Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made on the potential impact of introducing electronic travel authorisations on British National (overseas) passport holders.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Electronic travel authorisations (ETAs) have been introduced to enhance our ability to screen travellers upstream and stop those who pose a threat from travelling to the UK.
ETAs were expanded to BN(O) passport holders on 27 November 2024 and are currently a requirement for this population when travelling to the UK. But this aspect of the policy remains under review and we will update the House on any changes in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will engage with (a) the British Healthcare Trades Association and (b) other organisations in the first aid industry on the (i) adequacy and (ii) accessibility of first aid provisions in the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill does not include a specific requirement relating to the provision of first aid or associated equipment.
The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 already make requirements for employers, including provision of adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to ensure their employees receive immediate attention if they are injured or taken ill at work.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) oversee compliance with the regulations. Where appropriate, the HSE engages with a range of stakeholders within the medical and first aid sector, including standard setters in the first aid industry, such as St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross.
Wider work is ongoing to strengthen Healthcare Standards. The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) is working with partners to put in place updated guidance for health care at events. Once published the Event Healthcare Standard will be assessed in partnership with NHS England to determine whether this standard should become a statutory obligation.
The Home Office will continue to engage with sectors within the scope of the legislation, to support them to understand their obligations.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if (a) she and (b) her Department will hold discussions with the British Healthcare Trades Association on the role of first aid kits in ensuring public safety in the context of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill does not include a specific requirement relating to the provision of first aid or associated equipment.
The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 already make requirements for employers, including provision of adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to ensure their employees receive immediate attention if they are injured or taken ill at work.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) oversee compliance with the regulations. Where appropriate, the HSE engages with a range of stakeholders within the medical and first aid sector, including standard setters in the first aid industry, such as St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross.
Wider work is ongoing to strengthen Healthcare Standards. The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) is working with partners to put in place updated guidance for health care at events. Once published the Event Healthcare Standard will be assessed in partnership with NHS England to determine whether this standard should become a statutory obligation.
The Home Office will continue to engage with sectors within the scope of the legislation, to support them to understand their obligations.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to digital gates at Border Control for British National (Overseas) passport holders; and what steps she is taking to ensure equitable treatment for those passport holders.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
e-Passport Gates (eGates) continue to provide a safe, secure and efficient way for millions of British and Irish citizens, and nationals of the EU/EEA, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the USA to enter the UK each year.
We keep eGate eligibility under regular review to ensure we are maintaining border security and effectively managing passenger flow through the UK border. The Government is committed to improving our border security and the passenger experience by continuing to look at options to increase the usage of eGates by those currently eligible and explore innovative technologies to increase the use of automation at the UK border.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to provide police forces with the power to require the removal of (a) dangerous items and (b) content (i) online and (ii) for sale online.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Online Safety Act requires platforms to take action to prevent the proliferation of illegal content online and ensure that their services are not used for offending. This means they will need to proactively mitigate the risk that their services are used for illegal activity or to share illegal content, and to design their services to mitigate the risk of this occurring.
Ofcom has now laid the first edition of the Illegal Harms Codes in Parliament, setting out what platforms need to do to comply with the Online Safety Act. These will come into force, subject to Parliamentary approval, on the 17th of March 2025. Firms do not need to wait for these duties to come into effect and can act now.
Ofcom has a tough suite of enforcement powers to use against companies who fail to fulfil their duties. This includes fines of up to £18 million or 10 per cent of qualifying annual global turnover (whichever is greater).
The Home Secretary has also outlined measures to prevent the online sale of knives and other weapons to children to reduce knife crime. We have already banned deadly zombie-style knives and machetes and are fast progressing with banning Ninja swords. We have also consulted on introducing personal liability measures on senior executives of online platforms and marketplaces who fail to take action to remove illegal content related to knives and offensive weapons off their platforms and marketplaces. The consultation closed on 11 December 2024 and we are currently analysing the responses. The Home Secretary has also announced that the Government intends to strengthen age verification controls and checks for all online sellers of knives at the point of purchase and on delivery.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make a comparative assessment of the potential merits of a charging structure for citizenship applications based on recovering the full costs for processing them rather than a full-profit model.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Fees for immigration and nationality applications are kept under review and are set taking account of the charging powers provided by Section 68(9) of the Immigration Act 2014, which include the ability to set fees based on: the cost of processing the application, the benefits and entitlements provided by a successful application and the wider cost of the Migration and Borders system. Full details of which can be reviewed via the following link: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/22/section/68.
