Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many illegal immigrants are currently being housed in Northern Ireland; and what steps are being taken to process their cases.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
In accordance with the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide destitute asylum seekers with accommodation and subsistence support whilst their application for asylum is being considered.
Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK
The Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives, including innovative tooling to speed up decision-making, reduce the time people spend in the asylum system, decrease the number of people awaiting an interview or decision, and improve the quality and consistency of our work. Our efforts span the entire asylum journey and will enable us to maximise capacity and progress cases in a more efficient and cost-effective way. We have taken action to speed up asylum processing so that asylum seekers do not wait months or years, at vast expense to the taxpayer, for a decision. The number of outstanding asylum decisions is falling, and we continue to make good progress.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will commit to publishing regular, local authority–level data on asylum accommodation in HMOs, including numbers, capacity and duration of use.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
For the safety and security of those we accommodate and staff, it is our longstanding policy not to disclose information about sites which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 to Question 93579 on Asylum: Spelthorne, if she will set out how the Asylum Accommodation Plans take into account the number of asylum seekers accommodated in hotels when determining the balance of the distribution of asylum seekers across local authorities across the UK.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Asylum Accommodation Plans ensure a fair and balanced distribution of asylum seekers across local authorities by considering existing accommodation pressures. Dispersal accommodation aims to replace hotels, using an evidence-based model, supported by local authority engagement and strategic planning.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the location, size and occupancy of HMOs used for asylum accommodation by local authority area.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
For the safety and security of those we accommodate and staff, it is our longstanding policy not to disclose information about sites which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what weekly financial support is provided to asylum seekers, including cash payments and vouchers; and how many people receive this support.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The level of the allowance given to those supported under section 95 and section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is reviewed each year to ensure it covers an asylum seeker’s “essential living needs”. Full details of the items that are considered essential are set out in Asylum support: What you'll get - GOV.UK.
The Home Office publishes data on asylum seekers in receipt of Home Office support, by support type, in table Asy_D09 of the Immigration System Statistics release. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2025. Further details can be found on Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the annual cost of asylum (a) support payments, (b) accommodation and (c) associated services.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The full cost of asylum support is disclosed in the Departments published Annual Report and Accounts and includes support payments, accommodation and all other support services.
A link to the text on the 2024-25 Home Office Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) relating to Asylum Support can be found at this link Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025 (on page 75).
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many HMOs on the Isle of Wight are currently licensed for use as asylum accommodation; what the capacity of each is; and how many asylum seekers are currently housed in each property.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is not currently using HMOs on the Isle of Wight to accommodate asylum accommodation.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many enforcement actions have been taken against providers of HMOs used for asylum accommodation on the Isle of Wight in the last five years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is not currently using HMOs on the Isle of Wight to accommodate asylum accommodation.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds data on all Home Office contractors and subcontractors operating HMOs for asylum accommodation on the Isle of Wight.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is not currently using HMOs on the Isle of Wight to accommodate asylum accommodation.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit Annual Report 2024, published in December 2025, what actions her Department will be taking to increase the number of unannounced inspections of establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is fully committed to continuous improvement in regulation and strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader in science and innovation. As part of this, the Home Office is in the final stages of delivering a comprehensive programme of regulatory reform to strengthen the Animals in Science Regulation Unit to retain confidence and maintain robust compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA).
As part of this programme, the number of inspectors will increase from 14.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions at the end of 2017 to 22 FTE positions by March 2026.
Audit is based on assessing compliance through organisational governance to encourage greater commitment to compliance. The Regulator’s audit programme for compliance assurance purposes is delivered in accordance with the requirements defined in ASPA.
As part of the regulatory reform programme, the Regulator will be updating its audit programme, which is scheduled for release later in 2026.