The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to issue statutory guidance for identifying and supporting victims as set out in section 49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Karen Bradley
Guidance for identifying and supporting victims will be published once the National Referral Mechanism pilot has concluded. The guidance is being developed in consultation with NGOs and frontline agencies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will collect regularly statistics on the (a) number of and (b) reasons for exceptional family reunion cases relating to children where indefinite leave to remain is granted at her discretion outside of the rules.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office does not hold the specific information in the format requested. The questions cover a number of different casework operations and the information is not recorded centrally in a way which can be reported on directly.
To obtain the information would involve examining individual case records and would incur disproportionate cost. We do not currently plan to change the data that is centrally recorded and published on this category of applications.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s target waiting time is for a Disclosure and Barring Service local intelligence check to be completed by the Metropolitan Police Service.
Karen Bradley
In 2015/16, the Disclosure and Barring Service processed 87% of all applications within 21 days, against a target of 85%.
Some of the over four million applications received each year need to be referred to one or more police forces for further checks. There is a service level agreement between the Disclosure and Barring Service and police forces in relation to the time taken to complete these local disclosure checks.
These standards are: –
85% of police checks must be completed in 14 days;
90% of police checks must be completed in 18 days;
95% of police checks must be completed in 25 days; and – 100% of police checks must be completed in 60 days.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will collect data on the reasons given for refusal of family reunion applications involving children and young people aged over 18 years of age.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office does not hold the specific information in the format requested. The questions cover a number of different casework operations and the information is not recorded centrally in a way which can be reported on directly.
To obtain the information would involve examining individual case records and would incur disproportionate cost. We do not currently plan to change the data that is centrally recorded and published on this category of applications.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which exceptional circumstances applied to each grant of family reunion made outside the rules during the last five years.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office does not hold the specific information in the format requested. The questions cover a number of different casework operations and the information is not recorded centrally in a way which can be reported on directly.
To obtain the information would involve examining individual case records and would incur disproportionate cost. We do not currently plan to change the data that is centrally recorded and published on this category of applications.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Grant on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued to staff working at border controls in UK airports on questions which can and cannot be asked to passengers arriving in the UK with EU passports.
James Brokenshire
Anyone seeking entry or admission to the UK must on arrival establish their nationality and identity, as well as comply with other checks under the Border Force Operating Mandate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to reintroduce the post-study work visa in Scotland.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Her Majesty’s Government announced the closure of the Tier 1 (Post Study Work) category in March 2011 and implemented its closure in April 2012, as part of a package of reforms to immigration requirements for overseas students.
We closed the Tier 1 (Post Study Work) category because too many individuals in the route were unemployed or in low-skilled work. Furthermore, too many were using the student route merely as a means to work in the UK, without any intention of study, which does not help hard-working people or our educational institutions. We have replaced it with a more selective system.
We continue to have an excellent post-study offer for graduates that helps us retain the brightest and best overseas students to undertake skilled work in the UK after their studies. In 2015, more than 6,000 international students switched from Tier 4 to Tier 2 from within the UK. This is up from around 5,500 grants in 2014, and around 4,000 grants in 2013. Unlike former post-study work schemes, these students will all be moving into skilled employment with employers who have appropriate sponsorship duties placed upon them.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time is for a Disclosure and Barring Service local intelligence check to be completed by the Metropolitan Police Service.
Sarah Newton
From June 2015 to May 2016, the average time taken to complete Disclosure checks by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) was 94 days and for the police as a whole, 22 days.
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is working closely with the small number of forces, including the MPS, whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets. The performance of police disclosure units is an operational issue for individual police forces and the MPS has established a Gold Group to oversee the recovery plan which they have in place to reduce the time taken. I have made clear to the MPS that its current delays must be addressed as a matter of priority and I continue to maintain close oversight of the progress being made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time is for a Disclosure and Barring Service local intelligence check to be completed by the police.
Sarah Newton
From June 2015 to May 2016, the average time taken to complete Disclosure checks by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) was 94 days and for the police as a whole, 22 days.
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is working closely with the small number of forces, including the MPS, whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets. The performance of police disclosure units is an operational issue for individual police forces and the MPS has established a Gold Group to oversee the recovery plan which they have in place to reduce the time taken. I have made clear to the MPS that its current delays must be addressed as a matter of priority and I continue to maintain close oversight of the progress being made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s target waiting time is for a Disclosure and Barring Service local intelligence check to be completed by the police.
Karen Bradley
In 2015/16, the Disclosure and Barring Service processed 87% of all applications within 21 days, against a target of 85%.
Some of the over four million applications received each year need to be referred to one or more police forces for further checks. There is a service level agreement between the Disclosure and Barring Service and police forces in relation to the time taken to complete these local disclosure checks.
These standards are: –
85% of police checks must be completed in 14 days;
90% of police checks must be completed in 18 days;
95% of police checks must be completed in 25 days; and – 100% of police checks must be completed in 60 days.