Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the impact of the 10-year route to settlement on levels of integration in the period since 2012; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Those who meet all eligibility and specified evidential requirements of the Family Immigration Rules are granted on a five-year route to settlement (granted in two periods of 30 months, with a third application for indefinite leave to remain). Those who cannot or do not meet these requirements, or seek to rely on their private life, instead have a 10 year route to settlement (granted in four periods of 30 months, with a fifth application for indefinite leave to remain). This reflects our obligations under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The 10 year route provides additional time for those applicants to better integrate into British society by being able to achieve an appropriate knowledge of the English language which, in turn, will enable them to obtain employment and take a full and active part in their community.
We are in the process of simplifying the immigration system, including the 10 year routes to settlement. As part of this simplification the impact of existing policies will be taken into account.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a fee waiver for applications for indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The right to stay indefinitely is one of the most valuable entitlements offered for those seeking to enter or remain in the UK, and it is right that the fee should be higher than most for migrants staying temporarily in the UK.
A grant of indefinite leave to remain is not necessary to enable people to remain in the UK on the basis of their Article 8 or other ECHR rights, as these can be met through a grant of limited leave to remain. The provision of an affordability-based waiver for limited leave on family and private life routes allows an individual or family to remain here lawfully, and to then apply for settlement and pay the fee when the funds become available. As such, there are no plans to waive the fee for indefinite leave to remain.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people are waiting for the outcome of an application for further leave to remain; and how many and what proportion of those people have limited leave to remain on the 10-year route to settlement on the basis of their family or private lives.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We do not currently hold any information regarding the proportion of these people who might have limited leave to remain in the UK and are consequently awaiting a decision on a visa extension application are on the ten-year route to settlement.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of people who are expected to apply for indefinite leave to remain after completing the 10-year route based on their family or private life in the next five years.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The data requested is not available in a reportable format.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to take steps to ensure that all actors and intermediaries recruiting workers for the seasonal workers scheme are licensed by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
It is a requirement to be licensed with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority at all times as a scheme operator on the Seasonal Worker immigration route.
The operators are responsible for managing all aspects of the recruitment and placement of workers on UK farms, and ensuring their welfare in the UK. This includes ethical recruitment practices, in line with Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority regulations.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure the welfare of people using Seasonal Worker visas (a) at their point of recruitment in their countries of origin and (b) recruited through licenced scheme operators; and if she will take steps to provide additional welfare protections for people recruited through third party recruiters used by licenced scheme operators.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The sponsor licence regime places a broad range of responsibilities on Scheme Operators to ensure that the rights of migrant workers are protected.
The UK government however has no legal jurisdiction to regulate recruitment taking place outside of the United Kingdom. Although the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) has no remit to investigate labour abuse and exploitation in other countries, it nonetheless works through our Embassies to put relevant regulatory bodies in contact with their opposite numbers.
We have made ongoing enhancements to the worker welfare protections throughout the lifetime of the Seasonal Work route and we are continuing to keep the route under close review.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2023 to Question 165227 on Agriculture: Seasonal Workers, whether the guarantee of a minimum of 32 hours of work every week from 1 April 2023 for people on the seasonal worker visa scheme will mean that workers must be paid for at least 32 hours work each week regardless of their pay period or if the 32 hours per week can be averaged over the worker’s pay period.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
A key objective of the route is to ensure that migrant workers are protected against modern slavery and other labour abuses.
The Home Office has made ongoing enhancements to the route over the lifetime of its operation, most recently adding a mandatory minimum hours pay requirement to the Immigration Rules, ensuring that all workers will receive a guaranteed 32 hours of paid employment per week.
Where a worker is paid on a weekly basis, they must receive pay for 32 hours of work. Where workers are paid over a longer period, for example on a fortnightly or monthly basis, some reasonable averaging is permitted. We monitor this closely and workers must not be required to work excessive hours at the end of their pay period in order to achieve the 32 hour average.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to help ensure that seasonal migrant workers do not suffer financial losses as a result of participating in the seasonal workers scheme.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
A key objective of the route is to ensure that migrant workers are protected against modern slavery and other labour abuses.
The Home Office has made ongoing enhancements to the route over the lifetime of its operation, most recently adding a mandatory minimum hours pay requirement to the Immigration Rules, ensuring that all workers will receive a guaranteed 32 hours of paid employment per week.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with Interpol on the membership status of Belarus.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Government has a regular and ongoing dialogue with INTERPOL on a range of matters.
The UK is an active participant in INTERPOL’s Governance Working Group, which discusses all aspects of INTERPOL’s Constitution, including membership.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to provide compensation to seasonal migrant workers for financial losses incurred due to the late issuing of their visa.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
There is a formal complaints mechanism that individuals can follow if they feel that their application has not been handled correctly:
Complaints procedure - UK Visas and Immigration - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).