Tag: Lord Roberts of Llandudno

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of asylum applications over the past 12 months came from Syrian minors, and what percentage of those were accepted.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

In the year ending March 2016, there were 41,563 applications for asylum from main applicants and dependants. Of these applications, 1% (367) were made by Syrian nationals aged under 18 at the time of application.

In the year ending March 2016, there were 268 initial decisions for Syrian main applicants and dependants, who were aged under 18 at the time of decision. Of these decisions, 94% (253) were grants of asylum or an alternative form of protection.

Initial decisions may not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period.

In addition to those asylum seekers who apply in the UK, resettlement schemes are offered to those who have been referred to the Home Office by UNHCR (the UN agency for refugees). The figures above exclude such resettled persons.

The Home Office publishes quarterly figures on asylum applications and initial decisions within the Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics January to March 2016, is available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-january-to-march-2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding is given annually by the UK to assist refugee projects in the Middle East.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Department for International Development is providing support to refugees in a number of countries in the Middle East including in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Yemen and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In financial year 2015/16 our support totalled more than £204 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-10-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support is in place to help local authorities to resettle Syrian refugees.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Under the expanded Vulnerable Persons scheme, local authorities costs for the first year of a Syrian refugee’s resettlement are funded from the Official Development Assistance budget. To ensure that local authorities can plan ahead we will also provide additional funding to assist with costs incurred in future years (2 to 5). The Government is working closely with the Local Government Association and individual councils on the details of how funding arrangements for years 2 to 5 will operate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much financial support they have provided directly to refugee camps in the Middle East since the beginning of 2015.

Baroness Verma

The vast majority of Syrians who have fled Syria live amongst host communities. HMG’s response is therefore focused on refugees in these communities, not solely those living in formal and informal camps.

In financial year 2015/2016, DFID has allocated £151 million to support Syrian refugees and vulnerable host communities in the region, including £94 million in Lebanon, £47 million in Jordan and £10 million in Turkey. Spending in these countries in financial year 2014/2014 was £120 million, including £62 million in Lebanon, £48 million in Jordan and £10 million in Turkey.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of what medical support is available for diabetic asylum seekers in refugee camps across Europe.

Lord Bates

Each EU Member State is responsible for the welfare of asylum applicants on their territory. The UK government bears no responsibility for asylum seekers who are on the territory of another Member State and has made no assessment of the support available for diabetic asylum seekers in other parts of Europe.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-01-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they have in place to ensure that asylum seekers in Calais have access to legal advice on their rights to enter the UK.

Lord Bates

All migrants, including families and children, in Calais who wish to seek asylum should do so in France and provide information to the French asylum authorities about any family members in other Member States, including the UK. 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 who are legally 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.

If not claiming 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 visa application.

Under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015, the UK has increased the frequency of communications campaigns involving British officials, French authorities and NGOs speaking to migrants in Calais to inform migrants of the reality of life in the UK, and their rights to claim asylum in France. The UK is also helping to fund dedicated facilities away from Calais to allow migrants to reflect on next steps and to consider an asylum claim.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-03-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the 19,000 remaining refugees to enter the UK by the end of this Parliament have been already identified by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Lord Keen of Elie

We work closely with The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify cases that they deem in need of resettlement according to agreed vulnerability criteria for the Syrian Resettlement Scheme. The scheme is based on need and supports those who cannot be supported effectively in their region of origin.

We cannot therefore provide long term forecasts but have agreed a timetable of referrals. This remains subject to change due to a number of operational factors.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they are having with voluntary organisations to ensure the successful reception of unaccompanied child refugees on arrival in the UK.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Any unaccompanied child who arrives in the UK receives clothing packs. All unaccompanied children present in the UK, regardless of their immigration status, are afforded the same level of care and support as British children. Unaccompanied refugee children brought to the UK through provisions in the Immigration Act 2016 will be given the appropriate support and care required. We continue to consult with local authorities on the best way to implement this legislation.

Last year the UK received 3,043 asylum applications from unaccompanied asylum seeking children. We have robust measures in place to receive and safeguard them. In addition we have committed to section 67 in the Immigration Act 2016 to receive unaccompanied children from Europe where it is in their best interests.

We are consulting with relevant non-governmental organisations, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), local authorities and relevant Member States on the best way to implement the Immigration Act 2016 provisions for the transfer of unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK. We will ensure we have the right support for unaccompanied refugee children who arrive in the UK from Europe whilst ensuring we fulfil our obligations to children who are already in UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-07-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 12 July (HL Deb, col 124), how many Syrian refugees have been settled in each of the 71 local authorities so far.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Progress on resettlement in each local authority is indicated in quarterly immigration statistics. The last set of statistics, published on 26 May 2016, showed that 1,602 Syrians were resettled in the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme between October 2015 and March 2016 and sets out how many were located in each local authority.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to identify families in the UK who would be willing to receive related unaccompanied child refugees from the refugee camps in Calais.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

UK Government officials have confirmed that the Citizens UK list has been passed to the French authorities, who are primarily responsible for migrants on French territory.

We continue to work with the French authorities and others to speed up exist-ing family reunification processes or implement new processes where necessary. We will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry to support these efforts.

We have established a dedicated team in the Home Office Dublin Unit to lead on family reunion cases for unaccompanied children. Transfer requests under the Dublin Regulation are now generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. Over 120 children have been accepted for transfer this year from Europe; over 70 of these are from France.

It is important that the due processes under the Dublin Regulation are followed. This position was recently confirmed in a Court of Appeal judgement (“ZAT and others”). Families are only contacted once a transfer request has been made and a family link has been established. When we accept a request to transfer an unaccompanied minor we liaise with Local Authorities and the child’s family.

A new scheme to allow community groups to directly sponsor a refugee family was launched by the Home Secretary and Archbishop of Canterbury on 19 July. The Full Community Sponsorship scheme enables community groups including charities, faith groups, churches and businesses, to take on the role of supporting resettled refugees in the UK. A ‘Help Refugees in the UK’ web-page has also been developed on GOV.UK to make it easier for the public to support refugees in the UK and allow local authorities to focus support on the goods and services that refugees need.