Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to include protections within the Illegal Migration Bill for children and families claiming asylum.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The central premise of the Illegal Migration Bill is clear: those in need of protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach rather than risking their lives or paying people smugglers to make the illegal dangerous and unnecessary journey across the Channel. It's important that we do not incentivise people smuggling gangs to target certain vulnerable groups and the need to ensure their safeguarding, so children and families are in scope.
We will ensure that the country of return or relocation is safe for all members of the family including children and they will have access to legal advice. Legal challenges which raise a real risk of serious and irreversible harm will be considered before a person is relocated to a safe third country. If the claim is upheld, they will not be relocated to that country until it is safe to do so.
Unaccompanied children who arrive in the UK illegally will be provided with the necessary accommodation and support but they will not be able to stay and settle in the UK.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the list of news organisations that attended to report on her recent trip Rwanda was drawn up; and what assessment she has made of the compatibility of that list with the Government Communications Service Propriety Guidance on the need for media officers to establish their impartiality and neutrality with the news media by dealing with all news media evenhandedly.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Due consideration of the GCS guidelines is undertaken in Home Office communications.
All news organisations were kept informed of the progress of the visit regardless of whether they attended or not.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Illegal Migration Bill on victims of modern slavery who have been trafficked to the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK government remains committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery and supporting victims.
The Illegal Migration Bill will crack down on the opportunities to abuse modern slavery protections, by preventing people who come to the UK through illegal and dangerous journeys from misusing modern slavery safeguards to block their removal.
We are working on developing guidance regarding the operation of these measures, including any potential impacts and how they relate to victims of Modern Slavery, to be introduced when it is appropriate to do so once the Illegal Migration Bill has progressed through Parliament.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to include protections within the Illegal Migration Bill for those claiming asylum from a country where they are at risk of persecution on the basis of their sexual orientation.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Illegal Migration Bill provides the Home Secretary with a legal duty to remove people who have entered or arrive in the UK illegally, having travelled via a safe country. In these circumstances, they will be detained and removed back to their home country or a safe third country such as Rwanda. This will send a clear message that people should not make dangerous, unnecessary and illegal small boat crossings to the UK.
Everyone considered for relocation to a safe third country will be screened and have access to legal advice. We would not relocate someone where it would be unsafe to do so.
Our Migration Partnership with Rwanda will provide protection to those who need it and will provide individuals relocated with support to build new lives there. Rwanda is a fundamentally safe and secure country with a track record of supporting asylum seekers, including working with the UN Refugee Agency which said the country has a safe and protective environment for refugees.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to take steps to ensure that convicted sex offenders who were added to the sex offenders register for an indefinite period cannot apply to be removed from that register.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The UK has some of the toughest powers in the world to deal with sex offenders. Offenders are required to notify certain personal details, such as their name, address, and bank details, to the police. This must be done annually and whenever their details change. This system is often referred to as the ‘sex offenders’ register’.
Offenders subject to the requirements for life are only able to see a review after 15 years (8 years for juveniles) and must submit an application to the police who will take into account a range of factors, including information from other agencies. Removal is not automatic and offenders who continue to pose a risk will remain on the register and will do so for life if necessary.
Data on the number of offenders whose application was successful is published by the Ministry of Justice in the Multi-Agency Public Protection arrangements (MAPPA) annual report, which is available on Gov.UK. The most recent report showed that between April 2021 and March 2022, 387 offenders had their indefinite notification requirements were revoked. Data on the number of offenders who applied for a review is not collated centrally, but the number who had their notification requirements revoked in 2021/2 represents 0.57% of the overall cohort of 66,741 offenders.
We continue to work with the police and other agencies to ensure the right powers are available for them to tackle sexual offending and bring perpetrators to justice and have further strengthening the regime for managing sex offenders and those who pose a risk through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of convicted sex offenders who were added to the sex offenders register for an indefinite period (a) applied and (b) were successful in their application to be removed from the register after 15 years.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The UK has some of the toughest powers in the world to deal with sex offenders. Offenders are required to notify certain personal details, such as their name, address, and bank details, to the police. This must be done annually and whenever their details change. This system is often referred to as the ‘sex offenders’ register’.
Offenders subject to the requirements for life are only able to see a review after 15 years (8 years for juveniles) and must submit an application to the police who will take into account a range of factors, including information from other agencies. Removal is not automatic and offenders who continue to pose a risk will remain on the register and will do so for life if necessary.
Data on the number of offenders whose application was successful is published by the Ministry of Justice in the Multi-Agency Public Protection arrangements (MAPPA) annual report, which is available on Gov.UK. The most recent report showed that between April 2021 and March 2022, 387 offenders had their indefinite notification requirements were revoked. Data on the number of offenders who applied for a review is not collated centrally, but the number who had their notification requirements revoked in 2021/2 represents 0.57% of the overall cohort of 66,741 offenders.
