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  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they record nationality and immigration status on social security benefit claimant records; and if so, whether that information is collated, and whether they will publish it broken down by nationality, status and country of origin.

    Lord Freud

    Nationality and immigration status are not recorded on social security benefit claimant records in a form that allows for collation.

    For contributory benefits, nationality is not a qualifying factor, as eligibility is determined by the National Insurance contributions that the claimant has made. As such, this information is not available. For other income related benefits where residency conditions apply and the claimant must be lawfully resident in the UK, nationality is a factor. Once residency has been determined, nationality is not required for further processing and is therefore not routinely held on DWP computer systems in a form that allows for collation.

    There are currently no plans to change how data is collected to allow for collation or publication.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements are in place to provide financial and other travel assistance to failed asylum seekers to enable them to return home; and what assessment they have made of whether those arrangements are being used in Northern Ireland, and to what degree.

    Lord Bates

    The Home Office offers assistance to failed asylum seekers who wish to return to their country of origin, including help with flights, travel documentation and financial assistance where necessary. Voluntary departures are designed to achieve a dignified return for those individuals with the most complex needs who wish to arrange their own return from the UK. This assistance is available throughout the UK including Northern Ireland and we do not target particular areas or groups.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which are the designated dispersal areas for asylum seekers in the UK; how many asylum seekers are currently registered as living in Northern Ireland; how many asylum seekers have been refused leave to stay in Northern Ireland; and what social security benefits asylum seekers are entitled to (1) while awaiting a decision, and (2) after a refusal to remain decision has been made.

    Lord Bates

    The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, introduced the policy of national dispersal and was designed to introduce an equitable distribution across the country such that no one area was overburdened by the obligation of supporting asylum seekers. In accordance with that Act a number of local authorities across the UK, including those within the devolved administrations, have volunteered to participate in accomodating asylum seekers. There are currently 99 areas signed-up to participate.

    The Home Office publish figures on the number of asylum applicants living in dispersed accommodation (under Section 95), by local authority, in the quarterly Immigration Statistics release. The latest release for July-September 2015 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2015/asylum

    Figures on Section 95 support by local authority (including those in dispersed accommodation) are published in table as_16q, in volume 4 of the Asylum data tables: Asylum vol. 4: tables as 14 to as 19 q. These tables show that Northern Ireland is currently accommodating 497 applicants in dispersed accommodation. All will have claimed asylum in Northern Ireland.

    National figures are also published on decision outcomes at the above link.

    Home Office supports Asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute until their claim is fully determined and they have exhausted their appeal rights. Failed asylum seekers may be able to receive short-term support whilst preparing to return to their home country under section 4 of the 1999 Act.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 2 December (HL3879), whether they will publish the draft Bill for setting up the Historical Investigations Unit and other legacy bodies that was presented to political parties at those negotiations, and why they did not provide that information in that answer.

    Lord Dunlop

    The matter of how best to move forward and achieve broad consensus in support of legislation to establish the legacy bodies, including whether to publish the draft Bill, is currently being considered.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Kilclooney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many refugees have penetrated security at the sovereign base of Akrotiri in the past two months; how many of those refugees remain on that base; and where those refugees who are no longer on that base have gone.

    Earl Howe

    115 migrants arrived by boat at RAF Akrotiri on 21 October 2015. None penetrated the robust and established security measures we have in place to protect the base. The migrants came under the control of the Sovereign Base Area Administration as soon as they set foot on shore and at no point were they near any secure facilities within the base. Operational activity was not affected.

    All of the migrants were transferred from RAF Akrotiri on 27 October 2015 to a specially prepared transit facility in the Eastern Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia outside of the military garrison.

    As at 4 December 2015, 54 migrants are accommodated in the transit facility, one is held within HMP Dhekelia and 60 have transferred to reception centres in the Republic of Cyprus.

  • Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions since 2010 they have provided additional funding to local authority road building schemes.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Since 2010 additional funding, above that allocated at the initial approval stage, has been provided to five local authority road schemes as follows:

    Norwich Northern Distributor Road – £10m

    Fletton Parkway Widening (Peterborough) – £0.9m

    Hartford Bridge Roundabout (Hampshire) – £0.4m

    A4600 University Hospital Junction (Coventry) – £0.1m

    Stafferton Way (Windsor and Maidenhead) – £0.8m

  • Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what process was used to assess the value-for-money that would be achieved from the additional Department for Transport funding provided to Norfolk County Council in relation to the Norwich Northern Distributor Road project.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    A value for money assessment was undertaken on the full revised cost of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road which showed that it remained very high value for money under the Department’s value for money assessment with an adjusted Benefit Cost Ratio of 6.07.

  • Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the reasons for the increase in the contract target costs of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    No assessment was made by the Department for Transport of the reasons for the increase in the contract target costs of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road. Norfolk County Council officials provided the Department with information on this and with the papers provided to their Councillors prior to the meeting on 6 November where the revised cost of the scheme was approved.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 2 December (HL3987), what is the procedure for children who are dependants of British citizens and persons who are living legally in the UK, and who have had asylum claims accepted by the French authorities, to apply for entry to the UK in order to be reunited with their families.

    Lord Bates

    The UK does not hold statistical information of the number of asylum applications made in France by dependent children of British citizens or persons living legally in the UK or how many of these applications have been accepted by the French. Statistics for transfers of asylum applicants from France to the UK on the basis of family ties are not routinely recorded.

    We will consider any request made to us by the French asylum authorities to take responsibility for an asylum applicant in France because they have close family in the UK in accordance with the terms of the Dublin Regulation concerning the principle of family unity and the best interests of the child. This is subject to an applicant first claiming asylum in France. If they do not wish to claim asylum, individual migrants in France as in any other country, are entitled to apply under the Family Reunion provisions to join relatives in the UK by making the appropriate application.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 2 December (HL3987), for each of the last five years and this year so far, (1) how many children who are dependants of British citizens and persons who are living legally in the UK have made asylum claims to the French authorities; (2) how many of those have been accepted; and (3) of those, how many have subsequently been reunited with their parents or other responsible family members in the UK.

    Lord Bates

    The UK does not hold statistical information of the number of asylum applications made in France by dependent children of British citizens or persons living legally in the UK or how many of these applications have been accepted by the French. Statistics for transfers of asylum applicants from France to the UK on the basis of family ties are not routinely recorded.

    We will consider any request made to us by the French asylum authorities to take responsibility for an asylum applicant in France because they have close family in the UK in accordance with the terms of the Dublin Regulation concerning the principle of family unity and the best interests of the child. This is subject to an applicant first claiming asylum in France. If they do not wish to claim asylum, individual migrants in France as in any other country, are entitled to apply under the Family Reunion provisions to join relatives in the UK by making the appropriate application.