Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many claims of asylum have been granted to Bangladeshi nationals on the basis of their membership 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 checks her Department undertakes to establish whether visa holders remain employed in accordance with the conditions of their leave.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Immigration Enforcement has Immigration Compliance and Enforcement teams across the UK that identify suspected breaches and take proportionate action. This activity supports both the detection of non-compliance and the deterrence of future breaches.
A combination of intelligence-led operations, data analysis, data sharing with relevant partners and compliance visits helps the Department identify visa holders who may have ceased to comply with the conditions of their leave. Where a breach is established, action may include curtailment of leave, removal from the UK or prosecution, where appropriate.
Sponsors have a wider responsibility to ensure workers they sponsor comply with their immigration conditions. If UKVI become aware that a worker has not complied with the conditions (rules) of their permission to stay in the UK then UKVI can take compliance action which can include revocation of their sponsor licence. Guidance is available at Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible) - GOV.UK
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the risk that visa holders may remain in the United Kingdom in breach of the conditions attached to their leave without being detected.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
UKVI uses HMRC data as part of a broader intelligence driven compliance approach to help identify potential concerns about sponsor compliance. HMRC information provides an initial indicator of whether sponsored workers appear to be receiving the salary recorded on their Certificate of Sponsorship and helps target compliance resources towards cases that may require further examination.
Where concerns are identified, UKVI undertakes further investigation, which may include consideration of additional intelligence, engagement with partner agencies, requests for documentary evidence and, where appropriate, compliance visits or audits. We recognise that HMRC data has limitations and therefore potential discrepancies identified through HMRC checks are subject to manual assessment and further investigation before compliance action is considered.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how immigration records are used alongside information held by other government departments to identify potential breaches of visa conditions.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
UKVI uses HMRC data as part of a broader intelligence driven compliance approach to help identify potential concerns about sponsor compliance. HMRC information provides an initial indicator of whether sponsored workers appear to be receiving the salary recorded on their Certificate of Sponsorship and helps target compliance resources towards cases that may require further examination.
Where concerns are identified, UKVI undertakes further investigation, which may include consideration of additional intelligence, engagement with partner agencies, requests for documentary evidence and, where appropriate, compliance visits or audits. We recognise that HMRC data has limitations and therefore potential discrepancies identified through HMRC checks are subject to manual assessment and further investigation before compliance action is considered.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mechanisms her Department uses to identify visa holders who may no longer be complying with the conditions attached to their leave.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Immigration Enforcement has Immigration Compliance and Enforcement teams across the UK that identify suspected breaches and take proportionate action. This activity supports both the detection of non-compliance and the deterrence of future breaches.
A combination of intelligence-led operations, data analysis, data sharing with relevant partners and compliance visits helps the Department identify visa holders who may have ceased to comply with the conditions of their leave. Where a breach is established, action may include curtailment of leave, removal from the UK or prosecution, where appropriate.
Sponsors have a responsibility as part of holding a licence to report changes of circumstances to the Home Office that may impact on the visa status. This includes, but is not limited to, ceasing to study and ceasing employment. If a sponsor is found not to be complying with their sponsorship duties in reporting relevant changes, we will take appropriate formal action up to and including removing their sponsor licence.
Details of the sponsorship duties are set out in our published guidance Sponsorship: guidance for employers and educators - GOV.UK
If an individual is found to have breached their conditions or has had their sponsorship withdrawn, the Home Office will take cancellation action in line with our published rules and guidance: Cancellation and curtailment of permission (accessible) - GOV.UK
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what operational indicators are used by her Department to determine whether the immigration system is being effectively controlled and enforced.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
In March 2026, the Departmental Board confirmed the Home Office’s commitment to regular monitoring of performance and delivery through the Home Office Performance System. The Board forms the collective strategic leadership of the Home Office with a broad purpose to steer and scrutinise the department’s strategy, performance and capability.
Like any Government department, the Home Office uses a range of internal performance measures, planning assumptions and delivery mechanisms to manage resources and track progress against priorities. This information helps officials to understand demand, monitor operational performance and ensure we meet our legal and statutory responsibilities. These include a broad range of internal measures on the number of small boat crossings, asylum hotels, returns, and measures on keeping our borders secure and protecting the public.
Information on the operational performance of the immigration system can be ascertained from published records in the form of the Home Office’s Annual Reports, Migration Transparency data and Home Office Statistics These are publicly available on Gov.uk.
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 claimants have claimed to have the same partner 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.
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 receive a custodial sentence after which they may be deported.