Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential economic and cultural benefits of extending the amount of time exchange students can remain in the UK under the visitor immigration route from six months to one year.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Under the new simplified immigration rules which came into effect on 1 December 2020, study for up to six months at an accredited institution is permitted under the visitor route.
The visit route is for a person who wants to come to the UK for a temporary period, usually up to 6 months.
Visitors may also learn about and undertake research as part of a course they are studying overseas.
There are no plans to allow visitors to study for more than six months.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of the sixth-month limit on how long incoming exchange students can remain in the UK under the visitor immigration route.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Under the new simplified immigration rules which came into effect on 1 December 2020, study for up to six months at an accredited institution is permitted under the visitor route.
The visit route is for a person who wants to come to the UK for a temporary period, usually up to 6 months.
Visitors may also learn about and undertake research as part of a course they are studying overseas.
There are no plans to allow visitors to study for more than six months.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to extend the concession that allows universities to sponsor a student’s visa for distance learning, which is due to expire in April 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Throughout the pandemic, the Government have introduced several concessions to support international students and their sponsors. International students are permitted to start a course from overseas through distance learning without a visa.
These concessions are kept under regular review.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has in place to extend the concession that enables universities to sponsor students' visas for distance learning due to expire in April 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Throughout the pandemic, the Government have introduced a number of concessions to support international students and their sponsors. International students are permitted to start a course from overseas through distance learning without a visa. These concessions are kept under regular review.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the value for money of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in the context of the changes to Government policy that have resulted from that inquiry.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government has carefully considered all recommendations made by the Inquiry to date. These recommendations informed the development of the Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy, which was published on 22 January, and will continue to inform its implementation.
In particular, the Government is implementing a number of IICSA’s recommendations as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. This includes including further ‘positions of trust’ to which the existing offences contained within sections 16–19 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 will apply, when certain activities are knowingly carried out on a regular basis within a sport or a religion. We are also placing a requirement for the courts and the police to have regard to a list of countries when they are considering the need for foreign travel prohibitions as part of the civil orders.
The Inquiry’s recommendations also have a reach far beyond central Government, and continue to inform other agencies’ approaches to addressing any institutional child protection gaps, and assisting with the culture change needed to improve the system-wide response to child sexual abuse.
Crucially, the Inquiry’s Truth Project, which has offered nearly 6,000 victims and survivors of child sexual abuse the opportunity to share their experiences, has helped to ensure the voice of victims is at the heart of organisational and societal changes going forwards.
The Inquiry’s final Report is due to be published next year which will include further findings and recommendations, which Government will carefully consider.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendations made to date by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse; and whether she has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to implement those recommendations.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government has carefully considered all recommendations made by the Inquiry to date. These recommendations informed the development of the Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy, which was published on 22 January, and will continue to inform its implementation.
In particular, the Government is implementing a number of IICSA’s recommendations as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. This includes including further ‘positions of trust’ to which the existing offences contained within sections 16–19 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 will apply, when certain activities are knowingly carried out on a regular basis within a sport or a religion. We are also placing a requirement for the courts and the police to have regard to a list of countries when they are considering the need for foreign travel prohibitions as part of the civil orders.
The Inquiry’s recommendations also have a reach far beyond central Government, and continue to inform other agencies’ approaches to addressing any institutional child protection gaps, and assisting with the culture change needed to improve the system-wide response to child sexual abuse.
Crucially, the Inquiry’s Truth Project, which has offered nearly 6,000 victims and survivors of child sexual abuse the opportunity to share their experiences, has helped to ensure the voice of victims is at the heart of organisational and societal changes going forwards.
The Inquiry’s final Report is due to be published next year which will include further findings and recommendations, which Government will carefully consider.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of police resources during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government has been clear that it will provide police forces with the support they need to continue protecting the public and keeping communities safe through the coronavirus pandemic.
The Government is taking steps to mitigate forces’ COVID-19 related financial pressures. It is reimbursing all their additional expenditure on medical-grade personal protective equipment between 27 February and 27 July, and has launched an income loss recovery scheme for Police and Crime Commissioners to claim a proportion of their budgeted income on sales, fees and charges in 2020/21 lost due to the coronavirus.
On 8 October the Government announced an additional £30m for police forces in England and Wales to step up their enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions through the autumn and winter months.
The department continues to work closely with the policing sector to monitor and make decisions on their current and future funding needs.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vehicles have been stopped by police for producing a hazardous amount of smoke in the last 12 months; and what proportion of those vehicles were confiscated;
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office does not hold this information centrally.
The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986?lay down certain requirements that all vehicles have to meet strict emission standards and be constructed and maintained so as not to emit any avoidable?smoke. It also governs the amount of light that must pass through the windows of?a vehicle and therefore how clearly the windows can be seen through.
It is for the police to take enforcement action as they consider appropriate against those in breach of the Regulations.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vehicles have been stopped by police in the last 12 months for their windscreens or front side windows being tinted beyond legal limits; and what information she holds on the steps taken in relation to those vehicles.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office does not hold this information centrally.
The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986?lay down certain requirements that all vehicles have to meet strict emission standards and be constructed and maintained so as not to emit any avoidable?smoke. It also governs the amount of light that must pass through the windows of?a vehicle and therefore how clearly the windows can be seen through.
It is for the police to take enforcement action as they consider appropriate against those in breach of the Regulations.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to develop a national strategy for tackling violence against retail workers.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government published its response to the Call for Evidence on Violence and Abuse Towards Shop Staff on 7 July. In response to its findings, we are already working with retailers, the police and others through the National Retail Crime Steering Group to develop and deliver a programme of work to drive down violence and abuse towards shopworkers.
You can access the report here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/violence-and-abuse-toward-shop-staff-call-for-evidence