Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they made an equality impact assessment of the proposals in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, published on 20 November; if so, when they plan to publish that assessment; and, if not, why not.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The proposed earned settlement policy is currently subject to a public consultation. This was launched on 20 November and is due to close on 12 February 2026.
This public consultation directly asks for opinions on how English language proficiency should be assessed. This, and the wider details of the earned settlement policy, will be finalised in light of the information collected in that consultation.
An equality impact assessment has been developed alongside the policy. There are specific questions in relation to equalities as part of the consultation to inform the final equality impact assessment, which A Fairer Pathway to Settlement has already committed to publishing in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they will assess the standard of English proposed in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, published on 20 November.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The proposed earned settlement policy is currently subject to a public consultation. This was launched on 20 November and is due to close on 12 February 2026.
This public consultation directly asks for opinions on how English language proficiency should be assessed. This, and the wider details of the earned settlement policy, will be finalised in light of the information collected in that consultation.
An equality impact assessment has been developed alongside the policy. There are specific questions in relation to equalities as part of the consultation to inform the final equality impact assessment, which A Fairer Pathway to Settlement has already committed to publishing in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria they use to decide which asylum seekers will be returned to France under the 'one in, one out' scheme.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Regarding returning people to France, any individual who arrives on a small boat may be eligible to be detained and returned to France.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to introduce new earned income disregards for Housing Benefit claimants in supported housing.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department will be introducing new earned income disregards for Housing Benefit claimants in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation from Autumn 2026. This will help smooth the transition between the two benefit systems and remove the financial cliff edge for individuals in supported housing and temporary accommodation.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the new Crisis and Resilience Fund will count as public funds under the 'no recourse to public funds' rule.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Crisis and Resilience Fund will fall within the definition of public funds. We plan to publish scheme guidance in January 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which proposals in (1) Restoring Order and Control (CP1418), published on 17 November, and (2) A Fairer Pathway to Settlement (CP1448) will be implemented by (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
For the policies set out in both Restoring Order and Control and A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, legislative plans will be set out in due course. In the case of A Fairer Pathway to Settlement this will follow the current public consultation, which will allow for specific policy details to be finalised.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which proposals in Restoring Order and Control (CP1418), published on 17 November, will be subject to consultation and what will be the timing of any such consultations.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Three of the measures in ‘Restoring Order and Control’ will be subject to consultation. They are:
Other areas will involve engagement with relevant stakeholders.
Updates on these consultations will follow in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to involve organisations working to tackle youth homelessness in their review of value for money of homelessness services; and what is the timeline of that review.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Building on the recommendations of the Office for Value for Money, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury will lead a process with Secretaries of State to review how to improve value for money across homelessness services. The review will commence in 2026, with the outputs considered as part of the Spending Review 2027.
To drive meaningful change, the review will be a collaborative effort across government departments and we will consider where and how external expertise can be utilised as part of this to ensure a comprehensive assessment.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the new Crisis and Resilience Fund guidance will make furniture and appliance provision an integral part of the support offered by local authorities to those lacking essential furniture.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
My Department has engaged with stakeholders on the design of the Crisis and Resilience Fund through a structured co-design process involving a representative group of local authorities, third-party organisations and academics. We are considering all feedback received through this process, and we plan to publish guidance in January 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of furniture provision, through the Crisis and Resilience Fund, on the likelihood of low-income households entering unmanageable debt.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
My Department has engaged with stakeholders on the design of the Crisis and Resilience Fund through a structured co-design process including furniture provision. We are considering all feedback received through this process, and we plan to publish guidance in January 2026.