Tag: Tom Pursglove

The statement made by Tom Pursglove, the Minister of State at the Home Office, on 18 October 2022.

My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is today laying before the House a statement of changes in immigration rules.

The changes include the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (ARAP) immigration rules which clarify that the Ministry of Defence decides eligibility for an Afghan citizen, before an application for entry clearance or settlement is made to the Home Office on their, or an eligible family member’s, behalf.

Additional ARAP family members, who were previously decided outside the immigration rules, have been brought under the rules, and the Afghan ex-gratia scheme, which closes on 30 November 2022, has been removed from the immigration rules from that date.

As part of the new plan for immigration, the Government have made clear for the first time in primary legislation (the Nationality and Borders Act 2022) that confirmed victims of human trafficking or slavery are eligible for temporary permission to stay in the UK, and this is supported by the introduction of the appendix “Temporary permission to stay for victims of human trafficking or slavery”.

The introduction of temporary permission to stay into the immigration rules aligns with the Government’s needs-based approach to support victims of human trafficking or slavery. Temporary permission to stay makes clear that confirmed victims, both adults and children, with psychological and physical recovery needs stemming from their human trafficking or slavery exploitation, are entitled to temporary permission to stay where it is necessary to assist with recovery from the harm caused by their exploitation, subject to the exemptions set out in section 65 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. These rules also specify that temporary permission to stay may be available to victims who are helping the public authorities with active investigations or criminal proceedings in the UK to bring their exploiters to justice and clarify that those seeking compensation in respect of the relevant exploitation must have made a valid application to be considered for temporary permission to stay.

Temporary permission to stay will go live on 30 January 2023. These rules will allow for clearer decision making and are intended to make decision making a simpler and quicker process.

The seasonal worker visa route is being expanded to include roles in the poultry sector, to support a genuine seasonal labour need in the lead-up to Christmas, not evident in other sectors. Poultry workers under occupation code 5431 (butcher) or 5433 (for example, processor) must be paid at least £25,600 each year. All other poultry workers must be paid £10.10 for each hour worked and receive at least 30 hours’ paid employment each week. These requirements are in place to discourage poor conditions often seen in the sector.

Changes are being made which provide for the refusal and cancellation of entry clearance where a person is subject to a travel ban imposed by the UK or the UN. This will not alter whether the person can enter the UK. It will simply make it easier to achieve the same effect administratively.

Changes are also being made in respect of the Ukraine extension scheme, which enables Ukrainian nationals who held permission to enter or stay in the UK on 18 March 2022 (or who held permission which expired on or after 1 January 2022), to continue their stay in the UK.

These changes will extend the scheme to allow Ukrainian nationals who obtain permission to enter or stay in the UK for any period between 18 March 2022 and 16 May 2023 to apply and obtain 36 months’ permission to stay in the UK. They will also introduce a new requirement to apply to the scheme by 16 November 2023.

Finally, we are also abolishing the requirement for a migrant to register with the police as the police registration scheme in its current form is outdated and no longer provides any public protection benefit to either the Home Office or the police.

Since the scheme was last amended in 1998, changes to the immigration rules and the wider immigration system now mean more individuals are screened before travel to the UK and those of concern can be identified earlier in their interaction with the Home Office. The data a migrant provides to the police on registration is already captured by the Home Office at the visa application stage, and is available to the police on request, so there is no need for it to be provided twice, or for the police to hold such vast amounts of data when they have no need to do so for the majority of law-abiding migrants.

Abolishing the requirement for a migrant to register with the police will therefore reduce the administrative burden on the police, the Home Office and migrants themselves.

These rules have also been simplified in line with the recommendations of the Law Commission report “Simplifying the Immigration Rules” to which the Government responded on 25 March 2020. The necessary changes to the immigration rules are being laid on 18 October 2022. For the changes to the seasonal worker route—inclusion of poultry sector—these will come into effect on 18 October 2022, as there is a short time frame for workers to enter the UK to undertake work in the poultry sector. The closing date for applications for poultry work is 15 November 2022 and the workers are required to leave the UK by 31 December 2022. If the implementation date was later, the concern is workers might not apply as they could consider it not worthwhile for such a short period. This policy has already been communicated to the sector in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs food strategy, so they are prepared and working toward this change.