The Home Office does not make a profit from fees and any income from fees set above the cost of processing are utilised for the purpose of running the Migration and Borders system. Taking this approach helps to meet the costs of maintaining an effective Migration and Borders system which benefits everyone and reduces reliance on taxpayer funding.
The Home Office offers fee exemptions and waivers for citizenship applications in limited circumstances. These circumstances relate to righting historical anomalies in nationality law and, in relation to children who are applying to register as a British citizen, there is a fee exception for those who are in local authority care and a fee waiver based on affordability grounds, which were introduced on 16th June 2022.
Please find a previously published Equality Impact Assessment which includes considerations in respect of citizenship fees: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/1004/pdfs/uksiod_20231004_en_001.pdf.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the savings to (a) local councils and (b) other public bodies of ending No Recourse to Public Funds restrictions on parents of dependent children.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is a well-established principle that migrants coming to the UK should be able to maintain and support themselves and their families without creating a burden on the welfare system. That is the purpose of the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition and there are no plans to remove that condition.
Some temporary migrants are granted access to public funds, and in recognition of the fact that some individuals may need support despite being subject to an NRPF condition, safeguards exist.
Local authorities may also provide basic safety net support, regardless of immigration status, if it is established either that there is a risk to the wellbeing of a child or there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution, for example, where a person has community care needs or serious health problems. Support provided to a child by local authorities is not dependent on the immigration status of the child or their parent(s).
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her planned timetable is for implementing Respect Orders; and when decisions will be taken on pilot areas.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
The Government recently announced Respect Orders which will be introduced through the Crime and Policing Bill. Respect Orders can be applied for by the police and local councils and are issued by the courts. They will enable courts to place wide-ranging restrictions on the behaviour of the most persistent and disruptive ASB offenders.
Respect Orders will be piloted prior to national rollout to make sure they are as effective as possible. Consideration will be given to where the pilots will take place in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department last reviewed the level of fees for citizenship applications.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Fees for immigration and nationality applications are kept under regular review.
The Home Office this week announced its intention to increase the fee to naturalise as a British Citizen to £1,605, and £1,070 for British Overseas Territories citizens, subject to Parliamentary approval.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of people whose (a) biometric residence permit and (b) biometric residence card are scheduled to end on 31 December 2024 but haven't yet accessed an e-visa.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
An extensive communications campaign is being delivered in support of the transition to eVisas, which includes guidance available at: www.gov.uk/evisa, as well as direct messaging to individuals with Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs), out of home advertising, print and social media alongside engagement activity through multicultural community organisations, embassies and stakeholder events. We have also produced an eVisa partner pack, which includes guidance for those who check immigration statuses, informative factsheets and a range of social media assets which stakeholders can use on their channels.
Over 4 million BRPs and over 200,000 BRCs are due to expire on 31 December 2024. BRC holders granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) already have an eVisa, and do not need to take any action to obtain one. As part of the transition to eVisas, we are closely monitoring the volume of customers who have registered for a UKVI account and the forecast total volume of affected customers, and we will shortly publish updated data on the number and breakdown of UKVI registrations.
For many, the expiry of BRPs and BRCs on 31 December 2024 will have no immediate impact; most people don’t need to prove their immigration status on a day-to-day basis, and many of the checks performed will be unaffected by the expiry of biometric residence permits (BRPs). The underlying status of the customer’s current immigration status will also not be affected upon creation of a UKVI account. BRP holders will still be able to use the online right to work and rent services to prove their rights once their BRP expires – provided they still have valid status. They will also be able to create a UKVI account to access their eVisa using an expired BRP. We are planning to update the biometric registration regulations to make this clear.
While we are encouraging legacy immigration document holders to transition to eVisas, they can still use their legacy documents to prove their rights as they do today, where these are permitted.