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 his Department’s policy is on the timeframe for decisions to be issued following the consideration of an appeal based solely on human rights grounds in immigration cases.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
UK Visas and Immigration does not have a published service standard for processing appeals. Where the appeal has been allowed in favour of the appellant, the Home Office undertakes careful consideration of the judge’s determination in order to conclude whether to submit an application for permission to appeal within the time limits set by the Tribunal Procedure Committee.
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 steps the Government is taking to help maintain the integrity and independence of Interpol.
Answered by Nick Hurd
INTERPOL is a crucial organisation for police to police cooperation between 194 Member Countries.
Article 3 of INTERPOL’s constitution forbids the organisation from undertaking any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character. Furthermore, INTERPOL’s Commission for the Control of Files provides independent oversight to ensure that INTERPOL processes personal data in accordance with INTERPOL’s rules and Constitution.
The Government is working with INTERPOL to ensure the right systems are in place to protect individuals’ rights to maintain the integrity and independence of the organisation.
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 steps his Department is taking to prevent Russia abusing Interpol notices and rules for internal political aims.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Government considers very seriously any misuse of INTERPOL notices and strongly supports INTERPOL’s efforts to ensure systems are in place that protect individuals’ human rights in line with Article 3 of INTERPOL's Constitution which strictly forbids any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.
The Home Office is continuing to work with INTERPOL and the National Crime Agency (NCA), which acts as the UK’s National Central Bureau for INTERPOL, on this matter.
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 citizens of non-UK EU countries work in (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
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.