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  • David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied minors have had their take charge request accepted in (a) Calais, (b) Greece and (c) Italy in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Since the beginning of this year, over 120 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Europe have been accepted for transfer to the UK, over 70 of which are from France. The Government does not routinely publish statistics on the number of take charge requests accepted for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children transferring to the UK under the Dublin III regulation broken down by country or region.

  • David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time was for the family reunification process to be completed in (a) Calais, (b) Greece and (c) Italy in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    For unaccompanied refugee children accepted for transfer to the UK, transfer requests are generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. However transfer arrangements are set by the transferring member state who have six months to do so under the III Dublin Regulations.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that there is not a backlog of visa applications after the UK leaves the EU.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    There have been no changes in the requirements for European nationals entering or currently residing in the UK, nor of British citizens elsewhere in the EU. The precise way in which these requirements may change following the UK’s exit from the EU is yet to be determined.

    The UK’s visa operation is resourced to meet demand, and we will ensure that any operational implications of the UK’s exit from the EU are fully factored into business planning.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Security Industry Authority’s processing of license applications.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Home Department receives regular performance updates from the SIA, including information around the processing of licence applications. In the last financial year the SIA met its performance target for processing licence applications. We are however aware of some delays in the issuing of SIA licences following the launch of its new IT system in July 2016. The SIA have introduced a series of measures to address the issues and we will continue to monitor its performance in this area.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on allowing more refugees the opportunity to reach the UK safely and legally.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We operate several resettlement schemes that provide safe and legal routes to the United Kingdom for the most vulnerable refugees, including Gateway, Mandate, the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme and the Vulnerable children at risk schemes. In addition, we support the principle of family unity and have several routes to enable refugees and their families to be reunited.

    We are under no obligation to consider asylum claims lodged outside UK territory and it would not be appropriate to do so. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.

    We believe that seeking protection in the first safe country allows vulnerable people to receive help more quickly rather than risking their lives on hazardous journeys into and across Europe or falling victim to criminal gangs who are exploiting the situation. Providing humanitarian support in the region and working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on resettlement programmes remains the best way to provide much needed support to the majority of those facing persecution who remain in the region.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many border staff were employed exclusively on checking the immigration status of beggars in (a) Westminster and (b) the UK; and how many of those checked were (i) illegal immigrants, (ii) committing criminal acts and (iii) deported in each of the last six months for which figures are available.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    This information is not held on Home Office systems.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department plans to do to increase the number of refugees reaching the UK safely and legally under the family reunification scheme.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We support the principle of family unity and have several routes for families to be reunited safely. Our family reunion policy allows a spouse or partner and children under the age of 18 of those granted protection in the UK to join them here, if they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country. Over the past five years we have granted over 22,000 family reunion visas and will continue to do so.

    Where an application fails under the Immigration Rules, we consider whether there are exceptional or compassionate reasons for granting a visa outside the Rules. We published a revised Home Office policy on family reunion in July which provides further guidance for decision-makers on the types of case that may benefit from a grant of leave outside the Rules where there are exceptional circumstances.

    This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-reunion-instruction.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential costs and benefits of changing current UK passport types to the old blue style passport first issued in 1920.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We are considering potential changes to the UK passport after the UK has left the European Union. At this early stage we have not undertaken a detailed cost benefit analysis or made any decisions about what a future UK passport might look like.

  • Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the incidence of illegal dog fighting.

    George Eustice

    Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 animal fights, including dog fights, are prohibited. Offences include publicising a fight, providing information about an animal fight and betting on an animal fight. The maximum penalty for such offences is six months’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine or both. In addition, under section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 four types of dog have been prohibited that are have been identified either as being bred for fighting or that share the characteristics of dogs bred for fighting. The maximum penalty for possession of an illegal type dog is six months’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine or both. Separately the independent Sentencing Council have recently consulted on changes to their guidelines to magistrates’ courts for a range of offences including animal cruelty offences. The Sentencing Council stated in June that in relation to animal cruelty, the Council wants to ensure that the most serious cases lead to prison sentences, and that these sentences are of an appropriate length.

    The Government has also worked with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG), a grouping of welfare charities and pet industry interests, who have been lobbying operators of internet sites to adopt minimum standards for the advertising of pet animals.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2016 to Question 41352, (a) by how much and (b) from what date the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority’s funding will be increased.

    Sarah Newton

    The Gangmasters Licensing Authority’s budget has seen an increase in 2016-17 to reflect its changing and broader functions. The budget has been published on page 80 of the Main Supply Estimate 2016-17. We remain committed to resourcing the GLA and continue to work with GLA to ensure it can deliver its purpose of protecting vulnerable and exploited workers in future years. The budget for GLA will be confirmed as part of the Main Estimate Supply exercise ahead of each financial year.