Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they made an equality impact assessment of the proposals in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, published on 20 November; if so, when they plan to publish that assessment; and, if not, why not.

The proposed earned settlement policy is currently subject to a public consultation. This was launched on 20 November and is due to close on 12 February 2026.

This public consultation directly asks for opinions on how English language proficiency should be assessed. This, and the wider details of the earned settlement policy, will be finalised in light of the information collected in that consultation.

An equality impact assessment has been developed alongside the policy. There are specific questions in relation to equalities as part of the consultation to inform the final equality impact assessment, which A Fairer Pathway to Settlement has already committed to publishing in due course.