The changes to simplify the process for giving effect to travel bans, changes to the Ukraine extension scheme and the abolition of the police registration scheme will come into effect on 9 November 2022, the amendments to the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (ARAP) on 30 November 2022 and the introduction of the new appendix “Temporary permission to stay for victims of human trafficking or slavery” on 30 January 2023.

The speech made by Tom Pursglove, the Minister of State at the Home Office, on 23 September 2022.

I have listened with close interest to the debate today, and I thank the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) for setting out her case in the way she did, albeit that I disagree with considerable elements of it. I will set out the case from the Government’s perspective as to why that is. I welcome the opportunity to respond to the points that have been raised, as I also did in my recent letter to the hon. Lady.

Let me state at the outset that the Government are committed to a fair and humane immigration policy that welcomes those who arrive legally and, crucially, that maintains the integrity of our border and works in the interests of the people of this country. Each week, we see more people arriving in the UK after crossing the channel on small boats, putting their lives at risk and yet more money in the pockets of the evil people smugglers who exploit them. That cannot be allowed to continue, and I have set out the arguments on that many times on the Floor of the House.

Our immigration system must encourage compliance with the immigration rules, as well as protecting the public. Immigration detention is an essential part of effective immigration control and management. It is used sparingly, with 95% of people who are liable for removal from the UK managed in the community while their cases are progressed. We continue to support people to leave voluntarily wherever possible. That work happens day in, day out. It is important that the immigration removal estate can respond to changes.

We need to ensure sufficient resilience and capacity in the right locations for the men and women it is necessary to detain for the purpose of removal. That is why the April announcement on tackling illegal migration made it clear that the removal estate would be expanded. Our plans for the site of the former Campsfield House immigration removal centre in Oxfordshire are part of that expansion. I should emphasise that it would be wrong to characterise the plans as a simple reopening. We accept that by the time the centre closed in 2018 it needed significant investment, although it is worth noting that the last report by the local independent monitoring board in 2018 found the centre to be well run.

Under our plans, we will invest in significant improvement to the site, with a clear focus on welfare and safety. The new centre will provide decent, safe and secure accommodation for up to 400 men in detention. I can confirm that it will not be for the purpose of detaining families. Although planning is in the early stages, the intention is to use a mix of refurbished buildings and new-build accommodation on an area within the secure perimeter of the existing site. The refurbished part of the new centre will house approximately 160 people, compared with almost 300 in the previous centre. The refurbished accommodation will reflect current best practice, with most rooms being dual occupancy. Rooms in the new-build accommodation will all be dual occupancy.

All IRCs in England have dedicated health facilities run by doctors and nurses, commissioned by NHS England and delivered to the equivalent quality standards of services in the community. As in other IRCs in England, NHS England will commission healthcare services for the centre. In a previous ministerial capacity I visited Derwentside in County Durham, and there has been a lot of learning from the experience there. I hope it provides some reassurance to say that a bespoke healthcare offer appropriate to the site will be developed to meet the need that exists.

On riots, escapes, self-harm and suicide at the former Campsfield House centre, I want to emphasise that in developing the site, our focus is on dignity, welfare and safety. Significant improvements have been made to detention in recent years, with a programme of reforms introduced following Stephen Shaw’s 2015 and 2018 reviews of welfare in detention, to which the hon. Lady rightly referred. His reports, and others by external bodies including His Majesty’s inspectorate of prisons and the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, have informed both our strategic and tactical approach to detention.

The new IRC will not be operational until at least late 2023. Our plans are at an early stage, and we are committed to listening to local and other voices. My officials have written to local stakeholders and are listening to their views. We have already met with the local parish council, and we will continue to engage with it and others over the coming months.

