Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his immigration policies on universities.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We keep all our immigration policies under constant review to ensure they best serve the UK and reflect the public’s priorities. Impact assessments are produced and considered when developing Government policies.
We have been successful in delivering our International Education Strategy goal of hosting 600,000 students per year by 2030, earlier than planned, and expect universities to be able to adapt to policy change.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to maintain the minimum income threshold level for spouse visas in place on 1 February 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
On 4 December 2023 the Home Secretary announced his intention to raise the MIR to £38,700, aligned to the level at which the General Skilled Worker threshold is set.
On 30 January 2024, the Minister of State for Legal Migration and the Border confirmed the Immigration Rules we intend to lay on 14 March will set out that from 11 April 2024 the minimum income threshold for Family visas will be raised to £29,000, that is the 25th percentile of earnings for jobs which are eligible for Skilled Worker visas. We will incrementally increase the threshold, moving to the 40th percentile (currently £34,500), and finally to the 50th percentile (currently £38,700, and the level at which the General Skilled Worker threshold is set) by early 2025.
It is important that the changes are delivered in a sensible and pragmatic way that gives families time to adapt, but ensures they deliver the reduction in numbers the British people expect.
This change will not be applied retrospectively to people already on the five-year partner route. Those who already have a Family visa within the five-year partner route, or who apply before the minimum income threshold is raised, will continue to have their applications assessed against the current income requirement and will not be required to meet the increased threshold. This will also be the case for children seeking to join or accompany parents.
Anyone granted a fiancé(e) visa before the minimum income threshold is raised will also be assessed against the current income requirement when they apply for a Family visa within the five-year partner route. Those already in the UK on a different route, who apply to switch into the five-year partner route after the MIR has been increased, will be subject to the new income requirement.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the application process for the Ukraine Extension Scheme.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Ukraine Extension Scheme (UES) enables Ukrainian nationals already in the UK with permission to enter, or stay, to be eligible to continue their stay in the UK. To qualify for the UES an applicant must either hold permission to be in the UK on or between 18 March 2022 and 16 November 2023, or have previously held permission to be in the UK which expired on or after 1 January 2022. Those who have been granted permission by 16 November will have until 16 May 2024 to submit an application under the scheme.
The Home Office routinely keeps application processes under review to ensure a positive user experience, optimal efficiency, and a robust application of the Immigration Rules.
The Home Office continues to work closely with our European counterparts, including the Ukrainian Government, and keeps the future of our schemes and any future need for extension to the existing 36 months’ leave under review, in line with developments of the situation in Ukraine.
We are also mindful that permission will start to expire, for the first arrivals under our Ukrainian schemes, from March 2025, and their need for certainty beyond that point to help them to plan ahead.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of Afghan refugees arrived in the UK (a) from Pakistan and (b) by other routes in each month since November 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK made an ambitious and generous commitment to help resettle.
Afghans fleeing persecution and those who served the UK. The latest published Immigration system statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab) show we have brought around 24,600 people to safety, including over 21,600 people eligible for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) schemes, as of September 2023.
It is not possible to provide a breakdown or running commentary on Afghans who have arrived in the UK specifically from Pakistan or via other routes since November 2023. This is due to this being ongoing operational data. The next release of Afghan Operational Data is due around 22 February 2024.
The Government is committed to relocating all eligible persons who remain in Pakistan and third countries as soon as possible.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any Afghan refugees were (a) placed in and (b) returned to bridging hotels in the period since September 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 24,600 people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan schemes. We continue to honour our commitments to bring eligible Afghans to the UK.
As of 31 August 2023, we successfully ended the use of bridging hotels for legally resettled Afghans, with the overwhelming majority of those being resettled now having moved into settled accommodation. We have now provided these Afghans with the homes they need to begin the next chapter of their life in the UK, fully integrate, find employment and provide their children with stability.
Whilst we cannot confirm the longest length of stay in bridging accommodation, our statistics show that the earliest record of an Afghan in bridging accommodation was in the second quarter of 2021.
