus was country agnostic although it included African case studies.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that allocations of ODA to Rwanda promote efficacy and value for public money in the implementation of UK development goals; and if she will publish evidence to demonstrate that offers of (a) ODA and (b) other development funding to Rwanda were not made as part of negotiations to establish a migrant deportation policy.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Under the Migration and Economic Development Partnership between the UK and Rwanda, we have announced a new Economic Transformation and Integration Fund to boost the development of Rwanda. Rwanda will be responsible for allocating this funding to achieve its development goals, including creating jobs, improving livelihoods, increasing productivity, boosting trade and ensuring long-term sustainable development.
The funding for the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda is separate from, and additional to, the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget. It complements the UK and Rwanda’s existing collaboration on a range of priorities including girls’ education, building back from COVID-19 and climate change, and it will bolster our longstanding development partnership focused on green growth and trade, building human capital and supporting effective, accountable institutions.
Funding will be provided separately to support the delivery of asylum operations, accommodation and integration, similar to the costs incurred in the UK for these services.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she will take to ensure equal treatment of asylum seekers of all ethnicities and nationalities fleeing war; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The UK has a proud record of providing protection for people who need it, in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). As a signatory to the Refugee Convention and ECHR, we are legally obliged to consider all asylum claims made in the UK and admitted to the asylum system, and we are legally obliged to consider people’s human rights in all circumstances where a person would be removed from the UK.
Every asylum claim, regardless of the ethnicity or nationality of the claimant is carefully considered on its individual merits by assessing all the evidence provided by the claimant against a background of country information from a wide range of credible sources, including the Foreign, Development and Commonwealth Office, the media and non-governmental sources, such as the UNHCR, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Refugee status is granted when someone has a well-founded fear of persecution under the Refugee Convention for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. For those who do not have a well-founded fear of persecution for a convention reason, we consider whether they are at risk of serious harm and are in need of protection on humanitarian grounds. This ensures that we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin.
All asylum decision making policies are developed and reviewed in line with our duties under the Equality Act 2010; to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under this Act; advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. Protected characteristics include race.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
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 provisions in the Nationality and Borders Bill on Eritrean victims of (a) religious persecution and (b) torture who are seeking asylum in the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Nationality and Borders Bill is part of our New Plan for Immigration, delivering the most comprehensive reform of the asylum system in decades.
An Equality Impact Assessment was published on 16 September 2021, and this includes consideration of possible impacts on people arising from their nationality and their religion or beliefs; it also includes consideration of possible impacts on people who have experienced trauma.
The Equality Impact Assessment can be found on the GOV.UK website: Nationality and Borders Bill: equality impact assessment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)