Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, how her Department will assess the tolerance levels of the Artificial Intelligence determining the ages of asylum seekers.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Assessing age is a complex task and no method or combination of methods can definitively determine age. In order to strengthen the age assessment system, the Home Office is exploring facial age estimation technology. Work has been commissioned to test and trial this technology to understand its capabilities. The testing and assurance will be key in informing policy development and to ensure its use is proportionate.

The technology will not be used in isolation but is intended to provide additional information to the decision maker.

The Government will issue further information regarding testing and assurance in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, what steps her Department will take to build the necessary capacity for ensuring that early legal advice is available.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Reforms to the appeals system, including the development of a new independent appeals body will help asylum seekers have access to justice, overcome delays and restore public confidence. Early legal advice will be embedded as a core part of these reforms.

We will work closely with the Ministry of Justice to understand and manage the justice impacts of all proposals, including ensuring there is sufficient capacity to deliver early legal advice.

Further details on these reforms will be set out in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, whether artificial intelligence will ever be used as the sole evidence source for age assessment for migrants.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Assessing age is a complex task and no method or combination of methods can definitively determine age. In order to strengthen the age assessment system, the Home Office is exploring facial age estimation technology. Work has been commissioned to test and trial this technology to understand its capabilities. The testing and assurance will be key in informing policy development and to ensure its use is proportionate.

The technology will not be used in isolation but is intended to provide additional information to the decision maker.

The Government will issue further information regarding testing and assurance in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, how her Department will evaluate Artificial Intelligence to determine the age of migrants prior to use.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Assessing age is a complex task and no method or combination of methods can definitively determine age. In order to strengthen the age assessment system, the Home Office is exploring facial age estimation technology. Work has been commissioned to test and trial this technology to understand its capabilities. The testing and assurance will be key in informing policy development and to ensure its use is proportionate.

The technology will not be used in isolation but is intended to provide additional information to the decision maker.

The Government will issue further information regarding testing and assurance in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to use Artificial Intelligence to (a) determine and (b) confirm the age of groups other than asylum seekers.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Assessing age is a complex task and no method or combination of methods can definitively determine age. In order to strengthen the age assessment system, the Home Office is exploring facial age estimation technology. Work has been commissioned to test and trial this technology to understand its capabilities. The testing and assurance will be key in informing policy development and to ensure its use is proportionate.

The technology will not be used in isolation but is intended to provide additional information to the decision maker.

The Government will issue further information regarding testing and assurance in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, what process her Department will use to designate whether a country is a safe home country.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The asylum and returns policy statement sets out the intention to deal swiftly with protection claims that are made by nationals of manifestly safe countries in an attempt to frustrate their removal. This policy does not relate to any designation of a specific country as manifestly safe, but rather a holistic assessment of whether there is a basis on which a prolonged assessment of a claim is required, for example through an additional interview. This is distinct from existing legislative provisions (under s94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002) which allow all or part of a country to be designated as safe, for the purposes of assessing whether a claim should be certified as clearly unfounded.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, what support will be provided to UK-based family members when making an asylum application for a non-UK based relative under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

There is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.

The refugee family reunion route has been temporarily suspended while the Government undertakes a full review and reform of the current family rules to ensure we have a fair and properly balanced system.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, what support will be provided to a UK-based unaccompanied child making an asylum for a non UK-based family member under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

There is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.

