Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of asylum seekers enrolled in university access programmes in each of the last five years.
Answered by Janet Daby
The UK has a longstanding and proud tradition of providing a safe haven to those who have no choice but to leave their home country because of endangerment to their lives or to those of their families. Higher education (HE) student support is available to those recognised as refugees, as well as their spouses, civil partners and children who were family members on the date the refugee applied for asylum, provided they have been ordinarily, i.e. lawfully, resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) since being recognised by the government as a refugee and are ordinarily resident in England on the course start date. They are exempt from the three-year ordinary residence requirement.
Individuals seeking asylum are not entitled to student support in England whilst they are seeking asylum.
The department does not hold data on the number of asylum seekers that have started or are currently enrolled on an HE course at a UK HE provider in any of the last five years.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many asylum seekers have begun degree qualifications whilst waiting for leave to remain in the UK.
Answered by Janet Daby
The UK has a longstanding and proud tradition of providing a safe haven to those who have no choice but to leave their home country because of endangerment to their lives or to those of their families. Higher education (HE) student support is available to those recognised as refugees, as well as their spouses, civil partners and children who were family members on the date the refugee applied for asylum, provided they have been ordinarily, i.e. lawfully, resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) since being recognised by the government as a refugee and are ordinarily resident in England on the course start date. They are exempt from the three-year ordinary residence requirement.
Individuals seeking asylum are not entitled to student support in England whilst they are seeking asylum.
The department does not hold data on the number of asylum seekers that have started or are currently enrolled on an HE course at a UK HE provider in any of the last five years.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much medical aid and assistance they have provided to Gaza and the West Bank since the start of the current conflict there, beyond what they have provided through UNRWA.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK has now announced £112 million for the Occupied Palestinian Territories this financial year, including £41 million for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), providing vital services to civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Palestinian refugees across the region delivered through partner agencies. This includes healthcare delivery. As part of this total, since July 2024 we have announced £5.5 million for UK-Med to operate field hospitals in Gaza, £6 million for UNICEF to support vulnerable families in Gaza by restoring water supply and sanitation systems, in addition to £1 million to support the Egyptian Ministry of Health to care for medically evacuated Palestinians, and £6 million to both United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the World Food Programme to support lifesaving health, food, water, sanitation and protection services for Palestinians. Our funding to UK-Med has allowed them to treat over 300,000 people since the start of the conflict.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding they have provided for medical aid to Gaza and the West Bank since the start of the current conflict there.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK has now announced £112 million for the Occupied Palestinian Territories this financial year, including £41 million for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), providing vital services to civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Palestinian refugees across the region delivered through partner agencies. This includes healthcare delivery. As part of this total, since July 2024 we have announced £5.5 million for UK-Med to operate field hospitals in Gaza, £6 million for UNICEF to support vulnerable families in Gaza by restoring water supply and sanitation systems, in addition to £1 million to support the Egyptian Ministry of Health to care for medically evacuated Palestinians, and £6 million to both United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the World Food Programme to support lifesaving health, food, water, sanitation and protection services for Palestinians. Our funding to UK-Med has allowed them to treat over 300,000 people since the start of the conflict.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding his Department has allocated to organisations supporting the delivery of aid in Gaza since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has now announced £112 million for the Occupied Palestinian Territories so far this financial year, providing vital services to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank delivered through partner agencies. As part of this total, since July we have announced that the UK would reinstate £21m funding to UNRWA including £1m to implement the recommendations of the Colonna report, £5.5m for UK-MED to operate field hospitals in Gaza, £6 million for UNICEF to support vulnerable families in Gaza, in addition to UK-Kuwait joint funding totalling £4.5 million for UNICEF to continue their lifesaving aid in Gaza and Yemen, £1m to support the Egyptian Ministry of Health to care for medically evacuated Palestinians, £6m to both OCHA and WFP and £7 million of new UK funding to UNRWA's Flash Humanitarian Appeal for Gaza. On 11 December we announced an additional £13 million for UNRWA to provide essential services to Palestinian refugees in the OPTs, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the Afghan Pro Bono Initiative, in their report Still Waiting: the Afghans Abandoned by the UK, published in August, regarding the delays and decision-making processes for resettlement schemes for refugees from Afghanistan.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are determined to honour our commitments to bring eligible Afghans to the UK. The UK has made an ambitious commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 32,600 people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan resettlement schemes.
