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  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department offers to victims of labour exploitation; and what steps her Department is taking against individuals and businesses involved in such exploitation.

    Sarah Newton

    The Home Office sponsors the National Referral Mechanism to provide support to victims of modern slavery offences, whilst support for workers who have experienced exploitative treatment from employers and employment agencies is available from other enforcement authorities across Government, including the HMRC national minimum wage team, the BEIS Employment Agency Standards’ Inspectorate and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. All potential adult victims of Modern Slavery, including those who suffer labour exploitation, are able to access a tailored and specialised package of care and support through the £40m government-funded Salvation Army victim care contract.

    The Modern Slavery Act 2015 consolidated and strengthened modern slavery offences and introduced a world-leading provision which requires all commercial organisations operating in the UK with a turnover above £36m to set out what steps they are taking to prevent modern slavery in their business and supply chains. This transparency will drive improvements in tackling modern slavery throughout the business community.

    The Immigration Act 2016 established the Director of Labour Market Enforcement to provide closer integration between the authorities responsible for enforcing labour market protections and a stronger intelligence capability, reformed the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority with new powers to investigate labour market offences wherever they occur in the economy, and stronger sanctions for non-compliant businesses. The Immigration Act 2016 also includes new powers to tackle employers of migrants working illegally on the UK.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions Ministers in her Department have declined to disclose information to the Intelligence and Security Committee under Schedule 1 to the Justice and Security Act 2013; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Home Office is unable to find any record of having declined to disclose information to the Intelligence and Security Committee under Schedule 1 of the Justice and Security Act 2013. The Home Office is unable to find any record of having delayed providing information to the Intelligence and Security Committee in order to make a determination as to whether to share that information, as set out in Schedule 1 of the Justice and Security Act 2013.

  • Dominic Raab – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dominic Raab – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dominic Raab on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures are in place for her Department to monitor and deport former students of (a) the Cambridge College of Learning and (b) similar institutions which also closed before collection of sponsorship data of non-EU nationals began.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Home Office continues to take action at every opportunity to prevent immigration abuse, pursue immigration offenders and increase compliance with immigration law including arresting and returning illegal migrants to their country of origin.

    Information on former overseas students of the Cambridge College of Learning is not aggregated in national reporting systems. This information could only be obtained by a manual case by case review to collate the data, which would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to ensure that all EU citizens living in the UK will receive proof of their right to remain in the UK before any restrictions on new EU citizens are introduced; and how it will ensure there is sufficient operational capacity for such plans.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The government has been clear that it wants to protect the rights of EU nationals already living in the UK and the only circumstances in which that would not be possible are if British citizens’ rights in other EU Member States were not protected in return. The government will seek to address this issue as part of the wider negotiations on the UK’s exit from the EU to ensure fair treatment of British citizens living in the EU.

    EU nationals currently in the UK do not need to apply for any additional documentation in support of their status exercising treaty rights.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases each presenting office referred to HM Revenue and Customs in 2015.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Information on how many cases each presenting office referred to HM Revenue and Customs in 2015 is not held centrally.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many churches from each denomination in each region have applied for funding under the Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme up to close of applications on 20 September 2016.

    Sarah Newton

    The deadline for the Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme was extended from 20 September to 4 October. The responses received are as follows:

    105 applications were received up to 20 September.

    Region

    Denomination and Number

    East Midlands (2)

    Church of England – 1 Miscellaneous – 1

    East of England (3)

    Church of England – 1 Roman Catholic – 2

    London (17)

    Baptist – 3 Church of England – 4 Greek Orthodox – 2 Methodist – 1 Miscellaneous – 6 Roman Catholic – 1

    North East (2)

    Church of England – 1 Methodist – 1

    North West (16)

    Baptist – 1 Church of England – 6 Methodist – 1 Miscellaneous – 4 Roman Catholic – 4

    South East (15)

    Church of England – 5 Greek Orthodox – 2 Miscellaneous – 4 Roman Catholic – 4

    South West (14)

    Baptist – 2 Church of England – 2 Miscellaneous – 1 Roman Catholic – 9

    Wales (6)

    Church in Wales – 3 Roman Catholic – 3

    West Midlands (18)

    Church of England – 8 Greek Orthodox – 1 Methodist – 1 Miscellaneous – 6 Roman Catholic – 2

    Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (12)

    Church of England – 8 Miscellaneous – 2 Roman Catholic – 2

    Following the deadline extension, between 21 September and 4 October there were a further 118 applications, which are broken down below.

