Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average time taken to process applications for asylum and refugee status; how many applications are outstanding; and what is the longest outstanding time of a current application.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum on gov.uk as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision is published in Asy_D03 of the asylum detailed tables. As at 31 March 2025, there were 78,745 cases awaiting an initial decision.
The average time taken to process claims is not currently available from published statistics and could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at a disproportionate cost. However, the Home Office publishes on gov.uk the age of cases awaiting an initial decision in table Asy_02 of the Immigration and Protection transparency data. As at 31 March 2025, 58% of cases that were awaiting an initial decision had been waiting for more than 6 months, and 31% of the total cases had been awaiting an initial decision for more than 12 months.
The longest outstanding time for a claim awaiting an initial decision is not currently available from published statistics and could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people who have no right to work are currently identified and referred within the National Referral Mechanism for modern slavery; and what is the average total annual cost of providing benefits for those who are in the National Referral Mechanism.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The requested data is not available form published statistics, and could only be collated for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
The Home Office funds the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC), which is contracted to spend £379 million over 5 years to provide specialist and statutorily mandated support to adult victims of exploitation and trafficking, in England and Wales. The MSVCC provides safe accommodation where necessary, financial support, and access to a support worker.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent reports of a large-scale killing targeting the Christian community in Benue State in Nigeria.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The motivations of the perpetrators behind these violent and shocking attacks are not fully known. There is no current evidence to suggest that the victims in the recent attacks in Benue state were targeted because of their religion. Whilst religious identity can play a role, farmer-herder conflicts are common in Nigeria with disputes often based on the loss of economic opportunity, historical grievances connected to competition over land and natural resources and disruption to traditional livelihoods created by environmental degradation.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Global Rights Compliance Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, published on 11 June, in particular the findings that China has expanded critical minerals operations in Xinjiang, and that the extraction industry relies on state-imposed forced labour programmes.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account. The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition.
The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment. The strategy will set the long term ambition of securing supply of critical minerals and harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream and recycling. It will also set out how this will be achieved by optimising domestic production and by working collaboratively with international partners to achieve this. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by Global Rights Compliance Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, published on 11 June, that supply chains of minerals from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are traced to global brands.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account. The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition.
The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment. The strategy will set the long term ambition of securing supply of critical minerals and harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream and recycling. It will also set out how this will be achieved by optimising domestic production and by working collaboratively with international partners to achieve this. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by Global Rights Compliance Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, published on 11 June, that China controls at least one stage of many key mineral value chains.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account. The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition.
The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment. The strategy will set the long term ambition of securing supply of critical minerals and harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream and recycling. It will also set out how this will be achieved by optimising domestic production and by working collaboratively with international partners to achieve this. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by Global Rights Compliance Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, published on 11 June, that output of titanium, magnesium and lithium from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is set to increase; and what action they are taking to decrease UK dependency on these products where slave labour has been used.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account. The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition.
The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment. The strategy will set the long term ambition of securing supply of critical minerals and harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream and recycling. It will also set out how this will be achieved by optimising domestic production and by working collaboratively with international partners to achieve this. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote peace-building, inclusive local governance and religious freedom across Myanmar’s diverse ethnic and religious landscape.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK supports the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and UN Special Envoys' efforts to seek stability and peace in Myanmar, including for ethnic and religious minorities. The Minister for Indo-Pacific met the UN Special Envoy, Julie Bishop, on 13 June and reiterated our support for the Myanmar people, including Rohingya.
We continue to discuss the political and humanitarian situation in Myanmar with a range of opposition stakeholders, including the National Unity Government (NUG) and a number of Ethnic Resistance Organisations (ERO).
Furthermore, UK Aid continue to support the role of civil society to promote peace and stability in Myanmar.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what actions they are taking to verify reports that the killing of 200 people in Benue was "highly organised", to establish who was responsible, and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Through the Strengthening Peace and Resilience Programme (SPRiNG) programme, the UK continues to support initiatives to enhance the capacity of state institutions and community groups to arrest and prosecute perpetrators. This includes partnering with the Kukah Centre to strengthen the capacity of the Benue Civil Protection Guard. Through our UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (SDP), we are working with Nigeria's security forces to tackle insecurity and violence against civilian communities, including those of different religious backgrounds and belief systems. At the last UK-Nigeria SDP dialogue in February 2024, the UK welcomed a commitment from Nigeria on timely, effective and human rights compliant investigations of, and prosecutions for, terrorism crimes. Investigating and prosecuting those responsible for the attack in Benue is a matter for the Nigerian authorities.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Nigeria about the large-scale killing targeting the Christian community in Benue State in Nigeria on 13 June.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has not yet had any conversations about the violent attacks on 13 June. However, on 10 June, UK officials met with the member of the House of Representatives for a constituency in Benue State to discuss the root causes of insecurity in Benue state. In addition, the UK regularly engages with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), and the Office of Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE) on conflict in Nigeria's middle belt. During my visit to Nigeria between 28-30 May, I raised Freedom of Religion and Belief and the root causes of insecurity in discussions with Nigerian counterparts, including the Foreign Minister and Deputy Speaker.