Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has plans to implement a scheme through which UK firms can sponsor Afghan citizens in need of relocation, in the same manner available for Ukrainian citizens.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Community Sponsorship provides the opportunity for friends and neighbours, charities and faith groups to play a direct role in supporting families resettled to the UK as they restart their lives here. Community Sponsorship has been extended so sponsor groups can support a family through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.
The Home Office has set up a webpage which allows members of the public and organisations to make offers of employment and housing:
Help people who have come to the UK from Afghanistan: Work - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
More information about Community Sponsorship and other volunteering opportunities can be found here:
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to work with (1) charities, and (2) local communities, to support refugees from Afghanistan; and what steps they are taking to (a) encourage, and (b) coordinate, charitable donations in support of this cause.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Under Operation Warm Welcome, we are taking a cross-government approach to ensuring Afghans arriving in the UK are able to rebuild their lives, find work, pursue education and integrate with their local communities.
The challenge of integrating such a large number of people at pace and supporting them to rebuild their lives in safety cannot be met by central and local government alone. We will be actively working with the private, voluntary and community sectors to harness a whole of society effort to address this challenge.
As part of this, we are creating a portal where people, organisations and businesses can register offers of support. This could include volunteering, offers of employment or to provide professional skills pro bono, including helping those arriving deal with trauma, or offering donations of mobile phones, mobile credit or data, laptops, access to training, clothes and toys. This will complement the Afghanistan housing portal which has been set up to collect offers of additional housing support.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Safeguarding and Afghan Resettlement of 13 September 2021, Official Report, Column 700, what support his Department plans to provide to help Afghan nationals preserve their (a) language and (b) culture when they are resettled in the UK.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Under Operation Warm Welcome, we are taking a cross-government approach to ensuring Afghans arriving in the UK are able to rebuild their lives, find work, pursue education and integrate with their local communities.
They will also receive comprehensive integration support as they start their new lives in the UK. A package of support to acclimatise to the UK, learn English, and find work, will enable rapid self-sufficiency and social integration in UK communities.
As part of this, we are creating a portal where people, organisations and businesses can register offers of support. This could include volunteering, offers of employment or to provide professional skills pro bono, including helping those arriving deal with trauma, or offering donations of mobile phones, mobile credit or data, laptops, access to training, clothes and toys. This will complement the Afghanistan housing portal which has been set up to collect offers of additional housing support.
We will also be extending the Community Sponsorship Scheme (CSS) so that friends and neighbours, charities and faith groups can come together to support a family through the ACRS. We will make it easier and quicker for community groups to become sponsors so that more people can play a direct role in the warm welcome we will extend to these new members of our communities.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions officials in her Department have had with their counterparts in the (a) Housing, Communities and Local Government and (b) Treasury on the level of funding that will be made available to local authorities that will be housing refugees via the Afghan citizen's resettlement scheme.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme will welcome 5,000 Afghans in year one, with up to a total of 20,000 in the next four years. We will keep the route under constant review and will operate it flexibly given the increasingly difficult conditions on the ground in Afghanistan.
All those brought to the UK under ACRS will have the right to work, access to education and healthcare and be able to apply for public funds. To ensure they will be supported properly, changes will be made to legislation so that, if necessary, people arriving under ACRS do not need to meet the habitual residence test.
They will also receive comprehensive integration support as they start their new lives in the UK. A package of support to acclimatise to the UK, learn English, and find work, will enable rapid self-sufficiency and social integration in UK communities.
We will match the tariff for the successful Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) to provide a complete package covering health, education and integration support costs for those on the ACRS. The core local authority tariff of £20,520 per person will be provided over a shorter period of three years, enabling more funding in those crucial early years to support resettled Afghans to integrate into British society and become self-sufficient more quickly. Funding will also be provided to support education, English language training and health provision (in year one only). We have also agreed a further £20m of flexible funding in the current financial year (2021/22) to support local authorities with higher cost bases with any additional costs in the provision of services.
We welcome the commitments already made by many local authorities and would urge all local authorities to participate in welcoming these at-risk Afghan citizens into our communities.
The challenge of integrating such a large number of people at pace and supporting them to rebuild their lives in safety cannot be met by central and local government alone. We will be actively working with the private, voluntary and community sectors to harness a whole society effort to address this challenge.
As part of this, we are creating a portal where people, organisations and businesses can register offers of support. This could include volunteering, offers of employment, or to provide professional skills pro bono, including helping those arriving deal with trauma, or offering donations of mobile phones, mobile credit or data, laptops, access to training, clothes and toys. This will complement the Afghanistan housing portal which has been set up to collect offers of additional housing support.
We will also be extending the Community Sponsorship Scheme (CSS) so that friends and neighbours, charities and faith groups can come together to support a family through the ACRS. We will make it easier and quicker for community groups to become sponsors so that more people can play a direct role in the warm welcome we will extend to these new members of our communities.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how additional funding will be allocated to local authorities that will house refugees via the Afghan citizen's resettlement scheme; and what his timetable is for allocating that funding.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme will welcome 5,000 Afghans in year one, with up to a total of 20,000 in the next four years. We will keep the route under constant review and will operate it flexibly given the increasingly difficult conditions on the ground in Afghanistan.
All those brought to the UK under ACRS will have the right to work, access to education and healthcare and be able to apply for public funds. To ensure they will be supported properly, changes will be made to legislation so that, if necessary, people arriving under ACRS do not need to meet the habitual residence test.