On planning and procurement of services, we are reaching out to the local planning authority and we have made it clear that we will go out to the market to procure the services to run the site. We are looking both for value for money and for good quality, safe and secure accommodation that meets the needs of the residents in the facility. We have held a market engagement event with interested potential bidders, and there has been a good level of interest in delivering the services.

I want to be clear that we do not and cannot detain people indefinitely. It is not lawful to do so. The law is clear that we can detain people only where removal is a realistic prospect within a reasonable timescale, or initially to establish their identity or basis of claim. That is set out in both legislation and domestic case law. Over time, the Government have necessarily adapted their strategic approach to the use of immigration detention, in response to the international challenge of illegal migration and the need to break the business model of the evil people smuggling gangs. Decisions on the appropriateness of an individual’s detention or continued detention are always made on a case-by-case basis.

I hope I can offer some reassurance on the hon. Lady’s point about age-disputed children and the particular case that she referred to. In some cases, individuals who are detained subsequently claim to be children. When this occurs, they will usually be afforded the benefit of the doubt and released into the care of social services until a further assessment of their age has been made, unless their physical appearance and demeanour strongly suggest that they are significantly over 18, or other evidence shows that they are an adult.

I also refer the House to the measures on age assessment in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, which will make a considerable difference in helping to identify, and make appropriate decisions about, the age of those who claim to be children. We will deliver those reforms at the earliest possible opportunity. We will make progress on this, because we recognise the significant safeguarding concerns that arise, in both directions, when there is a need to identify a child’s age. I was disappointed that the hon. Lady and her colleagues were not supportive of the 2022 Act, which was in many respects arguably designed to expedite cases. It aims to ensure that people are not in detention for any longer than is necessary, to end the cycle of claims and appeals, and to end the efforts made on occasion to frustrate proper removal from our country.

Of course, we want to provide certainty on individual cases as quickly as possible, and to maintain a fair immigration system in which those with a right to be here are properly cared for as quickly as possible and those who have no right to be here are removed without needless delay. That is what the reforms aim to achieve; I hope that the hon. Lady and her colleagues change their view when we enact them.

We have a series of detention safeguards, including the detention gatekeeper, case progression panels, and our “Adults at risk in immigration detention” policy, to ensure ongoing proper scrutiny of detention decisions. People are provided with written reasons for their detention when they are detained, and then at least every 28 days thereafter. That includes information about what steps have been taken in progressing their claim to remain in the UK, and/or in relation to their return.

Individuals in immigration detention can apply for bail at any time. The use of detention is subject to rigorous scrutiny, including by the independent monitoring boards, His Majesty’s inspectorate of prisons, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration and, of course, the courts. To pick up on the point about visiting, as is the case in detention facilities around the country, visiting is permitted and appropriate arrangements will be made to allow that to happen. I am certainly willing to raise with officials the voluntary work done in the hon. Lady’s community to facilitate those visits. I thank those involved in helping to organise visitation in her area.

I know that the hon. Lady had concerns about local employment when the previous centre closed, and particularly about the impact on the jobs of those who worked there when it closed. I am sure that we are in agreement on the benefits of opening a new centre for jobs in the area. The recently opened Derwentside facility provides around 200 jobs in that area. I fully expect that the reopening that we are discussing will provide several hundred jobs in the hon. Lady’s area, which is not insignificant.

Initial estimates of the operating costs were in the region of £170 million over the lifetime of the contract, as we said in the prior information notice that we published on Wednesday 21 September. Actual costs will be known only when the procurement is concluded, but the approach being taken will ensure value for money, and we anticipate that costs will be lower than that initial estimate. In addition to the operating costs, there will be building and refurbishment costs.

I thank the hon. Lady for her contribution today. We have begun engagement with the council and other key local stakeholders to ensure that we have a full understanding of the impact of our plans. This debate has been a welcome opportunity to hear some of those views. We will of course reflect on what we have heard as we develop the plans. I am always happy to speak to colleagues from across the House about immigration matters that are relevant to their constituencies, and that most certainly applies to this project. More widely, we will continue driving forward the reforms needed to make our immigration system fairer and more effective. That is what the public expect, and what we are determined to deliver.

