Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum decisions were made without substantive asylum interviews in 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office is unable to provide this information as it is not held in a reportable format, and therefore could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.
Video technology has been successfully used to support remote interviewing for more than 3 years and has appropriate operating procedures that are designed to ensure participants are able to give the best account of their circumstances. We are also able to offer in person interviews for those seeking asylum if requested or required where additional needs are presented.
The Home Office carefully considers all asylum claims on a case-by-case basis against published immigration rules, policy guidance and country information.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officials were responsible for (a) examining and (b) making decisions on asylum applications as of 31 December 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Caseworking staff are defined as all staff responsible for interviewing and deciding asylum operations claims. The number of asylum caseworkers involved in making decisions on asylum applications as of 31 December 2022 was 1277.
The total number of officials, beyond caseworking staff, responsible for examining asylum applications is greater. This figure could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will (a) consult and (b) take steps with agencies that have experience of family reunion processes to design a mechanism that will enable family reunion for Afghans on Pathway One of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme who were evacuated under Operation Pitting.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The government remains committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan, and we engage regularly with resettlement partner organisations in the UK and overseas further our work.
The situation in Afghanistan is very complex and presents significant challenges, including how those who are eligible for resettlement in the UK can leave the country. This includes the eligible family members of those being resettled under the ACRS. For those evacuated from Afghanistan under the ACRS without their immediate family members, further information will be made available in due course about options for reuniting with them.
In line with our existing policy, those resettled under ACRS may be able to be accompanied by their immediate family members - that is their spouse or partner, and dependent children under 18.
Those referred by UNHCR under the ACRS will have refugee status and will therefore be able to access the refugee family reunion route.
Those without refugee status wishing to bring family members would need to apply through the regular family visa route under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.
Whilst the UK has made a generous resettlement commitment, we must bear in mind the capacity of the UK to resettle people is not unlimited and therefore difficult decisions about who will be prioritised for resettlement have to be made.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make (a) an estimate of the number of people awaiting and (b) an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to facilitate family reunion for Afghans on Pathway One of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme who were evacuated under Operation Pitting.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The government remains committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan, and we engage regularly with resettlement partner organisations in the UK and overseas further our work.
The situation in Afghanistan is very complex and presents significant challenges, including how those who are eligible for resettlement in the UK can leave the country. This includes the eligible family members of those being resettled under the ACRS. For those evacuated from Afghanistan under the ACRS without their immediate family members, further information will be made available in due course about options for reuniting with them.
In line with our existing policy, those resettled under ACRS may be able to be accompanied by their immediate family members - that is their spouse or partner, and dependent children under 18.
Those referred by UNHCR under the ACRS will have refugee status and will therefore be able to access the refugee family reunion route.
Those without refugee status wishing to bring family members would need to apply through the regular family visa route under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.
Whilst the UK has made a generous resettlement commitment, we must bear in mind the capacity of the UK to resettle people is not unlimited and therefore difficult decisions about who will be prioritised for resettlement have to be made.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum application decisions have been taken by Home Office caseworkers since 1 September 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications can be found in table Asy_D01 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relates to July to September (Q3) 2022. Data for the period covering October to December (Q4) 2022 will be published on 23 February 2023. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what percentage of asylum cases currently in the backlog have had a substantive interview.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office is unable to provide the percentage of asylum cases, currently in the backlog, that have had a substantive interview because this data is not held in a reportable format, not routinely published, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she or Ministers in her Department held discussions with any migrants at Manston Immigration Processing Centre on (a) 3 November 2022 and (b) 31 October 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
As part of our respective visits to Manston, the Home Secretary and I engaged with a wide range of people on site.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that Afghan refugees living in UK hotels following Operation Pitting are able to maintain their current employment when moving between hotels.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
There is a huge effort underway to support the families into permanent homes as soon as we can so they can settle and rebuild their lives. The length of time that a family will remain in bridging hotels is dependent on the availability of appropriate housing. We expect that whilst the hotel estate will reduce, there will be an ongoing need to provide temporary housing in hotels for a small number of families for several months.
To deliver value for money to the taxpayer, officials are working at pace to consolidate the bridging estate, by maximising capacity in hotels with available rooms and return rooms that don’t match family requirements. Part of this work means families can sometimes be moved from a hotel scheduled for closure to another hotel within the bridging estate. In such instances we consider current employment and endeavour where possible to keep families in the same areas, or within commutable distance. Families are given appropriate notice of a move and are supported by their Hotel Liaison Officer and local authority throughout.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has for (a) preventing and (b) tackling wildfires during heatwaves.
Answered by Sarah Dines
38594: The Home Office has been working closely with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) to provide monitoring and reporting of wildfires during this unprecedented heat.
38595: A coordinated multi-agency approach is essential in the prevention and tackling of wildfires. This includes government departments such as Defra, Cabinet Office, Met Office and DLUHC.
As of 0700 21st July, according to NFCC data, Fire and Rescue Services have responded to 462 wildfire incidents in England and Wales in 2022. These were incidents that met the national thresholds for reporting.
We anticipate further wildfire incidents to occur this year as the warm dry weather continues.
At a local level – each Fire and Rescue Authority is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfires) through their Integrated Risk Management Plan. This will include plans to prevent and respond to incidents and Fire and Rescue Services will have regard in their planning to other key local responders including landowners and other emergency services.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the potential number of wildfires in 2022; and what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of summer heatwaves on that estimate.
Answered by Sarah Dines
38594: The Home Office has been working closely with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) to provide monitoring and reporting of wildfires during this unprecedented heat.
38595: A coordinated multi-agency approach is essential in the prevention and tackling of wildfires. This includes government departments such as Defra, Cabinet Office, Met Office and DLUHC.
As of 0700 21st July, according to NFCC data, Fire and Rescue Services have responded to 462 wildfire incidents in England and Wales in 2022. These were incidents that met the national thresholds for reporting.
We anticipate further wildfire incidents to occur this year as the warm dry weather continues.
At a local level – each Fire and Rescue Authority is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfires) through their Integrated Risk Management Plan. This will include plans to prevent and respond to incidents and Fire and Rescue Services will have regard in their planning to other key local responders including landowners and other emergency services.