Our priority right now is the relocation of those identified as eligible for resettlement under our resettlement schemes, and fixing the gaps in existing routes. That is why we affirmed our ongoing commitment to Afghans and their families by launching the ACRS Separated Families route, which provides a pathway to reunite those families who were unintentionally separated during Operation Pitting.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) asylum seekers and (b) refugees are studying degree courses at universities.
Answered by Janet Daby
The UK has a longstanding and proud tradition of providing a safe haven to those who have no choice but to leave their home country because of endangerment to their lives or to those of their families. Higher education student support is available to those recognised as refugees, as well as their spouses, civil partners and children who were family members on the date the refugee applied for asylum, provided they have been ordinarily (i.e. lawfully) resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) since being recognised by the government as a refugee and are ordinarily resident in England on the course start date. They are exempt from the three-year ordinary residence requirement.
4,948 students with refugee status received student support from Student Finance England in the 2023/24 academic year to support their studies on full time undergraduate courses.
Individuals seeking asylum are not entitled to student support in England, whilst they are seeking asylum.
The department does not hold information on students who have self-funded their studies.
Asked by: Lord Reid of Cardowan (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government in what ways they are supporting the integration of immigrants into UK society, and what measures are in place to promote community cohesion and reduce discrimination.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley
All immigrants with valid status in the UK should be able to fully integrate into British life. Immigrants who come to the UK usually integrate on their own initiative; there is not a one size fits all approach to integration, but we provide specific help to certain cohorts. For example Ukrainians through the STEP programme which provides an intensive 12 week English language and employment support course to support better employment outcomes and economic independence. Other cohorts supported include Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) and Afghans arriving in the UK through relocation schemes.
Most refugees and those granted protection in the UK integrate successfully and become self-sufficient, providing for themselves and their families, and contributing to the economy, to support this we are working across Government and with local authorities to ensure they have access to the labour market, to mainstream benefits (where eligible) and services, and to mainstream English language provision to enable their integration.
Government policy places a key role in supporting thriving, cohesive and resilient communities. Work is now underway in my Department to develop a stronger approach to support our communities and to build resilience against the challenges they face.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that people who have recently acquired refugee status do not experience homelessness after leaving asylum accommodation.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Individuals granted asylum have access to the labour market and to mainstream services that support their integration, including benefits and healthcare. We are working across Government to ensure these services meet the needs of all newly granted refugees.
Migrant Help or their partner organisation support all individuals when they receive a decision on their asylum claim. This support includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing.
We continue to work with colleagues at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to understand rough sleeping and homelessness pressures within local authorities (LAs). In our continued commitment to supporting LAs and statutory partners in planning for move on, we have shared enhanced data sets (The Place Based Visibility tool - PBVT) which we are continuing to develop further. The PBVT is complimented by the Discontinuation Prediction Tool (DPT) which is shared weekly; this data provides real time view of discontinuation notices likely to be served in the next following 4-6 weeks and the volume of people (including whether it is families, single males or single females) who may seek LA assistance following a positive decision.
Where a decision is made on an individual's asylum claim, the Asylum Accommodation Support Contract (AASC) provider notifies the relevant local authority within 2 days of notification by the Home Office.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Afghans have been successfully resettled in the UK under Pathways 1 and 2 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK continues to welcome refugees and people in need through existing resettlement schemes which include the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship, the Mandate Resettlement Scheme, and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).
Referrals for the UKRS, Community Sponsorship, Mandate Resettlement and Pathway 2 of the ACRS are assessed and submitted by UNHCR. These assessments are based on people’s needs and vulnerabilities and the UK does not seek to influence which cases are referred by UNHCR.
A route for ACRS Pathway 1 Stage 2: Separated Families was opened on 30 July 2024. The window to submit an expression of interest will remain open until 30 October 2024.
Those who have been resettled in the UK under Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 1 and were evacuated during Operation Pitting without their immediate family members can submit an expression of interest under this pathway.
Further information is viewable at: Afghan citizens resettlement scheme: Separated Families Pathway - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The ARAP was launched on 1 April 2021 and remains open. The UK formally opened ACRS on 6 January 2022 and it remains operational.
The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 30,100 people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan schemes. We continue to honour our commitments to bring eligible Afghans to the UK.
The data published within the immigration system statistics release Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) provides a breakdown of arrivals by quarter. The number of individuals resettled under the schemes is as follows: 15,592 individuals under ARAP, 9,703 individuals under ACRS Pathway 1, 663 individuals under ACRS Pathway 2 and 1, 207 individuals under ACRS Pathway 3.
Afghan operational data is viewable on Gov.UK.
Afghan operational data is released quarterly with the next publication due around the 24 August 2024.