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Immigration

Volume 479: debated on Monday 21 July 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department has issued on the application of new paragraph 327B of the Immigration Rules. (197641)

Guidance on the application of new paragraph 320(7B) was made available to immigration officers and entry clearance officers on 1 April, and has been updated to take account of the concessions that have been announced to the changes since then.

The guidance for entry clearance officers can be found in chapter 26.17 of the Entry Clearance Guidance, available at:

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ecg/chapter26/.

The guidance for immigration officers will be published in the summer and will be available at:

www.ukba.gov.uk.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the Government will exempt from the no recourse to public funds rule persons fleeing all forms of violence who are subject to immigration control. (198371)

Where a person makes a claim for asylum, regardless of the grounds on which that claim is made, and including asylum claims made on the basis of violence, that person will be supported by the UK Border Agency until that claim is determined, and will have no other recourse to public funds. If a person is subsequently granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the United Kingdom they are granted leave that enables them to access public funds.

Additionally, the immigration rules enable an applicant who has limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom as the spouse, unmarried partner, registered civil partner or same sex partner of a British citizen or person present and settled in this country and whose marriage or relationship breaks down during the probationary period as a result of domestic violence to be granted indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom at which point they are not prohibited from accessing public funds.

In March we announced a new scheme where victims of domestic violence who have no recourse to public funds may be eligible to receive support for their housing and living costs. Under the new scheme victims of domestic violence whose applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain are successful may qualify for a contribution towards these costs. Further details on this programme of work are still being worked up and will be available later this spring. The proposals under the new scheme will strengthen the way in which domestic violence cases are considered enabling those victims who are vulnerable to access immediate support.

We have worked with the third sector and other partners to provide victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation with comprehensive support since 2003. In 2007 the UK became a signatory to the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Beings which we are committed to ratifying by the end of 2008. This will enhance existing measures and will provide all identified victims of trafficking with minimum levels of support during a ‘reflection period’ and access to temporary residence permits in certain circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will ensure that the Minister of State gives personal consideration to the exceptional aspects of the case of Mrs. Sara Said, the constituent of the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam. (219330)

It is not the policy of the UK Border Agency to comment on individual cases but we will write to the hon. Member detailing our consideration of Mrs. Said’s case.