Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of how many (a) adult and (b) unaccompanied child Eritrean nationals eligible to come to the UK are unable to exit Ethiopia; and how many such people are receiving consular support from the UK.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Home Office are working with the International Committee of the Red Cross to process 16 Eritrean Nationals who hold UK visas and are trying to exit Ethiopia, 10 of whom are unaccompanied minors, to enable them to travel to the UK as soon as their exit visas are granted. The FCDO and our embassies, high commissions and consulates worldwide provide consular assistance to British nationals abroad. We cannot provide consular support to other countries' nationals, even if they have been living legally in the UK or have close connections to the UK.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to assist Eritrean nationals with valid UK visas residing in Ethiopia to obtain exit permits.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
HMG are working alongside the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) with the Federal Government of Ethiopia, and have agreed a process to issue Exit Visas for Eritreans who hold visas for the United Kingdom. HMG is now working with the ICRC to process outstanding cases and enable them to travel to the United Kingdom as soon as their exit visas are granted.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent (a) harassment and (b) violence against (i) women and (ii) elderly people from the UK's Eritrean community.
Answered by Sarah Dines
Public sexual harassment is an appalling crime, and the Government has already taken significant action to tackle it. We have ensured that new guidance was published for police and prosecutors on existing offences, have provided £120 million through the Safer Streets and Safety of Women at Night Funds to make our streets safer, have created the new SafeStreet tool which allows people to pinpoint where they have felt unsafe and the police to take action.
The Government also supported the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023, which makes public sexual harassment a specific offence. The Act received Royal Assent on 18th September 2023.
Tackling violence against women and girls is a government priority. It is unacceptable and preventable, and an issue which blights the lives of millions. In July 2021, we published our cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy to help ensure that women and girls are safe everywhere -- at home, online, at work and on the streets.
Older people and women from the Eritrean community who are victims and survivors of VAWG have access to a range of support provided through the Government’s Domestic Abuse Plan and VAWG Strategy. This support includes:
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure the safety of Eritrean refugees.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights state that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, assembly and association. This Government fully supports these rights, including the right of individuals to protest peacefully.
There is a long tradition in this country of people being free to assemble and demonstrate their views, however uncomfortable they may make others, provided they do so within the law.
Of course, there is a balance to be struck. The right to peaceful protest does not extend to violent behaviour. The police have powers to deal with such behaviour and we expect them to use them where appropriate.
The management of protests is an operational matter for the police. The police have a duty to ensure the protection and safety of all individuals, regardless of their background, origin or views and will take appropriate steps to do so.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to help ensure that the rights of Eritrean refugees in the UK to protest against acts of the Eritrean Government are protected.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights state that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, assembly and association. This Government fully supports these rights, including the right of individuals to protest peacefully.
There is a long tradition in this country of people being free to assemble and demonstrate their views, provided they do so within the law.
Therefore, should Eritrean refugees in the UK wish to protest against the Eritrean government they are well within their right to do so, as long as such protests are conducted peacefully and in accordance with the law.
The management of demonstrations is an operational matter for the police. In certain circumstances, the police have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect those wishing to exercise their rights peacefully and to consider any potential risk to public safety.
Similarly, the management of community events, including decisions on their approval, is a matter for the relevant local authority.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has held recent discussions with the Eritrean embassy in London on recent clashes between Eritrean Government supporters and opponents.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Recent events involving members of the Eritrean community in the UK have, on occasions, led to public disorder and arrests. Ahead of a planned and subsequently cancelled event in the London Borough of Harrow in July, FCDO officials and officers from the Metropolitan Police met with staff from the Eritrean embassy to discuss security plans and arrangements. The FCDO plus relevant police forces and councils will engage with the UK Eritrean community and Eritrean embassy ahead of other events.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support people in Eritrea following the recent violence in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Whilst we are unaware of reports of recent violence, the UK has consistently highlighted human rights issues in Eritrea including through the UK's Human Rights Ambassador.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to African universities and institutions specialising in conflict, in particular in (1) Sudan, (2) South Sudan, (3) Eritrea, and (4) Ethiopia.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Currently we do not provide support to universities in any of the specified countries. Through our recent Strategic Partnership for Higher Education, Innovation and Reform (SPHEIR) programme we have provided support to universities in Somaliland, Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Sierra Leone and provided conflict support to universities in Jordan and Lebanon supporting Syrian refugees. This programme ran from 2016-2022 and focussed on transforming the quality, relevance, scale, access and affordability of higher education systems through mutually beneficial partnerships. A successor programme is currently being developed which will be accepting/encouraging bids from Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Asked by: Earl Russell (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that unaccompanied child asylum seekers arriving in the UK are not placed in adult prisons.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
Determining the age of a young person is a difficult task and therefore, the age assessment process for immigration purposes contains safeguards.
Where a new arrival does not have genuine documentary evidence of their age and their claimed age is doubted, an initial age decision is conducted as a first step to prevent individuals who are clearly an adult or minor from being subjected unnecessarily to a more substantive age assessment and ensure that new arrivals are routed into the correct accommodation and processes for assessing their asylum or immigration claim. The lawfulness of the initial decision on age process was endorsed by the Supreme Court in the case of R (on the application of BF (Eritrea)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] UKSC 38.
Where doubt remains and an individual cannot be assessed to be significantly over 18, they will be treated as a minor for immigration purposes until further assessment of their age by a local authority.
The Home Office initial decision on age is not binding on the courts, and where the Court has doubt whether the individual is a minor or not, the courts will take a decision on the age of an individual before them based on the available evidence. This decision would then determine the type of detention estate someone is sent to if given a custodial sentence or remanded in custody. If an individual is sent to an adult prison and is later found to be a child, they can be moved to the youth custody estate if there continues to be a need to detain them.
The recent legislative reforms introduced by this government will improve the accuracy of the scientific age assessment outcomes, minimising the risk that a person will be incorrectly treated as either an adult or a minor and ensure that age-appropriate services and care are reserved for genuine minors.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her Department's policy to assess the age of every person that arrives in the UK illegally on a small boat.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office will only conduct an age assessment in circumstances where an individual who arrives does not have genuine documentary evidence of their age and where there is doubt about their claimed age.
An initial age assessment is conducted as a first step to prevent individuals who are clearly an adult or child from being subjected unnecessarily to a more substantive age assessment and ensure that new arrivals are routed into the correct accommodation and processes for assessing their asylum or immigration claim.
The Home Office will only treat an individual claiming to be a child as an adult, without conducting further enquiries, if two Home Office members of staff independently determine that the individual's physical appearance and demeanour very strongly suggests they are significantly over 18 years of age. The lawfulness of this process was endorsed by the Supreme Court in the case of R (on the application of BF (Eritrea)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] UKSC 38.
Where doubt remains and an individual cannot be assessed to be significantly over 18, they will be treated as a child for immigration purposes until further assessment of their age by a local authority or the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) which launched in March 2023. This will usually entail a careful, holistic age assessment, known as a ‘Merton compliant age assessment’, which are undertaken by social workers and must adhere to principles set out in case law by the Courts.
Separately, secondary legislation laid by the Ministry of Justice will, once approved by Parliament, authorise the use of x-rays in scientific age assessments, paving the way for the Home Office to improve their ability to effectively determine the age of illegal entrants making disputed claims to be children. Age assessment is an important process to help to prevent asylum seeking adults posing as children as a way of accessing support they are not entitled to, and allow genuine children to access age-appropriate services.
Legislation will then be laid by the Home Office, taking forward powers under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, which will specify that x-rays of teeth and bones of the hands and wrist and MRIs of knees and collar bones can be used as part of the age assessment process.