Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long the pilot for EU Settlement Scheme in the North West of England that started on 28 August 2018 will last; and if he will make a statement once that trial is over.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The first pilot phase of the EU Settlement Scheme commenced on 28 August and the last application was received on 18 October, with excellent feedback from participants. We will publish a full report with our findings as we move into the next phase of the pilot in November.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Written Statement of 13 March 2018 on Spring Statement, HCWS540, how much of that funding he has allocated to (a) programmes, (b) administration and (c) staffing in his Department.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
For the financial year 2018-19, the department will receive an allocation of £395 million from HM Treasury to continue preparing for the UK to leave the EU. The Main Estimate will be amended through the Supplementary Estimate process later this year to reflect this.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in his Department have been transferred to the (a) Department for Exiting the European Union and (b) Department for International Trade as a result of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The location of members of staff on loan to another government department is not recorded centrally and therefore to determine how many members of Home Office staff are on loan to (a) Department for Exiting the European Union and (b) Department for International Trade can only be provided a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse has been of his Department hiring additional staff to cover issues related to the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
By its nature, EU exit work is complex and cross-cutting, involving multiple directorates and teams within in the Department. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure on how many new staff in the Home Office have responsibilities relating to exiting the EU.
Therefore, it would be at disproportionate effort to provide the cost for the recruitment of new members of staff relating to EU exit.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the geographic reach of the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme is the largest resettlement effort aimed specifically at children at risk from the MENA region. There are no plans to increase its geographical reach at this time.
Looking to the future, we have begun work with key stakeholders and international organisations on our future Asylum and Resettlement Strategy, which includes consideration of the UK’s resettlement offer beyond 2020.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme beyond 2020.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme is the largest resettlement effort aimed specifically at children at risk from the MENA region. There are no plans to increase its geographical reach at this time.
Looking to the future, we have begun work with key stakeholders and international organisations on our future Asylum and Resettlement Strategy, which includes consideration of the UK’s resettlement offer beyond 2020.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total cost to the public purse for his Department’s work preparing of the UK to leave the EU has been since 23 June 2016.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Department spent £70 million during the financial year 2017-18 as per our accounts. For the financial year 2018-19, the Department has received an allocation of £395 million from HM Treasury to continue preparing for the UK to leave the EU.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of leaving the EU in accordance with (a) the proposals set out in the Government’s White Paper and (b) a no-deal scenario.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Department spent £70 million during the financial year 2017-18 as per our accounts. For the financial year 2018-19, the department has received an allocation of £395 million from HM Treasury to continue preparing for the UK to leave the EU. This funding will also cover any no-deal scenario.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of recent decreases in EU net migration to the UK on the ability of businesses to recruit seasonal workers from EU member states.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
On 27 July 2017, the Government commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee to advise on our future immigration system after the UK leaves the EU. We will await their report, which is due in September, before making any decisions about the future immigration system. EU net migration remains positive and the recently published labour market statistics continue to show more EU citizens in the UK labour force than at the time of the EU referendum.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications by refugees for Indefinite Leave to Remain submitted since July 2017 have still not received a decision.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Published data on UKVI’s performance against service standards for applications made in the UK as a whole can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/in-country-migration-data-may-2018