Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress he has made in laying Statutory Instruments related to EU exit preparedness; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
As of 30 January, my department has laid 5 exit related statutory instruments. All exit related statutory instruments are published on legislation.gov.uk, and include ‘EU Exit’ in their title.
The Home Office has also published 3 statements of changes to the Immigration Rules regarding the EU Settlement Scheme that can be found at www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/updates
Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many families have been reunified under her Department's policy on family reunification of refugees in each of the last three years; and if she will make statement.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Information on entry clearance visa grants in the Family: Other category are published in the Home Office publication ‘Immigration Statistics, July – September 2017’, Visas data tables volume 1, table vi_01_q, available from https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2017.
The “Family: Other” category consists of:
• Family reunion: pre-existing family members (partners, minor children) of a person with refugee leave or humanitarian protection, who has not yet obtained British citizenship;
• From July 2012: dependants who are not partners or children of those with refugee leave or humanitarian protection;
• From July 2012: parents with access rights to a child.
There are a small number of applications for family reunion where leave is granted in exceptional circumstances outside the Immigration Rules which are not included in the Family: Other category.
Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
What steps she is taking to support refugees living in different regions of the UK.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We are committed to supporting refugees to integrate and rebuild their lives in the UK. This is why they are given the same access to the labour market and benefits as UK residents, as well as access to English language training. The most vulnerable refugees who arrive under one of our resettlement programmes also receive a comprehensive package of support.
Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19060, if she will estimate how much quicker a Disclosure and Barring Service check will be as a result of the Transformation Programme.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Disclosure and Barring Service is undertaking an IT-led transformation programme (Release 1) to reform the way it delivers its services. More information on R1, including its aims and costs can be found in DBS’ most recently published Annual Report and Accounts, link here:
The DBS is reliant on police forces completing their checks in a timely manner and the average turnaround time for disclosure checks will continue to be dependent on the operational effectiveness of respective forces.
Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19060, what the scope, aims and budget of the Disclosure and Barring Service Transformation Programme is.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Disclosure and Barring Service is undertaking an IT-led transformation programme (Release 1) to reform the way it delivers its services. More information on R1, including its aims and costs can be found in DBS’ most recently published Annual Report and Accounts, link here:
The DBS is reliant on police forces completing their checks in a timely manner and the average turnaround time for disclosure checks will continue to be dependent on the operational effectiveness of respective forces.
Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19309, if she will publish a summary of the recovery plan drawn up for Dorset Police.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The operational performance plans of police disclosure units are matters for Chief Constables in association with Police and Crime Commissioners. The Dorset recovery plan is addressing a number of challenges which have affected performance levels, including the implementation of an upgraded IT system and the recruitment of additional staff to enable it to improve its disclosure turnaround times. Of disclosure certificates dispatched to individuals with a Dorset postcode between December 2014 and March 2016, 16% were not completed within 60 days.
Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19309, what challenges have been faced by Dorset Police and have affected performance levels in completing Disclosure and Barring Service checks.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The operational performance plans of police disclosure units are matters for Chief Constables in association with Police and Crime Commissioners. The Dorset recovery plan is addressing a number of challenges which have affected performance levels, including the implementation of an upgraded IT system and the recruitment of additional staff to enable it to improve its disclosure turnaround times. Of disclosure certificates dispatched to individuals with a Dorset postcode between December 2014 and March 2016, 16% were not completed within 60 days.
Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19309, what percentage of Disclosure and Barring Service applications in Dorset have not been completed within the 60 day maximum period since 1 December 2014.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The operational performance plans of police disclosure units are matters for Chief Constables in association with Police and Crime Commissioners. The Dorset recovery plan is addressing a number of challenges which have affected performance levels, including the implementation of an upgraded IT system and the recruitment of additional staff to enable it to improve its disclosure turnaround times. Of disclosure certificates dispatched to individuals with a Dorset postcode between December 2014 and March 2016, 16% were not completed within 60 days.
Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
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 making Disclosure and Barring Service certificates portable and valid from organisation to organisation by the person concerned.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) offers an Update Service which can deliver savings in both time and costs. With the certificate holder’s permission, a potential employer or another person with a legitimate interest can check via a DBS online portal whether any new information has been recorded since the certificate was issued. Only if there has been a change is there any need for the individual to obtain a new certificate. This enables portability of certificates between organisations. It is only applicable where the certificate holder is moving within the same workforce – such as work with children or work with vulnerable adults. Where the person is moving between workforces a new certificate will be required, as there may be different factors affecting decisions about whether information is appropriate for disclosure.
Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the range of waiting times is for the return of Disclosure and Barring Service documentation for applications in Dorset.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) measures its performance against a set of Published Service Standards (PSS). Performance data applying to certificates dispatched to people whose applications were made from a Dorset postcode between 1 December 2014 and 30 November 2015 are contained in the table below. Current performance levels reflect a number of challenges for Dorset Police, including delivering an upgraded IT system. The DBS has agreed a recovery plan with Dorset Police. This will mean additional staff are recruited to enable it to improve its disclosure turnaround times.
Measure | National Target | Performance in Dorset |
All within 56 Calendar days | 95% | 82.7% |
All within 21 Calendar days | 85% | 75.7% |
All E-Bulk (or electronic applications) within 21 Calendar days | 88% | 77.9% |
All Paper within 21 Calendar days | 82% | 70.5% |