Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children through the Dubs amendment provisions (a) have been resettled in the last and (b) will be resettled in the next 12 months from (i) France, (ii) Italy and (iii) Greece.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
On February 8, the Government announced that we will transfer the specified number of 350 children to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act following consultation with local authorities on capacity. In 2016 over 900 unaccompanied asylum seeking children were transferred to the UK, of which over 750 have been transferred from France, of which over 200 came under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016. We will announce in due course the basis on which further 150 children will be transferred from Europe to the UK, where it is in their best interests, under section 67 of the Immigration Act.
The Home Secretary and I have both met with our Italian counterparts recently to discuss how we can support them; discussions are ongoing. The Home Secretary has spoken with her Greek colleagues to discuss the Migration crisis. We have seconded an expert to Greece to support these efforts, and are working in conjunction with the Greek authorities, UNHCR and NGOs to identify children whose best interests may be served by a transfer to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act, pending the publication of the basis on which the transfers will be made. In Italy, our long-standing secondee is also working closely with the Italian authorities. Our secondees are also working to support the timely and efficient operation of the Dublin Regulation, in order to ensure that children with close family in the UK can be reunited.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with her (a) Italian and (b) Greek counterparts on resettling unaccompanied asylum-seeking children from those countries under the Dubs amendment provisions.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
On February 8, the Government announced that we will transfer the specified number of 350 children to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act following consultation with local authorities on capacity. In 2016 over 900 unaccompanied asylum seeking children were transferred to the UK, of which over 750 have been transferred from France, of which over 200 came under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016. We will announce in due course the basis on which further 150 children will be transferred from Europe to the UK, where it is in their best interests, under section 67 of the Immigration Act.
The Home Secretary and I have both met with our Italian counterparts recently to discuss how we can support them; discussions are ongoing. The Home Secretary has spoken with her Greek colleagues to discuss the Migration crisis. We have seconded an expert to Greece to support these efforts, and are working in conjunction with the Greek authorities, UNHCR and NGOs to identify children whose best interests may be served by a transfer to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act, pending the publication of the basis on which the transfers will be made. In Italy, our long-standing secondee is also working closely with the Italian authorities. Our secondees are also working to support the timely and efficient operation of the Dublin Regulation, in order to ensure that children with close family in the UK can be reunited.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her Department's policy not to employ people who have recently resided at an address covered by the British Forces Post Office.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Home Office does not have a policy that precludes employing people who have recently resided at an address covered by the British Forces Post Office.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects the current threat from international terrorism to be downgraded from severe.
Answered by John Hayes
The UK terrorism threat level is set by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC). JTAC operates independently of Ministers and considers all relevant information to assess the threat from international terrorism. Its judgements are made on the basis of the latest intelligence, and it keeps the threat level under constant review.
The current threat level is SEVERE, meaning that an attack is highly likely. Members of the public should remain alert to the danger of terrorism, but they should not let the fear of terrorism stop them from going about their day-to-day life as normal.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the page on the National Crime Agency website entitled, Cyber crime: Preventing young people from getting involved, what the statistical evidence is for the statement that more and more teenagers and young people are involved in cyber crime.
Answered by Mike Penning
The evidence to support this statement has derived from analysis by the National Crime Agency of investigations involving their National Cyber Crime Unit. This found the average age of suspects to be 17, compared to 24 in the previous year. The statement has also been informed by debriefing sessions that the National Cyber Crime Unit has undertaken with offenders, and academic engagement.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what dates officers of the Metropolitan Police Service trained officers of the Security Support Department of the Abu Dhabi Police; how many such officers were trained; what the content of that training was; and whether that training included training on human rights issues.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Home Office does not hold the information asked for.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the efficacy of her Department's procedures and adequacy of the end-to-end timescale in relation to applications for no time limit and biometric immigration documentation by someone who already has indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Answered by James Brokenshire
There are no plans for a specific review of the administrative handling of immigration applications. UK Visas and Immigration is, however, committed to the principles of continuous improvement and to applying these to ensure processes are efficient and effective.