We continue to work with the police and other agencies to ensure the right powers are available for them to tackle sexual offending and bring perpetrators to justice and have further strengthening the regime for managing sex offenders and those who pose a risk through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure asylum seekers are not penalised if questionnaires are sent to previous addresses following relocation.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We need to make sure asylum seekers do not spend months or years - living in the UK at vast expense to the taxpayer - waiting for a decision. That is why the Prime Minister has made a commitment to clear the historical asylum backlog by the end of the year.
As part of this commitment, 12,000 asylum seekers who lodged asylum claims before 28 June 2022 are going to be considered through a Streamlined Asylum Process. This will involve eligible claimants being sent a questionnaire to their correspondence address asking them to provide all the necessary information so claims can be considered more quickly. This will speed up decisions for those in genuine need, ending the uncertainty over their future, and help us remove people with no right to be here.
Claimants who receive an asylum questionnaire will have 20 working days to respond. If the questionnaire is not returned within the timeframe, we will make further attempts to contact eligible claimants and they will receive a reminder via post, email and phone (where they have made their contact details available to the Home Office), and a further 10 working days to complete the questionnaire. Extensions can be requested by contacting the Home Office.
All relevant individual circumstances will be considered, on a case-by-case basis when deciding whether someone’s asylum claim should be withdrawn. Asylum claims will not be withdrawn if there is a reasonable explanation
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to protect LGBT+ people from experiencing homophobic abuse whilst in detention in the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The rights of all detained individuals are safeguarded by the Detention Centre Rules 2001, published operating standards for immigration removal centres (IRCs) and Detention Services Orders (DSO).
Any discrimination against those who are detained in our immigration removal estate is unacceptable, and we take robust action against anyone who is found not to have behaved appropriately. Published guidance sets out the standards of treatment for transexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in detention, to ensure that all staff working in the Home Office removal estate are aware of the actions to identify and appropriately meet their needs.
Detainee Custody Officers in IRCs receive diversity training as part of their initial training, covering the treatment of LGBT detained persons and others with protected characteristics. In addition, supplier staff provide opportunities for detained individuals to safely disclose their sexual orientation and ensure that those who choose to disclose can access support and assistance. This information is treated sensitively in line with data protection legislation.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including those with no recourse to public funds in cost-of-living support schemes.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Successive governments have taken the view that access to benefits and other publicly funded services should reflect the strength of a migrant’s connections to the UK and, in the main, only become available to migrants when they have become settled here with indefinite leave to remain (ILR).
The Government is committed to protecting vulnerable people and has ensured support has been available to those with NRPF when it has been appropriate to do so, including as part of cost-of-living support schemes.
In recognition of the growing cost of living pressures, the £11.7 billion Energy Bills Support Scheme forms part of the £37 billion cost of living assistance package for consumers over the winter of 2022 to 2023 to support families with rising global energy prices. Those with NRPF will be eligible for some support within this scheme.
To assist more families, those with NRPF can now access free school meals and free early years education for two-year-olds, subject to the relevant income thresholds.
Those who have made the necessary national insurance contributions can also claim contributory benefits such as contribution-based Jobseekers Allowance, statutory sick pay, and state pension.
Migrants with permission under the Family or Private Life routes, or outside the rules on the basis of their Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, or the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) route can also apply for free to have their NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘change of conditions’ application. An individual can apply to have their NRPF condition lifted if they are destitute or at risk of imminent destitution, if there are reasons relating to the welfare of a relevant child, or where there are other exceptional financial circumstances.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support people with no recourse to public funds, in the context of the cost-of-living crisis.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Successive governments have taken the view that access to benefits and other publicly funded services should reflect the strength of a migrant’s connections to the UK and, in the main, only become available to migrants when they have become settled here with indefinite leave to remain (ILR).
The Government is committed to protecting vulnerable people and has ensured support has been available to those with NRPF when it has been appropriate to do so, including as part of cost-of-living support schemes.
In recognition of the growing cost of living pressures, the £11.7 billion Energy Bills Support Scheme forms part of the £37 billion cost of living assistance package for consumers over the winter of 2022 to 2023 to support families with rising global energy prices. Those with NRPF will be eligible for some support within this scheme.
To assist more families, those with NRPF can now access free school meals and free early years education for two-year-olds, subject to the relevant income thresholds.
Those who have made the necessary national insurance contributions can also claim contributory benefits such as contribution-based Jobseekers Allowance, statutory sick pay, and state pension.
Migrants with permission under the Family or Private Life routes, or outside the rules on the basis of their Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, or the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) route can also apply for free to have their NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘change of conditions’ application. An individual can apply to have their NRPF condition lifted if they are destitute or at risk of imminent destitution, if there are reasons relating to the welfare of a relevant child, or where there are other exceptional financial circumstances.