The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answers on 21st June 2021:
The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked Her Majesty’s Government:
- what assessment they have made of the increase in the number of EU citizens refused entry to the UK in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.
- how many EU citizens were detained on entry to the UK in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020; and what guidance they issue to immigration staff on making decisions about detention on entry.
Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con, Home Office): While international travel is disrupted due to the pandemic, we have updated our guidance to clarify overseas nationals, including EU citizens, who have been refused entry to the UK and are awaiting removal should be granted immigration bail, where appropriate.
Overseas nationals seeking entry into the UK at this time must not only comply with the requirements of the Immigration Rules, but the prevailing Border Health Regulations set by the UK and Devolved Governments relating to the global pandemic. Failure to comply with the health regulations can also see entry refused.
Detention of a person may be appropriate in some cases, including to keep the public safe. Border Force treat all arrivals with respect and consider each passengers situation on an individual basis to check everyone entering the UK has the right to do so. Most people detained under immigration powers spend only very short periods in detention.
Home Office publish transparency data figures, can be accessed via published data in the link below: Immigration Enforcement data: February 2021 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The latest data on enforced returns (of which ‘deportations’ is a subset) are published in the returns summary tables(opens in a new tab). The data include the number of returns which occurred from detention. More detailed breakdowns, including nationality breakdowns, can be found in Ret_D01 of the Returns detailed dataset(opens in a new tab) .
The Home Office seeks to return people who do not have any legal right to stay in the UK, which includes people who:
- enter, or attempt to enter, the UK illegally (including people entering clandestinely and by means of deception on entry);
- overstay their period of legal right to remain in the UK;
- breach their conditions of leave;
- are subject to deportation action; for example, due to a serious criminal conviction and
- have been refused asylum.
Data on the number of people entering and leaving detention are published in the Detention summary tables(opens in a new tab). Data on reason for leaving detention (including those ‘Returned from the UK’) are published in table Det_04a of the ‘Detention summary tables(opens in a new tab)’. [on Hansard]
The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that there has been a change in attitude among Border Force officers towards EU citizens arriving in the UK since 1 January.
Baroness Williams of Trafford: While international travel is disrupted due to the pandemic, we have updated our guidance to clarify overseas nationals, including EU citizens, who have been refused entry to the UK and are awaiting removal should be granted immigration bail, where appropriate.
It should be noted 95% of individuals with no leave to remain in the UK are managed within the community rather than detained.
Border Force treat all arrivals with respect and consider each passengers situation on an individual basis to check everyone entering the UK has the right to do so.
Those who are considering moving here for work or study should check the requirements for entry, including the Border Health Regulations relating to the global pandemic set by the UK and Devolved Governments. We have worked closely with EU partners to make sure people are aware of these new requirements, including a multi-million awareness campaign across the EU.
The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to extending the EU Settlement Scheme beyond 30 June.
Baroness Williams of Trafford: We have continued to receive and process thousands of applications a day to the EU Settlement scheme throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 5.6 million applications received and over 5 million grants of status made by 31 May 2021. Given this success we have no plans to extend the deadline for applications to the EU Settlement Scheme.
The Home Office has invested nearly £8 million in marketing campaigns to encourage EU citizens and their family members to apply to the scheme. We recently launched a new wave of UK advertising to ensure EU citizens and their family members are aware of the deadline and know they need to apply. We are also working closely with employers, local authorities and charities to raise awareness.
In line with the Citizens’ Rights Agreements, we have made clear where a person eligible for status under the scheme has reasonable grounds for missing the 30 June 2021 deadline, they will be given a further opportunity to apply. The non-exhaustive guidance on reasonable grounds for submitting a late application was published on 1 April 2021 and includes where there are compelling practical or compassionate reasons why a person may have been unaware of the requirement to apply to the scheme by the deadline or may have failed to do so.
The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to help the applicants for British National (Overseas) visas in the first three months of 2021 (1) to move to, and (2) to integrate in, the UK.
Lord Greenhalgh (Con, Home Office): On 31 January, the UK launched a new immigration route for British National (Overseas) [BN(O)] status holders and their dependents.
On 8 April, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced a new UK-wide Welcome Programme to support Hong Kong BN(O) status holders with a package worth £43.1 million.
Alongside this announcement, a comprehensive Welcome Guide was published (attached) on GOV.UK ( https://www.gov.uk/guidance/welcome-a-guide-for-hong-kong-british-national-overseas-visa-holders-in-the-uk(opens in a new tab)) for Hong Kong BN(O)s settling in the UK, in both English and Cantonese. To co-ordinate support and offer practical advice to BN(O)s, MHCLG is working to establish a network of Welcome Hubs across the UK.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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