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Written Question
Visas: Innovation
Wednesday 30th June 2021

Asked by: Graham Brady (Conservative - Altrincham and Sale West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department’s review into the Innovator Route is planned to conclude; and if she will publish its conclusions.

Answered by Kevin Foster

The conclusions of the review and next steps will be set out in the Government’s Innovation Strategy, led by the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, this summer.


Written Question
Visas: Innovation
Friday 25th June 2021

Asked by: Graham Brady (Conservative - Altrincham and Sale West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any further Endorsing Body Status applications will be granted by her Department while the review into the Innovator Route is being conducted.

Answered by Kevin Foster

We are currently considering whether to continue accepting applications from prospective endorsing bodies whilst the review is ongoing and will publish details on Gov.uk shortly.


Written Question
Law and Order: Protective Clothing
Monday 20th July 2020

Asked by: Graham Brady (Conservative - Altrincham and Sale West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the implications of the widespread wearing of face coverings for the (a) incidence of crime and (b) efficacy of law enforcement.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

The Home Office has not made a recent assessment of the impact of face coverings on the (a) incidence of crime and (b) efficacy of law enforcement. We will continue to engage with our policing partners on the implications of face coverings for crime and investigation.


Written Question
Entry Clearances: English Language
Monday 5th January 2015

Asked by: Graham Brady (Conservative - Altrincham and Sale West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2014 to Question 218042, how many and what proportion of candidates took their English language tests online in each country in each of the last five years.

Answered by James Brokenshire

Secure English language tests for visa purposes require attendance in person at an invigilated test centre. As such there are no online tests that can be taken from home.


Written Question
Entry Clearances: English Language
Monday 5th January 2015

Asked by: Graham Brady (Conservative - Altrincham and Sale West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2014 to Question 218042, how many cases of fraud or abuse in relation to English language testing have been identified in each country in each of the last five years; and what proportion such cases were of the total number sitting those tests in each country.

Answered by James Brokenshire

The data requested is not held centrally and the costs of gathering the information would involve disproportionate cost.


Written Question
Entry Clearances: English Language
Monday 5th January 2015

Asked by: Graham Brady (Conservative - Altrincham and Sale West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2014 to Question 218042, what steps her Department takes to ensure that the candidate sitting a test online is the same person who completed the secure online verification process.

Answered by James Brokenshire

English language tests for visa purposes require attendance in person at an invigilated test centre. It is incumbent upon Secure English Language Test (SELT) providers to check the identity of individuals sitting their tests. The secure online verification process is the system delivered by the SELT test providers which the Home Office uses to check results relied on in support of an immigration application.


Written Question
Entry Clearances: English Language
Monday 5th January 2015

Asked by: Graham Brady (Conservative - Altrincham and Sale West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2014 to Question 218042, how many concerns regarding fraud or abuse in relation to English language testing were reported to her Department by English language testing providers in each country in each of the last five years.

Answered by James Brokenshire

This information is not available in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.


Written Question
Entry Clearances: English Language
Monday 5th January 2015

Asked by: Graham Brady (Conservative - Altrincham and Sale West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2014 to Question 218042, what licences were awarded to which companies testing English language skills in connection with visa applications for travel to the UK in the last five years.

Answered by James Brokenshire

In April 2011 this Government introduced a requirement that certain immigration routes required a Secure English Language Test (SELT) as evidence of English language ability. When SELTs were introduced in 2011, 5 providers were licensed to provide SELTs for Immigration purpose. These were Trinity, Pearson, Cambridge, City & Guilds and ETS. All of these providers were already providing English language tests for certain immigration purposes prior to
2011. In December 2012 a sixth provider, Cambridge International Examinations, was added as an approved SELT provider for UK Immigration purposes.


Written Question
Entry Clearances: English Language
Monday 15th December 2014

Asked by: Graham Brady (Conservative - Altrincham and Sale West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what controls are in place to prevent personation by people sitting English language tests in connection with visa applications for travel to the UK; and if she will estimate the proportion of people who pass such tests who do so as a result of personation.

Answered by James Brokenshire

The licence with secure English language testing providers is clear that providers must put measures in place to combat abuse and any concerns regarding fraud or abuse should be reported to the Home Office.

Over the lifetime of the licence, the Home Office has introduced a range of improvements including a more secure online verification system; extra identity and security checks on candidates; and further measures to ensure the test
centres are secure. In addition this Government introduced a requirement that a visa officer must be satisfied that an applicant is a genuine student, tested at interview, helping to prevent abuse of the student visa system.

The Home Office will not hesitate to take action where abuse is identified.