Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will consider adopting the recommendations set out in Refugee Action’s report Laying the Foundations: Making asylum housing work by investing in communities, published in November 2025.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We are actively working with local authorities to develop several potential accommodation models that could ‘pilot’ a more sustainable, flexible and collaborative outcome. These ‘pilot’ models will examine potential alternative accommodation sources – in collaboration with councils – promoting community cohesion and joint initiatives.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), in partnership with the Home Office, is investing millions in a new locally led accommodation model. This funding will support local authorities to make available basic alternative accommodation to be used on a temporary basis to house asylum seekers waiting for their cases to be processed. The ambition is that this investment will leave a lasting legacy of housing for local communities and reduce pressure on local housing markets. MHCLG and the Home Office are committed to continue working closely with devolved governments and local government to co-design this new model, building on the work undertaken to date.
This new funding will complement ongoing Home Office reforms to the asylum accommodation estate, including pilot schemes to repurpose derelict buildings and to develop other community-led alternatives to the use of hotels.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to include decapod crustaceans.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is committed to an evidence-based and proportionate approach to setting welfare standards for decapod. This applies both to those caught for human consumption and to those used in scientific research. The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 recognises decapod crustaceans as sentient beings.
The Home Office is carefully considering the next steps in collaboration with other relevant departments.
The Government is committed to non-animal alternatives in science and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption later this year.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of British citizen children living in households subject to No Recourse to Public Funds.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition applies to the vast majority of adult temporary migrants in the UK and those without legal status, many of whom may not be in touch with the Home Office. Data on the children within migrant families is not routinely collected. However, the Home Office regularly engages with stakeholders via the NRPF forum which provides a platform to raise concerns and share experiences of those affected by the policy.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service on the time taken to process Subject Access Requests.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Compliance with data protection obligations, including the handling of Subject Access Requests (SARs), is the responsibility of individual police forces. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) produces guidance for organisations on how to comply with data protection law.
The Data (Use and Access) Act received Royal Assent in June 2025 and includes some changes to data protection obligations while maintaining high standards of protection for personal data. As part of the development of that legislation, Home Office officials engaged with policing stakeholders in the usual way.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress the Metropolitan Police has made on abolishing the Gangs Matrix Database.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Metropolitan Police confirmed on their website that they discontinued the Gangs Matrix on 13th February 2024.
Data was retained for 12 months to ensure the force could serve any Right of Access requests and the data was deleted on 13th February 2025.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the absence of service standards on all applications under the (a) family and (b) private life routes on applicants accessing (i) work, (ii) healthcare and (c) education.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Family and private life applications based on exceptionality are not subject to a service standard, however we do update GOV.UK with our average processing times and information is available in the published transparency data around consideration times.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has plans to introduce service standards for all applications for settlement made under the (a) family and (b) private life route.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain based on Family or Private life will be decided within six months.
Full details of current service standards can be found here:
Settlement: customer service standards - GOV.UK
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to use data from the eVisa system to aid immigration enforcement operations.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Immigration Enforcement already uses information contained in relevant visa applications and interactions when taking enforcement action against suspected immigration offenders – this will continue to be the case with eVisas.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contingency measures are in place for people who are unable to access their eVisa due to (a) technical issues and (b) administrative errors.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are committed to ensuring that the transition to eVisas is as smooth as possible for all status holders. The Home Office has a significant support model in place to facilitate the transition to eVisas.
Our online immigration status services are designed to be highly resilient, with rigorous testing and concurrent services to ensure that if one fails, another will take over. We consistently monitor our online services to resolve any issues as quickly as possible.
We are also taking further steps to reduce the number of circumstances where people need to provide evidence of their immigration status, by developing services to make the relevant immigration status information available automatically through system to system checks with other government departments and the NHS. This means at the point at which a person seeks to access public services such as NHS healthcare and DWP benefits, the service provider will check status directly with the Home Office, removing the need for people to prove their status themselves.
We have also put in place the systems and services to allow carriers, such as airlines, to automatically check immigration status via system-to-system checks and those systems are working well for millions of people. If for any reason the carrier does not receive confirmation of the passenger’s immigration status, they will be able to check this using the ‘view and prove' service, or the carrier can contact the 24/7 Carrier Support Hub for advice.
If people do have any issues, they can contact the UKVI Resolution Centre, which provides support via email and webchat to those creating their UKVI account, and telephone support to those using the online immigration status services. The UKVI Resolution Centre assists users who are experiencing technical issues with their online immigration status, and where necessary, enables peoples’ status to be verified through alternative means.
If someone cannot see their eVisa details after creating their UKVI account, or believes there is an error in their status information, they can report this to the Home Office via the form at Report an error with your eVisa - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), which is available 24/7. Any reported issues with eVisa are being prioritised. Once a person has submitted the report an error with your eVisa form, they will receive an email notification when the error or issue has been resolved.
If a person needs to prove their right to work or rent while the issue is being resolved, employers can use the Employers Checking Service (ECS) and landlords can use the Landlord Checking Service (LCS).
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support UK citizens with relatives impacted by the human rights situation in Balochistan.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Any application for a UK visa will be assessed against the requirements of the Immigration Rules. We advise people to consider the most appropriate visa route for their own circumstances.