Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Chevening scholars have claimed asylum in the UK in each of the last ten years by nationality.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of asylum claims by nationality and the number of people claiming asylum where the latest leave held prior to claim was a study visa is published in table Asy_D01 and Asy_D01a of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions datasets’. The number of student entry clearance visas issued, broken down by nationality, is published in table Vis_D02 of the 'Entry clearance visas datasets'.

The requested information on asylum claims from Chevening scholars is not available from published statistics.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of trends in the level of workforce retention at Royal Mail since 2022.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

I have been clear that Royal Mail’s recent delivery performance has not been good enough. Workforce retention plays an important role in quality of service, as Royal Mail has said itself in the past in response to Ofcom investigations.

I met Ofcom on 11 March and raised concerns about Royal Mail’s quality of service. Ofcom is explicit that Royal Mail must publish and deliver a credible improvement plan that results in significant and continuous progress. Royal Mail has committed to do so as soon as possible after its discussions with the Communication Workers’ Union conclude.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in the prevalence of child morning hunger in (a) early years, (b) primary and (c) secondary school settings in England on school (i) readiness and (ii) attendance.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The department appreciates the publication of the report and look forward to giving it our full consideration. This government is committed to tackling child poverty and delivering meaningful action to support children and families. The removal of the two child limit on Universal Credit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures set out in our Child Poverty Strategy, such as the expansion of free school meals. These interventions will lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.

We recognise the importance of a healthy breakfast at the start of the day for pupils and the impact this can have on attendance and readiness to learn. This is why we are rolling out free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England, so that all children can have the best start in life. Since April 2025, the programme has delivered seven million meals to almost 180,000 pupils across the country. We are investing a further £80 million to fund approximately 2,000 additional schools between April 2026 and March 2027.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions with the Communication Workers Union and Royal Mail on proposals to equalise pay, terms and conditions between existing and newly recruited postal workers.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Secretary of State met Dave Ward, General Secretary of the CWU, and Daniel Křetínský, the owner of EP Group, on 16 February and again on 19 March.

The terms and working conditions of Royal Mail employees are the subject of ongoing negotiations between Royal Mail’s management and the Communication Workers’ Union as part of an agreed dispute resolution process. The government is taking a close interest in these negotiations and receives regular updates.

However, the implementation of operational models and terms and conditions of employment, are for Royal Mail, as an independent business, to manage in collaboration with its workforce and their representatives.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will provide a breakdown of the number people in the UK on Chevening scholarships in each of the last ten years by nationality.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I thank the Hon Member for his question. I will deposit in the library the full requested breakdown of Chevening scholarships by year and by country, but as a summary of the top-line findings, the table below sets out the top 20 countries for scholarships over the period 2015-25.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that local authorities have the resources to activate the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol promptly and provide sufficient safe accommodation during periods of extreme cold.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Local authorities should plan services which meet the needs of people in their area, which includes planning for periods of extreme cold. The government is providing more than £3.3 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping funding from 2026/27 to 2028/29 through the Local Government Finance Settlement, and councils can use this and their wider settlement to plan and deliver safe accommodation during periods of extreme weather.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of current move‑on and eviction notice periods from asylum accommodation on refugee homelessness.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

For individuals granted leave to remain, we are committed to successfully transitioning them from asylum accommodation, which is why we have extended the grace period to 42 days, from 28 days. In limited circumstances, the 42 day period can be extended on a discretionary basis. Information on extensions can be found in published guidance on GOV.UK here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/ceasing-asylum-support-instruction

In reaching this position, a range of evidence, including key findings from a 56-day pilot evaluation, operational data, and forecasted impacts on the asylum accommodation estate were considered. The Home Office will continue to work closely with our partners to reduce barriers and support effective transitions from asylum accommodation.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with energy providers, including Bunch Energy, on improving customer services.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government takes the issue of the quality of customer service offered by suppliers very seriously. The Supplier Licence conditions set down by the industry regulator Ofgem require suppliers to meet certain conditions with respect of customer enquiries. These include offering a range of methods to meet the needs of customers, and be available to receive enquiries and offer assistance, guidance, or advice at times that meet the needs of customers.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings with stakeholders on a range of issues. Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her written statement of 2 March 2026 on Asylum changes, by what date her department intends to have operationalised a Named Community Sponsorship scheme for refugee resettlement.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

In the Restoring Order and Control policy statement, the Government committed to transforming its approach to safe and legal routes. This included the creation of a named sponsorship scheme to enable community groups to sponsor refugees and displaced persons.

Work is underway to deliver the named community sponsorship route.

Further details, including timeframes for the launch of the route and the volume of beneficiaries, will be set out in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her written statement of 2 March 2026 on Asylum changes, what assessment her department has made of the adequacy of the timeline for establishing a Named Community Sponsorship scheme.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

In the Restoring Order and Control policy statement, the Government committed to transforming its approach to safe and legal routes. This included the creation of a named sponsorship scheme to enable community groups to sponsor refugees and displaced persons.

Work is underway to deliver the named community sponsorship route.

Further details, including timeframes for the launch of the route and the volume of beneficiaries, will be set out in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her written statement of 2 March 2026 on Asylum changes, what the target number of resettlements is under a Named Community Sponsorship scheme.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

In the Restoring Order and Control policy statement, the Government committed to transforming its approach to safe and legal routes. This included the creation of a named sponsorship scheme to enable community groups to sponsor refugees and displaced persons.

Work is underway to deliver the named community sponsorship route.

Further details, including timeframes for the launch of the route and the volume of beneficiaries, will be set out in due course.

Found: 2026 3.15 pm Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Chair); Baroness Hamwee; Afzal Khan

Found: 2026 2.20 pm Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Chair); Baroness Hamwee; Afzal Khan