Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Tapp Excerpts

Monday 5th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Elsie Blundell (Heywood and Middleton North) (Lab)]

1. What steps she is taking to help prevent the exploitation of migrant care workers by private care companies.

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

Exploitation of workers is unacceptable, and overseas recruitment for social care visas closed in July 2025 following significant concerns about exploitation. We have revoked record numbers of sponsor licences to prevent exploitative employers from sponsoring migrant workers. The Government are establishing the fair work agency to provide a more cohesive and streamlined response to exploitation across all sectors.

[Mrs Blundell]

In recent weeks, I have heard from several social care workers in my constituency who have each outlined to me the profound uncertainty that they face regarding their employer-sponsored visas, despite the critical role that these workers play in supporting the most vulnerable in our communities. What consideration has been given to the idea that these employer-sponsored visas could be replaced with sector-wide schemes to prevent continued poor practice from some employers?

[Mike Tapp]

This Government acknowledge and are grateful for the significant contribution that health and social care workers put in, day in and day out, across the country. However, it was right that we ended the overseas recruitment of care workers due to the high levels of abuse that many workers were experiencing at the hands of dodgy employers. There are no current plans to replace the current sponsorship arrangement for care workers.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

I am disappointed to hear that the Minister is not looking at a common certificate of sponsorship. Has he made a decision, with his colleagues, on whether care workers will be considered in the same group as NHS workers in relation to the faster route? Otherwise, we are going to end up with a massive hole in our services, with social care yet again being the Cinderella service to the NHS.

[Mike Tapp]

We must remember that hundreds of thousands came into the country to fill just tens of thousands of jobs, so this is the right approach here. There are no plans at this time, but the mechanism of delivery is currently at consultation, and that closes on 12 February.

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

My constituent, a migrant care worker, was asked to pay £3,600 to her employer, a private care company, for a sponsorship application that never happened. The company is now keeping the money, with no legal reason, and refusing to engage with my constituent. This is not the only case I am aware of. Will the Minister take stronger action, including suspending licences and prosecuting companies that exploit vulnerable workers?

[Mike Tapp]

It is important that we hold dodgy employers to account. Penalties are in place for those employing illegal workers, as is a potential prison sentence for illegal working. In the care sector, we saw hundreds of thousands come into the country to fill a very small number of jobs, so it is right to stop this social care visa at this point.

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

Health and social care workers fear not only exploitation, but that promises may be retroactively broken by the Government. Will the Minister confirm that the promise of indefinite leave to remain after five years for health and social care workers at Musgrove Park hospital in my constituency will be honoured?

[Mike Tapp]

When visas end, people should leave the country, and that is what this Government will ensure. There is no route for these people unless they switch, and that is of course open to them at this point. If the visa ends, they must leave the country.

[Lewis Cocking (Broxbourne) (Con)]

4. What progress her Department has made on closing asylum hotels.

--- Later in debate ---

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

9. What steps she is taking through the visa and immigration system to support refugees from Ukraine.

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

This Government remain committed to supporting Ukraine following Russia’s illegal invasion. More than 300,000 Ukrainians have been offered temporary sanctuary through the dedicated Ukraine schemes, and Ukrainians can still apply to the Homes for Ukraine scheme with a UK sponsor.

[Catherine Fookes]

Blwyddyn newydd dda, Mr Speaker.

Monmouthshire hosts more than 400 refugees from Ukraine. Most of the adults work locally, and some have started businesses; their children are settled in schools, and they contribute hugely to our community. However, Ukrainians in Abergavenny—a proud town of sanctuary—as well as in our towns of Chepstow and Caldicot say that their temporary status can create practical hurdles, such as in housing or university grant applications, because they may suddenly be uprooted. What is the Minister doing through the visa system to ensure that refugees from Ukraine have the necessary support and stability to thrive here in the UK in the long term?

