Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for skilled worker visa applications and renewals.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

All straightforward skilled worker visa applications are being processed within our advertised service standard. If customers wish to receive a quicker response, they have the option of selecting a priority service on which there is no cap.

With regards to undefined certificates of sponsorship (CoS), we have recently reduced our core service standard by a third and increased priority slots by a minimum of 100 per week. These are also being processed within their service standard.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's statement entitled Latest statement in response to small boat crossings, published on 6 February 2026, what is the (a) source material and (b) evidential basis for the illegal migrants statistic; what period of time does the statistics cover; and whether it is a statistics produced by the (a) UK Government and (b) French Government.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Statistics relating to the number of illegal migrants prevented from attempting to cross the channel is published on GOV.UK at -

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats

As explained in the notes to the dataset: data on preventions are operational estimates collected and provided to the Home Office by French authorities. The prevention data includes: individuals who are prevented from departing France, or those who return to France, finds of general maritime equipment, and arrests of facilitators linked to small boats crossings. Preventions data has been routinely captured since May 2024.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of recognising school examinations as grounds to delay a long-distance move of families between asylum accommodations.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Accommodation is offered on a no-choice basis across the United Kingdom.

However, as set out in the Allocation of Asylum Accommodation policy, accommodation may be temporarily arranged in a certain location where a child has started their final school or college year leading up to their GCSE, Scottish Highers, AS or A levels, provided they have been enrolled at that school for a significant part of the previous school year.

All asylum seekers, including individuals who have specific reasons for wishing to be located in a particular area, have access to a 24/7 AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) service provided for the Home Office by Migrant Help where they can raise any concerns regarding accommodation or support services, and they can get information about how to obtain further support.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a family's long-distance move between asylum accommodations when the child is taking major exams such as GCSEs on that child's education.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Accommodation is offered on a no-choice basis across the United Kingdom.

However, as set out in the Allocation of Asylum Accommodation policy, accommodation may be temporarily arranged in a certain location where a child has started their final school or college year leading up to their GCSE, Scottish Highers, AS or A levels, provided they have been enrolled at that school for a significant part of the previous school year.

All asylum seekers, including individuals who have specific reasons for wishing to be located in a particular area, have access to a 24/7 AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) service provided for the Home Office by Migrant Help where they can raise any concerns regarding accommodation or support services, and they can get information about how to obtain further support.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has reviewed any individual requests to postpone a move between asylum accommodations in the case of a child undertaking examinations in the last year.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Accommodation is offered on a no-choice basis across the United Kingdom.

However, as set out in the Allocation of Asylum Accommodation policy, accommodation may be temporarily arranged in a certain location where a child has started their final school or college year leading up to their GCSE, Scottish Highers, AS or A levels, provided they have been enrolled at that school for a significant part of the previous school year.

All asylum seekers, including individuals who have specific reasons for wishing to be located in a particular area, have access to a 24/7 AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) service provided for the Home Office by Migrant Help where they can raise any concerns regarding accommodation or support services, and they can get information about how to obtain further support.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of withdrawing accommodation as proposed in the Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum-Seekers) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 on local authorities.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The policy's intention is to ensure compliance with the conditions of support and permission to work rules and only remove support from those who breach these rules. The responsibility to support asylum seekers remains with the Home Office, and this responsibility does not transfer to local authorities.

Illegal working is a criminal offence that undercuts legitimate businesses and workers. This measure is about removing the incentive of benefiting from taxpayer funded support while working illegally. It is designed to ensure the system remains fair, sustainable, and focused on those in genuine need of support, and those who comply with the rules of the asylum system.

Those who work without permission are working outside of formal employment structures and without legal protections. Some employers will take advantage of this, putting those who work illegally at risk of being exploited.

This is not about punishing those who are vulnerable or at risk of exploitation. This is about maintaining fairness in the system. Allowing illegal working with no consequences can lead to exploitation.

Clear conditions and consequences around illegal working also play an important role in deterring poor behaviour in the first place, helping individuals understand from the outset what is expected of them while they are receiving asylum support.

Any decision to withdraw support from someone who is suspected of working illegally will be made on a case-by-case basis. Existing protections remain in place. If exploitation is identified, safeguarding takes priority. Support will not be withdrawn from potential victims of exploitation, and referrals will be made to the appropriate services.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to reduce factors that encourage migrants to arrive illegally.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is clear that there are no simple “pull factors” driving irregular migration; rather, flows are driven by complex global pressures including conflict, persecution and smuggling networks. Nonetheless, we are acting decisively to reduce incentives to travel illegally, including by accelerating asylum decision-making, ending the use of hotels, strengthening returns, and working with international partners to disrupt criminal gangs.

