Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the data on how many asylum claims have been granted on the basis of fear of persecution in their country of origin because of sexual orientation.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release on GOV.UK.
Data on the number of grants where sexual orientation forms part of the claim is published in table SOC_00. The latest data relates to 2023. In 2023, 2,133 claims were granted where sexual orientation formed part of the basis for the asylum claim. For further information on the data, see the notes pages of the tables.
Not all these individuals will necessarily have been granted protection on the basis of their sexual orientation. Similarly, other asylum seekers may be granted protection without referencing their sexual orientation in their claims and therefore would not be included in these figures.
Updated published data from 2023 onwards is currently unavailable due to ongoing work as immigration data transitions to a new case working system and it will be included in a future edition of the Immigration System Statistics Release.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what data they hold on the number of asylum seekers who are baptised while in asylum accommodation.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that charities have entered asylum hotel accommodation to baptise asylum seekers.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
As part of its assurance processes, the Home Office conducts regular inspections and monitoring of asylum accommodation sites to ensure compliance with contractual and safety standards, including security arrangements. Feedback from local authorities and service users is also considered to inform improvements.
The Asylum Accommodation and Support Contract (AASC) Requirements gives a detailed breakdown of all the services to be undertaken by our accommodation providers and to the standards we expect.
All asylum claims, including those based on religion conversion, are carefully assessed individually in accordance with our international obligations and in line with our published guidance.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision by the Metropolitan Police Force to stop recording non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs), whether they plan to put an end to the existence of NCHIs altogether.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government has been clear that a consistent and common-sense approach must be taken with non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs).
The Home Secretary has asked the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing to expedite its review of NCHIs which began earlier this year. The review is considering the recording of information that has not yet reached the criminal threshold, but which may still be useful for the purposes of monitoring community tensions and keeping the public safe. It is also considering the fundamental right of freedom of expression and recent court rulings in this area.
The Home Office is working closely with the NPCC and the College as they develop their findings.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what security arrangements are in place in asylum hotels to prevent third parties such as churches and charities from entering accommodation.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
As part of its assurance processes, the Home Office conducts regular inspections and monitoring of asylum accommodation sites to ensure compliance with contractual and safety standards, including security arrangements. Feedback from local authorities and service users is also considered to inform improvements.
The Asylum Accommodation and Support Contract (AASC) Requirements gives a detailed breakdown of all the services to be undertaken by our accommodation providers and to the standards we expect.
All asylum claims, including those based on religion conversion, are carefully assessed individually in accordance with our international obligations and in line with our published guidance.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum claims have been accepted based on religious conversion in each of the past five years in respect of conversions to (1) Christianity, (2) Islam, (3) Judaism, and (4) any other religion.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The requested information on asylum claims being accepted based on religious conversion is not available from published statistics and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
The Home Office publishes data on initial decisions on asylum claims in table Asy_D02 of the 'Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release' on GOV.UK. The latest data relates to the year ending June 2025. Between July 2020 and June 2025, 165,551 people have been granted protection or other leave at initial decision. There is no breakdown by religion available.
All asylum claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with the Immigration Rules. This means that religious conversions do not guarantee a grant of refugee status.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what reviews they have carried out into asylum claims based on religious conversions, and whether they intend to publish any findings.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
All asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations, meaning religious conversions do not guarantee a grant of refugee status.
Home Office policy guidance provides a framework for considering asylum claims and assessing credibility. When assessing claims based on religious persecution, caseworkers are expected to ask appropriate and sensitive questions to explore a claimant’s personal experiences and journey to their new faith and gather evidence of current religious practice.
Our processes are underpinned by a robust quality assurance review process. Decision makers and quality assessors must adhere to the interview and decision marking standards, which are shared with caseworkers to improve understanding when receiving feedback.
We have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders to help us to improve our policy guidance, training for asylum decision-makers, and to ensure we approach claims involving religious conversion in the appropriate way.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they assess the credibility of religious conversion in asylum applications.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
All asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations, meaning religious conversions do not guarantee a grant of refugee status.
Home Office policy guidance provides a framework for considering asylum claims and assessing credibility. When assessing claims based on religious persecution, caseworkers are expected to ask appropriate and sensitive questions to explore a claimant’s personal experiences and journey to their new faith and gather evidence of current religious practice.
Our processes are underpinned by a robust quality assurance review process. Decision makers and quality assessors must adhere to the interview and decision marking standards, which are shared with caseworkers to improve understanding when receiving feedback.
We have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders to help us to improve our policy guidance, training for asylum decision-makers, and to ensure we approach claims involving religious conversion in the appropriate way.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their target for the New Homes Accelerator for each year of the current Parliament.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The New Homes Accelerator (NHA) is a collaboration between the government, Homes England, the Greater London Authority (GLA), local authorities, developers, and other key stakeholders. It aims to unblock and accelerate the delivery of housing developments that have for various reasons become delayed, or which are not progressing as quickly as they could be. The NHA is helping to progress large development sites across the country by providing site-specific support and also addressing system-wide constraints.
Since July 2024, the NHA has announced 16 sites for site-specific support, with combined capacity for c. 48,600 homes, that will benefit from government support. To date, through our engagement with statutory consultees and arms-length bodies, we have unblocked nearly 100,000 homes.
The programme is constantly exploring new issues and blockers to address, which will determine the NHA’s level of impact. The NHA continues to work with Homes England, the GLA and other partner bodies to expand the programme’s capacity and impact over this current Parliament.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their target for housing delivery in the Oxford-Cambridge Arc.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This government is committed to delivering 1.5 million homes over this Parliament as set out in our Plan for Change. These will be high-quality, well-designed homes, supported by the necessary infrastructure, where people can thrive. In January, the Chancellor confirmed that the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor is a key economic priority for the country and we are working with local authorities across the region to help them do their part in planning for ambitious housing delivery.