Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will place in the Library a copy of all guidance and benchmarking criteria used by her Department, its contractors and agents when assessing the adequacy and suitability of placement accommodation allocated to pregnant women and nursing mothers in receipt of section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The guidance and procedures on providing accommodation to pregnant women in the
asylum support system is contained in the policy document "Healthcare needs and
Pregnancy Dispersal guidance", which can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/healthcare-needs-and-pregnancy-disper
sal-instruction
The Home Office is currently considering some changes to the document following
consultation with the Refugee Council and Maternity Action.
Pregnant women are already recognised as a vulnerable group in the asylum
support system. Regulation 4 of the Asylum Seekers (Reception conditions)
Regulations 2005 provides that their special needs must be taken into
consideration.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to ensure that pregnant women and nursing mothers in receipt of section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 are recognised as a vulnerable group when contracting and allocating placement accommodation.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The guidance and procedures on providing accommodation to pregnant women in the
asylum support system is contained in the policy document "Healthcare needs and
Pregnancy Dispersal guidance", which can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/healthcare-needs-and-pregnancy-disper
sal-instruction
The Home Office is currently considering some changes to the document following
consultation with the Refugee Council and Maternity Action.
Pregnant women are already recognised as a vulnerable group in the asylum
support system. Regulation 4 of the Asylum Seekers (Reception conditions)
Regulations 2005 provides that their special needs must be taken into
consideration.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many pregnant women in Scotland are in receipt of section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; how many such women were moved to different accommodation during pregnancy; how many weeks pregnant each such woman was when she was moved; what the reason for each such move was; and if a risk assessment of each such move was undertaken which included input from a treating clinician.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The information requested is not routinely collected and could only be provided
by examining individual case records, which would result in disproportionate
cost.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the length of time was between the date of application by each pregnant woman in Scotland for section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and the date of receipt by the applicant of that support.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The information requested is not routinely collected and could only be provided
by examining individual case records, which would result in disproportionate
cost.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussion she has had with Ministers in the Scottish Government on transitional arrangements to cover the potential gap between the UK Government opting out of EU justice measures and negotiating its re-entry into specific measures.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Government is clear that there is no need for there to be an operational gap after 1 December, and is negotiating on that basis. Other Member States support the UK position and are keen for this process to be concluded as swiftly as possible to provide certainty for all involved.
The Government has engaged with the Devolved Administrations throughout this process at Ministerial and official level. The Immigration and Security Minister (James Brokenshire) visited Edinburgh last year, where he met the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill, representatives from the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland and the Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC. I plan to visit Edinburgh to discuss this matter further later this year.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on Scotland's justice system of the UK Government opting out of EU justice measures and then negotiating its re-entry into specific measures.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Government is clear that there is no need for there to be an operational gap after 1 December, and is negotiating on that basis. Other Member States support the UK position and are keen for this process to be concluded as swiftly as possible to provide certainty for all involved.
The Government has engaged with the Devolved Administrations throughout this process at Ministerial and official level. The Immigration and Security Minister (James Brokenshire) visited Edinburgh last year, where he met the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill, representatives from the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland and the Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC. I plan to visit Edinburgh to discuss this matter further later this year.