The statement made by Tom Pursglove, the Minister of State at the Home Office, in the House of Commons on 15 July 2022.

The Government have today published their response to the consultation held on firearms safety, which sought views on a number of measures responding to issues raised during the passage of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 through Parliament. The consultation contained proposals for how to mitigate the risks to public safety raised by these issues. The consultation closed on 16 February 2021 and more than 12,000 responses were received.

Our firearms laws are some of the toughest in the world and ensuring public safety through effective firearms control is a priority for the Government. Having carefully considered the responses received to the consultation, we have decided to introduce a range of measures to strengthen the controls.

The Government will:

Strengthen security requirements to mitigate the risk of theft of high muzzle energy rifles by requiring enhanced security for the secure storage and transportation of these particularly powerful firearms. This measure will be implemented by means of an order made under section 53 of the Firearms Act 1968;

Help safeguard young people against the misuse of air weapons by legislating to clarify the offence of failing to take “reasonable precautions” to prevent minors from having air weapons so that whenever under-18s are on the premises, “reasonable precautions” must include locking the air weapon out of sight when not in use and storing the ammunition separately. This change will be implemented by means of an order under section 53 of the Firearms Act 1968. We will also work with the airgun industry to ensure that home security devices are supplied with all new air weapons, and that retailers explain the importance of secure handling and storage to purchasers of new air weapons at the point of sale;

Tighten the control of miniature rifle ranges by requiring operators to obtain a firearm certificate and limiting such ranges to the use of .22 rimfire weapons. Primary legislation to implement these changes will be brought forward when parliamentary time allows; and

Tackle the unlawful manufacture of ammunition by introducing a new offence of possessing component parts with intent to assemble unauthorised quantities of complete ammunition. Primary legislation to implement this new offence will be brought forward when parliamentary time allows.

The Government also gave very careful consideration to the views put forward in relation to the proposal to remove the exception that permits unsupervised possession of air weapons by under 18s on private land with the occupier’s consent. This proposal was opposed by a majority of respondents and, on balance, the Government have decided not to proceed with it at this time. However, we will keep the matter under careful review with the possibility that further action could be taken in future.

On 20 June 2022, a Firearms Bill was put forward in the House of Commons as a presentation Bill. It was ordered that the Bill should be drafted and ready for Second Reading in March 2023.

A copy of the Government’s response to the firearms safety consultation has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and is available on the Government’s website at gov.uk.

The statement made by Tom Pursglove, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, in the House of Commons on 13 June 2022.

Our world-leading migration and economic development partnership with Rwanda is a global first and will change the way we collectively tackle illegal immigration. This is a global problem that requires international solutions.

Rwanda is a fundamentally safe and secure country with a track record of supporting asylum seekers. Individuals will be relocated to Rwanda and have their asylum claims processed by the Rwandan authorities. The partnership is an important part of our reform of the broken asylum and migration system. I welcome the High Court’s decision on Friday on this, but, with legal proceedings ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further than to say that we comply fully with our legal and international obligations.

We aim to move forward with a policy that offers new opportunities for those relocated to Rwanda and enables us to focus our support on those most in need of our help. The British public rightly expect us to act. Indeed, inaction is not a responsible option when people are drowning and ruthless criminals are profiting from human misery. Decisive leadership is required to tackle the smuggling of people through illicit and criminal means. This evil trade must be stopped.

The principle of the plan is simple: people will no longer be able to pay evil people smugglers to go to a destination of their choice while passing through sometimes several safe countries. If someone comes from a safe country, they are picking the UK as a preferred destination.

Uncontrolled immigration reduces our capacity to help those who most need our support. It puts intolerable pressure on public services and local communities. Long-lasting change will not happen overnight; it requires a long-term plan. As I have said many times before in this House, there is no one single solution, but this Government will deliver the first comprehensive overhaul of the asylum system in decades.

