Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the suspension of refugee family reunion and the introduction of income-threshold requirements for family reunification on women and children.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The decision on whether to publish equality impact assessments, considered through the development of the announced asylum reforms, will be taken by Ministers once the policy development stage has concluded.
The Government recognises the importance of family, including for this vulnerable group of individuals. However, as a responsible Government, we have to recognise the pressures that are being placed on public services, in part as a result of the number of people arriving under refugee family reunion.
The current pressures are not sustainable and we have to take urgent action to help manage the burdens that are being felt by local authorities and public services more generally. Impacts on vulnerable individuals and equalities considerations are at the front and centre of our work. As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, we consider equality impacts throughout the policy development process, refugee family reunion is no exception.
The Government is committed to meeting its obligations and to providing effective support to ensure that victims are assisted in their recovery from their experiences of exploitation or trafficking. We are carefully considering the impact of proposed reforms on victims of trafficking and exploitation.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish equality impact assessments for new asylum reforms.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The decision on whether to publish equality impact assessments, considered through the development of the announced asylum reforms, will be taken by Ministers once the policy development stage has concluded.
The Government recognises the importance of family, including for this vulnerable group of individuals. However, as a responsible Government, we have to recognise the pressures that are being placed on public services, in part as a result of the number of people arriving under refugee family reunion.
The current pressures are not sustainable and we have to take urgent action to help manage the burdens that are being felt by local authorities and public services more generally. Impacts on vulnerable individuals and equalities considerations are at the front and centre of our work. As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, we consider equality impacts throughout the policy development process, refugee family reunion is no exception.
The Government is committed to meeting its obligations and to providing effective support to ensure that victims are assisted in their recovery from their experiences of exploitation or trafficking. We are carefully considering the impact of proposed reforms on victims of trafficking and exploitation.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of compliance with legal requirements in proposed asylum reforms on victims of trafficking.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The decision on whether to publish equality impact assessments, considered through the development of the announced asylum reforms, will be taken by Ministers once the policy development stage has concluded.
The Government recognises the importance of family, including for this vulnerable group of individuals. However, as a responsible Government, we have to recognise the pressures that are being placed on public services, in part as a result of the number of people arriving under refugee family reunion.
The current pressures are not sustainable and we have to take urgent action to help manage the burdens that are being felt by local authorities and public services more generally. Impacts on vulnerable individuals and equalities considerations are at the front and centre of our work. As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, we consider equality impacts throughout the policy development process, refugee family reunion is no exception.
The Government is committed to meeting its obligations and to providing effective support to ensure that victims are assisted in their recovery from their experiences of exploitation or trafficking. We are carefully considering the impact of proposed reforms on victims of trafficking and exploitation.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the visa brake on nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan on women at risk of gender-based and sexual violence.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Equality Impact Assessments have been completed in line with the Equality Act 2010 for the visa brakes on Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan.
The UK takes its humanitarian, development, and conflict prevention work seriously and remains committed to supporting countries affected by conflict, instability, and poverty. In Afghanistan, the UK’s £151 million aid programme (equivalent to 13.3 billion Afghanis) provides lifesaving support to vulnerable communities, with a commitment that at least half of those reached are women and girls.
The UK is committed to supporting people in Sudan, Myanmar, and neighbouring regions. The UK provides £146 million in humanitarian aid to Sudan this financial year, assisting over 2.5 million people since the conflict began in 2023. In Myanmar, the UK continues to support a more stable future for the population, providing humanitarian assistance to more than 1.4 million people in the past year and essential health services to 1.3 million. Since the 2021 military coup, the UK has supplied over £190 million in assistance to help address the country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.
As set out in the Restoring Order and Control policy statement, the Government remains committed to the introduction of capped safe and legal routes for refugees and displaced people to come to the United Kingdom. Work is underway to develop these routes, including confirming the eligibility criteria and the number of places to be made available for each new safe and legal route.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has considered allowing the British Business Bank to a) accept deposits and b) run a pilot scheme allowing it to lend directly to i) businesses and ii) community housing groups in areas where community development finance institutions are less prevalent.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The British Business Bank has no plans to accept deposits and is not authorised to do so. This would require an application to the Prudential Regulation Authority, which regulates deposit-taking institutions.
Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) play a vital role in providing affordable credit to underserved consumers and businesses. While it is the case that CDFIs are less prevalent in some areas, they have the potential to serve every part of the UK. The government and British Business Bank are collaborating with Responsible Finance and others on the UK Community Finance Partnership Taskforce, an initiative to grow the CDFI sector substantially over the next 5-10 years.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that cats are appropriately considered within the Government’s animal welfare agenda.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal Welfare Strategy was published on 22 December 2025 and sets out our priorities for animal welfare for England. It is a comprehensive set of reforms which will improve the lives of millions of animals.
In the Strategy the Government has committed to take steps to improve the uptake of the pet selling licence by those who sell cats and kittens as pets. The Government will also improve our understanding of the size, scale and current management practices related to cat breeding, drawing on expertise from the sector, and consider any further steps which may improve welfare practices in the cat breeding sector.
Cats will benefit from broader measures outlined in the Strategy including tackling low welfare imports and implementing the measures contained in the Renters’ Rights Act to make it easier for tenants to keep pets in rented accommodation.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason does the Animal Welfare Strategy for England not include measures to reduce the impact of fireworks on pets.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal Welfare Strategy sets out the UK Government’s priorities for England and is a comprehensive set of reforms which will improve the lives of millions of animals.
The Government continues to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues and impacts of fireworks, including on animal welfare.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of applying the proposed immigration reforms to BNO visa holders who are already registered to vote on the electorate.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.
We sought views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, which was open between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026. We will now carefully review and analyse all responses received and the findings will support the development of the final earned settlement model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures. Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.
Economic and equality impact assessments will be conducted on the final model and will consider the impacts on different groups and will be published in due course.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what grant funding is available to help support the development of commercial and business skills in small and medium-sized enterprise.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade does not provide centrally administered grant funding, specifically for the development of commercial and business skills for SMEs.
Help to Grow: Management (HTG:M) is a UK-wide leadership and management programme for SME leaders. The programme is 90% government‑subsidised, with a participant contribution of £750.
Responsibility for business skills funding is devolved to local government, with commercial and business skills courses delivered through Growth Hubs funded directly through Mayoral Combined Authorities and local councils.
Businesses are encouraged to use the business.gov.uk website to identify relevant local support, including skills and business development funding in their area.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what information his Department holds on the proportion of UK businesses with dedicated budgets for training.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The DBT Longitudinal Small Business Survey[1] reports that 45 percent of SME employers offer training to their employees. The Department does not hold specific information on dedicated budgets for training.
[1] Small Business Survey 2024: businesses with employees - GOV.UK