Written questions by Whittome.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the (a) equitability and (b) affordability of fees for citizenship applications; and whether she plans to review those fees.

The Home Office routinely considered issues around equitability and affordability, among other considerations, when making determinations on the appropriate level of fees to charge for immigration and nationality applications. The Home Office previously published an Equality Impact Assessment which includes considerations in respect of citizenship fees: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/1004/pdfs/uksiod_20231004_en_001.pdf.

If she will embed youth work in A&Es.

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safe Streets mission. We are taking a range of steps to realise this ambition, including creating a new Young Futures Programme to intervene earlier to stop young people being drawn into violent crime. It is vital we have a system that can identify and support those young people who need it most.As part of this, the Government’s manifesto committed to offering young people a pathway out of violence by placing youth workers and mentors in A&E units and Alternative Provision Schools (formally called Pupil Referral units).A&E navigator programmes are currently funded in all 20 VRU areas. These programmes place navigators, such as youth workers, in hospital emergency rooms to support children and young people with a violence-related injury and offer a pathway out of violence. The proposed Police Settlement for 2025/26 includes £49.7m for the continuation of the VRU programme. We will continue to build on, and learn from, the work already underway.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the findings of the 2024 report by the Youth Endowment Fund entitled Children, violence and vulnerability.

The Home Office works closely with the Youth Endowment Fund to ensure that their findings on what works to reduce violence amongst young people are carefully considered to positively influence the development of youth services.We will carefully consider the findings from this report as part of the Government's Plan for Change and the Safer Streets Mission which includes an ambition to halve knife crime and violence against women and girls; and actions to build confidence in policing and the criminal justice system.The Young Futures Programme is a key part of this and will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships, to intervene earlier to offer support for Young People in a more systematic way, as well as creating more opportunities for them in their communities.

What steps she is taking to protect teenagers from violence and abuse in relationships.

This Government is considering a wide range of actions to address teenage relationship violence and abuse, including assessing whether any changes to the law are needed and supporting our education system to teach children about respectful and healthy relationships and consent.

When she expects to resume processing asylum applications from Syrian nationals.

We keep all country guidance relating to asylum claims under constant review, so we can respond to emerging issues. Following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the Home Office has withdrawn the Country Policy Information Notes and Guidance relating to Syria. Consequently, as the Home Office continues to assess the current situation in Syria, the Home Office has temporarily paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims. We will provide a further update to Parliament as soon as possible.

If she will publish the terms of reference for the ongoing rapid review into extremism.

The Home Secretary will report on the Government’s plans to tackle extremism in due course, including setting out the scope and findings of the rapid review carried out in this area.

With reference to her article in the Sun newspaper entitled We can’t pretend everything is OK: knife crime, anti social behaviour and people smugglers are plaguing our streets, published on 20 July 20

We have established a new Returns Transformation Portfolio, focusing on delivering a major surge in immigration enforcement and returns activity to safe countries, through swift decision making to remove people with no right to be in the UK. This is to en...

What assessment has she made of the potential impact of the legislative package on Family Values and Protection of Minors being signed into law in Georgia on that country's safe state designation unde

Our assessment of the situation in Georgia is set out in the relevant Country Policy and Information Notes, which are available on the Gov.Uk website. The latest update on sexual orientation and gender identity was issued in September 2024 following a rev...

What steps her Department is taking to ensure there is not a funding cliff edge for VAWG services in March 2025.

We have set out our mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade. The Home Office funds a range of organisations to deliver vital services that help deliver this mission and regularly engage with key stakeholders to inform future plan...

Whether she is taking steps to increase access to resettlement to the UK for Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries who are at risk and cannot return to Sudan.

Over 300 Sudanese nationals have been resettled in the UK through our refugee resettlement schemes.The UK resettlement schemes are not application based; instead, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) refers individuals for resettlemen...

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that people who have recently acquired refugee status do not experience homelessness after leaving asylum accommodation.

Individuals granted asylum have access to the labour market and to mainstream services that support their integration, including benefits and healthcare. We are working across Government to ensure these services meet the needs of all newly granted refugees.Migrant Help or their partner organisation support all individuals when they receive a decision on their asylum claim.  This support includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing.We continue to work with colleagues at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to understand rough sleeping and homelessness pressures within local authorities (LAs). In our continued commitment to supporting LAs and statutory partners in planning for move on, we have shared enhanced data sets (The Place Based Visibility tool - PBVT) which we are continuing to develop further. The PBVT is complimented by the Discontinuation Prediction Tool (DPT) which is shared weekly; this data provides real time view of discontinuation notices likely to be served in the next following 4-6 weeks and the volume of people (including whether it is families, single males or single females) who may seek LA assistance following a positive decision. Where a decision is made on an individual's asylum claim, the Asylum Accommodation Support Contract (AASC) provider notifies the relevant local authority within 2 days of notification by the Home Office.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 454 on Asylum: LGBT+ People, when her Department last reviewed the level of the risk of (a) discrimination, (b) harassment and (c) violence towards LGBTQ+ people seeking asylum in immigration detention centres.

The level of risk for LGBT+ individuals within immigration detention is subject to ongoing monitoring. As set out in Detention Services Order 02/2016 ‘Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Detainees in the Detention Estate’, Immigration Removal Centre suppliers undertake regular equality monitoring and trend analysis for residents with protected characteristics.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of creating a visa waiver scheme for Palestinians requiring urgent medical treatment.

Currently, those seeking to come to the UK for private medical treatment, along with their family members, can apply for a visitor visa and consideration will be given to compelling, compassionate and exceptional circumstances.It should be noted that the World Health Organisation (WHO) position is that people who are medically evacuated should stay as close to home as possible, so that they remain amongst those who are more likely to understand their language and culture, and so that their return home, when ready, is easier.

What recent assessment she has made of the level of the risk of (a) discrimination, (b) harassment and (c) violence towards LGBTQ+ people seeking asylum in immigration detention centres.

It is vital that detention and removal are carried out with dignity and respect, and we take the welfare and safety of people in our care very seriously. We will not tolerate any form of discrimination against those who are detained in our immigration removal estate. We keep the level of risk under regular review and will take robust action against anyone who is found not to have behaved appropriately. In order to effectively support individuals in immigration detention that identify as LGBT+ there is detailed published guidance for all staff working in immigration removal centres (IRCs). Detention Services Orders 2/2016 ‘Lesbian, gay and bisexual detainees in the detention estate’ and 11/2012 ‘Care and Management of Transsexual Detainees’ set out the actions and safeguarding processes that are undertaken in IRCs to ensure that the needs of LGBT+ individuals are identified and appropriately met.