Blog

  • Robert Syms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Robert Syms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Syms on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with police forces on the level of enforcement of legislation on smoking in vehicles with children present; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Discussions are ongoing between Departmental officials and the relevant authorities about enforcement action. Guidance on the enforcement process has been sent to police forces and, as with other smokefree legislation, we expect high levels of compliance with this change.

  • Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mechanisms her Department has in place to determine the geographic distribution of asylum seekers awaiting decisions on asylum applications.

    Mike Penning

    The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 introduced the policy of national dispersal, designed to share the impact of asylum seekers across the whole of the UK. Asylum seekers are housed across the UK under voluntary agreements between national government and local authorities that have been in place since 2000.

    We work to a maximum agreed dispersal ratio of 1:200 asylum seekers per head of total population. We are proactively engaging with all areas that to date have not participated in asylum dispersal with a view to negotiating voluntary agreements to do so.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the contribution of the UK’s membership of the EU to the Government’s aims of tackling terrorist and criminal networks.

    James Brokenshire

    Terrorism and serious organised crime are global threats that cross national borders. Our unique relationship with the EU gives UK law enforcement access to EU tools and instruments that help keep people safe and tackle serious and organised crime, but also mean we are not obliged to participate in new measures when we do not judge them to be in the national interest.

    The tools and instruments that the UK participates in include Europol, an EU agency which supports cross-border police operations and intelligence sharing, and can assist in the identification of terrorist threats; the European Arrest Warrant, which allows swift extradition between EU countries of individuals accused or convicted of a criminal offence; and the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), which enables law enforcement agencies around the EU to share live alerts, for example, for missing people and stolen vehicles. The UK is also in the process of implementing Prum, which will give us access to fingerprint and DNA data from other member states.

    Since 2004, using the European Arrest Warrant, over 1,000 individuals accused or convicted of a criminal offence have faced justice in UK courts and over 7,000 have been extradited from the UK.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the contribution of the UK’s membership of the EU to the UK’s work in (a) preventing and (b) identifying and detaining terrorists.

    James Brokenshire

    Terrorism and serious organised crime are global threats that cross national borders. Our unique relationship with the EU gives UK law enforcement access to EU tools and instruments that help keep people safe and tackle serious and organised crime, but also mean we are not obliged to participate in new measures when we do not judge them to be in the national interest.

    The tools and instruments that the UK participates in include Europol, an EU agency which supports cross-border police operations and intelligence sharing, and can assist in the identification of terrorist threats; the European Arrest Warrant, which allows swift extradition between EU countries of individuals accused or convicted of a criminal offence; and the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), which enables law enforcement agencies around the EU to share live alerts, for example, for missing people and stolen vehicles. The UK is also in the process of implementing Prum, which will give us access to fingerprint and DNA data from other member states.

    Since 2004, using the European Arrest Warrant, over 1,000 individuals accused or convicted of a criminal offence have faced justice in UK courts and over 7,000 have been extradited from the UK.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the contribution of the UK’s membership of the EU to the protection of the UK’s critical national information infrastructure from cyber-attack.

    Matthew Hancock

    Cyber threats transcend borders and so international cooperation is crucial to keep the UK safe. Whilst protection of the UK’s critical national infrastructure is a national security issue, and therefore outside the authority of the European Commission, we work closely with the EU to promote the UK’s vision of a free, open, peaceful and secure cyber space internationally. Our partnership with EU countries help improve our ability to manage cyber security risks, through initiatives likes CERT-CERT cooperation and the work of the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security, which promotes best practice and knowledge on cyber security. As a result, we are safer, stronger, and a better off as a member of the EU.

  • Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tier 2 intra-company visas were issued for the IT industry in each of the last 10 years.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not record information about the issue of Tier 2 intra-company visas by industrial classification. It is therefore not possible to provide the information requested.

    Information about people working in IT related roles is available, but these roles are not all in the IT industry. It is not possible to break this data down by industry.

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2016 to Question 31677, what the penalties are for an employer who has issued a Certificate of Sponsorship but does not adhere to the stated job description and salary.

    Mike Penning

    Guidance for sponsors specifies that UKVI will revoke the licence of a sponsor who has issued a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) but has not adhered to the specified job description and/or salary. However, prior to the consideration of revocation action, UKVI will suspend the licence and allow the sponsor the opportunity to make representations against the matter(s) identified. UKVI does have residual discretion to apply a lesser sanctions depending on the severity of the matter(s) and the mitigating circumstances presented by the sponsor; these sanctions include downgrading the licence rating and issuing a time limited action plan or reducing the sponsor’s CoS allocation or setting the allocation to zero.

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2016 to Question 31677, what checks are undertaken to ensure that the terms of a Tier 2 (ICT) visa Certificate of Sponsorship are adhered to.

    Mike Penning

    A variety of checks are undertaken on sponsor licence holders and the migrants they assign certificates of sponsorship to. Compliance visits are undertaken during the licensing process and post-licensing audits are undertaken to verify the duties performed by the sponsored workers adhere to those set out by the sponsor in the certificate of sponsorship. Officers can request payslips, work contracts and evidence of duties performed by the sponsored worker during compliance visits. In some cases, other regulatory requirements are verified with other government departments or regulatory bodies during investigations of possible non-compliance. Officers can interview both sponsors and sponsored workers during compliance visits to seek assurances and gather information and evidence of compliance with the duties of sponsorship. Overseas we can undertake checks in to the credibility of the international presence of an ICT sponsor licence holder where there is concern to do so.

    All roles are assessed to confirm the duties and salary meet the requirements set out in the standard occupation classification codes. The sponsored worker may also be called for interview during the visa consideration process to check their credibility and test the individual meets the requirements of sponsorship under Tier 2 (ICT).

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether, when considering whether to acquire a bulk personal dataset from another government department under the Investigatory Powers Bill, she plans to consult the Secretary of State for that department.

    Mike Penning

    The Investigatory Powers Bill provides for robust and transparent safeguards relating to the security and intelligence agencies’ use of bulk personal datasets (BPDs). This includes a new requirement for warrants to authorise the retention and examination of BPDs. The Bill provides for both class BPD warrants, covering datasets of a particular class, and specific BPD warrants, covering an individual dataset. The draft statutory Code of Practice provides further guidance on the factors that the security and intelligence agencies should consider in determining which type of warrant to apply for. These include whether the nature or the provenance of the dataset raises particularly novel or contentious issues; whether it contains a significant component of intrusive data; and whether it contains a significant component of confidential information relating to members of sensitive professions. All warrants will be subject to the ‘double-lock’ safeguard meaning that they will be subject to approval by both a Secretary of State and a Judicial Commissioner.

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2016 Question 31677, how many Tier 2 (ICT) visa applications were denied because the Certificate of Sponsorship does not specify a salary of at least £28,400 in the last three years.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not hold this information in the format requested.