Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what engagement her Department has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the introduction of the Home Office English Language Test.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office English Language Testing programme has engaged with impacted government departments and will continue this engagement throughout the life of the procurement though mobilisation. As with any government procurement, all commercial activity is subject to full governance procedure, including appropriate spending controls.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much has been spent by East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust on (a) legal fees and (b) other costs associated with terminating the employment of David Perrin and defending legal action brought by him.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service trusts are separate legal entities and handle their own employment matters in accordance with employment law and regulatory requirements. The Department does not centrally hold information on legal fees or other costs incurred by individual trusts in specific employment cases.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to Parliamentary Question 104261 answered on 16 January 2026, to which budgets the ‘net positive benefit to the public purse’ of the new Home Office English Language Test will be attributed to.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As set out in the answer of 16 January 2026, today's Secure English Language Testing concessions collect all applicants' fees with no return to the Department to cover the costs of managing and overseeing delivery. The new Home Office English Language Test service will deliver a net positive benefit to the public purse by changing that financial arrangement.
The Department has not made a separate published assessment of the net financial benefit of a model combining digital and in-person security measures compared to the model being tendered. The procurement specification sets out the security and integrity requirements that any delivery model must meet, and cost is assessed alongside those requirements as part of the evaluation process. The overall value for money assessment will be made in the context of the full evaluation.
A specific estimate of the net positive benefit has not been published, as the procurement process is ongoing and the financial arrangements will be determined at contract award.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to Parliamentary Question 104261 answered on 16 January 2026, if the lower cost of the Home Office English Language Test will be passed on to test takers.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The fee structure for the Home Office English Language Test has not yet been set, as the procurement process is ongoing. The Department is committed to ensuring the test is accessible to those required to take it. The final fee to test takers will be determined as part of the contract and will be subject to the approval of Parliament. The Department will provide further information on fees in due course. Any income the Home Office receives from these fees will play an essential role in supporting the sustainable funding of the migration and borders system.
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 potential risk that takers of the fully remote Home Office English Language Test may use artificial intelligence technology to circumvent testing integrity; and what safeguards her Department will put in place to help tackle the potential risks to testing integrity posed by the increasing availability of wearable technology outside of secure test centres.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office takes the integrity of the Home Office English Language Test seriously and has assessed a range of risks, including those posed by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence tools and wearable devices. The Department recognises that technological developments can present new challenges to test security in remote environments. Any provider appointed through the procurement process will be required to demonstrate that their solution includes best-in-class safeguards capable of addressing these risks. The specification includes requirements for technical and procedural controls to mitigate cheating methods, and this will be a key factor in the evaluation of bids.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what engagement her Department has had with Ofqual regarding the introduction of the Home Office English Language Test.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office English Language Testing Programme remains in live procurement. We anticipate that the successful bidder will hold, or secure, Ofqual recognition. They must then continue to meet the rigorous bar required to comply with Ofqual's regulatory requirements. We are working with Ofqual through the procurement to protect the integrity of these high stakes tests and our engagement with them reflects this.
In addition, given the Home Office English Language Testing programme is in live procurement, the Home Office is conscious of protecting the integrity of the procurement.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what engagement her department has had with the Minister for Investment regarding the introduction of the Home Office English Language Test.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office English Language Testing programme has engaged with impacted government departments and will continue this engagement throughout the life of the procurement though mobilisation. As with any government procurement, all commercial activity is subject to full governance procedure, including appropriate spending controls.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to Parliamentary Question 104261 answered on 16 January 2026, whether the ‘net positive benefit to the public purse’ of the new Home Office English Language Test will be used to support management of budget pressures in the asylum system.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The financial benefits arising from the HOELT are expected to accrue to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) budgets within the Home Office. Under the current concession model, test fees are retained by approved providers. The new model changes that financial relationship. Decisions on the use of any resulting savings will be subject to usual Home Office financial planning processes. Any income the Home Office receives from these fees will play an essential role in supporting the sustainable funding of the migration and borders system.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2026 to question 104256 on Visas: English Language, which other countries' systems have been considered in development of the Home Office English Language Test.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As set out in the answer of 16 January 2026, the Home Office English Language Test will be one of the first primarily remote language testing services for government immigration purposes. In developing this approach, the Department considered a range of international systems and models.
This included reviewing the approaches taken by Australia and Canada, both of which recently reviewed their English language testing requirements. The Department also drew on evidence from other government contexts where digital identity and remote service delivery have been implemented, including existing Home Office delivery models incorporating identification technology, audit and assurance processes, and robust oversight frameworks.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with Duolingo on the introduction of the Home Office English Language Test.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Prior to the Home Office English Language Testing programme publishing invitation to tender, five rounds of market engagement was conducted under non-disclosure agreements. However, there were opportunities for those who participated to share information that they wished for the Home Office to consider and ask Clarifying Questions. It would not be appropriate to disclose details of individual organisations' participation in a confidential market engagement process