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 has made a recent assessment of the impact of removing the right of appeal for applicants seeking entry to the UK as a family visitor in June 2013 on the families affected; and whether her Department has made a recent estimate of the number and proportion of family visit visa applications that were successful on re-application since June 2013.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
There is no recent assessment of the impact of the removal in 2013 of this right of appeal. Where the application includes a human rights claim, applicants retain the right of appeal against the refusal of the claim. This is in line with the changes made to the appeals system by the Immigration Act 2014.
There is no recent estimate of the number and proportion of successful reapplications.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the reduction in the number of duty solicitors at police stations since 2017 on access to justice; and if he will take steps to increase the number of duty solicitors at police stations.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is satisfied that there continues to be sufficient duty solicitor coverage on the duty schemes operating across England and Wales. Provision under the duty schemes is demand led and so there may be variations in numbers across each local rota or other fluctuations in numbers depending on prevailing market conditions, and other internal factors such as firms merging or other consolidation activity.
The LAA is responsible for commissioning duty solicitor services and the day-to-day administration of the court and police station duty schemes. This includes keeping membership records, allocating slots and producing and maintaining duty solicitor rotas. The LAA monitors membership across individual duty schemes. Information about duty solicitor volumes broken down by individual scheme is published as part of the LAA’s quarterly statistics. Additionally, there are 1,385 accredited police station representatives able to provide advice to individuals at the police station.
At a national level, the LAA monitors capacity across criminal legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action to secure additional provision to ensure the continuity of legal aid-funded services.
More generally in relation to criminal legal aid we introduced a 15% uplift across most fee schemes in line with the recommendations made in the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review, including the police station fee scheme. This funding began to come into effect from the end of September 2022, and we subsequently agreed to extend it to the majority of cases already progressing in the Crown Court. We are investing a further £16m into the police station scheme over 2024-25. Following these reforms, an increase in expenditure of up to £141 million a year will take expected annual criminal legal aid spend to £1.2 billion.
Overall, our ambitious reforms will deliver a stronger justice system for all who rely on it. They will reinforce a more sustainable market, with publicly funded criminal defence practice seen as a viable long-term career choice befitting of our world-class legal professionals.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to allow asylum seekers housed in the Bibby Stockholm barge to enter and leave during the day and night.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Those accommodated aboard the vessel are not detained and are free to come and go.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken steps to help ensure that older people are included in commitments made at the high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on universal health coverage.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is committed to championing universal health coverage (UHC). We worked with other countries to ensure that the 2023 High-Level Meeting's Political Declaration on UHC reaffirmed the 2019 commitment to promote healthy and active ageing and to respond to the needs of ageing populations. We also went further, recognising the importance of providing sustainable home and community care services for older people. Following the High-Level Meeting, the UK will continue to work with partners on integrated and equitable approaches to and achieving UHC that meets the needs of people of all ages.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the (a) Kurdistan Regional Government and (b) Government of Iraq on (i) the imprisonment of Kurdish journalists Sherwan Sherwani and Guhdar Zebarito and (b) levels of press freedom in those regions.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government remains committed to pressing the case for improvements in the human rights situation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and to advocating for human rights for all, including in relation to freedom of expression and the freedom for journalists to do their jobs free from harm. The UK Government, through our Consulate General in Erbil, takes a close interest in the treatment of journalists and human rights activists in the KRI, and we are closely monitoring the cases of Sherwan Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari. We have raised our issues about the case of Guhdar Zebari in public and in private with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) at the highest levels, and a representative from the British Consulate General attended his trial. We have always been clear that journalists and political activists should be free to operate without undue interference from security forces or fear of indefinite detention.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the level of fines issued by HMRC for the late submission of self-assessment tax returns for self-employed people who have not earned above the threshold for paying tax.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
HMRC issues Self Assessment (SA) tax returns to customers when the information they hold suggests that the customer meets the published criteria for completing one. HMRC often cannot determine someone’s tax liability until they have sent in a tax return, therefore they need the return to establish whether there is tax due or not. Late filing and payment penalties are charged to encourage customers to file on time, but HMRC can cancel a customer’s late filing penalty if the customer has a reasonable excuse. Customers can also ask HMRC to remove them from the SA process for future years if they no longer meet the criteria.
