Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that workers employed by a seasonal workers scheme license holder do not face barriers to employment when action is taken against the holder of the sponsor licence.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Scheme Operators are already required to have a clear employer transfer pathway in place as a condition of holding their sponsor licence, including transparent criteria for making a transfer request and a process for considering such requests. The Scheme Operators must not normally refuse requests to change employers, and may only do so where there are significant reasons preventing a transfer, for example the imminent expiry of a workers visa. This is set out in published Home Office guidance, available at: Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors: sponsor a seasonal worker - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
In the event that a scheme operator for the Seasonal Worker routes became unlicensed for any reason, the Home Office will consider each case on its own merits and tailor its response accordingly. Defra will, where appropriate, support the Home Office in delivering this response.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether (a) she and (b) officials in her Department have had discussions with representatives of (i) LGBT organisations and (ii) conversion practices survivors in the relevant states of the US and District of Columbia on the effectiveness of legislation banning conversion practices.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
No one in this country should be harmed or harassed for who they are and attempts at so-called ‘conversion therapy’ are abhorrent. That is why we are carefully considering this very complex issue. We will be setting out further details on this in due course
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors: sponsor a seasonal worker, published in April 2023, which body is responsible for monitoring whether workers on the horticultural seasonal workers visa are paid for at least 32 hours of work a week at least the national living wage; what enforcement mechanisms are in place in the event that workers are not paid 32 hours a week; and what enforcement has taken place since that guidance was published.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
UKVI have implemented a specific seasonal workers team as recommended by the 2022 ICIBI report. They have interviewed an extensive number of migrant workers this year and requested evidence of pay rates from the scheme operators. These visits, often undertaken with GLAA, seek evidence of salary paid to ensure requirements are met. Any breach of Sponsor guidance identified is dealt with as per published Sponsor Guidance.
As such, UKVI can take action against a Sponsor licence when it is identified workers are being incorrectly paid or there is a failure to comply with employment law.
UKVI have inspected and assured the complaints procedures put in place by the operators for workers to report treatment and conditions on farms.
Regular engagement with the licensed scheme operators is in place and UKVI assure that the operators monitor conditions on farms.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) enforce working conditions for workers employed via the horticultural seasonal worker scheme and help ensure workers (i) have enough breaks and (ii) are not required to work excessive hours at the end of their pay period in order to achieve their minimum number of paid hours.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
UKVI have implemented a specific seasonal workers team as recommended by the 2022 ICIBI report. They have interviewed an extensive number of migrant workers this year and requested evidence of pay rates from the scheme operators. These visits, often undertaken with GLAA, seek evidence of salary paid to ensure requirements are met. Any breach of Sponsor guidance identified is dealt with as per published Sponsor Guidance.
As such, UKVI can take action against a Sponsor licence when it is identified workers are being incorrectly paid or there is a failure to comply with employment law.
UKVI have inspected and assured the complaints procedures put in place by the operators for workers to report treatment and conditions on farms.
Regular engagement with the licensed scheme operators is in place and UKVI assure that the operators monitor conditions on farms.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors: sponsor a seasonal worker, published in April 2023, what (a) monitoring and (b) enforcement is in place to ensure that (i) piece rate targets set to workers on the horticultural seasonal worker visa scheme are reasonable and (ii) workers are (A) treated fairly by their employer and (B) not penalised for failing to work at the fair piece rate.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
UKVI have implemented a specific seasonal workers team as recommended by the 2022 ICIBI report. They have interviewed an extensive number of migrant workers this year and requested evidence of pay rates from the scheme operators. These visits, often undertaken with GLAA, seek evidence of salary paid to ensure requirements are met. Any breach of Sponsor guidance identified is dealt with as per published Sponsor Guidance.
As such, UKVI can take action against a Sponsor licence when it is identified workers are being incorrectly paid or there is a failure to comply with employment law.
UKVI have inspected and assured the complaints procedures put in place by the operators for workers to report treatment and conditions on farms.
Regular engagement with the licensed scheme operators is in place and UKVI assure that the operators monitor conditions on farms.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of (a) people already living in the UK, (b) women, (c) people with children who are British citizens and (d) people from ethnic minority backgrounds who are likely to be affected by her Department's planned increases in (i) visa fees and (ii) the Immigration Health Surcharge.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office has undertaken equalities impact assessments for the visa fee and Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) increases.
Application fees will increase across a range of immigration and nationality routes, including for people coming to live, work and study, and for applications to remain in the UK. The routes which are impacted, and the levels of increase will be set out within the regulations to be laid in Autumn and are subject to usual parliamentary process.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has undertaken an equalities impact assessment on the potential effects of the planned increases in (a) visa fees and (b) the Immigration Health Surcharge on those who will be expected to pay them.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office has undertaken equalities impact assessments for the visa fee and Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) increases.
Application fees will increase across a range of immigration and nationality routes, including for people coming to live, work and study, and for applications to remain in the UK. The routes which are impacted, and the levels of increase will be set out within the regulations to be laid in Autumn and are subject to usual parliamentary process.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing support to migrants who may be unable to afford planned increases to the cost of (a) visa fees and (b) the Immigration Health Surcharge.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Where a person applying on a family and human rights immigration route is unable to afford the visa fee and the IHS and where this is backed by clear and compelling evidence provided by the individual, the fees may be waived if they are unaffordable.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's timescales are for introducing changes to the levels of (a) visa fees and (b) the Immigration Health Surcharge; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Regulations will be laid in the Autumn that will amend the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2018 and Immigration (Health Charge) Order 2015 to set new visa fee levels and increase the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) respectively. The exact date that visa fee and IHS increases will come into effect is subject to parliamentary process.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the press release entitled Thousands of asylum seekers to be moved out of hotels, published by her Department on 5 June 2023, in which five countries the deport first, appeal process has restarted; and in which 21 countries her Department is seeking to set up video rooms after receiving necessary consents to establishing live link evidence.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Secretary wrote to the Chair of HASC on 30 August 2023, with the details of the first five countries; the letter will be published by HASC in due course.