    Region

    Denomination and Number

    East Midlands (2)

    Baptist – 1 Miscellaneous – 1

    East of England (6)

    Church of England – 2 Miscellaneous – 3 Roman Catholic – 1

    London (41)

    Baptist – 2 Church of England – 12 Greek Orthodox – 2 Methodist – 2 Miscellaneous – 19 Roman Catholic – 4

    North East (4)

    Church of England – 3 Methodist – 1

    North West (11)

    Baptist – 1 Church of England – 1 Methodist – 2 Miscellaneous – 4 Roman Catholic – 3

    South East (11)

    Church of England – 5 Methodist – 1 Miscellaneous – 5

    South West (11)

    Church of England – 4 Miscellaneous – 3 Roman Catholic – 4

    Wales (6)

    Church in Wales – 3 Roman Catholic – 3

    West Midlands (12)

    Church of England – 4 Miscellaneous – 5 Roman Catholic – 3

    Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (14)

    Church of England – 4 Methodist – 1 Miscellaneous – 5 Roman Catholic – 4

    Please note, where we have attributed a miscellaneous result this captures Evangelical, Pentecostal, Church Centres and Reform Christian Churches.

    In total 223 applications were received from churches by close of play 4 October.

  • Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what past roles her Department has had in (a) appointing superintendents of children’s homes and (b) the inspection of such homes in the London Borough of Lambeth.

    Sarah Newton

    Prior to 1971, when policy and operational responsibility for children was transferred under machinery of Government changes to the then Department for Health and Social Security (DHSS), the Home Office included a Children’s Department. The Children’s Department had responsibilities for reformatory and industrial schools, remand homes and approved schools. It also had responsibility for supervising local authority and voluntary provision for children.

    Indexes of material held at The National Archives suggest that the Children’s Department did not appoint superintendents or heads of individual children’s homes as a part of its core business. It did however have an Inspectorate, which operated nationally.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of changes to the funding of English for speakers of other languages services on the ability of local authorities to provide access to English language classes to resettled Syrian refugees.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Learning English is a key factor in integration and is vital for gaining access to the employment market. Our experience is that most Syrians resettled under the programme are keen to learn English.

    English language tuition is already provided as part of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme (VPRS) and will be available for adults entering the UK under the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement scheme (VCRS). The recently announced additional £10 million of funding will increase the amount of training available for Syrian refugees resettled in the UK.

    We will be working with local authorities to ensure that the funding is taken up in the most effective way, including providing funding for regional English Speakers of other languages (ESOL) co-ordinators to promote best practice, map provision, support authorities to commission services and coordinate volunteers. Many people across the country have also offered their time and support to help refugees improve English and integrate better into their community.

  • Dominic Raab – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dominic Raab – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dominic Raab on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department’s policy is for individuals who were enrolled on courses at the Cambridge College of Learning that were found at an immigration tribunal to have been fraudulent is (a) deport those people and (b) allow those people to stay in the UK and apply for indefinite leave to remain.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Home Office continues to take action at every opportunity to prevent immigration abuse, pursue immigration offenders and increase compliance with immigration law including arresting and returning illegal migrants to their country of origin.

    Information on former overseas students of the Cambridge College of Learning is not aggregated in national reporting systems. This information could only be obtained by a manual case by case review to collate the data, which would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Dominic Raab – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dominic Raab – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dominic Raab on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date her Department began to record details of sponsorship of non-EU nationals entering the UK on student visas.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The sponsorship of non-EU students was introduced in three stages:

    Educational Institutions were able to make an application for a licence to sponsor non-EU students under Tier 4 of the Points Based System from July 2008.

    Non–EU student applications under Tier 4 of the Points-Based System were introduced on 31 March 2009, and from this date onwards institutions had students linked to their sponsor licence.

    From 22 February 2010 all non-EU Tier 4 student applications had to be supported by a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, an electronic document assigned by a Tier 4 sponsor, which institutions are required to monitor and report against, and this activity was recorded by the Home Office.