Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when is the next review date for the National Referral Mechanism guidance; and whether that review will consider the barriers to referral routes for Overseas Domestic Worker visa holders at risk of modern slavery.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The “Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland” is regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that it remains current and effective for decision-makers and first responders.
Following the conclusion of the Call for Evidence on the Identification of Victims of Modern Slavery, we are considering the evidence received and how identification and referrals can be improved.
Overseas Domestic Workers who find themselves a victim of modern slavery can be referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) by a designated First Responder.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the average time taken to make a Reasonable Grounds decision for people currently held in immigration detention.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This government has been clear that identifying and protecting victims of modern slavery is a priority for this government.
Obtaining the specific information requested regarding those in detention with a positive reasonable ground’s decision is not something that can be provided easily.
The government publishes regular statistics on the number of referrals into the system alongside the outcomes of those decisions. Those can be found on gov.uk – the most recent publication covering the period July-September 2025 show that the average time taken from referral to reasonable grounds decision was 6 days across both competent authorities.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people currently held in immigration detention have received a positive Reasonable Grounds decision under the the National Referral Mechanism.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This government has been clear that identifying and protecting victims of modern slavery is a priority for this government.
Obtaining the specific information requested regarding those in detention with a positive reasonable ground’s decision is not something that can be provided easily.
The government publishes regular statistics on the number of referrals into the system alongside the outcomes of those decisions. Those can be found on gov.uk – the most recent publication covering the period July-September 2025 show that the average time taken from referral to reasonable grounds decision was 6 days across both competent authorities.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to help ensure that the Border Force’s freight inspection targets at UK borders are met and what recent progress has been made on reaching these targets.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Border Force have, and continue to, hit freight inspection targets and expect that this performance will be maintained throughout the remainder of the financial year.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 16 July 2025 on Call for Evidence – Identification of Victims of Modern Slavery, HCWS826, whether the call for evidence will consider the impact of the revised evidential requirements for reasonable grounds decisions on different groups and categories of potential modern slavery victims.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Identification of Victims of Modern Slavery Call for Evidence launched on 16 July 2025. It invites views on an effective system where victims are recognised early and accurately so they can be protected and receive appropriate assistance and support towards their recovery from exploitation.
The Call for Evidence is structured around three themes:
1) Definitions of victims of modern slavery;
2) Initial identification of victims of modern slavery; and
3) Formal identification of victims of modern slavery.
The full list of questions in the Call for Evidence is available at Identification of victims of modern slavery - GOV.UK. The Call for Evidence includes questions on the National Referral Mechanism decision-making process, including Reasonable Grounds and Conclusive Grounds decisions.
The Call for Evidence will be open for a 12-week period, meaning submissions can be provided up until Wednesday 8 October 2025.
Insights gathered through the Call for Evidence and wider stakeholder engagement will inform longer-term policy development.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family visas were issued where the sponsoring (a) spouse or partner, (b) fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, (c) child, (d) parent and (c) relative providing long-term care was resident in Scotland in 2023.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.
The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many work visas were issued for jobs in Scottish workplaces in Scotland in 2022.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.
The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many work visas were issued for jobs in Scottish workplaces in 2021.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.
The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family visas were issued where the sponsoring (a) spouse or partner, (b) fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, (c) child, (d) parent and (c) relative providing long-term care was resident in Scotland in 2021.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.
The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family visas were issued where the sponsoring (a) spouse or partner, (b) fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, (c) child, (d) parent and (c) relative providing long-term care was resident in Scotland in 2022.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.
The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.