Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Restoring Control Over the Immigration System: White Paper, whether her Department plans to apply the 5 and 10 year penalties for accessing public funds to those on limited leave to remain who are currently living in the UK and receiving benefits.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Data regarding how many people in the UK are subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition (NRPF) is currently in development and not ready for release. We will continue to explore what further information on NRPF can be produced. We are unable at this time to provide a specific timeframe for data publication or indeed confirm what will be published.
The earned settlement model is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026. Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following that consultation.
The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Consideration will then be given, if appropriate, to how transitional arrangements may be designed to ease the impact of policy change, especially for individuals or groups already afforded permissions by the previous system.
The final model will also be subject to equality impact assessment, which the government has committed to publish in due course.
Free school meals are not classed as a 'public fund' for immigration purposes. It is the Department for Education who set the eligibility criteria for who can access free school meals.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) children and (b) adults are subject to the No Recourse to Public Funds condition.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Data regarding how many people in the UK are subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition (NRPF) is currently in development and not ready for release. We will continue to explore what further information on NRPF can be produced. We are unable at this time to provide a specific timeframe for data publication or indeed confirm what will be published.
The earned settlement model is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026. Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following that consultation.
The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Consideration will then be given, if appropriate, to how transitional arrangements may be designed to ease the impact of policy change, especially for individuals or groups already afforded permissions by the previous system.
The final model will also be subject to equality impact assessment, which the government has committed to publish in due course.
Free school meals are not classed as a 'public fund' for immigration purposes. It is the Department for Education who set the eligibility criteria for who can access free school meals.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which government departments and schemes will explicitly include families with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) within their eligibility criteria following the introduction of new guidance; and what steps will be taken to monitor and enforce consistency of support across these schemes.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The new guidance being produced by the Home Office is designed to assist local authorities in supporting families with NRPF, as set out in the Child Poverty Strategy. The guidance will provide clarity around statutory duties and key safeguards for local authorities, ensuring a clear and consistent approach. The guidance does not alter the eligibility criteria for any current schemes or benefits.
Children whose families are subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition (NRPF) can currently access schemes and benefits such as free school meals, 15 hours of free childcare for disadvantaged two-year-olds and15 hours free childcare for three- to four-year-old.
The Home Office will continue to work across government where relevant to ensure that migrant children with NRPF are specifically considered when reviewing or deciding on eligibility for schemes and benefits.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's review of the adults at risk in immigration detention policy, whether she has considered the potential merits of including (a) lesbian, (b) bisexual and (c) gay people on the list of indicators of risk.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
As part of the review of the adults at risk in immigration detention policy, I can confirm that officials have considered the merits of including lesbian, gay and bisexual people on the list of indicators of risk under the policy. In addition, written comments and representations from a number of organisations that represent lesbian, gay and bisexual people were provided to the Home Office further to external engagement on the review.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's Statement of 1 September 2025 on Borders and Asylum, Official Report, col 26, what steps she plans to take to tighten the test for asylum accommodation.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are reviewing our processes, policies and legislation to ensure that only those who need support receive it. We will set out reforms to the asylum system later this year in the Asylum Policy statement.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) asylum seeking families, (b) asylum seeking unaccompanied minors and (c) all types of asylum seekers would be eligible for transfer from asylum hotels to military barracks.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is firmly committed to ensuring that destitute asylum seekers are provided with safe, secure, and appropriate accommodation, and that they are treated with dignity throughout the asylum process.
Any requests to be accommodated in a particular location are considered under the Home Office Allocation of Asylum Accommodation Policy on a case-by-case basis, balancing the overarching principle that accommodation is offered on a ‘no choice basis’ against the strength of the exceptional circumstances.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, what assessment she has made on the potential impact of changes to the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain on people working (a) part-time and (b) on low wages.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A technical annex has been published alongside the White Paper. It can be found in the following link: Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper - GOV.UK.
We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain on people seeking to buy property in the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A technical annex has been published alongside the White Paper. It can be found in the following link: Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper - GOV.UK.
We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed extension of the qualifying period for indefinite leave on levels of poverty in migrant communities.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A technical annex has been published alongside the White Paper. It can be found in the following link: Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper - GOV.UK.
We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and will provide details of how the scheme will work at that time.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the qualifying period for indefinite leave on families with British-born children.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We will reform our settlement and citizenship rules by expanding the Points-Based System and increasing the standard qualifying period for settlement to ten years.
Individuals will have the opportunity to reduce the qualifying period to settlement and citizenship based on contributions to the UK economy and society.
Paragraph 265 of the White Paper states that we will continue to offer a shorter pathway to settlement for non-UK dependants of British citizens of five years, provided they have remained compliant with the requirements of the relevant family route.