Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, what assessment they have made of the impact of stopping refugee family reunion for those on the core protection route on refugees' (1) ability to economically contribute to the United Kingdom, and (2) reliance on state support.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s Asylum Policy Statement outlines the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the UK’s system. Specific Impact Assessments will be undertaken as policies are developed more fully. These will be kept under review to ensure that there are no unintended impacts on people with protected characteristics.
Further details on asylum reform, including support and contributions, will also be announced in due course.
The Asylum and Returns Policy Statement sets out the intention that we will review protection status for people who do not switch out of Core Protection. This is part of the wider package that seeks to incentivise people to switch (alongside the ability to earn down the time to settlement, and sponsor family members).
We cannot predict with any certainty what proportion of people will switch, although the system will be designed to ensure that switching is a viable option for the majority of people.
For those who do remain on Core Protection, reviews will be conducted on a targeted basis so that we can make the most efficient use of resources. The renewal stage will generally involve a simple security check, and we will set business rules to identify cases that warrant a manual intervention.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, what assessment they have made of the cost to the (1) Home Office, and (2) legal aid budget, of reassessing refugee applications every 30 months over a 20-year period.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s Asylum Policy Statement outlines the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the UK’s system. Specific Impact Assessments will be undertaken as policies are developed more fully. These will be kept under review to ensure that there are no unintended impacts on people with protected characteristics.
Further details on asylum reform, including support and contributions, will also be announced in due course.
The Asylum and Returns Policy Statement sets out the intention that we will review protection status for people who do not switch out of Core Protection. This is part of the wider package that seeks to incentivise people to switch (alongside the ability to earn down the time to settlement, and sponsor family members).
We cannot predict with any certainty what proportion of people will switch, although the system will be designed to ensure that switching is a viable option for the majority of people.
For those who do remain on Core Protection, reviews will be conducted on a targeted basis so that we can make the most efficient use of resources. The renewal stage will generally involve a simple security check, and we will set business rules to identify cases that warrant a manual intervention.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, what assessment they have made of the impact of stopping refugee family reunion on the number of women and children arriving in the United Kingdom by irregular routes.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s Asylum Policy Statement outlines the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the UK’s system. Specific Impact Assessments will be undertaken as policies are developed more fully. These will be kept under review to ensure that there are no unintended impacts on people with protected characteristics.
Further details on asylum reform, including support and contributions, will also be announced in due course.
The Asylum and Returns Policy Statement sets out the intention that we will review protection status for people who do not switch out of Core Protection. This is part of the wider package that seeks to incentivise people to switch (alongside the ability to earn down the time to settlement, and sponsor family members).
We cannot predict with any certainty what proportion of people will switch, although the system will be designed to ensure that switching is a viable option for the majority of people.
For those who do remain on Core Protection, reviews will be conducted on a targeted basis so that we can make the most efficient use of resources. The renewal stage will generally involve a simple security check, and we will set business rules to identify cases that warrant a manual intervention.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many hotels were housing asylum seekers in (1) July 2023, (2) July 2024, and (3) either July 2025 or the most recent month for which data is available.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government recognises that hotels are not a sustainable solution for accommodating asylum seekers and remains committed to ending their use, already reducing the number in operation. We do not provide a running commentary on hotel numbers, our objective is to close all asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament, reducing costs to the taxpayer and restoring control to local communities.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, what assessment they have made of the impact on local government finances relating to their duties to support destitute asylum seekers once the Government revoke their own duty to support.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s Asylum Policy Statement outlines the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the UK’s system. Specific Impact Assessments will be undertaken as policies are developed more fully. These will be kept under review to ensure that there are no unintended impacts on people with protected characteristics.
Further details on asylum reform, including support and contributions, will also be announced in due course.
The Asylum and Returns Policy Statement sets out the intention that we will review protection status for people who do not switch out of Core Protection. This is part of the wider package that seeks to incentivise people to switch (alongside the ability to earn down the time to settlement, and sponsor family members).
We cannot predict with any certainty what proportion of people will switch, although the system will be designed to ensure that switching is a viable option for the majority of people.