The statement made by Tom Pursglove, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, in the House of Commons on 12 May 2022.

Due to covid-19, more than 5 million people delayed their passport applications in 2020 and 2021. With demand for international travel having returned, Her Majesty’s Passport Office is currently receiving a higher number of passport applications than ever before; 9.5 million applications are expected in 2022 compared with approximately 7 million in a normal year.

Since April 2021, 500 new staff have joined and a further 700 will join by the summer. As a result, the vast majority of passport applications are being processed within the 10-week timeframe and more than 90% within six weeks. Less than 1.4% of the passports printed last week for UK applications had been in the system for longer than 10 weeks.

With a record number of applications in the system, customer inquiries have increased accordingly. However, the passport advice line, which is run by Teleperformance, is not currently meeting the needs of passport customers. Clearly, that is not acceptable. The Home Office has clear standards for the level of service that suppliers are expected to provide.

Her Majesty’s Passport Office has engaged with Teleperformance at its most senior levels to emphasise the need to significantly improve performance as soon as possible. Alongside steps to bring the operation of the passport advice line, email and call-back functions within the required standard, Teleperformance is urgently bolstering staff numbers in response to the recent surge in customer contact, with 500 additional staff due to be added by mid-June.

We recognise that hon. Members will wish to raise cases and queries on behalf of their constituents, as is, of course, right and proper. Her Majesty’s Passport Office staff have therefore been deployed to answer passport-related inquiries to the Home Office’s dedicated MPs hotline and, for the most urgent cases, they will also be available to conduct in-person passport surgeries in Portcullis House.

Although we acknowledge that there have been issues with customer contact that must and will be resolved, I take the opportunity to recognise the work of Her Majesty’s Passport Office staff who continue to ensure that the vast majority of passport applications are processed in under 10 weeks. Their efforts, alongside the extensive work that went into preparing for record demand, have ensured that passport applications continue to be processed in higher numbers than ever before.

Across March and April 2022, Her Majesty’s Passport Office completed the processing of nearly 2 million applications. As that output demonstrates, HMPO staff are firmly focused on maintaining a high level of service and are fully committed to ensuring that people receive their passports in good time for their summer holidays.

The statement made by Tom Pursglove, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, in the House of Commons on 6 January 2022.

On 20 December, the Government launched a public consultation on outdoor weddings and civil partnerships. This consultation sets out, and seeks views on, the Government’s proposals to continue to permit outdoor civil marriages and civil partnerships on approved premises, and to permit outdoor religious marriages in the grounds of places of worship.

Since 1 July 2021, couples have been able to have their civil marriage and civil partnership proceedings in the open air, in the grounds of buildings such as stately homes and hotels which are approved or became approved for these civil ceremonies. Previously, these proceedings could only take place indoors or otherwise within permanently immovable structures. These outdoor ceremonies were made possible because the Government laid a statutory instrument (SI) putting in place these flexibilities, in order to give couples more choice of setting, and to support the wedding and civil partnership sector. However, that SI has effect only until the end of 5 April 2022.

We are now proposing to lay a further SI so that these outdoor civil marriage and civil partnership proceedings can continue beyond 5 April 2022 indefinitely, and to extend the policy of permitting outdoor ceremonies to religious marriages using a separate legislative reform order. Together, these proposals would ensure that the provision for outdoor marriages and civil partnerships on approved premises continues indefinitely and would extend similar arrangements to religious weddings in the grounds of places of worship. The proposals would enable couples to have a greater choice in relation to the location of their ceremonies, and for approved premises and religious bodies to have more flexibility in the locations for ceremonies, should they choose to offer it. No religious group would be obliged to provide outdoor ceremonies, and existing protections to safeguard religious freedoms would remain in place.

The consultation can be found here: https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/outdoor-marriages-civil-partnerships

A copy of the consultation paper will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.