The government has announced a new form of leave for children transferred to the UK to reunite with their families during the Calais camp clearance in 2016.

The unique situation in Calais in 2016 led to the government taking decisive action to remove vulnerable children from a dangerous situation where they were at risk of violence, abuse and trafficking.

As part the UK’s support for the clearance of the Calais camp, 769 unaccompanied children were transferred from France to the UK. 549 of these children were transferred to reunite with family members already in the UK.

However, some of the children do not qualify for international protection under existing immigration rules, but the government is clear that all those transferred from Calais to reunite with their family members should be able to remain here and that is why a new form of leave will be created.

Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes said:

We can be proud of our record of helping refugee and other vulnerable children affected by conflict, violence and instability, since the start of 2010 we have provided asylum or an alternative form of protection to over 31,000 children.

I am determined that we continue in these efforts and that is why we are introducing a new form of leave, exclusively for children brought to the UK from the Calais camp, so that they can continue rebuilding their lives with their families in the UK.

Calais Leave will grant those who qualify the right to study, work, access public funds and healthcare, and apply for settlement after ten years.

It will only be available to those brought over as part of the Calais clearance exercise between October 2016 and July 2017, who were under the age of 18 at this time, and who had recognised family ties in the UK.

Subject to Parliamentary procedure, this rule change will take effect in the autumn of 2018.

Environment Secretary: We have listened to powerful arguments from farmers.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid says all technology companies must step up their efforts to tackle online child sexual exploitation.

Today (Monday 3 September), the Home Secretary set out the scale of online child sexual exploitation (CSE), with a 700% increase in child abuse images being referred to the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the last five years, up to 80,000 people in the UK presenting some kind of sexual threat to children online and material increasingly featuring younger and younger children.

In a speech at the headquarters of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) the Home Secretary vowed to lead the cross-Government effort in the response to the evolving threat of online CSE, including funding for law enforcement, intelligence agencies and a new prevention drive.

He called on the technology industry to work in partnership with each other and with government to stop online child sexual abuse, sharing solutions and best practice to improve the response.

In his speech, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said:

I’ve been impressed by the progress the likes of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and Apple have made on counter-terrorism.

Now I want to see the same level of commitment for child sexual exploitation. In recent years there has been some good work in this area. But the reality is that the threat has evolved quicker than industry’s response and industry has not kept up. And there are some companies that refuse to take it seriously.

I am not just asking for change, I am demanding it. And the people are demanding it too.

And if web giants do not take more measures to remove this type of content from their platforms, then I won’t be afraid to take action.

How far we legislate will be informed by the action and attitude that industry takes.

He said that he expects technology companies to:

• block child sexual abuse material as soon as companies detect it being uploaded
• stop child grooming taking place on their platforms
• work with government and law enforcement to shut down live-streamed child abuse
• for companies to be much more forward leaning in helping law enforcement agencies to deal with these types of crimes
• show a greater level of openness and transparency and a willingness to share best practice and technology between companies

Today, the Home Secretary announced an extra £21.5 million investment in law enforcement over the next 18 months to reduce the volume of offending and pursue the most hardened and dangerous abusers. The majority of this funding will go to UK law enforcement and intelligence agencies to tackle the most tech-savvy and dedicated abusers.

The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse estimates that 15% of girls and 5% of boys experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of 16 while NSPCC research shows some children are being groomed online and blackmailed to perform sexual acts in less than 45 minutes from initial contact.

Director General Lynne Owens at the NCA said:

There are a significant number of sophisticated offenders including those involved in grooming, streaming of live abuse and transnational sex offending, who are very dangerous. The NCA and the police prioritise these investigations to prosecute offenders and safeguard vulnerable children. However, investigators are facing a constant uphill struggle because of the significant numbers of offenders committing preventable crimes, such as viewing and sharing images and videos that are easily accessible online.

The technology exists for industry to design-out these offences and to stop this material from being viewed. Some online platforms have taken important steps to improve safety, but we are asking for more. We want industry to invest in preventing these online offences from happening in the first place. It is not just a matter for law enforcement. We need industry to make it harder for anyone to access indecent images on the internet.

A further £2.6 million will be made available for prevention work, including to the child protection charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation. The charity works to reduce demand for online sexual images of children and prevent offending before it occurs.