For those who do remain on Core Protection, reviews will be conducted on a targeted basis so that we can make the most efficient use of resources. The renewal stage will generally involve a simple security check, and we will set business rules to identify cases that warrant a manual intervention.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 25 November (HL11798), whether those in charge of hotels in which asylum seekers are house are required to inform the Home Office of any residents who have disappeared and what steps are taken to locate such residents.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Home Office accommodation is non-detained, asylum seekers are free to come and go from the sites.
The Home Office expects the highest standards from accommodation providers, who are expected to conduct regular checks across the asylum estate including reporting police for disappearing of asylum seekers. A detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by accommodation providers and the standards we expect can be found in the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts.
Schedule 2 to AASC contract provides:
Accurate and auditable daily site registers maintained in accordance with the Home Office’s requirements. The Provider must inform the Home Office as soon as they become aware of an unauthorised absence of an asylum seeker from the relevant Initial Accommodation
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 25 November (HL11798), whether those in charge of hotels in which asylum seekers are housed are required to keep accurate and up-to-date records of (1) current residents, and (2) residents who have disappeared.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Home Office accommodation is non-detained, asylum seekers are free to come and go from the sites.
The Home Office expects the highest standards from accommodation providers, who are expected to conduct regular checks across the asylum estate including reporting police for disappearing of asylum seekers. A detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by accommodation providers and the standards we expect can be found in the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts.
Schedule 2 to AASC contract provides:
Accurate and auditable daily site registers maintained in accordance with the Home Office’s requirements. The Provider must inform the Home Office as soon as they become aware of an unauthorised absence of an asylum seeker from the relevant Initial Accommodation
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, whether they intend to detain in immigration detention centres children who were once accepted as refugees but subsequently not so, following a 30-month review of their status.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Pathways for unaccompanied children, families with children, and other vulnerable asylum seekers will be reviewed with full consideration of our EQIA and Section 55 duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK.
As now, children will not be detained in Immigration Removal Centres.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussion she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the estimate of the number of grooming gangs operating in Manchester.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Baroness Casey’s rapid national audit into group-based child sexual exploitation set out stark findings on the scale and nature of grooming gang offending. This government is absolutely committed to exposing the failures that have happened across the country and making sure that it can never happen again. We accepted all of Baroness Casey’s twelve recommendations and are working across government to implement these as quickly as possible. The Home Secretary announced the leadership and draft terms of reference of the new Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs on 9 December 2025.
To improve our understanding of and response to these crimes, the Home Office funds a number of policing capabilities, including the Tackling Organised Exploitation programme which uses data and intelligence to increase law enforcement’s capability to respond to organised exploitation. We also fund the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to improve how the police investigate child sexual exploitation and bring more offenders to justice. The Taskforce work directly with forces to improve data collection and analyse data on a national level. On 10 December 2025, the Taskforce published an annual data report for group-based offending in 2024, which can be found here: https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/latest-news/new-police-recorded-csae-crime-data-analysis.
Neither the Taskforce nor the Home Office publishes data on offending within specific cities.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussion she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the estimate of the number of grooming gangs operating in Liverpool.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Baroness Casey’s rapid national audit into group-based child sexual exploitation set out stark findings on the scale and nature of grooming gang offending. This government is absolutely committed to exposing the failures that have happened across the country and making sure that it can never happen again. We accepted all of Baroness Casey’s twelve recommendations and are working across government to implement these as quickly as possible. The Home Secretary announced the leadership and draft terms of reference of the new Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs on 9 December 2025.
To improve our understanding of and response to these crimes, the Home Office funds a number of policing capabilities, including the Tackling Organised Exploitation programme which uses data and intelligence to increase law enforcement’s capability to respond to organised exploitation. We also fund the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to improve how the police investigate child sexual exploitation and bring more offenders to justice. The Taskforce work directly with forces to improve data collection and analyse data on a national level. On 10 December 2025, the Taskforce published an annual data report for group-based offending in 2024, which can be found here: https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/latest-news/new-police-recorded-csae-crime-data-analysis.
Neither the Taskforce nor the Home Office publishes data on offending within specific cities.