Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for relaunching a Life in the UK Advisory Group to reassess the effectiveness and impact of reforms such as the citizenship test and ceremony a decade after their launch.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Life in the UK Advisory Group provided key recommendations on establishing the current processes for those applying for, and being granted, British Citizenship. We have no plans to relaunch it.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of introducing English language proficiency exemptions for applicants for Indefinite Leave to Remain or citizenship because of nationality.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
No assessment has been made of introducing English language proficiency exemptions for applicants because of nationality.
All those applying for indefinite leave to remain under a provision where knowledge of language and life in the UK (KoLL) is a requirement, and all those applying for naturalisation as a British citizen, must meet KoLL. Exemptions to this requirement are primarily based on the applicant’s inability to prepare for or sit the test. Where an applicant has a physical or medical condition which would make it unreasonable to expect them to undertake the test, they can be exempted. Exemptions also exist on the basis of age.
There are no exemptions from KoLL due to a person’s nationality. A person who is a national of a majority English-speaking country will, however, be able to use this to demonstrate that they meet the English language part of the KoLL requirement.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of granting Cornish protected minority status in relation to the Life in the UK citizenship test.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Life in the UK test is based upon our handbook – Life in the UK: A Guide for New Residents – which is available for all applicants to study as part of their test preparation. It was revised substantively in 2013, and took into account feedback received from previous applicants and others who had provided comments on it. The content of the handbook moved away from statistics and related information and put the emphasis on British history, culture and democracy. The test questions were revised at this time to reflect the change in emphasis.
We will consider whether it would be appropriate to make the test available in Cornish as part of the protected minority status.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultation with naturalised citizens they undertook before launching the current Life in the UK citizenship test.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Life in the UK test is based upon our handbook – Life in the UK: A Guide for New Residents – which is available for all applicants to study as part of their test preparation. It was revised substantively in 2013, and took into account feedback received from previous applicants and others who had provided comments on it. The content of the handbook moved away from statistics and related information and put the emphasis on British history, culture and democracy. The test questions were revised at this time to reflect the change in emphasis.
We will consider whether it would be appropriate to make the test available in Cornish as part of the protected minority status.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of the Public statement: relationship no longer subsisting forms.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
No formal assessment has been made of the use of the Public Statement: Relationship No Longer Subsisting Forms.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the amount of fees received by the Home Office from UK citizens for (1) border, (2) immigration, and (3) citizenship services quarterly since 1 January 2010.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
For Border, Immigration and Citizenship services, fees are paid by UK citizens for HM Passport and Government Register Office services. Details of income received for these services are set out in the Departmental Annual Report and Accounts. Providing the complete information requested would exceed the word limit for written parlimentary questions. However the information requested can be found in the attached document.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the amount of fees received by the Home Office for (1) border, (2) immigration, and (3) citizenship services, quarterly since 1 January 2010.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Details of the income that the Department has generated from border, immigration and citizenship services is provided in the Annual Report and Accounts, published on Gov.uk. Providing the complete information requested would exceed the word limit for written parlimentary questions. However the information requested can be found in the attached document.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many attempts to sit the Life in the UK citizenship test have been made in each month since 1 January 2010.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This information is published quarterly here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data
On the tab: Temporary and Permanent Migration Data
The monthly breakdown is as follows (in line with the most recent published data).
Test Attempts : Life in the UK Test by Year and Month
1st January 2010 to 30th June 2017
Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
2010 | 12,971 | 14,828 | 17,768 | 15,746 | 15,538 | 15,655 | 15,762 | 14,451 | 14,819 | 16,408 | 16,133 | 13,483 |
2011 | 16,304 | 17,588 | 21,574 | 16,826 | 16,529 | 15,543 | 13,848 | 12,656 | 12,836 | 13,331 | 13,112 | 10,687 |
2012 | 13,284 | 13,562 | 15,774 | 11,231 | 11,896 | 12,227 | 12,868 | 14,613 | 14,052 | 12,316 | 11,347 | 8,686 |
2013 | 11,100 | 15,737 | 23,011 | 7,426 | 8,691 | 10,249 | 10,443 | 12,267 | 15,324 | 17,360 | 11,886 | 8,963 |
2014 | 13,525 | 12,958 | 16,561 | 14,403 | 15,483 | 14,673 | 13,781 | 14,139 | 11,753 | 13,337 | 13,440 | 11,686 |
2015 | 14,317 | 13,732 | 15,439 | 14,588 | 15,530 | 14,904 | 14,796 | 14,845 | 17,285 | 17,760 | 12,089 | 9,896 |
2016 | 10,792 | 11,757 | 14,350 | 13,076 | 10,653 | 10,291 | 12,002 | 11,971 | 10,540 | 8,554 | 10,637 | 8,881 |
2017 | 9,679 | 11,189 | 14,155 | 11,329 | 10,337 | 9,257 |
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Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals passed the Life in the UK citizenship test in each month since 1 January 2010.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This information is published quarterly here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data
The monthly breakdown is as follows (in line with the most recent published data):
Test Passes : Life in the UK Test by Year and Month
1st January 2010 to 30th June 2017
Calendar Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
2010 | 10,054 | 11,013 | 13,030 | 11,710 | 11,412 | 11,383 | 11,629 | 10,682 | 10,839 | 11,871 | 11,434 | 9,586 |
2011 | 11,881 | 12,970 | 15,839 | 12,480 | 12,316 | 11,898 | 11,036 | 10,371 | 10,499 | 10,773 | 10,612 | 8,697 |
2012 | 11,082 | 11,444 | 13,264 | 9,470 | 10,111 | 10,485 | 11,161 | 12,657 | 12,100 | 10,509 | 9,699 | 7,438 |
2013 | 9,580 | 13,871 | 19,734 | 5,207 | 6,476 | 7,751 | 7,794 | 9,208 | 11,262 | 12,126 | 8,236 | 5,880 |
2014 | 8,664 | 8,234 | 10,559 | 8,572 | 9,170 | 8,694 | 8,088 | 8,541 | 7,204 | 8,109 | 8,174 | 6,950 |
2015 | 8,844 | 8,710 | 9,625 | 8,790 | 9,499 | 9,085 | 9,139 | 9,019 | 10,471 | 10,112 | 7,151 | 6,242 |
2016 | 6,940 | 7,658 | 9,322 | 8,416 | 6,556 | 6,533 | 8,361 | 8,037 | 6,814 | 5,430 | 6,587 | 5,560 |
2017 | 6,203 | 7,558 | 9,543 | 7,748 | 6,939 | 6,392 |
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Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the amount of fees received by the Home Office from people using email to make enquiries about (1) border, (2) immigration, and (3) citizenship services monthly in 2017 to date.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The £5.48 email charge is levied to fund the commercial contract as the UK government believes it is right that those who use and benefit directly from the UK immigration system make an appropriate contribution towards meeting the costs of the immigration system. Those who use the services are predominantly from outside the UK. Our web site www.gov.uk is the main source of information and advice and is free of charge.
Further details of the financial arrangement in place between the Home Office and SITEL UK Ltd for the provision of Contact Centre Services (UK and International) is not available due to it being commercially sensitive.