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Written Question
Immigration: Fees and Charges
Monday 4th September 2023

Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 13 July 2023, Official report, column 526, what the changes to immigration fees will be.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The cost of most work and visit visas will increase by 15%. The cost of study visas, certificates of sponsorship, settlement, citizenship, wider entry clearance and leave to remain visas, and priority visas will increase by at least 20%.

We will also equalise costs for students and for those using a priority service so people pay the same whether they apply from within the UK or from outside the UK.

We will lay Regulations in the Autumn that will set out the specific changes to immigration and nationality fees in more detail.


Written Question
Migrants and Overseas Students: Health Services and Visas
Monday 4th September 2023

Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of increasing the cost of (a) the immigration health surcharge and (b) student visas on (i) numbers of international students and (ii) international student diversification in the UK.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The Home Office is increasing application fees across a range of immigration and nationality routes, including for people coming to live, work and study in the UK. Increasing application fees, together with the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), helps to fund vital services and allowing wider funding to be prioritised for public sector pay awards.

We will lay regulations and legislation in the Autumn to amend the immigration and nationality fees and the IHS levels, which will set out which immigration routes are impacted and will be accompanied by full economic impact assessments.

We keep fees and IHS levels under review.


Written Question
Migrants and Overseas Students: Health Services and Visas
Monday 4th September 2023

Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Russell Group, (b) Universities UK and (c) other sector stakeholders on the potential impact of increasing the cost of (i) the immigration health surcharge and (ii) student visas on the higher education sector.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The Home Office is increasing application fees across a range of immigration and nationality routes, including for people coming to live, work and study in the UK. Increasing application fees, together with the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), helps to fund vital services and allowing wider funding to be prioritised for public sector pay awards.

We will lay regulations and legislation in the Autumn to amend the immigration and nationality fees and the IHS levels, which will set out which immigration routes are impacted and will be accompanied by full economic impact assessments.

We keep fees and IHS levels under review.


Written Question
Migrants: Health Services
Tuesday 25th July 2023

Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has undertaken an impact assessment on the potential fiscal impact of increases of the (a) immigration health surcharge and (b) student visas on the (i) number of international students, (ii) economy and (iii) higher education sector.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

Regulations will be laid in Autumn to amend the Immigration Health Surcharge (Heath Charge) Order and a full economic impact assessment will be prepared.

The expectation of the Government is that migrants coming to the UK to work should be able to maintain and support themselves, reflecting the need to maintain the confidence of the general public that immigration brings benefits to our country.

The Immigration Health Surcharge rates have not increased since 2020, and the cost of providing public services has increased in that time. It is right that we keep the IHS level under review to ensure that it reflects the genuine cost to the NHS of providing healthcare to those who pay it.


Written Question
Illegal Migration Bill
Friday 9th June 2023

Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the evidential basis is for her Department's statement in the Equality Impact Assessment for the Illegal Migration Bill, published on 26 April 2023, that the Bill should have a deterrent effect which can result in fewer unaccompanied children arriving in the UK by dangerous and unlawful means.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The purpose of the Illegal Migration Bill is to prevent and deter all unlawful migration, and in particular migration by unsafe and illegal routes. Those who arrive illegally will be liable to detention and will be swiftly removed to their home country or to a safe third country. The duty to make arrangements for removal will apply to unaccompanied children once they turn 18 and there is a power to remove them in limited circumstances prior to them reaching adulthood. The organised people smuggling criminal gangs can be expected to exploit any exceptions or loopholes in the scheme provided for in the Bill.


Written Question
Disclosure and Barring Service
Wednesday 30th November 2022

Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to support people who are unable to access the DBS Update Service for the purposes of their employment.