The administrative requirements, and service standards, to which applicants for indefinite leave to remain are subject, are set out at www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/settle-in-the-uk. This information is reviewed regularly, with a view to ensuring it is as clear as possible.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of (a) women and (b) people from ethnic minorities in the police forces.
Answered by Mike Penning
It is vital that the police reflect the communities they serve and the Government is determined to improve BME representation in all 43 forces in England and Wales.
Decisions on when and how to recruit individuals are for the chief officer of a police force. It is important that they use equalities legislation, including positive action provisions, to make better progress in terms of recruitment of under-represented groups.
The Home Secretary announced on 22 October the publication of data showing the gender and ethnicity of police officers by force area. This represents an important step in making it easier for the public to access the data they need to see how representative their force is compared to the local population. It is clear that the current representation of women and officers from minority ethnic backgrounds in the officer ranks is not good enough and the Home Secretary has challenged forces to do more.
The Government's reforms have already made improvements, for example we set up the College of Policing which has embarked on a major programme of work, BME Progression 2018, looking at recruitment, retention and progression of black and minority ethnic officers, including the development of an evidence base of successful approaches used by forces.
We have worked with the College to develop its Reverse Mentoring programme, which seeks to give police leaders an insight into the direct lived experience of officers from under-represented groups. I am grateful to the five Chief Constables who have signed their force up to the programme. We also worked with the College to produce its Positive Action Practical Advice, which advises forces on the use of lawful positive action to support the recruitment, retention and progression of officers from under-represented groups.
Under this Government innovative schemes such as Direct Entry and Police Now are increasing the number of BME recruits to the police, showing that you can achieve better representation whilst attracting the best and the brightest into policing.
Of the nine direct entry superintendents who began their superintendent training on November 2014 four (44%) are women and two (22%) are from an ethnic minority background. This is significantly more representative than the current make up of the superintendent rank which is comprised of 17% women and 4% ethnic minority.
Police Now, implemented in the Metropolitan Police, appointed 69 people to start their training, up from an anticipated 50 owing to the high calibre of applicants. Of these, 43% are women and 9% are from a BME background, compared to the national BME proportion of 5.5%.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions were held with the Scottish Government on the minimum income threshold requirement for family visas prior to its implementation about its potential impact (a) on affected families living in Scotland, (b) to the Scottish economy and (c) on communities across Scotland.
Answered by James Brokenshire
A three-month public consultation on family migration, including the proposal for a minimum income threshold for those sponsoring family migrants, was undertaken across the UK from 13 July to 6 October 2011. The Scottish Government and local authorities and non-governmental organisations in Scotland were consulted as part of this process. The Scottish Government and local authorities were also consulted by the independent Migration Advisory Committee in preparing its November 2011 report on the level at which a minimum income threshold should be set to prevent family migrants becoming a burden on the taxpayer. The responses to the public consultation and the Migration Advisory Committee’s report were carefully considered in setting the minimum income threshold requirement for family visas implemented on 9 July 2012.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Oral Answer to the hon. Member for South Antrim of 6 July 2015, Official Report, column 22, whether her Department plans to vary the minimum income threshold requirements for family visas to take account of different costs of living in different parts of the UK.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The minimum income threshold of £18,600 for sponsoring a non-European Economic Area national partner to come or remain here applies across the UK under the family Immigration Rules implemented on 9 July 2012. The level of the income threshold, which aims to prevent burdens on the taxpayer and promote integration, was set following advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee and reflects the income at which a family settled here generally cannot access income-related benefits. The Committee, in its November 2011 report, could see no clear case for differentiation of the income threshold between UK countries and regions and noted several arguments against such an approach. These included that a family living in a wealthy part of a relatively poor UK country or region could be subject to a lower income requirement than a family living in a deprived part of a relatively wealthy one. The government agrees with that assessment and a single minimum income threshold across the UK has been found to be lawful by the courts.