Chief Executive of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, Elaine McConnell said:

For the last 3 years we’ve been working to deter illegal online behaviour by highlighting to offenders and potential offenders that viewing or sharing sexual images of children is a crime, that it’s incredibly harmful to the children in the images and that the consequences of the behaviour are serious.

Not all offenders want to stop – but we know many do, and we know that with our help they can change their behaviour – the challenge for us is reaching them. We would welcome more collaborative working with tech companies to spread deterrence messages and signpost to our services.

With funding from the Home Office announced today, we will be able to answer more calls through our confidential ‘Stop it Now!’ helpline to reduce offending, reduce demand for images, and protect more children.

To further support the response the Home Secretary also outlined measures to support law enforcement to track down offenders, build children’s resilience, prevent abuse occurring and support victims. These include:

• the Home Secretary will be convening a meeting of industry experts in the US, in partnership with Microsoft to challenge companies to work together to come up with tools to detect online child grooming which will then be offered for free to other companies
• £250,000 being made available to support new ideas on how to detect and disrupt live streaming of abuse
• concerted international co-operation at the next Five Country Ministerial – a major meeting of the Five Eyes security partners – which will be held in London in 2019, focusing on targeting online CSE
• a new international network of Government advisers on serious and organised crime who will be stationed around the world and will help coordinate and drive action to tackle child sexual abuse in different regions
• a working group will be established with business and the advertising industry to look at stopping profit being generated from adverts on child abuse websites

The measures outlined by the Home Secretary builds on the government’s substantial investment since 2015 in UK law enforcement capabilities to tackle child sexual exploitation. This includes:

• nearly doubling the number of officers in the National Crime Agency combatting CSE
• investing £600,000 in Project Arachnid – a ground-breaking piece of technology that helps identify and remove Child Sexual Abuse material from the internet. It’s already crawled 1.3 billion web pages for suspected child sexual abuse material, analysed 51 billion images and issued more than 800,000 takedown notices
• establishing the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to thoroughly examine the extent to which institutions in England and Wales have done their job at protecting children
• announcing that relationship education will be made mandatory in primary schools as well as teaching children at every level about staying safe online
• awarding 11 councils £13 million through the Trusted Relationships Fund to protect vulnerable children from exploitation and abuse

Innovative reforms to immigration detention in the UK were announced by the Home Secretary Sajid Javid today, Tuesday 24 July.

The announcement comes in response to Stephen Shaw’s second review of the government’s approach to vulnerable people in immigration detention which looks at progress the government has made since his first report in 2016.

The measures announced include commitments to work with charities, faith groups, communities and other stakeholders to develop alternatives to detention, strengthening support for vulnerable detainees and increasing transparency around immigration detention.

In addition, the reforms will improve facilities in immigration removal centres. These include an immediate stop to the practice of three detainees occupying rooms originally designed for 2, piloting the use of Skype, and reviewing the training and support for staff in immigration removal centres so that they can work with detainees more closely.

The Home Secretary also announced that he would review how time limited detention works in other countries, to build an evidence base to better inform the debate in the UK. And while currently detainees have an automatic bail hearing every 4 months, the government will pilot an additional bail referral after 2 months.

Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, said:

Detention is an important part of the immigration system – but it must be fair, dignified and protect the most vulnerable.

We have made significant improvements to our approach in recent years, but it is clear we can go further.

Under these reforms, we will work with our partners to develop alternatives to detention. We will also improve support for the most vulnerable, introduce a new drive on dignity in detention and be more transparent.

My ultimate goal is to ensure that our immigration system – including our approach to detention – is effective and humane.

The Home Office has already started working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to develop new pilot schemes, including an initial one to allow vulnerable women to be managed in the community, where they would otherwise be liable for detention.

Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UK Representative said:

UNHCR appreciates the increased efforts to review detention use in the UK, including the work of Stephen Shaw on the treatment of vulnerable detainees.

We welcome the recent reduction in the use of immigration detention, and encourage the Government to continue this trend. Community-based, case management alternatives provide an effective means of resolving immigration and asylum cases without detention.

UNHCR is grateful for the Home Office’s commitment to introducing alternatives to detention and will seek to intensify collaboration in this area. This work should help further reduce the use of detention, and provide better support and outcomes for those stuck in the immigration system.

To increase support for vulnerable detainees, the Home Office will amend the Adults at Risk policy so it differentiates more strongly between cases to make sure those with the most complex needs receive the right attention and care.