The Home Office publish data on Afghan resettlement in the Immigration System Statistics release. In table Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets, you can view the number of Afghans resettled, by when they arrived in the UK (quarterly breakdowns) and what type of accommodation they were recorded in as of the date of the data extraction (currently the data is as of 30 September 2023). The next Immigration Statistics are due for release around 22 February 2024.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the (a) earliest date and (b) longest continuous period that anyone from Afghanistan has been accommodated in a bridging hotel.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 24,600 people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan schemes. We continue to honour our commitments to bring eligible Afghans to the UK.
As of 31 August 2023, we successfully ended the use of bridging hotels for legally resettled Afghans, with the overwhelming majority of those being resettled now having moved into settled accommodation. We have now provided these Afghans with the homes they need to begin the next chapter of their life in the UK, fully integrate, find employment and provide their children with stability.
Whilst we cannot confirm the longest length of stay in bridging accommodation, our statistics show that the earliest record of an Afghan in bridging accommodation was in the second quarter of 2021.
The Home Office publish data on Afghan resettlement in the Immigration System Statistics release. In table Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets, you can view the number of Afghans resettled, by when they arrived in the UK (quarterly breakdowns) and what type of accommodation they were recorded in as of the date of the data extraction (currently the data is as of 30 September 2023). The next Immigration Statistics are due for release around 22 February 2024.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many new arrivals from Afghanistan have been placed in bridging hotels since September 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 24,600 people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan schemes. We continue to honour our commitments to bring eligible Afghans to the UK.
As of 31 August 2023, we successfully ended the use of bridging hotels for legally resettled Afghans, with the overwhelming majority of those being resettled now having moved into settled accommodation. We have now provided these Afghans with the homes they need to begin the next chapter of their life in the UK, fully integrate, find employment and provide their children with stability.
Whilst we cannot confirm the longest length of stay in bridging accommodation, our statistics show that the earliest record of an Afghan in bridging accommodation was in the second quarter of 2021.
The Home Office publish data on Afghan resettlement in the Immigration System Statistics release. In table Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets, you can view the number of Afghans resettled, by when they arrived in the UK (quarterly breakdowns) and what type of accommodation they were recorded in as of the date of the data extraction (currently the data is as of 30 September 2023). The next Immigration Statistics are due for release around 22 February 2024.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from Afghanistan are living in bridging hotels.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 24,600 people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan schemes. We continue to honour our commitments to bring eligible Afghans to the UK.
As of 31 August 2023, we successfully ended the use of bridging hotels for legally resettled Afghans, with the overwhelming majority of those being resettled now having moved into settled accommodation. We have now provided these Afghans with the homes they need to begin the next chapter of their life in the UK, fully integrate, find employment and provide their children with stability.
Whilst we cannot confirm the longest length of stay in bridging accommodation, our statistics show that the earliest record of an Afghan in bridging accommodation was in the second quarter of 2021.
The Home Office publish data on Afghan resettlement in the Immigration System Statistics release. In table Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets, you can view the number of Afghans resettled, by when they arrived in the UK (quarterly breakdowns) and what type of accommodation they were recorded in as of the date of the data extraction (currently the data is as of 30 September 2023). The next Immigration Statistics are due for release around 22 February 2024.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of measures taken by the police to tackle nitrous oxide use in the West Midlands.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government controlled nitrous oxide as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 on 8 November last year. We are keeping implementation of the ban under review with police forces and key stakeholders.
The government is aware of early successes from law enforcement partners, including the first conviction under the new law this month. The government has committed to publish a review of the effect of the control of nitrous oxide under the 1971 Act.
This will be a broad-ranging assessment of the effect of control and will be published three years from the date of its control in November 2026.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with the providers of abortion services that are outside safe access zones and are affected by protesters.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has launched a public consultation on the non-statutory guidance for Safe Access Zones. This consultation is open to all interested parties who wish to make their views known, including abortion service providers and health professionals.
The consultation will close at 11.59pm on 22 January 2024 and is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/abortion-clinic-safe-access-zones-non-statutory-guidance.
As Home Secretary, I am committed to ensuring that women in England and Wales feel safe and protected whilst exercising their legal right to access abortion services and I am confident that this guidance will support the effective introduction of Safe Access Zones.