Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce levels of fraud in the welfare system.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since the Autumn Budget 2024 DWP has committed to delivering gross savings of £14.6bn up to the end of 2030-31 from fraud, error and debt activity
In 2026, the Department has continued to strengthen its approach to tackling fraud and error across the welfare system through increased operational activity, the use of new powers, and targeted interventions to identify incorrect claims. These activities include:
- investments to deploy up to 3,000 additional staff within counter fraud teams,
- delivering the extension of Targeted Case Reviews (TCR) in Universal Credit to check accuracy of claims at risk of being incorrect,
- introducing Pension Credit Claim Reviews (PCCR) to check claims at risk of being incorrect,
- the implementation of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025 (PAFER) which introduces new powers to better identify, prevent and deter fraud and error
- and continuing to seek prosecutions in the courts for those who commit benefit fraud.
Overall, levels of benefit fraud are the lowest since the pandemic and currently stand at 2.2%, compared to a peak of 3.0% in FYE 2022.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether they carry out checks to assess whether Bangladeshi asylum seekers claiming to have been a member of the Awami League held membership of that party.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
All asylum claims are considered on their individual merits, and decision makers assess the credibility and reliability of evidence submitted in support of a claim in accordance with published asylum guidance.
In line with established case law and Home Office guidance, enquiries may be undertaken in limited circumstances to verify the authenticity of documents where appropriate. Consistent with established principles, it is for the claimant to demonstrate that evidence submitted in support of their claim can be relied upon. The reliability of evidence is assessed in the round and the weight attached to that evidence is a matter for the decision maker.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claims have relied on paperwork from the same judge and magistrate since July 2024.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not held in a reportable format and could only be obtained through examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
All asylum claims are considered on their individual merits, and decision makers assess the credibility and reliability of evidence submitted in support of a claim in accordance with published asylum guidance.
Decisions are not made based solely on a letter from judges or magistrates. Guidance states that caseworkers should consider “all the evidence” including the credibility of the claimant and the consistency of their statements.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the activities of successful asylum applicants.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
We do not routinely monitor those who are granted asylum or leave to remain but refugees, and those granted protection in the UK, have equitable access to the resources and support necessary to fully integrate into life here, achieve self-sufficiency, provide for themselves and their families, and contribute to the UK economy.
Integration outcomes of asylum refugees and refugees resettled under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme and Vulnerable Children Resettlement Schemes is available on GOV.UK at: Refugee Integration Outcomes (RIO) Insights - GOV.UK. RIO aims to create a comprehensive dataset of refugee outcomes by linking Home Office data with administrative data from across government.
Under our new Core Protection model, we have moved away from the presumption of permanent protection, and instead will provide protection for the duration of need. Where a person no longer requires protection, including where their personal circumstances or a country situation has changed, they will be expected to return home.
Everyone is expected to abide by the law; this includes refugees and other foreign nationals. This Government is clear that those who commit serious crimes and pose a danger to the community and those who otherwise pose a threat to national security will have their refugee status revoked because they no longer deserve our protection and the generous benefits that come with such status. Instead, they will be removed from the UK at the earliest opportunity. Where evidence comes to light that demonstrates that a person obtained their protection status fraudulently, we will seek to revoke their status.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time is between initial screening interviews and substantive interviews in the asylum system.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not held in a reportable format and could only be obtained through examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
However, the Home Office does publish data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision by duration. This data can be found at table Asy_D03 of the Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Additionally, data on the percentage of applications processed within six months is published in table ASY_01 of the 'Immigration and Protection' data of the Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.
We are committed to progressing asylum cases in an efficient and cost-effective way. Over 70% of asylum claims received during Q4 2025 were decided within 6 months, the highest percentage in 11 years.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many successful asylum seekers have claimed to have been (a) President, (b) Vice President and (c) General Secretary of the Awami League since July 2024.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
This information is not published and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
All asylum claims are considered on their individual merits, and decision makers assess the credibility and reliability of evidence submitted in support of a claim in accordance with published asylum guidance.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the average time spent on responding to an asylum claim which is (a) rejected and (b) accepted.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not held in a reportable format and could only be obtained through examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
However, the Home Office does publish data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision by duration. This data can be found at table Asy_D03 of the ‘Asylum and resettlement summary tables’ at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Additionally, data on the percentage of applications processed within six months is published in table ASY_01 of the ‘Immigration and Protection’ data in the Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.
We are committed to progressing asylum cases in an efficient and cost-effective way. Over 70% of asylum claims received during Q4 2025 (including grants and refusals) were decided within 6 months, the highest percentage in 11 years.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many substantive interviews in the asylum system have been delayed as a result of applicant illness in each of the last three years.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not held in a reportable format and could only be obtained through examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of visa holders whose whereabouts are easily identifiable.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
No estimate of the proportion of visa holders whose whereabouts are easily identifiable is held.
All sponsors of migrants coming to the UK in order to work and study are required as part of their licensing arrangements to report to the Home Office on changes of circumstances of the migrants they are sponsoring.
The Home Office remains committed to making improvements where they can be achieved within existing resources. This includes a programme of continuous improvement in data management and caseworking platforms as part of the Home Office’s delivery of its digital immigration system. The introduction of eVisas and Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) means the Home Office knows more about everyone coming to the UK, improving data quality and enabling upstream interventions. As the Home Office moves to a fully digital system, eVisas will increasingly update in real time when status changes, automatically revoking access to work, benefits, housing, and services, unlike physical documents that can be misused after expiry. Immigration status information is available automatically through system-to-system checks with public authorities and government departments.
Alongside this, the Home Office is developing a new digital capability, to be implemented in 2026, to help determine whether individuals have complied, or are complying, with conditions on the time they may stay in the UK. This will also make it easier to share travel and immigration compliance data with caseworkers and downstream services for a variety of analytical and operational needs.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department checks whether letters of support provided for multiple asylum seekers come from the same individual.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
This information is not published and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
All asylum claims are considered on their individual merits, and decision makers assess the credibility and reliability of evidence submitted in support of a claim in accordance with published asylum guidance.
The Home Office is committed to ensuring that the asylum system is not open to abuse. It is the responsibility of everyone claiming asylum in the UK to co-operate with the Home Office and tell us the truth. It is a crime to make an asylum application that involves trying to deceive the Home Office. If anyone does this and is found guilty of it in a court, they may sentenced to a custodial sentence, after which they may be deported.