The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Burnham on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to lay before Parliament an Order removing the International Sikh Youth Federation from the list of proscribed organisations.
Mrs Theresa May
I intend to lay an order to deproscribe the group at the earliest practical opportunity, subject to Parliamentary availability and agreement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the effect of the Tier 2 visa scheme’s minimum salary threshold on the ability of curry restaurants to recruit chefs from abroad.
James Brokenshire
Acquiring this information on visa applications from chefs would involve examining each individual case record held by UK Visas & Immigration for the Tier 2 category. To do so would incur a disproportionate cost.
The Home Office regularly receives representations to lower the criteria (including the salary requirement) for sponsoring chefs under Tier 2, the skilled worker route. Tier 2 is, however, reserved for graduate level occupations. We continue to welcome the very top chefs who promote innovative and authentic cuisine here in the UK — and these types of skilled chefs are on the shortage occupation list. The salary threshold applied to chefs was based on expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee.
We have been clear, however, that the restaurant industry needs to move away from an unsustainable reliance on migrant workers. We want to nurture more home-grown talent and encourage young people in this country who want to pursue a skilled career. This means the restaurant sector offering training to attract and recruit resident workers to meet their staffing needs.
The industry is starting to make progress in this area, recruiting and training more chefs in the UK, and this needs to continue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for Tier 2 visas were made by people holding job offers to become chefs in each year since such visas were introduced; and how many such applications were successful.
James Brokenshire
Acquiring this information on visa applications from chefs would involve examining each individual case record held by UK Visas & Immigration for the Tier 2 category. To do so would incur a disproportionate cost.
The Home Office regularly receives representations to lower the criteria (including the salary requirement) for sponsoring chefs under Tier 2, the skilled worker route. Tier 2 is, however, reserved for graduate level occupations. We continue to welcome the very top chefs who promote innovative and authentic cuisine here in the UK — and these types of skilled chefs are on the shortage occupation list. The salary threshold applied to chefs was based on expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee.
We have been clear, however, that the restaurant industry needs to move away from an unsustainable reliance on migrant workers. We want to nurture more home-grown talent and encourage young people in this country who want to pursue a skilled career. This means the restaurant sector offering training to attract and recruit resident workers to meet their staffing needs.
The industry is starting to make progress in this area, recruiting and training more chefs in the UK, and this needs to continue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received on lowering the Tier 2 visa scheme’s minimum salary threshold for chefs.
James Brokenshire
Acquiring this information on visa applications from chefs would involve examining each individual case record held by UK Visas & Immigration for the Tier 2 category. To do so would incur a disproportionate cost.
The Home Office regularly receives representations to lower the criteria (including the salary requirement) for sponsoring chefs under Tier 2, the skilled worker route. Tier 2 is, however, reserved for graduate level occupations. We continue to welcome the very top chefs who promote innovative and authentic cuisine here in the UK — and these types of skilled chefs are on the shortage occupation list. The salary threshold applied to chefs was based on expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee.
We have been clear, however, that the restaurant industry needs to move away from an unsustainable reliance on migrant workers. We want to nurture more home-grown talent and encourage young people in this country who want to pursue a skilled career. This means the restaurant sector offering training to attract and recruit resident workers to meet their staffing needs.
The industry is starting to make progress in this area, recruiting and training more chefs in the UK, and this needs to continue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Burnham on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people had their passports checked on entry to the UK at (a) Dover and (b) all UK airports, seaports and ferry ports in (i) 2013, (ii) 2014 and (iii) 2015.