Answered by Sarah Dines

Due to IT capabilities related to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) ability to process Police National Computer (PNC) information, there are a very small percentage of standard and enhanced checks that currently cannot be fully automated on the DBS system (approximately 0.5% of the 4.5 million standard and enhanced checks expected to be issued this year). In these instances, it is necessary for DBS to produce manual certificates which cannot be linked to the Update Service. Manual certificates are legitimate and valid certificates and should be accepted by organisations in exactly the same way as automated certificates.

The DBS is working on a full technical solution to this issue as a priority and expects it to be implemented by October 2023. This solution will ensure that DBS does not have to rely on manual certificates in the future and will enable the small percentage of individuals that are currently affected by this issue to obtain system-generated certificates and access the Update Service.

The DBS recognises that affected individuals unable utilise the Update Service may be financially disadvantaged.. To mitigate this impact, DBS is providing redress upon request for those individuals’ second and subsequent DBS application fees to put them back into a broadly equal financial position to those who can subscribe to the Update Service.


Written Question
Immigration: China and Hong Kong
Friday 18th November 2022

Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2022 to Question 76003 on China: Police Stations, what steps her Department is taking to protect the welfare of the Chinese and Hong Kong diaspora in the UK.

Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)

As I stated to the House on 1 November, the Home Office works closely with Departments across Whitehall and with devolved Administrations to ensure that our national security is protected and that, in particular, those who have chosen to settle here are free to engage in our democratic society without fear of the regimes that they have tried to leave behind.

Through our excellent police forces and the agencies that work with them, we take a proactive approach to protecting individuals and communities from all manner of threats. Where we identify individuals who may be at heightened risk, we are front-footed in deploying protective security guidance and other measures where necessary.

The upcoming National Security Bill will strengthen our legal powers to deal with transnational repression. Coercion, harassment or intimidation linked to a foreign power that interfere with the freedoms of individuals will be criminalised under the new foreign interference offence in the Bill.

As I stated to the House on 1 November, I have asked officials to step up the work to ensure that our approach to transnational repression is robust, and I have asked our Department to review our approach to transnational repression as a matter of urgency. I will provide an update on that work to the House in due course.


Written Question
Immigration: EU Nationals
Thursday 13th October 2022

Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many EU Settlement Scheme applications are awaiting a decision.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office publishes data on the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) in the ‘EU Settlement Scheme statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)’.

The latest published information on EUSS applications received and concluded to 30 June 2022, can be found in the quarterly summary data at EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics, June 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The published statistics include those applicants who are seeking to upgrade their status from pre-settled to settled status, repeat applicants, joining family members, and also those who have submitted late applications.

Please note there has been a change in the frequency of the statistical information regarding the EU Settlement Scheme; moving from monthly to quarterly publication. The quarterly statistics will continue to provide updated information on the scheme, including monthly breakdowns of applications and conclusions. The latest quarterly release up to 30 June 2022 was published on 27 September.


Written Question
British Nationality: Fees and Charges
Thursday 22nd September 2022

Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to take steps to reduce the cost of applying for British Citizenship.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office keeps fees for immigration and nationality applications under review. However, there are no plans to reduce fees for applications for British Citizenship.

Where fee exceptions are extended to citizenship applications, these are in very limited circumstances and have been put in place to remedy historical anomalies in nationality law.

An amendment to the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations was laid on 26 May 2022 that provides a power to waive fees for child registration applications on the basis of affordability and a fee exception for children who are looked after by a local authority.

We remain of the view that citizenship is not required in order to live, study and work in the UK as leave to remain confers these benefits.


Written Question
Seasonal Workers: Ukraine
Tuesday 20th September 2022

Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 July 2022 to Question 35931 on Seasonal Workers: Ukraine, how many and what proportion of the 2,914 seasonal workers have been issued with (a) biometric residence permits and (b) other proof that their leave has been extended under the (i) Seasonal Worker Ukrainian Extension Scheme and (ii) Ukrainian Extensions Scheme as on 2 September 2022.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office does not routinely publish data on these matters and a manual trawl would be required to determine these figures which would not be cost effective.