Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support is available to people who have travelled to the UK without quarantine accommodation.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We have been clear that people should arrange their accommodation before they travel to the UK and the vast majority of travellers have complied.
For the small minority who don’t, the Government will support them in finding appropriate accommodation, upon arrival, and this will be at their own expense.
In the scenario where an arrival presents (at the UK border) as symptomatic, and they do not have suitable accommodation, they will be housed in a government facility for the duration of their self-isolation.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer on 15 May to Question 43779 on Civil Servants, in how many multi-hub locations employees of her Department are working together with employees of another Department or agency in London managed by the Government Property Agency; what the addresses are of those locations; and what other Departments and agencies employ staff at those locations.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Employees in the Home Office are working together with other Departments in one multi-hub location in London, where the site is managed by the Government Property Agency. The address is Fleetbank House, 2-6 Salisbury Square, London EC4Y 8AE.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has undertaken an assessment of the financial effect of the covid-19 outbreak on people who have no recourse to public funds.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is working closely with other government departments to support people, including migrants with no recourse to public funds, through this crisis. We are taking a compassionate and pragmatic approach to an unprecedented situation.
Migrants with leave under the Family and Human Rights routes can apply to have the NRPF restriction lifted by making a ‘change of conditions’ application if there has been a change in their financial circumstances. The Home Office has recently digitised the application form to make sure it is accessible for those who need to remain at home, and I can assure you that the applications are being dealt with swiftly and compassionately.
Many of the wide-ranging Covid-19 measures the government has put in place are not public funds and therefore are available to migrants with no recourse to public funds (NRPF). We therefore do not believe it is necessary to suspend the NRPF condition.
The Coronavirus job retention scheme, self-employment income support and statutory sick pay are not classed as public funds for immigration purposes. Contribution-based benefits are also not classed as public funds for immigration purposes. Additionally, measures we have brought forward such as rent and mortgage protections are not considered public funds and can be accessed by migrants with leave to remain.
Local authorities may also provide basic safety net support if it is established that there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution, for example, where there are community care needs, migrants with serious health problems or family cases where the wellbeing of a child is in question.
In addition, the Government has made in excess of £3.2 billion of funding to local authorities in England, and additional funding under the Barnett formula to the devolved administrations to enable them to respond to Covid-19 pressures across all the services they deliver, including services helping the most vulnerable.
More information on the support available to migrants, including those with NRPF, can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-get-support-if-youre-a-migrant-living-in-the-uk.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to suspend the no recourse to public funds status during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is working closely with other government departments to support people, including migrants with no recourse to public funds, through this crisis. We are taking a compassionate and pragmatic approach to an unprecedented situation.
Migrants with leave under the Family and Human Rights routes can apply to have the NRPF restriction lifted by making a ‘change of conditions’ application if there has been a change in their financial circumstances. The Home Office has recently digitised the application form to make sure it is accessible for those who need to remain at home, and I can assure you that the applications are being dealt with swiftly and compassionately.
Many of the wide-ranging Covid-19 measures the government has put in place are not public funds and therefore are available to migrants with no recourse to public funds (NRPF). We therefore do not believe it is necessary to suspend the NRPF condition.
The Coronavirus job retention scheme, self-employment income support and statutory sick pay are not classed as public funds for immigration purposes. Contribution-based benefits are also not classed as public funds for immigration purposes. Additionally, measures we have brought forward such as rent and mortgage protections are not considered public funds and can be accessed by migrants with leave to remain.
Local authorities may also provide basic safety net support if it is established that there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution, for example, where there are community care needs, migrants with serious health problems or family cases where the wellbeing of a child is in question.
In addition, the Government has made in excess of £3.2 billion of funding to local authorities in England, and additional funding under the Barnett formula to the devolved administrations to enable them to respond to Covid-19 pressures across all the services they deliver, including services helping the most vulnerable.
More information on the support available to migrants, including those with NRPF, can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-get-support-if-youre-a-migrant-living-in-the-uk.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the UK meets its obligation to reunite child refugees with family members in the UK where their applications have been accepted.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK remains fully committed to meeting our obligations under the Dublin III Regulation. The Regulation makes it very clear that once a take charge request has been accepted for an unaccompanied child, the transfer is the responsibility of the requesting State.
Despite covid-19 restrictions the UK remains ready to accept transfers under Dublin whenever Member States are in a position to make those arrangements. We are continuing to liaise with our counterparts in Member States so that we can effect transfers as soon as it is safe and practical to do so.