Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department will take to reduce the delays in registration with the Office of the Public Guardian.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
OPG has seen an increase in the time taken to process an LPA since COVID-19 began impacting the workplace. LPAs are paper documents that require a physical staff presence in an office to process and register. Although staff have been in the office throughout the pandemic, the need to comply with social distancing rules reduced the capacity to deal with LPAs.
As government restrictions for England and Wales have gradually eased, OPG have seen an increase in LPA applications which has added to pre-existing backlogs. These issues combined have generated the delays to LPA registrations, which are currently taking up to 20 weeks to process with a current year-to-date average for 2021/22 of 57 working days.
OPG are working hard to reduce the delays and clear the backlog. Steps being taken include:
I expect the registration timelines to gradually decrease. I appreciate the delays are frustrating for customers and fall below the service standards that OPG aims to deliver.
As part of a wider transformation programme, my department is currently consulting on modernising LPAs, which could provide the opportunity for less reliance on paper, and significantly improve the speed of service.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether benefit sanctions will continue to be applied by her Department during the period of the new national covid-19 lockdown from 5 November 2020; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In March 2020 we switched off conditionality requirements so that we could concentrate on processing the unprecedented number of new and existing claims.
From the 1st of July, we reintroduced Claimant Commitments as we were able to again tailor reasonable requirements asking claimants to prepare and look for work where it was safe to do so in line with social distancing rules. These commitments will be amended as necessary to account for any new lockdown guidance.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the process for applying for indefinite leave to remain in the UK; and what plans they have, if any, to ensure that the process for applying for such leave is adapted to reflect any such disruption.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office is committed to ensuring that all applications are considered without unnecessary delay. Immigration case-working operations have been impacted by COVID-19, with most locations going into lockdown at the end of March, although we have continued to make decisions where we have been able to.
As UK Visas and Immigration has now reopened the majority of its Visa Application Centres both in the UK and overseas, we are working closely with our partners to maximise the available capacity to service applicants in line with social distancing rules in each location.
The Home Office has put in place a range of measures to support those affected by the covid-19 outbreak to ensure people are not unduly affected by circumstances beyond their control.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the capacity of UK Visa and Immigration services to process applications, following the suspension of the priority service and the closure of Sopra Steria and some VFS global visa application centres; what consideration they have given to the need to process applications from NHS staff before the suggested changeover date of 5 August; and when they expect a full service will resume.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
As UK Visas and Immigration begins to reopen its Visa Application Centres both in the UK and overseas, we are working closely with our partners to maximise the available capacity to service applicants in line with social distancing rules in each location.
For those applicants who are due to start work in the NHS but who are unable to make their application from overseas due to the temporary closure of the Visa Application Centres, they should contact the UKVI NHS Team by emailing UKVINHSTeam@homeoffice.gov.uk and the team will seek to assist them.
Applicants sponsored by the NHS who lodge an application in the UK under Tier 2 can begin work immediately while their application is under consideration.
The Home Office has put in place a range of measures to support those affected by the covid-19 outbreak, full details of which are published on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-uk-visa-applicants-and-temporary-uk-residents. The department continues to monitor the situation closely and takes these exceptional circumstances into account.
These are unprecedented times and further adjustments may be made to requirements where necessary and appropriate, to ensure people are not unduly affected by circumstances beyond their control.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has received representations from representatives of (a) dancing schools, (b) the Royal Shakespeare Company and (c) other stage-based entertainment bodies on how those bodies can reopen and operate in conformity with social distancing rules; whether he has made an assessment of the practicability of those proposals; and what support his Department provides to those bodies to ensure that they will not cease to exist before their reopening is permitted by the Government.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
In order to ensure appropriate support and guidance is given to the cultural sector, DCMS has established the Cultural Renewal Taskforce and the Entertainment and Events working group which include extensive membership from across the artistic and creative industries sectors. The focus of these groups’ work is on ensuring that COVID-19 secure guidelines are developed in line with the phasing ambitions and public health directions, building on the existing guidance and providing intelligence and sector-specific expert input. These groups specifically include representatives for dance and stage based entertainment, all of whom are being consulted extensively on how the sector can reopen and operate under social distancing. Full details of the Taskforce can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/culture-secretary-announces-cultural-renewal-taskforce and the Entertainment and Events Working Group can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/cultural-renewal-taskforce-and-supporting-working-groups#entertainment-and-events-members.
The Secretary of State, my fellow Ministers and DCMS officials continue to consult the creative and cultural sectors extensively to ensure they understand fully the potential impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak on the sector. DCMS officials and ministers have also held regular calls with representatives from across the arts and cultural sector and these have included representatives from the Royal Shakespeare Company and a number of dance schools and representatives including Sadler’s Wells and Northern Ballet.
The Secretary of State and DCMS are committed to supporting the cultural sector through this pandemic and getting the curtain up at venues across the country as soon as it is safe to do so. In addition to the unprecedented financial measures the Government has announced DCMS has also worked closely with its arm’s-length bodies to deliver tailored support packages at speed, including the £160m Emergency Funding Package announced by Arts Council England, made possible by Government funding.