Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Hong Kong residents born before 1997 have been granted British National (Overseas) visas under exceptional circumstances.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
All applications are determined on a case-by-case basis depending on their individual circumstances.
The Home Office does not hold data on the number of applications that have been granted a British National (Overseas) visa specifically under exceptional circumstances.
The Home Office releases data on the BN(O) route as part of the quarterly migration statistics which can be found at the following link: Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes to the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Anthony Mangnall (Conservative - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate she has made of the average cost per household of replacing a telecare system to accommodate the BT Digital Voice migration in (a) a private residence, (b) a retirement housing community and (c) a care home; and whether these costs include the provision of (i) battery backup systems and (ii) replacement of associated systems such as (A) lift alarms, (B) fire safety alarms and (C) intercom equipment.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Given the range of telecare systems, lifeline alarm systems or remote ringers available on the market, we cannot definitively provide cost estimates for replacing a device. Telecare devices can come with a range of potential add-ons that may increase costs, including but not limited to additional power resilience (such as multi-SIM connectivity solutions); personalised support (such as a dedicated helpline); and/or additional monitoring (such as tracking health data like heart rate or blood pressure).
It should be noted that the migration from analogue to digital landlines (also known as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) migration) is not specific to BT; other telecoms providers are also upgrading their analogue lines. Furthermore, the telecoms industry is not responsible for the provision or maintenance of telecare devices.
The government is working closely with telecoms companies, Local Authorities and telecare services providers to understand how the migration may impact telecare users and what more can be done to mitigate risks associated with the migration. For example, all major communications providers (including BT and Virgin Media O2) have signed up to a PSTN Charter where they commit not to migrate telecare users without a full confirmation that they have a compatible and functioning telecare solution in place.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, with reference to the policy paper entitled Transforming for a digital future: 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data, updated on 29 February 2024, what steps his Department has taken to mitigate the risks of red-rated legacy IT systems.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), in the Cabinet Office, has established a programme to support departments managing legacy IT. CDDO has agreed a framework to identify 'red-rated' systems, indicating high levels of risk surrounding certain assets within the IT estate. Departments have committed to have remediation plans in place for these systems by next year (2025). It is not appropriate to release sensitive information held about specific red-rated systems or more detailed plans for remediation within the FCDO's IT estate, as this information could indicate which systems may be at risk, and may highlight potential security vulnerabilities. FCDO are actively managing their legacy estate via their existing change plans through system upgrades and migration to public cloud.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of enrolments of international students on the finances of universities.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The government seeks to ensure that there is a fair and robust migration policy, whilst maintaining the UK’s place as a top destination for the best and brightest students from around the world. The department remains committed to the ambitions set out in the government’s International Education Strategy to host 600,000 international students per year and to increase the value of our education exports to £35 billion per year, both by 2030.
The department expects the UK to remain a highly attractive study destination. The UK has four universities in the top ten, and 17 in the top 100, worldwide. The UK has a highly sought after higher education experience, which is respected by students across the globe. The department is hugely proud to have met its international student recruitment ambition two years running.
However, the level of legal migration remains too high. As a result, on 4 December 2023, the government announced a new package of measures to reduce net migration and curb abuse and exploitation of the country’s immigration system.
The Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of the higher education sector in England, continues to work closely with the Home Office, Department for Business and Trade, and other governmental departments to assess the impact of these changes on higher education providers.
Our universities are autonomous institutions responsible for managing their own budgets. The department also works closely with the OfS to understand the evolving landscape, including on risks relating to international students.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the graduate visa route on export earnings.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government remains committed to sustainable growth in student numbers and the International Education Strategy ambition to host 600,000 international students a year. The Department for Business and Trade is aware of the potential impact of any changes to the Graduate Route visa via assessments made by stakeholders such as Universities UK. To that end, HMG’s International Education Champion, Sir Steve Smith, is advising the Migration Advisory Committee’s review of the Graduate Route.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the correspondence of 12 March 2024 from Professor Brian Bell, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the timescales given for the Migration Advisory Committee's review of the graduate route on the quality and quantity of evidence that the Committee can use to answer the questions included in the commissioning letter.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
It is important that we provide certainty on this issue in a timely manner, which is why we asked the MAC to carry out a rapid review. We will consider the evidence put forward by the MAC very closely.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Professor Brian Bell's letter, published by his Department on 12 March 2024, what assessment he has made of Migration Advisory Committee's concerns on the timescales for its review of the Graduate route.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
It is important that we provide certainty on this issue in a timely manner, which is why we asked the MAC to carry out a rapid review. We will consider the evidence put forward by the MAC very closely.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to take steps with the Secretary of State for the Home Department to use RAF Voyager aircraft to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Home Office is responsible for operationalising Migration and Economic Development Partnership flights to Rwanda and it plans to do so using a commercial provider. The Secretary of State for Defence will however consider any requests for support according to the normal Military Aid to the Civil Authorities process.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with local authorities on the switching off of the public switched telephone network.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT is coordinating the cross-government response to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) switchover. Government is taking the risks associated with this switchover very seriously and our primary objective is to ensure vulnerable people are protected throughout this necessary transition. DSIT is engaging closely with counterparts in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Local Government Association (LGA). DSIT is a member of the LGA’s working group which focuses on the switchover. DSIT will be submitting specific guidance to Local Authorities on matters related to the migration and is working to assess the impact that the PSTN switchover may have on Local Authorities.
BT Group announced its plans to switch off the PSTN in 2017, and many affected organisations, including some Local Authorities, have taken the opportunity to prepare for the transition since then. Upgrading devices to digitally compatible products will ensure they are compatible with a superior and more secure underlying infrastructure, future-proofing them for years ahead.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on how his Department can take steps to help tackle labour shortages in the fishing industry.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Skilled Worker route has a number of eligible occupations linked to the fishing sector, and the sector also benefits from a generous package of support provided by the Home Office when it comes to making visa applications.
Nevertheless, labour shortages cannot be solved through the immigration system alone and there is regular engagement between departments when developing policy. We will continue to strike the balance between reducing overall net migration and ensuring that businesses have the skills they need to support economic growth.