Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) attract, and (2) retain, top AI professionals in the UK.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government is committed to ensuring there is a sustainable pipeline of skills workers. Since 2018 we have invested £290 million in AI skills and talent initiatives. This includes the funding of AI and Data Science Conversion Courses scholarships for underrepresented groups.
The AI Futures programme helps attract top early to mid-career AI talent from around the world to the UK, including through a grants scheme which supports universities and SMEs to meet relocation costs of exceptional AI researchers and engineers.
We also help UK tech companies access world-class talent through the Global Talent Visa and the Scaleup Worker Visa.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will list the teacher recruitment and retention schemes that have received notice that funding will be (a) reduced and (b) ended since 1 January 2024.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
England currently has the highest number of teachers on record. At the last count there were over 468,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state-funded schools in England, which is an increase of 27,000 (6%) since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.
To make sure the department’s teacher recruitment and retention efforts are focussed on where they are needed most and providing best value for taxpayers’ money, the department has made some changes to funding allocations. Since January 2024, notice of changes to funding has been sent to the following teacher recruitment and retention partners:
Since January 2024, notice of non-renewal of funding has been sent to:
The department has put in place a range of measures, including bursaries that are worth £28,000 tax-free and scholarships that are £30,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing. The ITT financial incentives package for the 2024/25 recruitment cycle is worth up to £196 million, which is a £15 million increase on the last cycle.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of individuals deemed eligible for removal to Rwanda that (a) have (i) partners and (ii) spouses and (b) are a dependent of an individual who has been granted (A) asylum and (B) other leave to remain.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
It would be inappropriate to start giving out numbers. This is operationally sensitive information.
Everyone considered for relocation will be screened and have access to legal advice. Decisions will be taken on a case-by-case basis, and nobody will be relocated if it is unsafe or inappropriate for them.
For those with family links in the UK, who want to be considered for entry to the UK, they should seek to do so via legal and safe routes. Nobody should put their lives into the hands of criminal people smuggling gangs by making dangerous and irregular journeys.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much will people whose claims have been rejected be offered to move to Rwanda voluntarily.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Individuals who have no right to remain in the UK legally are being offered voluntary relocation to Rwanda under a new agreement with the Government of Rwanda. This will relocate individuals who have no right to work, rent or remain in the UK to relocate to Rwanda and allow them to build safe and prosperous lives there.
Individuals will receive £3,000 to support their relocation, paid to them on a card that can only be used in Rwanda.
This builds on our already widely used voluntary returns scheme, which saw more than 19,000 people return to their country-of-origin last year. We can also now facilitate relocation to Rwanda, providing an alternative for those whose country of origin is unsafe or those who would prefer not to return, but have no right to remain in the UK.
Under this Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Rwanda, individuals relocated voluntarily will have the same package of support for up to five years and access to integration programmes, so that they can study, undertake training, and work. Actual spend of the policy will be reported as part of the annual Home Office Reports and Accounts in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Gower on 29 April (HL3718), in which circumstances, and why, it would not be applicable to apply the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' Red Book to HS2 property compensation cases.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ Red Book sets out the approach to be adopted for property valuation. It is not applicable to compensation cases where there is no claim for property value and the claim is limited to disturbance compensation or losses not based on the value of land, such as relocation costs.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what grounds the asylum seeker sent to Rwanda on 30 April 2024 had claimed asylum.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Individuals who have no right to remain in the UK legally are being offered voluntary relocation to Rwanda under a new agreement with the Government of Rwanda. This will relocate individuals who have no right to work, rent or remain in the UK to relocate to Rwanda and allow them to build safe and prosperous lives there.
Individuals will receive £3,000 to support their relocation, paid to them on a card that can only be used in Rwanda.
This builds on our already widely used voluntary returns scheme, which saw more than 19,000 people return to their country-of-origin last year. We can also now facilitate relocation to Rwanda, providing an alternative for those whose country of origin is unsafe or those who would prefer not to return, but have no right to remain in the UK.
Under this Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Rwanda, individuals relocated voluntarily will have the same package of support for up to five years and access to integration programmes, so that they can study, undertake training, and work. Actual spend of the policy will be reported as part of the annual Home Office Reports and Accounts in the usual way.
It would not be appropriate to provide individual details of voluntary relocations that the Home Office has helped facilitate.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was spent on sending an asylum seeker to Rwanda on 30 April 2024.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Individuals who have no right to remain in the UK legally are being offered voluntary relocation to Rwanda under a new agreement with the Government of Rwanda. This will relocate individuals who have no right to work, rent or remain in the UK to relocate to Rwanda and allow them to build safe and prosperous lives there.
Individuals will receive £3,000 to support their relocation, paid to them on a card that can only be used in Rwanda.
This builds on our already widely used voluntary returns scheme, which saw more than 19,000 people return to their country-of-origin last year. We can also now facilitate relocation to Rwanda, providing an alternative for those whose country of origin is unsafe or those who would prefer not to return, but have no right to remain in the UK.
Under this Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Rwanda, individuals relocated voluntarily will have the same package of support for up to five years and access to integration programmes, so that they can study, undertake training, and work. Actual spend of the policy will be reported as part of the annual Home Office Reports and Accounts in the usual way.
It would not be appropriate to provide individual details of voluntary relocations that the Home Office has helped facilitate.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what airline took an asylum seeker to Rwanda on 30 April 2024.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Individuals who have no right to remain in the UK legally are being offered voluntary relocation to Rwanda under a new agreement with the Government of Rwanda. This will relocate individuals who have no right to work, rent or remain in the UK to relocate to Rwanda and allow them to build safe and prosperous lives there.
Individuals will receive £3,000 to support their relocation, paid to them on a card that can only be used in Rwanda.
This builds on our already widely used voluntary returns scheme, which saw more than 19,000 people return to their country-of-origin last year. We can also now facilitate relocation to Rwanda, providing an alternative for those whose country of origin is unsafe or those who would prefer not to return, but have no right to remain in the UK.
Under this Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Rwanda, individuals relocated voluntarily will have the same package of support for up to five years and access to integration programmes, so that they can study, undertake training, and work. Actual spend of the policy will be reported as part of the annual Home Office Reports and Accounts in the usual way.
It would not be appropriate to provide individual details of voluntary relocations that the Home Office has helped facilitate.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2024 to Question 21043 on Afghanistan: Refugees, how many people (a) have been relocated and (b) are due to be relocated in the next 12 weeks under the ARAP scheme as a result of such a reassessment.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to my answer to Question 23497. The Ministry of Defence is working hard to review ineligible decisions made against applications from the Triples and other specialist units where we hold credible evidence, and I will update the House when the review is complete.
When any individual is found eligible under ARAP the Ministry of Defence works to ensure relocation occurs as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of when the review of applications to the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy that were made by people who supported UK Special Forces in Afghanistan will be completed.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The reassessment began on 26 March 2024 and will take approximately twelve weeks to complete. Some complex cases might extend beyond the 12 weeks.
I will update the House once the review is completed, but my immediate priority is processing the cases as swiftly and diligently as possible and ensuring that the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme criteria is consistently applied to all applications being reassessed.