These measures are underpinned by wider reforms set out in the Government’s Restoring Order and Control programme, which will deliver a firm but fair asylum system, restore control of our borders, and ensure that protection is provided through safe and legal routes rather than dangerous crossings.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of using modular buildings to reduce reliance on hotels for asylum accommodation.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are actively exploring all viable options so we can reduce reliance on hotels, including using modular buildings and ex-military sites.

We’ve learned important lessons from inherited decisions made by the previous government. These are now informing our future site acquisition strategy to ensure better planning, stronger community engagement, and more sustainable outcomes.

We will ensure that any development is safe, appropriate, and compliant with planning regulations.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 14 April 2026 to Question 124428 on Visas: Skilled Workers, what steps she is taking to review the oversubscription of priority services for changes of visa sponsorship for skilled workers.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

All straightforward skilled worker visa applications are being processed within our advertised service standard. If customers wish to receive a quicker response, they have the option of selecting a priority service on which there is no cap.

With regards to undefined certificates of sponsorship (CoS), we have recently reduced our core service standard by a third and increased priority slots by a minimum of 100 per week. These are also being processed within their service standard.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum-Seekers) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 on victims of human trafficking.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The policy's intention is to ensure compliance with the conditions of support and permission to work rules and only remove support from those who breach these rules. The responsibility to support asylum seekers remains with the Home Office, and this responsibility does not transfer to local authorities.

Illegal working is a criminal offence that undercuts legitimate businesses and workers. This measure is about removing the incentive of benefiting from taxpayer funded support while working illegally. It is designed to ensure the system remains fair, sustainable, and focused on those in genuine need of support, and those who comply with the rules of the asylum system.

Those who work without permission are working outside of formal employment structures and without legal protections. Some employers will take advantage of this, putting those who work illegally at risk of being exploited.

This is not about punishing those who are vulnerable or at risk of exploitation. This is about maintaining fairness in the system. Allowing illegal working with no consequences can lead to exploitation.

Clear conditions and consequences around illegal working also play an important role in deterring poor behaviour in the first place, helping individuals understand from the outset what is expected of them while they are receiving asylum support.

Any decision to withdraw support from someone who is suspected of working illegally will be made on a case-by-case basis. Existing protections remain in place. If exploitation is identified, safeguarding takes priority. Support will not be withdrawn from potential victims of exploitation, and referrals will be made to the appropriate services.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of immigration from people who do not have visa-free access to the UK in their home country but use golden visa arrangements to enter through a third-party country which does have visa-free agreements with the UK.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

‘Golden visas’ do not in themselves confer nationality, and thus do not automatically grant visa-free access to the UK. They grant residence in the issuing country only. While such schemes do carry risk as they can lead to the granting of citizenship over time, this typically requires a sustained period of lawful residence.

The UK’s visa system, including the Visa National List, is kept under regular review to ensure it operates in the national interest. Decisions on visa requirements, including which nationalities may travel visa-free or instead require permission (such as an Electronic Travel Authorisation), are based on a range of factors. These include security, compliance, returns cooperation and wider prosperity considerations.

Citizenship by Investment (CBI), or so-called “golden passport”, programmes differ from residence-based investment routes in that they offer a direct pathway to a new nationality, in some cases offering visa free access to the UK. The Government keeps the risks associated with such programmes under close review. Where appropriate, action is taken through the visa system. This has included the introduction of visit visa requirements for countries operating CBI programmes: Nauru (2025) and Saint Lucia (2026, principally for asylum abuse, with CBI a supporting factor).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of how many more staff her Department will need to review refugee status for every refugee, every two and a half years, for 20 years.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Only those who remain on core protection will have their protection needs regularly reviewed, not every refugee. Such reviews will also be efficient and targeted; we will reassess where country conditions or personal circumstances have changed significantly.

We will also build on the efficiencies that have already seen record levels of initial decisions being made, including use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which are already assisting asylum decision makers to make fast and effective decisions.

We will continue to monitor staffing levels and will deploy our workforce flexibly subject to business needs as we have done in the past.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the policy of the Home Office on (a) awarding and (b) extending visas to foreign citizens who have been elected in the United Kingdom as an elected representative to a local authority or devolved legislature, but who otherwise do not have a basis for remaining in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office does not operate a specific immigration route or policy for foreign nationals elected to public office in the United Kingdom.