[Mike Tapp]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important concern. Ukrainians in Monmouthshire and across the UK have full access to work, healthcare and education, and this Government acted swiftly to introduce a further extension of three and a half years to provide certainty. Ukrainian visa applications are processed swiftly, and e-visas can be easily accessed online to prove status. The Department for Education is working closely with higher education providers to ensure that they support Ukrainians in maintaining stable access to their studies. We have to be clear that this bespoke route offers temporary sanctuary; it balances the immediate needs of Ukrainians with the future needs of Ukraine as it rebuilds.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

Happy new year, Mr Speaker.

Bath Welcomes Refugees has supported more than 800 refugees to integrate and access vital services such as housing—indeed, Bath is another place where Ukrainian refugees have received a very warm welcome. The Public and Commercial Services Union report “Welcoming Growth” highlights the importance of employment support and English language provision in enabling refugees to contribute to society. What consideration has the Department given to these recommendations to support Ukrainian refugees in Bath?

[Mike Tapp]

As I said earlier, those here on these bespoke routes have access to full work, healthcare and education, but I will take the hon. Lady’s point away to my team after this session.

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)]

10. What steps her Department is taking to help improve police efficiency.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Cooper (Mid Cheshire) (Lab)]

T2. I recently met a group of care workers from Northwich who are here through the health and social care visa, and who are undertaking vital work with great commitment and some personal sacrifice. They spoke passionately about the unfairness of applying the proposed changes to requirements for settled status retrospectively. What assessment has the Home Secretary made of the policy's compliance with the judgment in the case of R (HSMP Forum Ltd) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department in 2008, in respect of ensuring that changes made to immigration rules should not disadvantage those who had already made life-changing decisions based on the existing framework?

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

In addition to what I laid out earlier in the House, the changes announced by the Home Secretary are subject to consultation, which is live and will end on 12 February. Any decision to implement these proposals will take full account of relevant legal precedent.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

--- Later in debate ---

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

T8.  Cambridge University Press & Assessment has long experience of conducting in-country English tests for those seeking to come to the UK, but it is concerned that the Home Office is moving too quickly to a new digital system whereby applicants do not have to attend in person to be tested. It fears that the scope for impersonation remains too high, so will the Minister review that change?

[Mike Tapp]

The Home Office English language testing procurement has formally launched. Given that there is a live process, I will not comment on that specifically. However, I can assure my hon. Friend that the delivery model must meet appropriate integrity requirements.

[Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)]

Nearly 17,000 companies licensed to sponsor worker visas have five or fewer employees, and over 3,000 of these have just one employee. Ministers have been unable to tell me how many inspections have been made of companies since the general election. How sure is the Home Secretary that these are not bogus companies offering a back door to Britain?

[Mike Tapp]

Any UK business can apply for a sponsor licence, provided that it complies with the relevant requirements. I will take that point away, look at it and come back to the hon. Member with more detail.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

In the light of the appalling antisemitic terror attack at Bondi Beach, the faith communities in Aylesbury are scared. I welcome the Government’s funding to protect places of worship, but it does not extend to my local Jewish community, who do not have their own synagogue. What further measures will the Minister consider to ensure that all faith communities, even those without their own premises, are well protected?

--- Later in debate ---

[Juliet Campbell (Broxtowe) (Lab)]

I thank the Government for maintaining the five-year pathway to settlement for Hong Kong British national overseas visa holders. In my constituency I have over 2,500 BNO visa holders. Will the Minister explain how the Department will continue to support our Hong Kong residents, now and in the future? Will he agree to meet me and my Hong Kong visa holders in Broxtowe to hear about the challenges that they continue to face?

[Mike Tapp]

We have continued the settlement after five years for residents, providing certainty. The new mandatory requirements on income and language we see as sensible. However, they are out for consultation and no firm decision has been made. It would be a pleasure to meet my hon. Friend and her constituents.

[Nick Timothy (West Suffolk) (Con)]

On 7 October the police told a private meeting that they planned to ban Israeli fans from Villa Park. That was, to quote the minutes,

“in the absence of intelligence”.

On 9 October they accepted that they needed to find a more clear rationale for the decision already made. On 16 October they said they suddenly found significant intelligence for a ban. That supposedly came from a conversation with the Dutch police on 1 October, before the first meeting held in the “absence of intelligence”. Does the Home Secretary believe West Midlands police—yes or no?