Written questions by Lowe.

Whether her Department issued any (a) guidance and (b) policy updates on the handling of asylum claims from Sudanese nationals in 2023.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment her Department made of country conditions in Sudan for the purpose of determining asylum claims in 2023; and what screening, security checks and exclusion criteria were applied before

Awaiting answer.

Whether Ministers in her Department received any (a) submissions and (b) briefings relating to the processing of asylum claims from Sudanese nationals in 2023.

Awaiting answer.

What operational guidance is in place for Border Force on the handling and disposal of small boats used by migrants arriving in the UK; and whether summary information on that guidance is published.

All vessels that have been subject to seizure are held by Border Force until the completion of criminal investigations and any resulting legal proceedings. The boats/dinghies/engines are disposed of by Border Force's approved contractors and, where approp...

What monitoring and safeguarding measures apply to individuals granted (a) asylum and (b) leave to remain; and whether her Department has undertaken any review of such measures since 2023.

All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to establish their identity and to link it to their biometric details for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks - including war crimes, crimes against humanity and terrori...

How many complaints or concerns have been raised regarding the accuracy of translation or interpretation services used in asylum and immigration interviews conducted by Border Force in each of the las

The Home Office uses professional interpretation and translation services to support asylum, immigration and wider operational processes. These services are delivered through centrally managed arrangements, including the Interpreter and Language Services ...

What guidance is in place for Border Force staff conducting asylum and immigration interviews, including asylum screening interviews and immigration enforcement interviews, on the use of (a) Microsoft

The Home Office uses professional interpretation and translation services to support asylum, immigration and wider operational processes. These services are delivered through centrally managed arrangements, including the Interpreter and Language Services ...

What proportion of asylum and immigration interviews conducted by Border Force, including asylum screening interviews and immigration enforcement interviews, are carried out (a) via video calling appl

The Home Office uses professional interpretation and translation services to support asylum, immigration and wider operational processes. These services are delivered through centrally managed arrangements, including the Interpreter and Language Services ...

What processes are in place to (a) monitor, (b) audit, and (c) quality assure the work of translators and interpreters used in asylum and immigration interviews conducted by Border Force.

The Home Office uses professional interpretation and translation services to support asylum, immigration and wider operational processes. These services are delivered through centrally managed arrangements, including the Interpreter and Language Services ...

What oversight mechanisms are in place to assess the quality and accuracy of translation and interpretation services used in asylum and immigration interviews conducted by Border Force.

The Home Office uses professional interpretation and translation services to support asylum, immigration and wider operational processes. These services are delivered through centrally managed arrangements, including the Interpreter and Language Services ...

In what proportion of asylum and immigration interviews conducted by Border Force via (a) video call and (b) telephone-only are translators or interpreters used.

The Home Office uses professional interpretation and translation services to support asylum, immigration and wider operational processes. These services are delivered through centrally managed arrangements, including the Interpreter and Language Services ...

How many staff employed by Border Force (a) are contracted to work from home, (b) work from home on a full-time basis, and (c) work from home on a hybrid basis.

Border Force is responsible for securing the UK border through immigration and customs controls for people and goods at ports and airports across the UK and at juxtaposed locations. The majority of Border Force staff are based in frontline operational rol...

Whether her Department plans to make the (a) place based visibility tool, (b) discontinuation prediction pool and (c)the data underpinning them publicly available.

The Place-Based Visibility Tool and the Discontinuation Prediction Tool are operational data tools used to support forecasting, delivery and strategic planning, and are not intended for publication.The Place-Based Visibility Tool provides a UK, regional a...

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed asylum accommodation sites on community tensions.

Community cohesion is fully considered in site selection. We are prioritising models that reduce pressure on local services and deliver fairer distribution across the country. This includes working closely with the local police and wider community to iden...

Whether she will publish the value for money assessments and Accounting Officer assessments undertaken for existing and proposed large asylum accommodation sites.

Lessons have been learned from inherited acquisitions of large sites under the previous government, which we are implementing to inform our future accommodation procurement.We have improved our understanding of project costings by referencing actuals from...

What the average time taken is from initial engagement with a local authority to final approval of asylum accommodation placements in that authority’s area, broken down by local authority.

Local authorities are consulted prior to any accommodation being procured and have the opportunity to submit objections to any proposed procurement. If the provider does not agree with the objections provided by the local authority, this is referred to th...

How many potential asylum accommodation sites are under consideration by her Department.

For the safety, security, and wellbeing of those we accommodate, we do not publicly comment on individual sites which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office, nor do we provide details of those we accommodate at any site.

How much grant funding has been awarded to each local authority for the housing of asylum seekers, broken down by local authority, in each of the last five financial years.

The Cabinet Office publish annual grant funding data (Government Grants Data and Statistics) where you can find details of grant levels by local authority area broken down per year once available. The Home Office does not publish any additional informatio...

How many military sites are currently under consideration by her Department for use as asylum accommodation.

For the safety, security, and wellbeing of those we accommodate, we do not publicly comment on individual sites which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office, nor do we provide details of those we accommodate at any site.

What consideration her Department gives to the capacity of local health providers when determining the viability of asylum accommodation sites.

Asylum seekers have access to NHS healthcare from their point of arrival in the UK. They are entitled to the same level of treatment as UK nationals whilst their claim is being considered.Military sites allow for dedicated on-site services, improved safeg...