Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many priority service applications for visas are processed within 5 working days; and how many super priority service applications are processed by the end of the next working day.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This information is published in table VSI_02 (column L) of the UK Visa & Immigration Transparency Data. This shows the proportion of applications processed in line with the 5 working days service standard for priority application, and next working day service standard for super priority applications. Cases which are defined as non-straightforward due to their complexity sit outside the service standard and are therefore excluded from these figures.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, given the forthcoming report of the Cranston Public Inquiry into the tragic loss of 27 lives in the English Channel in November 2021, has she undertaken a review of Channel operations, and the search and rescue capability UK Border Force provides to His Majesty's Coastguard.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
It would be wrong to pre-empt the findings and recommendations of a public inquiry, but it should be noted that considerable improvements had been made in how UK authorities detect and respond to these dangerous, illegal and unnecessary crossing attempts of the Channel, even before the Cranston Inquiry was announced.
The Home Office will study the findings and recommendations of the Inquiry when they are delivered.
Our thoughts remain with the loved ones of those many people who were lost in this appalling tragedy.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many migrants crossing the Channel in small boats present with either pre-existing medical conditions or injuries, or with injuries sustained from the crossing itself.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
These records are not held in a readily retrievable form, and it would only be possible to provide the information being sought at a disproportionate cost.
Migrants who have made dangerous, illegal, and unnecessary crossings of the Channel by small boat do sometimes present with injuries such as petrol burns, or dangerous medical conditions such as hypothermia. Our response to these crossings is reducing the risk to safety of life at sea, and the Home Office has a reception process which includes assessment of all arrivals by suitably qualified medical personnel.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her department has considered the use of AI to help tackle the backlog of asylum applications.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Asylum Case Summarisation (ACS) tool uses artificial intelligence (AI) to summarise asylum interview transcripts. The Asylum Policy Search (APS) tool is an AI search assistant that finds and summarises country policy information. The tools were designed as an aid for decision-makers to improve efficiency but do not, and cannot, replace any part of the decision-making process. APS has been rolled out and is accessible to all Asylum decision makers and ACS development continues, with a full roll out planned in the new year. Further tooling is being worked on including an asylum letter writing assistant for caseworkers which supports the decision-maker in the drafting of outcome letters. It does not make the decision for the decision-maker.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of the Maritime Skills Allowance on Border Force officers; and whether it will review remuneration arrangements.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Border Force and the Border Security Command work tirelessly to keep our borders safe and secure. Our maritime assets and the officers who crew them are a key capability in our mission.
We have been in close dialogue with our maritime officers and their Trade Unions for some time with a view to resolving the ongoing dispute with current terms and conditions.
We are currently holding constructive negotiations with Trade Unions which we believe are moving us closer to a final offer to staff. This offer will include flexibility and attendance- based payments as well as renumeration for professional qualifications through a revised Maritime Skills Allowance package.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the trial of extending the move on period for refugees from 28 to 56 days on the number of refugees who were rough sleeping during the trial.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 9 December 2024, the Home Office operationalised a pilot to extend the grace period to 56 days to support local authorities during a period of increased asylum decision making and with the transition to eVisas.
An independent evaluation has been ongoing regarding the impact of this pilot. The evaluation—conducted by NatCen and RSM—has gathered insights from local authorities, devolved governments, service providers, and voluntary sector partners. It is assessing the impact of the extended move-on period, the introduction of eVisas, and associated initiatives such as Asylum Move On Liaison Officers and targeted funding for local authorities.
Evidence from the evaluation of Move On initiatives will inform government decisions around whether to make any changes to the move on period, future funding and resource deployment. It is important that we take our time to do this, considering overall net costs to taxpayers and impact on the accommodation estate, before making a decision on longer term policy.
From 1 September 2025, the Home Office has taken the decision to pause the 56 day move on period pilot for single adults in receipt of a positive asylum decision, with the exception of individuals who are pregnant, over the age of 65 or have a known/evidence disability, as defined by the 2010 Equality Act. This is to ensure that the asylum system continues to run efficiently, and to enable us to continue taking action both to reduce the overall number of asylum hotels in different communities, and the number of people staying in them.
We closely monitor the impact of all our policies, including the move on period, on the number and occupancy of asylum hotels, the overall costs of the asylum accommodation estate, the wider effect on local communities, and any pressures placed on local authorities and public amenities.
The Home Office has worked, and continues to work, with colleagues at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) to understand rough sleeping and homelessness pressures within local authorities in England. It continues to identify and make efficiencies in supporting newly recognised refugees integrate into society before their support is discontinued to mitigate the risk of homelessness.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of extending the move-on period for refugees from 28 to 56 days.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 9 December 2024, the Home Office operationalised a pilot to extend the grace period to 56 days to support local authorities during a period of increased asylum decision making and with the transition to eVisas.
An independent evaluation has been ongoing regarding the impact of this pilot. The evaluation—conducted by NatCen and RSM—has gathered insights from local authorities, devolved governments, service providers, and voluntary sector partners. It is assessing the impact of the extended move-on period, the introduction of eVisas, and associated initiatives such as Asylum Move On Liaison Officers and targeted funding for local authorities.
Evidence from the evaluation of Move On initiatives will inform government decisions around whether to make any changes to the move on period, future funding and resource deployment. It is important that we take our time to do this, considering overall net costs to taxpayers and impact on the accommodation estate, before making a decision on longer term policy.
From 1 September 2025, the Home Office has taken the decision to pause the 56 day move on period pilot for single adults in receipt of a positive asylum decision, with the exception of individuals who are pregnant, over the age of 65 or have a known/evidence disability, as defined by the 2010 Equality Act. This is to ensure that the asylum system continues to run efficiently, and to enable us to continue taking action both to reduce the overall number of asylum hotels in different communities, and the number of people staying in them.
We closely monitor the impact of all our policies, including the move on period, on the number and occupancy of asylum hotels, the overall costs of the asylum accommodation estate, the wider effect on local communities, and any pressures placed on local authorities and public amenities.
The Home Office has worked, and continues to work, with colleagues at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) to understand rough sleeping and homelessness pressures within local authorities in England. It continues to identify and make efficiencies in supporting newly recognised refugees integrate into society before their support is discontinued to mitigate the risk of homelessness.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the backlog of Leave to Remain applications.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
To help reduce the number of outstanding claims for protection we are investing in a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives that will speed up and simplify our processes, reduce the time people spend in the asylum system and decrease the number of people who are awaiting an interview or decision.
The Home Office is investing in innovative techniques, including AI, to explore how we can improve productivity, speed up processing the asylum backlog, and restore order in the asylum system.
We are also committed to ensuring our operational teams who process applications for leave to remain, have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support overseas carers unable to take up alternative employment as their employer’s sponsorship licence has been suspended and not yet revoked.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Whilst a Sponsor is suspended, there is no impact on a worker’s ability to continue to remain in their employment. We do not predetermine an outcome related to their licence at this stage.
However, the Home Office have confirmed they will support these workers in the same way as those whose licence is revoked, via the relevant Regional Partnerships, should the workers seek that support.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the suspension of new applications for refugee family reunion on children seeking to reunite with family members.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The suspension of the refugee family reunion route is temporary while the Government undertakes a full review and reform of the current family rules to ensure we have a fair and properly balanced system. In the meantime, those with protection status can use other family routes to sponsor a partner and child to come to the UK. Information relating these changes are published on gov.uk at Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1298, 4 September 2025 - GOV.UK.