Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fast-track passport appointments have been released by HMPO in (a) May 2022 and (b) since 1 June 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Appointments for urgent services are released three weeks in advance. While this means new appointments are released daily, in busy periods these will be booked quickly.
Her Majesty’s Passport Office therefore continues to explore options to further increase appointment capacity to support its customers with urgent travel needs.
This work has led to the recent opening of an eighth public counter offering urgent service appointments, and further increasing appointment availability to help support those people who need their passport more quickly.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the nationalities are of asylum seekers identified for deportation to Rwanda.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Everyone who arrives illegally will be considered for relocation on a case by case basis.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the time between a visa application centre making a decision in respect of a Ukrainian visa application and issuing a permission to travel letter.
Answered by Kevin Foster
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to complete the review into child citizenship fees following the Court of Appeal February 2021 ruling that the current rate is unlawful.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office has acknowledged the Court of Appeal’s judgment and has committed to reviewing the child citizenship registration fee in line with its duties under Section 55. This review is on-going and the results will be published in due course
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the findings of the report by Women for Refugee Women After Exploitation entitled Survivors Behind Bars, published on 4 February 2021, that the detention of trafficking victims has increased since the introduction of the Adults at Risk policy in 2016; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Government does not have an absolute exclusion from detention for any particular group. However, we fully accept that some groups of individuals can be at particular risk of harm in immigration detention. This is the basis of the Adults at Risk in immigration detention (AAR) policy, which strengthens the presumption against detention for vulnerable individuals.
The policy covers a wider range of vulnerabilities and its introduction has enabled Home Office staff to promptly identify whether a person is vulnerable and consequently whether they should be detained. This allows for a more rounded assessment of such vulnerabilities in a detention setting, along with a balanced assessment of any immigration compliance, criminality factors and expected date of removal. The greater the evidence of vulnerability, the less likely it is that the individual will be detained.
Additional safeguards are also in place which underpin detention decisions, including regular reviews to ensure detention remains lawful, appropriate and proportionate.
All Home Office staff working in the detention system are also given training and support to identify and act upon indicators of vulnerability, including recognising victims of trafficking and modern slavery, at the earliest opportunity. If an individual is suspected to be a victim of trafficking, they will be referred into the National Referral Mechanism.