Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to Parliamentary Question 104261 answered on 16 January 2026, whether the ‘net positive benefit to the public purse’ of the new Home Office English Language Test will be used to support management of budget pressures in the asylum system.

The financial benefits arising from the HOELT are expected to accrue to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) budgets within the Home Office. Under the current concession model, test fees are retained by approved providers. The new model changes that financial relationship. Decisions on the use of any resulting savings will be subject to usual Home Office financial planning processes. Any income the Home Office receives from these fees will play an essential role in supporting the sustainable funding of the migration and borders system.