Finally, the Home Secretary has committed to publish more data on the immigration system. Alongside this, he is commissioning a new annual report by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration to assess progress on the adults at risk policy.

NHS workers, university staff and students in the North West of England will be taking part in a private pilot of the new application process for the EU Settlement Scheme.

In a managed live trial, EU citizens working at 12 NHS Trusts, and students and staff from 3 Liverpool universities, will be invited to make real applications for settled status through the new digital process.

It will allow those working on the scheme to test the system using real applicants and make improvements ahead of the launch of the scheme’s phased rollout towards the end of 2018.

Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes said:

EU citizens make a huge contribution to our economy and to our society and we want them to stay.

The EU Settlement Scheme will make it easy for EU citizens to get the status they need, and when it is launched they will only need to complete three key steps – prove their identity, show that that they live in the UK, and declare any criminal convictions.

We are inviting a small group of EU citizens to make an application to help us ensure the system will be ready when the rollout begins later this year.

This private pilot, which follows the standard approach for the launch of new Government services, will begin on 28 August 2018.

The initial pilot phase will be accessible by invite only. Up to 4,000 applicants will be able to apply on a voluntary basis.

Assuming they are eligible, all those who go through the process will be granted settled status.

Certain features to be included in the settlement scheme application process will not be available. Applicants will need to attend an appointment with a Home Office representative who will help to take them through the online application process.

The 12 NHS Trusts and three Universities that are taking part in the private beta phase starting from 28 August are:

• Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
• Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust
• Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust
• The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust
• The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
• Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• Liverpool Hope University
• Liverpool John Moores University
• The University of Liverpool

The ‘UKRI Science, Research and Academia’ scheme allows non-EEA researchers, scientists and academics to come to the UK for up to 2 years.

The new ‘UKRI Science, Research and Academia’ scheme, which allows non-EEA researchers, scientists and academics to come to the UK for up to 2 years, opens today (Friday 6 July), the Immigration Minister has announced.

The new scheme, which is being added to the Tier 5 (Temporary Worker – Government Authorised Exchange (GAE)) visa route, has been introduced to reflect and encourage the ongoing growth of the research sector in the UK.

It will be operated by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and will mean that they, along with 12 approved research organisations, such as the Natural History Museum, are able to directly sponsor highly skilled individuals, such as specialist technicians, to work and train in the UK.

The sponsor organisations will be monitored by UKRI as the scheme owner and they will also require individual Tier 5 sponsor licences.

Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes, said:

I recognise the crucial contribution science makes to the UK economy and society and I am determined that the UK will continue to welcome leading scientific and research talent from around the world.

The UK is a world leader in research and innovation and these changes will make it easier for international researchers to work and train in the UK.

We must have an immigration system that makes sure we can attract leading international talent and benefit from their knowledge and expertise.

UKRI brings together the 7 research councils, Innovate UK and Research England.

UKRI chief executive Professor Sir Mark Walport, said:

Research and innovation is inherently international, as are the unprecedented 21st century challenges we must address.

Global collaboration through the movement of talented people plays an essential role in meeting these challenges and this new scheme will provide further support for international researchers to work and train in the UK.

The Tier 5 GAE is the principal visa route by which non-EEA nationals who wish to undertake training and work experience are able to come to the UK. The route allows individuals entering the UK through this scheme to stay for up to 2 years.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will monitor the activity of the scheme on a regular basis with UKRI, to provide assurance that it is meeting the criteria for a Tier 5 scheme.

This initiative demonstrates the government’s commitment to making the UK a dynamic, open, globally-trading nation and builds on other recent reforms to the visa system, including:

• doubling the number of visas available on the Exceptional Talent route to 2,000 per year
• a new Start-up visa route which will replace the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) route and widen the pool of candidates who can apply to launch a new business in the UK beyond graduates endorsed by higher education institutions
• removing doctors and nurses from the Tier 2 cap

The UK is more than half way towards meeting its commitment to resettle 20,000 people through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) by 2020.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/over-10000-refugees-resettled-in-the-uk-under-flagship-scheme

There are ways that you or your organisation can help refugees.

https://helprefugees.campaign.gov.uk/

The current registration requirements for Croatian workers will expire on 30 June bringing their rights to work in Britain in line with other EU citizens.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/restrictions-on-croatian-workers-to-expire-in-june