UK Citizenship: History
Debate between Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay and Baroness Mobarik
Baroness Mobarik (Con)
My Lords, in acknowledging the importance of having a robust and fair mechanism by which citizenship is awarded, does the Minister agree that the life in the United Kingdom test should only ask questions of applicants that those who already hold citizenship could reasonably answer? If my noble friend agrees with that, what actions is the Home Office taking to ensure that the questions in place value and reflect the contribution that the applicant may already have made to both their community and British life more generally prior to their bid for citizenship?
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)
My noble friend is absolutely right. People who come to this country and settle here or become citizens make a valuable contribution even before they may take citizenship. The first part of her question allows me to explain that this is a 24-question test with multiple answers. People need to get only three-quarters of them right, and the recent pass rate of 79% suggests that it is a test that people are able to pass.