Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending the VAT exemption on domestic renewables beyond March 2027.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials in residential accommodation, and buildings used solely for a charitable purpose, benefit from a temporary VAT zero rate until March 2027. After that date, they will revert to the reduced rate of VAT at five per cent. This support is worth over £1 billion.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds information on a standard letter template used by Pakistani men to falsely claim they are gay during the asylum process.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office is committed to ensuring that the asylum system is not open to abuse. It is the responsibility of everyone claiming asylum in the UK to co-operate with the Home Office and tell the truth. It is a crime to make an asylum application that involves trying to deceive the Home Office. If anyone does this and is found guilty of it in a court, they may be given a custodial sentence, after which they may be deported.

All asylum and human rights claims, including those raised by Pakistan nationals on grounds of sexuality are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Our guidance for considering asylum claims is available on GOV.UK at: Assessing credibility and refugee status: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The weight to be placed on evidence of support from any particular individual or organisation is something for an asylum decision maker to judge on a case-by-case basis, in line with the Immigration Rules and Home Office policy.

A decision maker will not accept that someone is gay simply because they claim to be so. Such declarations constitute the starting point in the consideration process and are subject to probing at interview and a proper assessment of the facts and circumstances.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data is being shared by her Department with the French government to help tackle small boat crossings.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office shares operational data with French partners to support the disruption, investigation, and prosecution of people-smuggling networks. This includes intelligence, operational information relating to the maritime environment. Information is exchanged through established joint working arrangements and liaison officers based in France.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of people currently accommodated under sections 95, 98 or 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (a) entered the UK on a work, study or visitor visa and subsequently claimed asylum, (b) arrived by small boat, and (c) arrived by other unauthorised means in each of the last 12 months; and if she will publish this data by accommodation type, including hotels, dispersal accommodation, initial accommodation and large sites.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information requested on data linking asylum seekers' accommodation status with their route of entry is not currently published.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.

You may be interested to note that the Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on people claiming asylum by prior route is published in table Asy_D01a of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions datasets’. The latest data goes up to the year ending June 2026.

Data on Asylum seekers in receipt of Home Office support by support type and accommodation type is published in table Asy_D09 of the ‘Asylum support detailed datasets’. Please note the figures reported represent the number of people in receipt of support at the end of the period, rather than the total supported throughout the period. The latest data goes up to as at 30 June 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the potential financial impact of applying the Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts service credit regime to (a) hotels, (b) MDP Wethersfield and (c) Napier Barracks.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

There is currently no dedicated KPI regime in operation for hotels or the Wethersfield Large Site and performance-related penalties are not being applied. The Home Office ceased to use Napier Barracks in 2025.

While hotels do not form part of core contractual KPI regimes, Home Office assurance teams review performance and carry out inspections at properties to ensure appropriate standards are being met. The Department keeps supplier performance under regular review and applies contractual remedies in accordance with the terms of the relevant contracts.

Large Sites assurance is delivered through strong, hands-on operational oversight, grounded in on-site presence, observation, incident review and active engagement with Providers. This provides a high degree of real-time visibility and responsiveness and ensures that performance is managed closely both on site and on record keeping - any issues are identified early and addressed promptly with a clear governance and escalation structure.

The Home Office is in the process of developing a KPI framework for Large Sites which, once agreed with contracted Providers, will be implemented at Wethersfield and any other Large Sites which may be brought into the estate in the future.

Asylum accommodation contracts contain performance management arrangements, including service credits where appropriate, to incentivise contractual compliance. The Home Office does not publish commercially sensitive information relating to the operation of its contractual arrangements.

Indefinite Leave to Remain changes

Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) rescue operations

Leasehold reform

Publication of Legal Advice on Local Government Reorganisation