Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Tapp Excerpts

Monday 17th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Peter Lamb (Crawley) (Lab)]

8. What steps she has taken to tackle delays in the payment of refunds by her Department.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mike Tapp)]

UK Visas and Immigration makes millions of decisions every year about who has permission to visit or stay in the UK, protecting our borders and delivering excellent customer service across the globe. Where customers require refunds, UKVI officials ensure that they are made as swiftly as possible.

[Peter Lamb]

I thank the Minister for his response. I have several residents who have been waiting almost a year for a refund from the Home Office. Given the dramatic improvements that we have seen in asylum application processing in the last year, can I trust that the Minister will put the same zeal into ensuring that the other Home Office processes work just as efficiently?

[Mike Tapp]

I am aware of those three specific issues, and I reassure my hon. Friend that we are looking at them. I am happy to talk to him in more detail offline.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Minister for his answer. Application costs are significant, and sometimes push those who apply to the wall. Whenever it comes to getting moneys back from someone who owes them, the Government are very zealous—as they should be. I suggest that when it comes to those that they owe money to, the Government should be just as zealous.

[Mike Tapp]

I thank the hon. Member for his question, and of course we will be just as zealous with those receiving refunds.

[John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)]

10. Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the remit of the national statutory inquiry into grooming gangs to include Scotland.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mike Wood (Kingswinford and South Staffordshire) (Con)]

12. What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory annual cap on levels of legal immigration.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mike Tapp)]

An arbitrary limit on legal migration would serve no one. As we have seen in the past, attempts to implement such caps have been unsuccessful. I remind the hon. Member of the 1 million in one year under the previous Government, undercutting British workers. Instead, this Government have set out a plan to reduce net migration by restoring control to the immigration system, reducing our reliance on overseas labour, and investing in domestic skills.

[Mike Wood]

Does the Minister not recognise that an important step towards significantly reducing net migration would be to make it clear to all those working in his Department or handling migration that there is a number that everyone is working towards? If that is the case, surely Members of this House should be able to vote on that binding cap, as happens successfully in countries such as Australia.

[Mike Tapp]

It is always amusing to be lectured about immigration by the Conservative party. There are more sophisticated ways to address high net migration, and this Government are doing that by tackling the underlying causes of over-reliance on migrant labour by employers, alongside raising the bar for who can come to the UK, and targeted visa restrictions.

--- Later in debate ---

[Yuan Yang (Earley and Woodley) (Lab)]

14. Whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of exempting British national overseas visa holders from the proposed extension of the settlement qualifying period on levels of net migration.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mike Tapp)]

The Government remain steadfast in their support for Hongkongers in the UK, and remain fully committed to the British national overseas route. We will consult on the earned settlement scheme shortly, and everyone will be welcome to participate.

[Yuan Yang]

Reading is proud to be a town of many immigrant diasporas, including Hong Kong BNOs who are seeking refuge here. Many of my immigrant constituents have lived in our community for years, and they work incredibly hard so that they can put down roots, much as my parents did when I was a child. Will the Minister acknowledge the contributions of immigrant families who enrich towns like mine, when making policy about settlement periods?

[Mike Tapp]

Absolutely. Across the board we recognise the contribution from migrant communities, and specifically the Hong Kong community. We are listening to their views about the route to settlement, and will continue to do so.

[Gideon Amos (Taunton and Wellington) (LD)]

The case for legal migration and for those genuinely seeking asylum is undermined by evidence that businesses in Station Road in my constituency are using and exploiting migrants to carry out illegal trading. Local businesses are shocked and frustrated that when the police raid those premises, they remain open and continue trading. Will the Government consider bringing forward legislation to provide for the immediate closure of illegally trading shops?

[Mike Tapp]

We take extremely this seriously in the Home Office, but it is out of control after the previous Government left us with a broken system. That is why in just over a year and a half we have increased arrests by 50% and visits by 64%—the highest in British history—and we will continue on that route.

[Chris Murray (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab)]

15. What steps her Department is taking to close asylum hotels.