Individuals must qualify for permission to enter or remain under the Immigration Rules in their own right, and there is no exemption for those elected to local authorities or devolved legislatures.

Applications to extend permission to stay must meet the requirements of an appropriate immigration route under the Immigration Rules. Individuals who do not have a lawful basis to remain in the UK are expected to leave the UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the immigration status of Q Manivannan MSP, and what type of visa does Q Manivannan currently hold.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases or disclose personal immigration details.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on (a) trends in the level of suicide among young asylum seekers in the last five years and (b) the adequacy of cross-departmental working on safeguarding for these young people.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Secretary engages regularly with ministerial colleagues across government on a range of issues relating to asylum, including safeguarding and the welfare of vulnerable individuals.

The Home Office works closely with the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care, and other partners at both ministerial and official level to support effective safeguarding arrangements and share information on risks affecting asylum seekers.

Where an individual is in the care of a local authority as a looked after child under its statutory duties in the Children Act 1989, that authority is responsible for considering and addressing all relevant matters linked to those duties, including risk assessment and safeguarding.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made any assessment of the financial impact on students and families that experienced delays in the processing of initial BN(O) Visa applications, and/or delays in processing indefinite leave to remain applications.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

There is a published service standard of 12 weeks for straightforward applications under the Hong Kong BN(O) Visa and Leave to Remain routes. For applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain the service standard for straightforward applications is 6 months. Priority services are also available for eligible applications.

The Home Office publishes data on performance against service standards in its quarterly immigration system statistics, available at: Visas, status and immigration data: October to December 2025. The most recent data on the Hong Kong BN(O) route covers Quarter 3 of 2025 and shows that 97.45% of straightforward standard visa applications and 98.89% of straightforward standard Leave to Remain applications were decided within 12 weeks. Performance on the Indefinite Leave to Remain route is not included in the published statistics for 2025, though the vast majority of these applications under the Hong Kong BN(O) route were not due to be received until 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps are being taken to ensure that, following the changes to dual-nationality, processing times and document requirements for passport applications remain consistent.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

There have been no changes to the customer guidance for when to expect to receive a passport, or any additional evidence required in support of a passport application, following the enforcement of Electronic Travel Authorisation in February 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claims were granted to people in polygamous marriages in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

It is government policy to prevent the formation of polygamous and polyandrous marriages in the UK. Only one spouse can be included as a dependant, with any subsequent spouses being unable to apply as a partner unless the other spouse has died or the marriage has been dissolved, in accordance with Section 2 of the Immigration Act 1988 and paragraphs 278-279 of the Immigration Rules.

There is no prescribed format of how a polygamous marriage would be recorded in an asylum claim. Therefore, the information requested is not recorded in a reportable format and could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what target figure for asylum dispersal has been given for a) South Holland District and b) South Kesteven district.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Since 2022, the Home Office has adopted a policy of Full Dispersal, which works to ensure that asylum accommodation is equitably distributed across the country and that a small number of Local Authorities are not unduly burdened.

Delivery of Full Dispersal is supported by the Asylum Accommodation Plans for each local authority nationally. Development of the plans was informed by feedback provided by local authorities, Strategic Migration Partners (SMPs) the Local Government Association as well as other Government Departments. Furthermore, they are underpinned by an indexing model which considers a number of social factors, including crime rates, levels of homelessness and availability of GPs and dentists. Details of the Asylum Accommodation Plans, including the Service User Demand Plans, are shared with nominated local authority officials and progress is routinely monitored within regular official forums jointly attended by local authority, Home Office, accommodation providers and SMPs colleagues.

The Home Office routinely publishes data on the number of supported asylum seekers in asylum accommodation, broken down by local authority which be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many properties a) her department and b) Clearsprings Ready Homes Ltd have acquired in England for asylum dispersal since July 2024.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The procurement of asylum accommodation nationally is managed via contracted accommodation providers that each have specific regions of focus. Details of the Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts (AASC) are published in the public domain and can be found on contract finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

Local authorities are consulted prior to the procurement of every dispersal property to be used as asylum accommodation, offering them the opportunity to provide useful local intelligence and context to inform procurement decisions. Details of the live dispersal estate in each local authority, including numbers of properties, are shared with nominated local authority officials who are offered the opportunity to routinely engage with both Home Office and accommodation provider officials to raise any issues and/or concerns.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support border and immigration officials to deal with people coming to the UK with possible cases of the Ebola virus.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The current Ebola outbreak poses a low risk to the UK population. Border Force officers adhere to Home Office Communicable Disease guidance, which outlines the most common infections that may be acquired from animals, plants, and other sources. In the event of any suspected exposure to any communicable disease, containment would be an immediate priority, with local health and emergency services engaged to manage and treat the situation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the National Crime Agency has received any Suspicious Activity Reports relating to (a) cryptocurrency donations to UK politicians or (b) donations to UK politicians from individuals with cryptocurrency assets.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence

For confidentiality and operational security reasons, the National Crime Agency does not comment on individual Suspicious Activity Reports.

