Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking together with the French Government to reduce the level of unnecessary force used by the police in that country against child refugees and to ensure the protection of unaccompanied child refugees seeking a place of safety in the UK.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The responsibility for maintaining law and order in France lies with the French government.
No one should live in makeshift camps in Calais, which is why we continue to work closely with the French authorities on border security and migration issues, including helping to fund alternative facilities elsewhere in France for Calais migrants provided by the French government. However, the primary responsibility for unaccompanied children lies with the authorities in the country in which children are present. The UK government does not have the authority to operate unauthorised on the territory of another sovereign state.
The UK is also proud to have transferred over 750 children from France to the UK last year as a result of the Calais camp clearance, and we continue to work with the French authorities to transfer unaccompanied children who may be eligible under the Dublin Regulation or section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will consider the recommendations of the report by Christine Beddoe on separated and unaccompanied minors in Europe.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Government has noted the report by the Human Trafficking Foundation into the independent inquiry into the situation of separated and unaccompanied minors in parts of Europe and is considering its recommendations. We are already working on a number of the areas addressed in the report.
The UK is working very closely with France and other EU Member States in respect of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. This includes ensuring the timely and efficient operation of the Dublin Regulation, to allow children with qualifying family in the UK to be transferred here for consideration of their asylum claim, where it is in the child’s best interests. We also remain fully committed to implementing section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016, and are working with Member State authorities and other partners to identify and transfer children to the UK quickly and safely. However, the primary responsibility for unaccompanied children lies with the authorities in the country in which children are present. The UK government does not have the authority to operate unauthorised on the territory of another sovereign state.
The Department for Education and Home Office continue to work together with local authorities and NGOs to ensure that vulnerable children are safe, and their welfare promoted once they arrive in the UK. A joint safeguarding strategy for unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children is due to be published in the Autumn.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the July 2017 report by Christine Beddoe on separated and unaccompanied minors in Europe, whether the Government plans to create safe travel routes for those minors with a family member in the UK.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Safe travel routes from unaccompanied children from Europe to the UK are already in place. Our family reunion policy allows a spouse or partner and children under the age of 18 of those granted protection in the UK to join them here, if they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country.
In addition, the Dublin Regulation allows unaccompanied children who have claimed asylum in another Member State to be transferred here to have their asylum claim assessed if they have a qualifying family member legally present in the UK and transfer would be in their best interests. In order for the Dublin Regulation to apply, an unaccompanied child must first claim asylum in the Member State in which they are located and that Member State must issue a Take Charge Request to the UK. The UK is working closely with other Member States as well as intergovernmental organisations and NGOs to ensure the effective operation of the Dublin Regulation.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether officials are working with French authorities to ensure that unaccompanied child refugees in France have information about their legal rights and options.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
UK and French officials are working together to review the processes and procedures in place for the provision of information to children in northern France.
The primary responsibility for unaccompanied children in France lies with the French authorities. The UK cannot operate on the territory of another sovereign nation without a specific request to do so.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the French authorities on the living conditions of young children at refugee camps; and what support her Department has offered to the French authorities to improve those conditions.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Children in France are the responsibility of the French government and robust safeguarding processes are in place for children to enter and be supported by the French care system.
We have a strong track record of cooperating with France to manage the situation in Calais and to protect our shared border. We supported the humanitarian operation to clear the Calais migrant camp in October 2016, which involved the transfer of more than 750 minors to the UK and funding to help provide migrants in Calais – including minors – with suitable facilities elsewhere in France. In addition to this, our security and law enforcement teams have worked closely together to tackle organised criminal gangs operating in the region wishing to exploit vulnerable children. We welcome the French Government’s recent decision to deploy more police to the region and to continue to provide alternative accommodation for migrants elsewhere in France.
Home Office officials meet with their French colleagues on a regular basis, most recently in London on 30 June and 18-19 July to discuss our continuing bilateral co-operation including agreeing processes for transferring eligible children under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 and the Dublin Regulation. The Home Office Permanent Secretary and Immigration Minister visited Calais on 30 June on 6 July respectively.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many deportation charter flights there have been from Scotland to other countries in the last 12 months; and on what dates those flights took place.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
There have been no charter flight operations from Scotland to other countries in the past 12 months.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) detainees, (b) security guards and (c) independent witnesses were on board the deportation charter flight from Glasgow Airport to West Africa on 31 January 2017.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
There was no flight from Glasgow to West Africa on 31 January 2017.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will issue a response to the report by Freedom from Torture, Proving Torture, published in November 2016; and if she will take steps to roll out training developed by her Department to decision-makers.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
We consider all asylum claims in a sensitive manner on an individual, objective and impartial basis ensuring that all cases are managed effectively throughout the asylum process to avoid unnecessary delay.
The policy guidance sets out how to properly consider, and afford appropriate weight to, medico-legal evidence as part of a claim for protection. It states explicitly that it is not the role of decision makers to dispute clinical findings in the medico-legal reports or make clinical judgments of their own about medical evidence or medical matters generally and all decision makers are trained in the application of this policy. Officials will review the cases that are referred to in the report and will continue to work closely with Freedom from Torture and others to review and develop further our policy and training.
All members of staff who make decisions in asylum receive the same level of training. This includes training on international and domestic law and safeguarding issues supplemented by a mentoring programme with an experienced caseworker that can last up to 6 months. Within the training there are specific sections that detail torture and Medico Legal Reports and how they should be used and analysed in asylum claims.
Asylum Operations recently received funding from the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund to review and redevelop its training prospectus. As part of that work, Asylum Operations is liaising with a range of external stakeholders -including migrant charities and non-governmental organisations - to ensure a robust and effective safeguarding training product.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the application from Mr Hamde Abu Rahma to visit Scotland was rejected; and if she will instigate a review of that decision.
Answered by James Brokenshire
In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 the Home Office is limited in what information it can provide when the request is made by someone who is not the applicant. The Home Office is therefore unable to provide the information requested.
All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was for immigration cases designated as complex in (a) 2015, (b) 2014 and (c) 2013.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Following feedback from customers and partners UKV&I introduced new service standards in January 2014. As such statistical information for 2013 is not available.
The table below shows the number and proportion of immigration cases designated as complex in 2014 and 2015
| Complex Case | Total Apps Received | % of Complex Cases |
2014 (01/04/2014 - 31/12/2014) | 87,219 | 412,337 | 21% |
2015 | 84,435 | 513,475 | 16% |
Following feedback from customers and partners UKV&I introduced new service standards in January 2014. As such statistical information for 2013 is not available. Our records indicate the average waiting time (days) for immigration cases that are designated as complex is as follows.
| Average Waiting Time |
2014 (01/04/2014 - 31/12/2014) | 122 |
2015 | 163 |
Overall Average | 147 |