Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what data they hold on (1) the number of applications for indefinite leave to remain made under Immigration Rules Appendix ECAA which are currently awaiting decision, and (2) the number of grants of indefinite leave to remain under that route in the most recent six-month period for which data are available.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Leave granted under the European Community Association Agreement (ECAA) allows people, largely Turkish nationals, to work or establish businesses in the UK.

The Home Office does not publish information on ECAA applications awaiting decision.

The Home Office does not publish information specifically relating to grants of Indefinite Leave to Remain under the ECAA route.

However, from the immigration statistics published for the calendar year ending December 2025, it was noted that the published data on grants of Settlement under the Work Permit holder category largely relates to persons granted leave under the ECAA route. The published statistics for the year ending December 2025 show that there were 6,367 Settlement grants for Work Permit holders, an increase of 72% on the previous 12 months.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 6 March (HL14995), what assessment they have made of the position set out in the Written Statement by the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on 7 March 2019 (HCWS1392) when considering whether the earned settlement proposals set out in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement (CP 1448), published 20 November 2025, should apply to individuals holding leave under Appendix European Communities Association Agreement.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are continuing to review and analyse the 200,000 responses received during the earned settlement consultation ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’ (CP 1448), which will help inform development of the final model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures for those already on a pathway to settlement.

Once that is decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the latest date by which the consultation process would need to begin in order for section 106 of the Equality Act 2010 to be implemented before the next expected general election in 2029.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

I refer the Noble Lady to the answer given to PQ HC122818 on 24th March 2026:

Question: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2026 to Question 117942, which stakeholders she plans to engage with on the commencement of Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010; and what her planned timeline is for that engagement process.

Answer: As stated in our answer of 16 March 2026, the Government is committed to commencing section 106 of the Equality Act 2010, requiring registered political parties to publish anonymised data relating to the diversity of their candidate selections in accordance with regulations.

Office for Equality and Opportunity officials are currently exploring when and how to commence the provision under section 106.

Careful consideration needs to be given to how it might be implemented, the necessary supporting regulations and whether any phasing might be needed in implementation.

Officials will consult with stakeholders, including political parties, in due course.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what engagement they have undertaken on implementation of section 106 of the Equality Act 2010 prior to the establishment of a formal consultation process.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

I refer the Noble Lady to the answer given to PQ HC122818 on 24th March 2026:

Question: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2026 to Question 117942, which stakeholders she plans to engage with on the commencement of Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010; and what her planned timeline is for that engagement process.

Answer: As stated in our answer of 16 March 2026, the Government is committed to commencing section 106 of the Equality Act 2010, requiring registered political parties to publish anonymised data relating to the diversity of their candidate selections in accordance with regulations.

Office for Equality and Opportunity officials are currently exploring when and how to commence the provision under section 106.

Careful consideration needs to be given to how it might be implemented, the necessary supporting regulations and whether any phasing might be needed in implementation.

Officials will consult with stakeholders, including political parties, in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many families will not benefit, or not benefit fully, from the removal of the two child limit on Universal Credit because (1) they are receiving transitional protection following migration to Universal Credit, and (2) their council tax reduction is adversely affected.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not readily available, and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. The department does not hold information on Council Tax Reduction awards.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of proposed changes under the Fairer Pathway to Settlement consultation on demand for independent immigration advice services; and what steps they are taking to ensure those services have sufficient workforce capacity to meet that demand.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Proposals for introducing an earned settlement model, as set out in the Command Paper “A Fairer Pathway to Settlement” (CP1448), were subject to a public consultation, which opened on 20 November 2025 and closed on 12 February 2026.

We are now reviewing and analysing all responses received. Implementation of the earned settlement arrangements will be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish the advice they received from the Propriety, Ethics and Constitution team in the Cabinet Office before launching the Family Returns: Reforming Asylum Support and Enforcing Family Returns consultation on 5 March, in line with the Cabinet Office's 2018 Consultation Principles.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office did not receive any advice from the Propriety, Ethics and Constitution team in the Cabinet Office prior to launching the Family Returns: Reforming Asylum Support and Enforcing Family Returns consultation on 5 March. This team provides advice on the interpretation of the Consultation Principles, but not on how to run specific consultations.

The consultation was developed and launched in line with the Cabinet Office’s Consultation Principles, including ensuring clarity of scope, openness to a wide range of views and appropriate duration. The consultation document sets out clearly the proposals under consideration, the questions on which views are sought and how responses will be used.

As no such advice was received, there are no plans to publish it.

Found: George’s, University of London; Edward McPherson, Senior Consultant, WPI Economics; Baroness Lister of Burtersett