Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Department has made of whether funding arrangements for NaVCIS are adequate to meet levels of operational demand across the freight and logistics sector.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We fully recognise the serious and growing threat that freight crime poses to businesses, drivers, and the wider economy.
The Government does not fund NaVCIS. Instead NaVCIS is funded by industry, including finance and leasing companies, insurers and hauliers.
NaVCIS is a national policing unit that provides dedicated specialist intelligence, and it engages with a range of partners to tackle organised vehicle crime.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to allow a reduction in the Indefinite Leave to Remain qualifying period for Meat Hygiene Inspectors who are qualified veterinary surgeons from overseas but unable to register as Official Veterinarians due to Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons accreditation requirements.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years.
We are proposing a series of tests that will measure a person’s contribution to this country and either reduce or increase the amount of time to settlement. This will include work undertaken by the individual. This earned settlement model and the tests which measure contribution are currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
The consultation also seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement.
Details of the earned settlement scheme, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to introduce transitional arrangements to exempt existing Skilled Worker visa holders in (a) meat hygiene inspector roles and (b) other skilled roles from the retrospective application of the extended Indefinite Leave to Remain qualifying periods.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years.
We are proposing a series of tests that will measure a person’s contribution to this country and either reduce or increase the amount of time to settlement. This will include work undertaken by the individual. This earned settlement model and the tests which measure contribution are currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
The consultation also seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement.
Details of the earned settlement scheme, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 proposed 15-year qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain under the earned settlement model on the retention of migrant meat hygiene inspectors currently employed on Skilled Worker visas.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years.
We are proposing a series of tests that will measure a person’s contribution to this country and either reduce or increase the amount of time to settlement. This will include work undertaken by the individual. This earned settlement model and the tests which measure contribution are currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
The consultation also seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement.
Details of the earned settlement scheme, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of visa renewal costs and salary thresholds for migrant Meat Hygiene Inspectors under the proposed earned settlement model on food price inflation.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years.
We are proposing a series of tests that will measure a person’s contribution to this country and either reduce or increase the amount of time to settlement. This will include work undertaken by the individual. This earned settlement model and the tests which measure contribution are currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
The consultation also seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement.
Details of the earned settlement scheme, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, what information her Department holds on discussions between West Midlands Police and (a) the Metropolitan Police, (b) MI5, (c) Cabinet Office and (d) the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre on the Ajax v Maccabi Tel Aviv Europa League game in November 2024.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office will make public the findings from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services on the information and intelligence used by West Midlands Police to assess and categorise the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match on 6 November, and how accurately this reflected intelligence received from the Netherlands Police, as soon as this is provided.
The Home Office does not hold any information on whether the Muslim Brotherhood or other organisations subject to government non-engagement shared information with West Midlands Police in relation to this match.
Similarly, the Home Office does not hold any information on discussions between West Midlands Police and the Metropolitan Police, MI5, Cabinet Office, or the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre in relation to this match.
A reply to the Honourable Member for West Suffolk’s letter of 2 January 2026 will be sent in due course.
Section 40 of the Police Act 1996 enables the Home Secretary to direct a PCC or Mayor where a force is failing, in exceptional circumstances.
The power for the Home Secretary to require a police authority to call on a Chief Constable to retire was removed through the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and the power to dismiss Chief Constables now rests with Police and Crime Commissioners.
The Home Secretary has already taken action and commissioned HMICFRS to review the information and intelligence used by West Midlands Police.
The findings from this are due to be provided on 12 January.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the English language component of the citizenship application will change to B2 for incoming BN(O) visa applicants.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK and is committed to maintaining lawful routes of entry for people from Hong Kong, including the BN(O) route.
BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation, including any transitional arrangements and exemptions from the mandatory requirements.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.
We will also consider the requirements for English language qualifications in nationality applications, and any changes will be announced at a later date.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the asylum accommodation pilot on levels of irregular migration to the United Kingdom.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
While we remain committed to supporting those who are destitute, we must also ensure that the offer of accommodation is decent and humane without becoming a pull factor or placing an excessive burden on taxpayers.
We are moving at pace to fulfil the Government’s commitment to close every asylum hotel by the end of this parliament. Work to facilitate this exit is ongoing, and we are looking at a range of more appropriate sites including ex-military sites so we can reduce the impact on communities.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Government will declare a national emergency regarding the cross Channel small boat migration crisis.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The number of small boat crossings is too high and this Government is taking action. The Home Secretary has announced the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in decades, removing the incentives that bring illegal migrants to the UK and scaling up the return of those with no right to be here.
The Border Security Command is central to this effort, bringing together law enforcement, intelligence sharing, and international cooperation to disrupt smuggling networks and bring perpetrators to justice. For the first time, we have mobilised the whole of government and all operational partners to deliver a coordinated and prioritised range of activities in the UK and with partners overseas. Our historic deal with the French means those who arrive on small boats are now being sent back.
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, which came into force on 5 January 2026, provides new powers to seize electronic devices from illegal migrants and introduces offences targeting small boat smuggling and concealment in vehicles. These measures strengthen our ability to disrupt organised immigration crime and reduce irregular migration.
Disruption of organised crime groups has intensified, increasing domestic action against organised immigration crime (OIC) via enhanced powers and intensified law enforcement operations, targeting upstream facilitators, disrupting OIC business models via targeting, the illicit financial flows, small boat equipment supply chains and online networks of organised crime groups (OCG)s.
We have boosted the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) capabilities through an extra £100 million funding which will pay for up to 300 extra NCA officers, state-of-the art detection technology and new equipment to smash the networks putting lives at risk in the Channel. This approach is working; the year ending September 2025, there were 3,162 OIC disruptions conducted by public bodies, 33% more than in the previous year (2,374). The number of OIC disruptions has steadily increased from an average of 392 disruptions per quarter in 2023, to 791 per quarter in the latest year.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to expand the asylum accommodation pilot involving new council housing beyond participating local authorities.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
New council housing will not be constructed for use by asylum seekers under any circumstances. Asylum seekers are not eligible for social housing.
MHCLG and HO are investing millions in a new, more sustainable accommodation model, developed in consultation with local authorities. This funding helps deliver better outcomes for communities and taxpayers.
This new funding will complement ongoing Home Office reforms to the asylum accommodation estate, including pilot schemes to repurpose derelict buildings and to develop other community-led alternatives to the use of hotels for housing asylum seekers on a temporary basis. In the longer term, the ambition is that the investment leaves a lasting legacy of housing for local communities and reduces pressure on local housing markets.