On 25 March the Government published the Rycroft Review into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics. The Government has accepted the recommendation from the Review for a moratorium on the use of cryptoassets as political donations, and plans to table amendments to the Representation of the People Bill so that any political donations made via cryptoassets from 25 March 2026 must be returned.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne receives Government funded transport.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence

The Home Office, Parliamentary Security Department (PSD) and the police work closely to ensure the safety and security of MPs in Westminster and in their constituencies. PSD is responsible for providing a range of security measures for Members of Parliament (MPs).

It is the Home Office’s long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on individual MPs’ security arrangements, as doing so could compromise the integrity and safety of individuals.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne receives Government funded security.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence

The Home Office, Parliamentary Security Department (PSD) and the police work closely to ensure the safety and security of MPs in Westminster and in their constituencies.

PSD is responsible for providing security measures for Members of Parliament (MPs). These security measures are kept under review.

It is the Home Office’s long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on individual MPs’ security arrangements, as doing so could compromise the integrity and safety of individuals.

Found: If enacted, this is likely to have a chilling effect on Local Authorities, the Home Office and other

Found: the retail sector HC 355 8th Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage HC 351 7th Asylum accommodation: Home Office

Found: B3: Evidence of age and death Minor amendment to insert an additional example “Home Office immigration

Found: This leads to the conclusion (which has also been confirmed by the Home Office), that the status is

Found: Note: As long as the Home Office have carried out an extensive examination of the personal circumstance

Found: This commitment is being implemented via a change to the Home Office Immigration Rules under Appendix

Found: The Home Office Consequential SI saves the Imm (EEA) Regs 2016 and other relevant legislation (with

Found: This leads to the conclusion (which has also been confirmed by the Home Office), that the status is

Found: Transition period please refer to the memos on the Withdrawal Agreement Act (Memo DMG 30/20), Home Office

Found: Where DMs come across such claimants, they should be signposted to the Home Office. 22 This Home Office

Found: They all hold Leave to Remain with recourse to public funds as granted by the Home Office.

Found: covers other types of leave granted outside of the Rules such as the LOTR leave granted by the Home Office

Found: Additionally, they are protected if they are appealing a Home Office (HO) refusal decision to grant

Found: arrived in the UK under one of the following relocation and resettlement schemes established by the Home Office

Found: Where DMs come across such claimants, they should be signposted to the Home Office. 29 This Home Office

Found: (1)(b) Background 4 As part of the Immigration and Social Security Coordination Act 2020, the Home Office

Found: They all hold Leave to Remain with recourse to public funds as granted by the Home Office.

Found: Immunodeficiency Virus HM Her Majesty HMF Her Majesty's Forces HMRC Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs HO Home Office

Found: Customer Service, Pensions Centre): Home Office / Usual Place of Work: Have you had the appropriate

Found: Social & Labour)Mrs Hanna Regina Hilbrans-Burmeister m Counsellor (Consular) Exchange Officer at Home Office

Found: The Home Office has published Green Book supplementary guidance on the social costs of different offences

Found: The Home Office (2003) and Volunteer Development Agency (2001) find rates of informal volunteering in

Found: and whose relationship has broken down due to domestic violence have been able to apply to the Home Office

Found: relating to homosexual offences and acts of prostitution performed by both sexes1; the chair to the Home Office

Found: . ; the chair to the Home Office Committee was Sir John Wolfenden.

Found: The MOD can request the police, through the Home Office, implement a Prohibitive Place under the Official

Found: UKHSA is working closely with the FCDO, the Home Office, and Border Force to trace further individuals

Found: UKHSA is working closely with the FCDO, the Home Office, and Border Force to trace further individuals

Found: The Home Office and ONS have agreed that while the CoLP is fully transitioning to using this new system

Found: govuk-template--rebranded" lang="en">