Mrs Theresa May
The total number of passengers that underwent passport checks at all UK airports, seaports and ferry ports is set out in the table below. Figures for 2015 cover January to September only as data for October to December is not yet available.
|
Year |
No of passengers’ passports checked |
|
2013 |
111.4 million |
|
2014 |
117.0 million |
|
2015 |
96.0 million |
|
(NB. 2015 covers January –September only: October – December is not yet available). |
Passengers that enter the UK through the port of Dover undergo passport checks in advance of their boarding a ferry at the UK’s juxtaposed controls at Calais and Dunkirk; this data is not held centrally.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Burnham on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of people had their passports checked on exiting the UK at (a) Dover and (b) all UK airports, seaports and ferry ports in (i) 2013, (ii) 2014 and (iii) 2015.
Mrs Theresa May
Embarkation controls were abolished in two phases in 1994 and 1998, as the paper-based checks were deemed outdated and checks were not carried out on all modes of transport. Consequently the Home Office does not hold the data requested.
Since April 2015 exit data has been collected by carriers from all scheduled international commercial services departing the UK from air and sea ports and from international rail stations, except those services not within the scope. Departure data is collected by carriers and port operators and transmitted to Home Office systems, where work takes place to match it to arrival data, visa conditions and other information as appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with (a) the police and (b) retailers on the sale of zombie knives in the UK.
Karen Bradley
The Government continues to work with the police and partners to ensure we reduce violence and knife crime, and in the year ending June 2015, knife crime recorded by the police was 17% lower than 2010. We are aware of concerns about zombie knives and we are currently considering representations including the letter of 13 January from the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for the West Midlands and on 21 January from the prospective mayoral candidate for London Zac Goldsmith. A reply will be sent shortly and we will offer to meet with the PCC.
We are currently considering what action to take against the prevalence of zombie knives on our streets. We are talking to retailers, including Amazon, about the action they can take. There are strict laws on the sale of knives to under 18s and on how knives can be marketed. We are concerned about any knives being carried in public especially if used to threaten and inflict violence. It is a criminal offence to possess a knife in public without good reason, and if a person is convicted a second time they now face a minimum mandatory custodial sentence following the introduction of this change by the Government in July 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of whether the purposes for which zombie knives are sold online are legitimate.
Karen Bradley
The Government continues to work with the police and partners to ensure we reduce violence and knife crime, and in the year ending June 2015, knife crime recorded by the police was 17% lower than 2010. We are aware of concerns about zombie knives and we are currently considering representations including the letter of 13 January from the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for the West Midlands and on 21 January from the prospective mayoral candidate for London Zac Goldsmith. A reply will be sent shortly and we will offer to meet with the PCC.
We are currently considering what action to take against the prevalence of zombie knives on our streets. We are talking to retailers, including Amazon, about the action they can take. There are strict laws on the sale of knives to under 18s and on how knives can be marketed. We are concerned about any knives being carried in public especially if used to threaten and inflict violence. It is a criminal offence to possess a knife in public without good reason, and if a person is convicted a second time they now face a minimum mandatory custodial sentence following the introduction of this change by the Government in July 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tier 2 visas were (a) applied for and (b) awarded to (i) Bangladeshis, (ii) Indians and (iii) Pakistanis in each year since such visas were introduced.
James Brokenshire
The information requested is given in the following tables.
The latest quarterly Home Office immigration statistics on entry clearance visas are published in ‘Immigration Statistics, April-June 2015’, available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what development and humanitarian support the Government has provided (a) bilaterally and (b) multilaterally to Burkina Faso in each of the last six years.
Mr Nick Hurd
Since 2010 DFID has provided over £16m of bilateral humanitarian and development funding to Burkina Faso. This includes humanitarian assistance to prevent and treat malnutrition and provide support to refugees from Mali, work with communities to end female genital mutilation, and support to improve regional trade in West Africa.
Whilst DFID does not require multilateral organisations to give a breakdown of where they spent core funding from DFID, the imputed share of DFID’s core funding to multilaterals that went to Burkina Faso between 2010 and 2014 (the latest year for which we have data) was £159m in total, ranging from between £34m to £47m each year. This was spent by multilaterals including the EU, the UN organisations, and the World Bank on providing a range of humanitarian and development support to meet priority needs in Burkina Faso.