The refugee family reunion route has been temporarily suspended while the Government undertakes a full review and reform of the current family rules to ensure we have a fair and properly balanced system.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, when she plans to announce further details on the Protection Work and Study route for refugees.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The full details of the Protection Work and Study route, remain subject to further policy development which will be set out in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, what processes will be put in place to verify the legitimacy of (a) organisations and (b) communities wishing to act as sponsors for refugees.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government’s Asylum and Returns Policy Statement published on 17 November 2025 announced transformative changes to Safe and Legal routes that will fundamentally reshape how the UK offers opportunities to refugees and receiving communities. Work is underway at pace to operationalise these new routes, and further details will be provided in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025. what support her Department is planning to give to communities to increase their (a) capacity and (b) ability to welcome refugees.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government’s Asylum and Returns Policy Statement published on 17 November 2025 announced transformative changes to Safe and Legal routes that will fundamentally reshape how the UK offers opportunities to refugees and receiving communities. Work is underway at pace to operationalise these new routes, and further details will be provided in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, what criteria her Department will use to define communities when considering community sponsorship for refugees.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government’s Asylum and Returns Policy Statement published on 17 November 2025 announced transformative changes to Safe and Legal routes that will fundamentally reshape how the UK offers opportunities to refugees and receiving communities. Work is underway at pace to operationalise these new routes, and further details will be provided in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, what criteria her Department will use to assess the capacity and ability of communities to welcome refugees.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government’s Asylum and Returns Policy Statement published on 17 November 2025 announced transformative changes to Safe and Legal routes that will fundamentally reshape how the UK offers opportunities to refugees and receiving communities. Work is underway at pace to operationalise these new routes, and further details will be provided in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, what criteria her Department will use to determine whether an application's healthcare needs, including mental healthcare, cannot be fully met in their country of origin.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

A claimant may claim that requiring them to leave the UK would breach their human rights due to a serious medical condition, which could be a physical illness or mental health issue. Such cases must be considered in accordance with our obligations under Articles 3 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The threshold in Article 3 medical cases is very high, as set out in the UK Supreme Court case of AM (Zimbabwe) [2020] UKSC 17, which affirmed the Article 3 medical threshold as set out in the European Court of Human Rights case of Paposhvili v Belgium [2017] Imm AR 867.

We are committed to the ECHR and we believe that people should never be subject to torture. However, the interpretation of “inhuman or degrading treatment” has been expanded over time. As a consequence, we see examples of foreign national offenders who are being allowed to stay in the UK on the basis of an Article 3 protection claim, despite committing serious criminal offences in the UK. Others have blocked a deportation because their healthcare needs, including mental healthcare, cannot be fully met in their country of origin.

To retain public confidence, the ECHR and other instruments must evolve to face modern challenges. We are working with key partner countries over concerns that the interpretation of “inhuman or degrading treatment” has extended in scope, limiting their ability to make sovereign decisions on migration in their own democracies. The criteria, for considering healthcare needs, including mental healthcare, will be set out in due course.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of international regulatory harmonisation on the speed of delivery of civil nuclear projects in the UK.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

International cooperation and regulatory harmonisation have the potential to streamline deployment for nuclear energy deployment around the world and help achieve economies of scale.

The UK continues to explore opportunities for regulatory harmonisation in nuclear to speed up the deployment of new nuclear in the UK, demonstrated by the recent Atlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy, which builds on existing UK-US collaboration.

ONR as the UK’s independent regulator will need to be satisfied that any design to be deployed in the UK meets UK safety standards and complies with UK law.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of legislation protecting livestock in the UK as compared to other OECD nations.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK is widely recognised as one of the global leaders in animal health and welfare. We are a member of the World Organisation for Animal Health, and we have a broad legislative base, associated strategies and contingency plans enabling us to protect livestock from animal disease threats. Defra is committed to maintaining and improving the UK's high standards of animal health and welfare.

The Prime Minister has announced that we will be publishing an animal welfare strategy by the end of the year.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with Parkinson's Disease listed as their primary condition are in receipt of the Universal Credit health element.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not held by the Department.

A defined ‘primary condition’ is not recorded at the Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment (WCA).

Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week 2025

Dr Irene Oldfather and the Scottish Advisory Forum on Europe

Found: Lizzi Collinge (Labour; Morecambe and Lunesdale) Torcuil Crichton (Labour; Na h-Eileanan an Iar) Graeme Downie