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  • 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 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 April 2016 to Question 32506, how many (a) unaccompanied children and (b) partners of refugees who had already been granted asylum in the UK were granted asylum in the UK in each year since 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave on 15 March 2015 to his question 30648.

    The Home Office publishes quarterly figures on asylum claims from Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in the Immigration Statistics release. This includes information on applications received, decisions made by sex, age and country of nationality.

    The Home Office does not centrally record the number of people that apply for asylum who have a partner in the UK who has already been granted. This could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on which dates in 2014 enforced removals of people from Yemen who had unsuccessfully claimed asylum took place.

    James Brokenshire

    In 2014, there were 3 enforced removals of nationals of Yemen who had claimed asylum at some point; 1 in April to June 2014, 1 in July to September 2014 and 1 in October to December 2014.

    The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of persons removed or departed voluntarily from the UK within Immigration Statistics. The data on removals and voluntary departures are available in the latest release, Immigration Statistics: October to December 2015, table rv.03 from GOV.UK on the statistics web pages at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from professional linguists on the effectiveness of language analysis testing.

    James Brokenshire

    Language analysis assists us in determining whether asylum seekers are of the nationality or national origin they claim. It is one of the tools used by asylum decision makers to help resolve fairly issues of doubtful nationality or national origin and to ensure that those claiming asylum in a false identity are detected quickly. It does not replace the requirement during substantive interview to fully probe and investigate doubted nationality/national origin cases.

    Professional linguists have communicated with the Home Office regarding their particular preference for the different models available for language analysis testing. As part of the contract competition undertaken in 2014, language analysis companies provided strong evidence of the quality of the services offered. There are dedicated formal arrangements in place to monitor our suppliers’ compliance with the contract terms.

  • 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 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 April 2016 to Question 32506, how many stages there are in the asylum claims process prior to screening and substantive interviews; and at what stage of that process family ties to refugees already granted asylum in the UK are considered.

    James Brokenshire

    Screening is the first stage in the asylum process after a claim has been lodged. Each claim is considered on its individual merits, usually following a substantive interview. Consideration of a claimant’s personal circumstances such as family ties to the UK will be made following the interview.

  • 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 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 April 2016 to Question 32506, what proportion of asylum claims made by unaccompanied children of refugees who had already been granted asylum in the UK were granted in each of the last three years.

    James Brokenshire

    I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15 March 2015 to his question 30647. The Home Office publishes quarterly figures on asylum claims from Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in the Immigration Statistics release. This includes information on applications received, decisions made by sex, age and country of nationality.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures and checks her Department has put in place to ensure that the new supplier of language analysis testing are fully qualified to conduct those tests.

    James Brokenshire

    Language analysis assists us in determining whether asylum seekers are of the nationality or national origin they claim. It is one of the tools used by asylum decision makers to help resolve fairly issues of doubtful nationality or national origin and to ensure that those claiming asylum in a false identity are detected quickly. It does not replace the requirement during substantive interview to fully probe and investigate doubted nationality/national origin cases.

    Professional linguists have communicated with the Home Office regarding their particular preference for the different models available for language analysis testing. As part of the contract competition undertaken in 2014, language analysis companies provided strong evidence of the quality of the services offered. There are dedicated formal arrangements in place to monitor our suppliers’ compliance with the contract terms.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will take steps to secure an Autism Access Award from the National Autistic Society for the parliamentary estate.

    Tom Brake

    The House of Commons started work on this earlier in the year, as reported in the Head of Diversity and Inclusion’s quarterly update to the House of Commons Commission in January. The National Autistic Society has conducted its mystery shopping part of the accreditation. We are aiming to submit our evidence for the remainder of the assessment by June this year.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Government response to the International Development Committee’s Third Report of Session 2014-15, UK’s development work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, what progress she has made on providing support from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund to people-to-people projects in Palestine involving people of all faiths.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK has supported several people-to-people projects through the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) which have now come to an end. We are open to considering further support through the CSSF for strong co-existence projects that bring Israelis and Palestinians together, where these would deliver a positive impact, represent value for money, and follow the requirements for how CSSF funds may be used.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much the Government has contributed to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ appeal for the Burundi humanitarian response in 2016; what steps she is taking to encourage international partners to contribute to that fund; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK is very concerned about the ongoing political and human rights crisis in Burundi, and the flow of refugees to neighbouring countries. DFID has contributed £21.15 million in Tanzania and Rwanda towards the UNHCR regional refugee response plan since April 2015 to support shelter, food, healthcare and livelihoods assistance for Burundian refugees. The 2016 Burundi Regional Refugee Response Plan was published in January and appeals for $313.8 million to support 330,000 refugees in Tanzania, Rwanda, DRC and Uganda. DFID is currently reviewing the 2016 allocation to this appeal and intends to release further funds in coming months. DFID is also supporting refugees in the DRC and Uganda through existing programmes and the provision of technical advice. DFID has deployed a humanitarian adviser to the region in support of the response and to monitor funding provided so far.

    DFID officials across the region are working closely with national and international counterparts – including UNHCR, the EU, World Bank, NGOs and other donors – to ensure that humanitarian needs in Burundi and the region are met. We are encouraging developmental donors in Burundi to re-programme funds quickly to maintain the basic functions of the state – such as health centres – and working with the international financial institutions (IFIs) to respond to the growing needs and develop programmes that support the resilience of existing systems.

    The Humanitarian Response Plan for Burundi was published in March 2016 and appeals for $62.3 million to support 1.1 million people. DFID is currently reviewing a potential contribution to the appeal, and is undertaking contingency planning should the situation deteriorate.

    DFID continues to monitor the situation closely with the FCO, and liaises regularly with interested and influential parties such as the Archbishop of Canterbury, in order to pressure the international community to act and focus attention on the crisis.

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will take steps to support National Stalking Awareness Week.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government has committed £80 million to support victims of violence against women and girls, including, stalking, between 2016 and 2020. This includes funding for the National Stalking Helpline run by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

    We have strengthened the law by introducing new offences of stalking in 2012. In 2014-15, there were 1,103 prosecutions commenced under the new stalking offences, an increase of 50% over the previous year (2013-14).

    To mark National Stalking Awareness Week, we are raising awareness of the increases in prosecutions and convictions for these crimes to help improve victim confidence in the criminal justice system.

    Additionally, we have consulted on the introduction of a new civil Stalking Protection Order to tackle perpetrators at an early stage to help prevent victims becoming targets of a prolonged campaign of abuse. Our response to this consultation will be published in due course. Through the Police Innovation Fund, we are supporting the police to identify ways to manage the significant volume of online material in abuse, harassment and stalking cases, so that evidence can be collected more easily and a strong case built to bring a prosecution.