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  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to correspondence with her from the hon. Member for West Lancashire, for what reasons the Disclosure and Barring Service took from 8 October 2015 to 18 April 2016 to process the certificate application of a West Lancashire constituent.

    Mike Penning

    The Disclosure and Barring Service is responsible for issuing criminal record certificates and the maintenance of children’s and adults’ barred lists. The Disclosure and Barring Service has a target of processing 85% of all disclosure applications within 21 days. In the vast majority of cases (95%), disclosure certificates are issued within 8 weeks (2015/16).

    Criminal record certificates issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service do not expire after a specific period of time and do not include a renewal date. A certificate has no set period of validity. Information revealed through a Disclosure and Barring Service check reflects the information that was available at the time of its issue. Disclosure certificates are primarily designed to be used by an employer at the point of recruitment for a particular position.

    Some roles and some employers require the person concerned to “renew” their Disclosure and Barring Service check at specific intervals. The person can do that either by applying for a new certificate or by using the Disclosure and Barring Service Update Service.

    It would not be appropriate to comment on specific cases, but there are a number of factors which can affect the timely completion of checks. These include the length of time if can take for an employer to deal with the initial application, the accurate completion of the application form, the clarity of the information provided, the existence of conviction or non-conviction information, legal challenges and the operational effectiveness of the disclosure units of the police forces involved, if any, in the enhanced process. In some cases, forces will ask Disclosure and Barring Service to clarify some details provided by the applicant which requires further investigation and this can cause further delays.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many child refugees have been accepted by the UK under the Immigration Act 2016.

    Mike Penning

    The Government is firmly committed to bringing vulnerable unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK, in accordance with the Immigration Act 2016. Over 20 children who meet the criteria in the Act have been accepted for transfer from Europe since Royal Assent, the majority of who have already arrived in the UK.

    We are in active discussions with the UNHCR, UNICEF and NGOs, in addition to the Italian, Greek and French governments, to strengthen and speed up mechanisms to identify, assess and transfer children who meet the criteria to come to the UK where this in their best interests.

    As is required by the Immigration Act 2016, we are consulting with local authorities to confirm available capacity and to ensure appropriate support systems are in place.

    We cannot put a fixed number on arrivals at this point. The legislation is clear that consultation with local authorities is needed before any figure is set. It is vital that their capacity and ability to help is taken into account. We must also ensure that we are able to continue to fulfil our obligations to children who are already in the UK.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to provide an integration support service for refugees to help those refugees who have recently arrived in the UK to integrate into local communities.

    Mike Penning

    We are working towards achieving more integrated communities and creating the conditions for everyone to live and work successfully alongside each other.

    Those who are granted refugee status are given access to the labour market, mainstream benefits and housing assistance from their local authority. There are therefore no plans to allow refugees to stay in asylum support accommodation.

    The Home Office offers integration loans to recognised refugees. The loan is designed to help refugees integrate into UK society by offering financial support towards housing costs, employment and training.

    The Home Office also funds strategic migration partnerships which provide coordination and support services for those organisations working with migrants and refugees in local communities.

    Earlier this year the Government announced that £20 million of additional funding for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses would be introduced in October 2016. This funding will reach the most isolated communities in the UK.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the correspondence her Department has received from hon. Members has related to matters about visas in the last 12 months.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Published data between April 2015 and March 2016 shows UKVI received a total of 32095 enquiries from hon. Members. Of these, management information shows that approximately 18% related to visas.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate her Department has made of the number of refugee children currently receiving an education in Syria; and what assessment she has made of the quality of that education provision.

    Rory Stewart

    The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) estimates that a total of 5.4 million Syrian children and youth (aged 5-17 years) inside Syria are in need of educational assistance. The UK works closely with UNICEF and other partners to protect access to education across the whole of Syria, improve safety in and around schools, and maintain the quality of teaching and learning as far as is possible in an active war-zone. However, it is not possible systematically to measure the quality of learning and teaching inside Syria in the way that the UK does in more stable countries. UK education assistance has supported around half a million children inside Syria.

    UK funding supports the provision of vital learning materials, remedial and alternative education for children who have lost months or years of schooling, and access to the official exams that enable children to secure higher education and jobs. UK support is also helping teachers to stay in the teacher workforce.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many educational schemes and programmes her Department has funded (a) in Syria and (b) for Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries in each of the last two years.

    Rory Stewart

    A table setting out education programmes financed by DFID in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon in 2014-15 and 2015-16 is attached.

    DFID also supports education for Syrian refugees in Turkey through our contributions to the EU’s Facility for Refugees in Turkey, not through bilateral programming.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-07-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many prosecutions have been brought against companies which have failed to pay the national minimum wage in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The majority of employers identified as paying below National Minimum Wage pay arrears on receipt of a formal Notice of Underpayment. Employers are charged penalties of up to 200% of the arrears due and‎ considered by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for naming. This provides the most effective resolution for those who have been underpaid and helps ensure the arrears due to them are paid. In line with the prosecution policy set out by BEIS, criminal investigations are reserved for the most serious cases. The number of cases brought for prosecution for non-compliance in each of the last five years is set out below:

    Year

    Cases brought for prosecution

    2015/16

    1

    2014/15

    0

    2013/14

    0

    2012/13

    1

    2011/12

    0

    Each case resulted in conviction. There has been one further successful prosecution to date in 2016/17. During the last year, HM Revenue and Customs have also set up a specialist enforcement team to investigate serious non-compliance and identify the worst offenders for possible criminal investigation. The team works closely with other agencies to tackle labour market abuse and serious worker exploitation.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what his policy is on whether the Scottish Government can seek to negotiate a separate relationship for Scotland outside the EU compared with the rest of the United Kingdom under a devolved power.

    David Mundell

    Foreign affairs, including the UK’s membership of the European Union, are reserved under the devolution settlement in the Scotland Act. Our focus now needs to be working together as Team UK, to achieve the best deal for both Scotland and the United Kingdom in the negotiations with the EU. We will fully involve the Scottish Government as we prepare for those negotiations.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the Government’s policy is on whether it has a reserved power to negotiate a separate and different relationship for Scotland with the EU compared with the rest of the UK.

    David Mundell

    Foreign affairs are reserved under the devolution settlement in the Scotland Act. Our focus now needs to be working together as Team UK, to achieve the best deal for both Scotland and the United Kingdom in the negotiations with the EU. We will fully involve the Scottish Government as we prepare for those negotiations.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many reports of non-compliant vehicles were sent by the DVLA to NSL Services Ltd in the last year for which information is available; and how many such reports resulted in enforcement action being taken.

    Andrew Jones

    During the last financial year, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) received a total of 191,715 reports from members of the public about vehicles that were potentially unlicensed. These reports are passed to NSL Services Ltd for action, as appropriate.

    In addition, the DVLA also provides NSL Services Ltd with information about vehicles which could potentially be non-compliant. This information includes instances where vehicles have been declared off road.

    During the last financial year, enforcement action was taken in 87,844 cases.