Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he made of the needs of asylum seekers in Stoke-on-Trent when the decision to close the Stoke Reporting Centre was taken.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Home Office assessed the needs of all types of reportees, not only asylum seekers.
The assessment looked at travel times and reporting frequencies of individuals as well as those with special needs, such as pregnant subjects or those recovering from surgery and how we could reimburse eligible individuals for travel.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Turkish nationals have been refused six month visitor visas in each of the last two years.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The information available relating to visitor entry clearance visas for Turkish nationals is available at the following link:
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tier 2 visas have been issued for pharmacists in each of the last three years.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The figures below show the number of Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) assigned in support of visa applications for Pharmacists in each of the last three years. A Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) is required to support all visa applications and a sponsor is required to enter a Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code on their CoS. There is a SoC code for Pharmacists.
Assigning a CoS does not guarantee a visa will be issued.
2013 380
2014 380
2015 400
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2016 to Question 32350, how many compliance visits per employer that have taken place on Tier 2 ICT visa workers in the last 12 months.
Answered by James Brokenshire
In 2015 227 compliance visits were undertaken to Tier 2 sponsors who have the ability to sponsor individuals under the Tier 2 ICT route.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on whether any failure of IT systems on UK-based airlines has allowed any individual on her Department's no fly list to travel in the last 12 months.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Government works closely with all carriers, not just British registered carriers, to connect their systems to the Government’s border systems to ensure those connections are operating properly and to ensure that any IT problems are identified and resolved. Should any circumstance arise where a carrier should have refused authority to carry an individual to the UK, that individual will be met on arrival. Border Force also conducts 100% checks at passport control on all passengers arriving in the UK by commercial air, rail or maritime services at passport controls. This includes screening against watch lists.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on whether any failure of IT systems on UK-based airlines led to passenger flight lists not being cross-referenced with her Department's (a) no fly list and (b) other relevant information in the last 12 months.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Government works closely with all carriers, not just British registered carriers, to connect their systems to the Government’s border systems to ensure those connections are operating properly and to ensure that any IT problems are identified and resolved. Should any circumstance arise where a carrier should have refused authority to carry an individual to the UK, that individual will be met on arrival. Border Force also conducts 100% checks at passport control on all passengers arriving in the UK by commercial air, rail or maritime services at passport controls. This includes screening against watch lists.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures her Department has to ensure that aviation watch lists are cross-referenced with passenger manifests; and what steps her Department takes in instances of failure of such procedures.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Government works closely with all carriers, not just British registered carriers, to connect their systems to the Government’s border systems to ensure those connections are operating properly and to ensure that any IT problems are identified and resolved. Should any circumstance arise where a carrier should have refused authority to carry an individual to the UK, that individual will be met on arrival. Border Force also conducts 100% checks at passport control on all passengers arriving in the UK by commercial air, rail or maritime services at passport controls. This includes screening against watch lists.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2016 to Question 32350, how many compliance visits have been carried out on Tier 2 ICT visa recipients employed by Tata Consulting Services in the UK over the last 12 months; and what aspects of employment were assessed on those compliance visits.
Answered by James Brokenshire
We routinely monitor all licensed sponsors to ensure they are meeting their duties and responsibilities. This includes undertaking visits to sponsors to inspect their compliance with the sponsor guidance. All visits to sponsors are undertaken according to published guidance which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/points-based-system-sponsor-management
We are, however, unable to comment on specific cases.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 30500, what assistance is provided by National Crime Agency CEOP Command staff to local force investigations into child sexual abuse.
Answered by Mike Penning
The National Crime Agency CEOP Command assists UK police forces to tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse in a number of ways. This includes providing training and advice on specialist capabilities, specialist operational support, and expert child protection advice. For example, the Command assists local police forces with advice and guidance on interview and search strategies, categorisation of indecent images of children, victim identification and victim strategies. The wider NCA, including CEOP Command, also provides support to forces as set out in The NCA Commitment to Working in Partnership with UK Operational Powers, which is available on the NCA website.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 30500, what the alternative arrangements are that provide funding for National Crime Agency investigations into non-recent child sexual abuse.
Answered by Mike Penning
The non-recent child sexual abuse investigations being conducted by the National Crime Agency are in response to requests from the Chief Officer of the local police forces. As such, the funding for these investigations is from the local police forces.