Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of (a) the number of Afghan nationals resettled under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme who have higher education qualifications and (b) the proportion of that number who acquired those qualifications in the UK.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) commenced on 6th January. The ACRS will provide up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
Afghans who are eligible under ACRS or ARAP are working with job centre work coaches to assess their readiness for the jobs market, including their skills and qualifications.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the eligibility of Afghan nationals who formerly attended UK universities to be resettled in the UK.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The ACRS is not yet open. Officials are working urgently to stand up the remaining elements of the scheme.
Further information on the eligibility, prioritisation and referral of people for the ACRS is set out in the policy statement published on gov.uk on 13 September, available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle gun smuggling across (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government is committed to tackling the threat posed by trafficking and the misuse of illicit firearms. The UK has some of the toughest firearms controls in the world. We are continuing to reduce the supply and availability of illegal firearms to prevent their use by criminal or terrorist groups in the UK. The Government works closely with law enforcement to protect the public by tackling criminal use of firearms and disrupting illegal supply routes. Our approach is centred around partnership working, securing and enhancing capabilities at the border and reducing diversion from the legal to the illegal market.
For example, the NCA-led Operation Venetic, a sophisticated clampdown on organised criminals which saw international law enforcement agencies working together to infiltrate encrypted messaging platform EncroChat, has seen over 700 arrests for drugs and firearms offences across the UK, including in the West Midlands.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle firearm offences crime across (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government is committed to tackling the threat posed by trafficking and the misuse of illicit firearms. The UK has some of the toughest firearms controls in the world. We are continuing to reduce the supply and availability of illegal firearms to prevent their use by criminal or terrorist groups in the UK. The Government works closely with law enforcement to protect the public by tackling criminal use of firearms and disrupting illegal supply routes. Our approach is centred around partnership working, securing and enhancing capabilities at the border and reducing diversion from the legal to the illegal market.
For example, the NCA-led Operation Venetic, a sophisticated clampdown on organised criminals which saw international law enforcement agencies working together to infiltrate encrypted messaging platform EncroChat, has seen over 700 arrests for drugs and firearms offences across the UK, including in the West Midlands.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to take steps to grant urgent amnesty to undocumented migrants residing in the UK.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government remains committed to an immigration policy which welcomes and celebrates people to the UK through safe and legal routes but deters illegal immigration, partially from safe countries like France
The Immigration Rules already provide routes for undocumented migrants, who have not broken the law except for remaining here without lawful immigration status,to obtain permission to stay.
These Rules help to ensure public confidence in the immigration system. Whilst the Rules are kept under continuous review, there are no current plans to introduce an amnesty for undocumented migrants in the UK.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to offer asylum to civilians fleeing from Afghanistan following the Taliban's recent ascent to power in that country.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK has a proud record of providing protection for people who need it, in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. However, there is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge. Whilst we acknowledge the increasingly complex situation in Afghanistan, we are not bound to consider asylum claims from the very large numbers of people overseas who might like to come here. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.
While we do not allow asylum claims from abroad, all asylum claims that are lodged from within the UK, including those from Afghan nationals, will be carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Those who need protection will normally be granted five years’ limited leave, have full access to the labour market and mainstream benefits, and can apply for settlement after five years.
No one who is found to be at risk of persecution or serious harm in Afghanistan will be expected to return there, and enforced returns of those who have been refused asylum and have exhausted all rights of appeal are currently paused.
The UK’s new resettlement scheme will, however, offer a route welcoming Afghans most at risk who have been forced to flee the country, prioritising resettling women, girls and children to the UK. Further details on the Scheme will be published in due course.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for claimants of the Windrush Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Priti Patel
Since April 2019 the Scheme has offered or paid more than £34 million in compensation to members of the Windrush generation. On 21 July the Home Office (HO) published the latest set of data on the Scheme which covers the period to the end of June 2021. During the month of June, the HO paid out £2.4 million in compensation. More than £26 million in compensation has been paid across 776 claims.
In December we overhauled the Scheme and the changes have had an immediate effect on the speed and value of offers of compensation. Since the end of December, we have paid more than eight times the total amount paid previously.
However, the HO recognises that there is more still to do to speed up the time between submission and decision on claims. On 21 July the HO published a redesigned primary claim form which is easier for people to complete, and refreshed caseworker guidance which sets out clearly how caseworkers should apply the balance of probabilities and gather evidence to ensure claimants are only asked to provide the minimum information necessary. Together, these should reduce the time taken to process claims and improve peoples’ experiences of applying to the Scheme.
The HO is also recruiting more case workers. Since the end of April, casework FTE has been increased by seven caseworkers and a team of 14 experienced caseworkers onto the scheme from elsewhere in the HO. The HO is in the process of recruiting a further 15 caseworkers and plan to hold a large reserve list so vacancies created through attrition can be filled more quickly.
The HO is also directing resources to where it is needed most to maximise final decision output. In addition, we are improving the evidence-gathering process, including by revising the data-sharing agreements with other government departments.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help protect retail workers from abuse, threats and violence during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government conducted a call for evidence on violence and abuse toward shop staff to understand the extent of the issue and how we can work with retailers and police to improve the response to these crimes. The Government’s formal response was published 7 July 2020 and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/violence-and-abuse-toward-shop-staff-call-for-evidence
To address the actions raised in the call for evidence the Home Office has worked closely with retailers and trade organisations through the National Retail Crime Steering Group. We have developed resources to assist retailers to report crimes when they occur, resources for shop staff who are victims of violence and abuse, and the #Shopkind communications campaign. The downloadable resources are free to use and are available here: https://brc.org.uk/nrcsg-against-shop-worker-abuse-and-violence/