They will also receive comprehensive integration support as they start their new lives in the UK. A package of support to acclimatise to the UK, learn English, and find work, will enable rapid self-sufficiency and social integration in UK communities.
We will match the tariff for the successful Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) to provide a complete package covering health, education and integration support costs for those on the ACRS. The core local authority tariff of £20,520 per person will be provided over a shorter period of three years, enabling more funding in those crucial early years to support resettled Afghans to integrate into British society and become self-sufficient more quickly. Funding will also be provided to support education, English language training and health provision (in year one only). We have also agreed a further £20m of flexible funding in the current financial year (2021/22) to support local authorities with higher cost bases with any additional costs in the provision of services.
We welcome the commitments already made by many local authorities and would urge all local authorities to participate in welcoming these at-risk Afghan citizens into our communities.
The challenge of integrating such a large number of people at pace and supporting them to rebuild their lives in safety cannot be met by central and local government alone. We will be actively working with the private, voluntary and community sectors to harness a whole society effort to address this challenge.
As part of this, we are creating a portal where people, organisations and businesses can register offers of support. This could include volunteering, offers of employment, or to provide professional skills pro bono, including helping those arriving deal with trauma, or offering donations of mobile phones, mobile credit or data, laptops, access to training, clothes and toys. This will complement the Afghanistan housing portal which has been set up to collect offers of additional housing support.
We will also be extending the Community Sponsorship Scheme (CSS) so that friends and neighbours, charities and faith groups can come together to support a family through the ACRS. We will make it easier and quicker for community groups to become sponsors so that more people can play a direct role in the warm welcome we will extend to these new members of our communities.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps he has taken to support charities in Newport West to help them recover from the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Matt Warman
Government recognises the dedicated charities and volunteers who have played a huge role in the national effort against coronavirus. From supporting the NHS, delivering food, tackling loneliness and social isolation and much more, they have delivered vital work throughout this pandemic.
That is why we provided an unprecedented multi-billion-pound package of support for charities and other civil society organisations and secured an exemption from the Covid-19 restrictions for essential volunteering.
Examples of DCMS funding awarded to registered charities in Newport West include:
£1,900 to St David’s Foundation Hospice Care
£2,934 to Sparkle (South Wales) Limited
£2,000 to Pillgwenlly Millennium Trust Limited
£20,000 to Faith Christian Center UK
For more information on grants awarded, please see the COVID-19 Grants Tracker published by 360 Giving.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether members of the public can make donations to the ARAP scheme.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The UK has a proud history of providing safe haven to those in need and the plans to be set out soon will also harness that generosity of spirit and the offers of support which have already flooded in from charities, businesses and the British public.
This includes the creation of a central portal where people, organisations and businesses can register their offer of support, be it volunteering, a job opportunity, professional skills to help with integration and deal with trauma or donations of items like clothes and toys. Free English language courses will also be provided in recognition that many of the dependents of former staff and Afghan translators may need this.
While the creation of the central portal is still underway, members of the public can still offer help and donations at the Government’s portal for refugees, Afghan citizens, and others. (https://www.gov.uk/help-refugees)
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with businesses on support for local charities during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Matt Warman
Businesses have played a significant role in supporting charities up and down the country during the pandemic. Officials in my department and across government, have held a number of conversations with business and charity sector representatives throughout the pandemic.
Government has published guidance for businesses setting out how they can best support the charity sector, and separate guidance for civil society organisations on how to access support. This included information on pro-bono professional services, digital support to aid service transformation, enabling staff volunteering, and funding. Government has also linked up businesses with suitable brokers, including Business in the Community and Volunteering Matters. These brokers have specialist skills in making connections between businesses and charities.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he is having with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on opportunities for businesses to allow employees to volunteer with civil society organsiations.
Answered by Matt Warman
Employer-supported volunteering can bring considerable benefits to individual wellbeing as well as the broader workforce, help to build stronger communities and enable charities and community groups to do more through employer-supported contributions.
Government wants to see employers with strong corporate responsibility programmes and to encourage businesses, the public sector and charities to consider the role employer-supported volunteering can play as part of their impact on society.
Employees already have the right to reasonable time off work to carry out specified public duties such as those of a magistrate, as established in Section 50 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. However, in the absence of a statutory requirement to provide time off for all voluntary duties, this is a matter for individual employers.
Employer-supported volunteering programmes have made an important contribution to our community response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Business Response Network established by Business in the Community has coordinated the need for volunteers with local businesses, and their efforts have benefitted over 1 million people across the country to date.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage the creation of new charitable trusts focussed on supporting local and regional charitable community activities and initiatives.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government does not have specific plans to encourage the creation of new charitable trusts to support local community initiatives. Local and regional charities play a vital role in strengthening communities and increasing social cohesion and are best placed to understand the needs of their communities. The voluntary and community sectors are independent from government and rely on the hard work of staff and volunteers, as well as funding from individuals, businesses, trusts and foundations.
The Charity Commission for England and Wales produces a range of resources to support individuals who wish to set up a new charity. This guidance is available online here: https://www.gov.uk/set-up-a-charity
The government acts as a steward for these sectors and meets regularly with charities and social enterprises at both ministerial and official level to discuss sector challenges and opportunities. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, this has included distributing the £750 million civil society sector support package announced by the Chancellor on 8 April 2020 and ensuring that fundraising and volunteering can take place safely where it is possible to do so. Over many years the government has worked in partnership with a range of local community foundations and trusts. Most recently this has included the Community Match Challenge and the Big Night In to distribute funding to small local charities as quickly as possible.