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3,654 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSpousal Visas: Processing TimesThe noble Lord points to the vulnerability of women. We have seen that very much during the flight from Ukraine; they are our most vulnerable. Again, that is why we have…21 Jun 2022HANSARDSpousal Visas: Processing TimesThe noble Lord and the noble Lord, Lord Paddick, are absolutely right that it is to the detriment of other visa schemes— student and spousal visas, for example—and, as I said, we…21 Jun 2022HANSARDSpousal Visas: Processing TimesI say to my noble friend, as I have said to other noble Lords, that I hope that normal visa services, in terms of delivery times, will return in due course, but we are…21 Jun 2022HANSARDSpousal Visas: Processing TimesThe noble Viscount brings both good news and bad news. The good news is that the Ukrainians are desperate to get back to normal, but I say that with a note of caution, because I…21 Jun 2022HANSARDSpousal Visas: Processing TimesI concur with the noble Baroness that we will not lose sight of that, but what we will also not lose sight of is that in many instances it is life or death for the Ukrainian…21 Jun 2022HANSARDSpousal Visas: Processing TimesMy noble friend is absolutely right. Of course, those thorough processes were some of the things that noble Lords were asking us to cut corners on right at the beginning of this…21 Jun 2022HANSARDSpousal Visas: Processing TimesOn the Ukrainian visas, I think there have been 188,000 applications, and I know that 130,000 have now been issued.21 Jun 2022HANSARDSpousal Visas: Processing TimesThat is a very interesting follow-up on spousal visas. But the noble Lord does have a point there, in the sense that we will see a lot more global migration, which needs to be…21 Jun 2022HANSARDSpousal Visas: Processing TimesThe noble Lord has neatly gone on to passports. Across March, April and May, HMPO processed approximately 3 million passport applications, with 98.5% of those processed within the…21 Jun 2022HANSARDSpousal Visas: Processing TimesThe noble Baroness underlines that to have the Ukrainian visa scheme as a priority is absolutely the right thing to do.21 Jun 2022HANSARDSpousal Visas: Processing TimesMy Lords, the Home Office is currently prioritising Ukraine visa scheme applications in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Staff from…21 Jun 2022HANSARDMigration and Economic Development Partnership with RwandaI must confess to my noble friend that I have read that story but cannot corroborate it.15 Jun 2022HANSARDCivil Servants: Reduction in NumbersAgain, there are a number of questions there but regarding the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, I go back to the point I made previously: there are no delays in the production and…15 Jun 2022HANSARDMigration and Economic Development Partnership with RwandaMy Lords, I object to pretty much everything that the noble Lord has just said. Using what happened to the Jews in the 1930s and 1940s as a reason to undermine and criticise the…15 Jun 2022HANSARDMigration and Economic Development Partnership with RwandaI would say all yes on all three counts—but on that last point, as I said earlier, I know the Deputy Prime Minister is looking at a Bill of rights, and there is nothing wrong with…15 Jun 2022HANSARDCivil Servants: Reduction in NumbersI must confess to the noble Baroness that I do not have an up-to-date position on that; I will write to her.15 Jun 2022HANSARDCivil Servants: Reduction in NumbersMy Lords, there were quite a lot of questions there. I will try and deal with some of them, maybe starting from the noble Lord’s first question about driving licences. There are…15 Jun 2022HANSARDCivil Servants: Reduction in NumbersI think 2016 is when some of those numbers went up. The noble Baroness homes in on the point that planning is vital, and the health of the future workforce and the department’s…15 Jun 2022HANSARDCivil Servants: Reduction in NumbersThe security of our people is the number one priority for this Government, and the security and intelligence agencies will have the resources they need to do their job.15 Jun 2022HANSARDCivil Servants: Reduction in NumbersI really do not know the details of those figures, but I can find out for my noble friend.15 Jun 2022