From October 2011 the penalty legislation changed, from this point the capping of penalties was no longer factored into the calculation and any fixed penalty applied remained at the full amount regardless of liability. Although no change to the current penalty regime has been announced, Penalty Reform within Making Tax Digital will change the way HMRC calculates penalties for late Submission and late payment of tax. The new legislation will factor in the Liability amount, Filing frequency and length of time outstanding within its penalty calculations.
In reforming late payment and late filing penalties HMRC’s aim is to encourage those who persistently default to comply with their tax obligations rather than penalise those who make occasional errors.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of climate change on (a) inland waterways and (b) the costs of maintaining inland waterways.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ministers do not have a role in operational matters on inland waterways, which rests with the navigation authorities that own and manage them. This includes having appropriate maintenance programmes in place to ensure public safety and resilience of their assets and infrastructure against the effects of climate change. Under the upcoming fourth round of climate adaptation reporting (ARP4), introduced under the Climate Change Act 2008, the Government will invite the Canal and River Trust (C&RT) and the Environment Agency to report on their canal and river activities.
On 10 July the Government announced a very substantial grant of over £400 million new funding for the C&RT between 2027 and 2037. This is a significant sum of money and a sign of the importance that we place on our inland waterways. It will provide the C&RT with certainty about the level of Government grant funding for its future business planning and continue to support the C&RT to maintain its canal network.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's factsheet: asylum accommodation on a vessel in Portland Port, updated on 25 August 2023, what fire safety standards she has applied to the Bibby Stockholm; and to which industry standards the factsheet refers.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a legal obligation to support asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.
In the Netherlands and Belgium, the authorities have delivered accommodation for asylum seekers on vessels in a safe and secure manner.
The Bibby Stockholm vessel has been used for decades to provide safe and decent accommodation to oil rig workers and was used between 1995 to 1998 to accommodate refugees in Germany.
Corporate Travel Management (CTM) are responsible for managing the services on the barge. CTM managed two Scottish vessels housing refugees and have a strong track record of providing this kind of accommodation. We are confident that it will continue to manage the vessel and its supporting services. CTM has worked closely and successfully with local authorities and other public and voluntary organisations in Scotland.
The Bibby Stockholm adheres to the Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety) 2005 and has an appropriate fire risk assessment that complies to those regulations including safety features such as fire doors, fire detection systems and firefighting equipment at strategic locations.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there is a functioning sprinkler system on the Bibby Stockholm.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a legal obligation to support asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.
In the Netherlands and Belgium, the authorities have delivered accommodation for asylum seekers on vessels in a safe and secure manner.
The Bibby Stockholm vessel has been used for decades to provide safe and decent accommodation to oil rig workers and was used between 1995 to 1998 to accommodate refugees in Germany.
Corporate Travel Management (CTM) are responsible for managing the services on the barge. CTM, who managed two Scottish vessels housing refugees in Edinburgh, has a strong track record of providing this kind of accommodation, and we are confident that it can manage the vessel and its supporting services. CTM has worked closely and successfully with local authorities and other public and voluntary organisations in Scotland.
The Bibby Stockholm adheres to the Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety) 2005 and has an appropriate fire risk assessment that complies to those regulations including safety features such as fire doors, fire detection systems and firefighting equipment at strategic locations.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the level of hate crime committed against the Sikh community; and what steps her Department is taking to tackle such crime.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
All forms of racial and religious discrimination are abhorrent and have no place in our communities. The Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat crime.
The Home Office publishes statistics which can be found at: Hate crime, England and Wales, 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).