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Written Question
Birth Certificates: LGBT+ People
Thursday 9th March 2023

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2023 to Question 148649 on Birth Certificates: LGBT+ People, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing people born before 2009 to retrospectively amend their birth certificates to include both parents who are of the same sex.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

There are no current plans to assess the potential merits of retrospectively amending birth certificates to include both parents who are of the same sex.


Written Question
Birth Certificates: LGBT+ People
Monday 27th February 2023

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 29 June 2021 to Question 20434 on Birth Certificates: LGBT+ People, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of allowing people born before 2009 to retrospectively amend their birth certificates to include both parents who are of the same sex.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

No assessment has been made.


Written Question
Leader of the House of Commons: Correspondence
Wednesday 9th November 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make it its policy to provide a separate written response for each individual case raised by hon. Members rather than than combining multiple cases in one letter.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The use of multi-response letters is a key measure which forms part of the MP’s Correspondence Recovery Plan. The plan will enable a return to the 20- day service standard In January 2023.

Multi-response letters are a much quicker way of answering correspondence, but we understand that in some instances Members will require an individual reply. Therefore, we will provide an agreed response type depending on their preferences.


Written Question
Home Office: Standards
Tuesday 8th November 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the value for money to the taxpayer of the Home Office not returning to its 20 day service target before March 2023.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

75985

Over 60 additional staff have been identified to support delivery of the Home Office MP’s Correspondence recovery plan which will enable a return to service standard in January 2023.

75986

The Home Office MP’ Correspondence recovery plan will enable a return to service standard in January ’23. This will significantly reduce the time spent by MP’s caseworkers chasing responses from the Home Office and enable the extra resources detailed above to return to their normal duties. Both will have positive implications from a productivity and cost perspective for both MP’s offices and the Home Office.


Written Question
Leader of the House of Commons: Correspondence
Tuesday 8th November 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional resources she will allocate to the Home Office’s MP Account Management Team to help ensure her Department can respond to MPs correspondence within its 20 day target.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

75985

Over 60 additional staff have been identified to support delivery of the Home Office MP’s Correspondence recovery plan which will enable a return to service standard in January 2023.

75986

The Home Office MP’ Correspondence recovery plan will enable a return to service standard in January ’23. This will significantly reduce the time spent by MP’s caseworkers chasing responses from the Home Office and enable the extra resources detailed above to return to their normal duties. Both will have positive implications from a productivity and cost perspective for both MP’s offices and the Home Office.


Written Question
Migrant Workers: Skilled Workers
Thursday 21st July 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that roles on the shortage occupation list (a) reflect the skills required by UK businesses and (b) are defined appropriately to allow individuals with relevant skills to apply for them, including an asylum seeker who has been in the UK for more than 12 months awaiting for a decision on a claim through no fault of their own.

Answered by Kevin Foster

The Government intends to commission the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) shortly to review the Shortage Occupation List and we encourage businesses to provide their evidence to the MAC when their call for evidence issues. The Government looks forward to receiving the MAC’s independent, evidence-based recommendations.

It is a matter for an employer to ensure workers have the specific qualifications and skills required for the relevant job they have applied for.


Written Question
Refugees: Afghanistan
Wednesday 8th June 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the process is for her Department to respond to requests for a person to be offered move on accommodation in a specific geographical area, where that person is an Afghan evacuee from Operation Pitting (a) who is (i) eligible for move on accommodation and (ii) in hotel accommodation and (b) there is compelling evidence to demonstrate that being housed in a specific area is necessary to the wellbeing of that person.

Answered by Kevin Foster

We do not want to keep people in temporary accommodation for any longer than is absolutely necessary. We have moved – or are in the process of moving - over 6,000 Afghan Refugees since June 2021.

There is a huge effort underway to support families in bridging accommodation into permanent homes as soon as we can so they can settle and rebuild their lives, alongside ensuring those still temporarily accommodated in hotels are given the best start to their life in the UK.

The length of time that a family will remain in a bridging hotel is dependent on a number of factors including the availability of appropriate housing. We strive to allocate the right families into the right accommodation to ensure their integration into their new communities is as smooth as possible. To achieve this, we triage and prioritise families to ensure the settled accommodation provides the best possible match, taking in to consideration date of arrival into the UK, family size, vulnerability and integration factors.

Where Local Authorities or employers are able to offer accommodation in greater volume and more quickly, this overall timescale will reduce.

Whilst we will consider requests, and any compelling evidence, to be housed in specific geographical areas, the reality of housing pressures means this may not be possible especially in relation to London and the South East.


Written Question
Refugees: Afghanistan
Wednesday 8th June 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) target timescale and (b) average wait time is for offering move on accommodation to people evacuated from Afghanistan under Operation Pitting who are housed in hotel accommodation as of 1 June 2022.

Answered by Kevin Foster

We do not want to keep people in temporary accommodation for any longer than is absolutely necessary. We have moved – or are in the process of moving - over 6,000 Afghan Refugees since June 2021.

There is a huge effort underway to support families in bridging accommodation into permanent homes as soon as we can so they can settle and rebuild their lives, alongside ensuring those still temporarily accommodated in hotels are given the best start to their life in the UK.

The length of time that a family will remain in a bridging hotel is dependent on a number of factors including the availability of appropriate housing. We strive to allocate the right families into the right accommodation to ensure their integration into their new communities is as smooth as possible. To achieve this, we triage and prioritise families to ensure the settled accommodation provides the best possible match, taking in to consideration date of arrival into the UK, family size, vulnerability and integration factors.

Where Local Authorities or employers are able to offer accommodation in greater volume and more quickly, this overall timescale will reduce.

Whilst we will consider requests, and any compelling evidence, to be housed in specific geographical areas, the reality of housing pressures means this may not be possible especially in relation to London and the South East.


Written Question
Visas: Married People
Wednesday 8th June 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure the 12-week service standard for spouse visas is met.

Answered by Kevin Foster

The Home Office is currently prioritising Ukraine Visa Schemes applications in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Staff from other government departments, including DWP and HMRC, are being surged into the department to help with Ukraine work and enable normal visa routes to return to normal service levels in due course. Applicants were informed of the change to a 24-week service standard on 11 May 2022 and the department is currently operating within this.


Written Question
Visas: Married People
Wednesday 8th June 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she made of the potential impact of changes to the service standard for spouse visas from 12 to 24 weeks without notice on peoples' plans.

Answered by Kevin Foster

The Home Office is currently prioritising Ukraine Visa Schemes applications in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Staff from other government departments, including DWP and HMRC, are being surged into the department to help with Ukraine work and enable normal visa routes to return to normal service levels in due course. Applicants were informed of the change to a 24-week service standard on 11 May 2022 and the department is currently operating within this.