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  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the potential (a) total and (b) average cost per register of allowing mothers names to be recorded on marriage certificates.

    James Brokenshire

    The cost of replacing the registers is being assessed in conjunction with our work to determine the most efficient and effective way to enable mothers’ names to be recorded on marriage certificates.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the reasons are for the time taken to change regulations to allow mothers’ names to be recorded on marriage certificates; what timetable is in place for that change to be made; whether she has made an assessment of the feasibility of allowing that change to be phased in as marriage registers are replaced; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office is working with all interested parties to confirm the most efficient and effective way to enable mothers’ names to be recorded on marriage certificates.

    Achieving this is likely to require additional funding and changes to legislation, IT systems and administrative processes.

    The Government will confirm a timetable for the introduction of the changes in due course.

  • Conor McGinn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Conor McGinn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the national standards are for the training and guidance of police officers in deploying stinger devices.

    Mike Penning

    National standards for training police officers in the deployment of stinger devices is an operational matter for individual police Chief Officers drawing on the police’s own Authorised Professional Practice of England and Wales Police, developed by the College of Policing.

  • Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on amending the immigration system to increase the supply of non-domiciled shore-based workers to the UK maritime sector.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government is committed to reducing net migration and employers’ dependence on overseas workers.

    We have no plans to amend the immigration system specifically to increase the supply of non-EEA seamen and shore-based workers to the maritime sector. The immigration system does not interfere with the ability of UK-owned shipping businesses to employ non-EEA crew where they are engaged on international journeys. Non-EEA seamen who arrive in UK waters on board a vessel and are engaged to depart on that vessel, or who seek entry to the UK to join a vessel that is due to leave UK waters, do not require a work permit.

    Shore-based employment in the sector is, however, subject to the same controls as employment in any other sector, and non-EEA workers will normally require authorisation under the Tier 2 (General) category of the Points Based System. The Government has commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee to provide advice on restricting Tier 2 work visas to genuine skills shortages and highly specialist experts, with sufficient flexibility to include high value roles and key public service workers.

  • Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on amending the immigration system to increase the supply of non-domiciled seafarers to the UK shipping industry.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government is committed to reducing net migration and employers’ dependence on overseas workers.

    We have no plans to amend the immigration system specifically to increase the supply of non-EEA seamen and shore-based workers to the maritime sector. The immigration system does not interfere with the ability of UK-owned shipping businesses to employ non-EEA crew where they are engaged on international journeys. Non-EEA seamen who arrive in UK waters on board a vessel and are engaged to depart on that vessel, or who seek entry to the UK to join a vessel that is due to leave UK waters, do not require a work permit.

    Shore-based employment in the sector is, however, subject to the same controls as employment in any other sector, and non-EEA workers will normally require authorisation under the Tier 2 (General) category of the Points Based System. The Government has commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee to provide advice on restricting Tier 2 work visas to genuine skills shortages and highly specialist experts, with sufficient flexibility to include high value roles and key public service workers.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the number of people who do not receive a national insurance number within 28 days of being granted refugee status.

    Priti Patel

    No assessment has been made of the number of people who do not receive a National Insurance number (NINo) within 28 days of being granted refugee status.

    For those granted leave to remain as a result of a successful asylum claim, a joint fast track NINo application process operates between DWP and the Home Office. This process is applicable to the principal family member and the NINo is allocated 2 days after the receipt of the application; this process has been in place since 2005.

    The current year to date processing time for all NINo applications is 11.3 days.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Syrian nationals have been returned to third countries under the Dublin Regulations in each of the last three years.

    James Brokenshire

    The number of Syrian nationals transferred to third countries because those States are responsible for examining their asylum claims under the Dublin Convention and the later Dublin II and Dublin III Regulations, is shown in the table below.

    Year Transfers

    2012 22

    2013 35

    2014 25

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for family reunion made by Syrian nationals have been (a) received, (b) decided, (c) granted and (d) refused in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    The numbers of applications for family reunion visas from Syrian nationals received, decided, granted and refused in each of the last five years is set out in the table below.

    ReportYear

    Applications

    Issued

    Refused

    Withdrawn

    Lapsed

    2010

    44

    26

    6

    0

    0

    2011

    56

    45

    8

    0

    2

    2012

    250

    134

    45

    4

    0

    2013

    930

    619

    64

    12

    0

    2014

    1172

    980

    209

    16

    3

    Source: PRAU 14.10.15

    Footnote: Applications may be decided in subsequent periods and therefore do not equal the total of issued, refusals, withdrawn and lapsed. For example some applications in 2014 may be decided in 2015.’

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applications made by Syrian nationals in each of the last three years were refused on the grounds that the applicant could be returned to a safe third country.

    James Brokenshire

    In the last three years, the numbers of Syrian nationals (main applicants only) refused asylum on third country grounds were as follows:

    26 in 2012

    99 in 2013

    66 in 2014

    The Home Office publishes annual and quarterly data on asylum applications and initial decisions; this is available in Table as_01 (Asylum data tables Volume 1) of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release.

    A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics April – June 2015, is available from https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the prevalence of elder abuse by family members in England and Wales.

    Karen Bradley

    We recognise that people of all ages may be subjected to domestic abuse. We are committed to ensuring the police and other frontline agencies have the tools they need to respond effectively. On 3 March 2015, domestic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour became specific offences under the Serious Crime Act.

    In October 2015, new guidance on investigating domestic abuse was published by the College of Policing which includes abuse of older people. New training for the police on domestic abuse has been developed and piloted in Hertfordshire; and the College is reviewing risk assessment tools used by officers. In addition, for the first time all police forces must flag all domestic abuse incidents as crimes.

    The Crown Prosecution Service updated its domestic abuse legal guidance in December 2014. This includes advice for prosecutors on elder abuse. E-learning is also being finalised for prosecutors on this issue.

    In addition, the Care Act 2014 heralds a significant step change for adult safeguarding in England by placing it on a statutory footing and providing a greater focus on the prevention of abuse and neglect and on the desired outcomes of the individual in question.