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 discussions she has had with the British National (Overseas) (BHO) community on the potential merits of exempting BNO visa holders from the proposed extension of the settlement qualifying period.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in future.

Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation.

We regularly engage with representatives of the Hong Kong diaspora in the UK on issues related to the BN(O) visa and will continue to do so.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with local authorities in areas where the EU Entry/Exit System will come into force on 12 October 2025.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The EU Entry/Exit System will be implemented at the juxtaposed border controls in the UK. Ministers and officials have been working closely with key affected stakeholders to ensure the necessary preparations are in place. This includes frequent engagement between the Department for Transport and local authorities including Kent County Council.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of cancelled surgeries (a) at the East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust and (b) in England as a result of increased humidity in operating theatres.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

National Health Service organisations are locally responsible for their estate, including making decisions on the management of operating theatres. Guidance on ventilation in healthcare premises, including humidity, is provided in the Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 03-01: Specialised ventilation for healthcare premises, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/specialised-ventilation-for-healthcare-buildings/

Found: Neil Coyle (Lab) and Gregory Stafford (Con) called for the amendment to be retained.51 However, Sojan Joseph