Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children of Afghan refugees attending schools in or near army barracks across the UK are being taught in classes segregated by sex.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding from the Overseas Development Assistance budget has been directed towards housing (a) asylum seekers, (b) refugees and (c) illegal migrants in their first year living in the UK in each year since 2020.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK reports its Official Development Assistance spend on a calendar year basis in the Statistics on International Development, including the amount spent on in-donor refugee costs.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time was between the date refugee status was first recorded and first payment for Universal Credit claimants with refugee status in 2025.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This information is not centrally held by DWP, and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many refugees they expect to be resettled in the UK through the UK Resettlement Scheme in 2026.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK has a proud history of providing protection and we continue to welcome refugees and people in need through our safe and legal routes.
As announced in Restoring Order and Control, we are developing new capped sponsored refugee pathways. These will include education, labour and community routes. This transformative change to safe and legal routes will revolutionise the way in which we offer opportunities to refugees. The Home Office is working with partners, including local authorities, to design and operationalise these routes.
As part of the fundamental change to the UK’s protection offer, the annual cap will be set in consultation with local authorities, partners, and community sponsors. The approach will reflect community capacity to welcome and support refugees.
The number of refugees resettled through the UKRS in any given year will depend on a range of factors, including the capacity of local authorities to welcome, accommodate and integrate refugees.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to consult local authorities when setting the cap for refugee arrivals through safe and legal routes.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK has a proud history of providing protection and we continue to welcome refugees and people in need through our safe and legal routes.
As announced in Restoring Order and Control, we are developing new capped sponsored refugee pathways. These will include education, labour and community routes. This transformative change to safe and legal routes will revolutionise the way in which we offer opportunities to refugees. The Home Office is working with partners, including local authorities, to design and operationalise these routes.
As part of the fundamental change to the UK’s protection offer, the annual cap will be set in consultation with local authorities, partners, and community sponsors. The approach will reflect community capacity to welcome and support refugees.
The number of refugees resettled through the UKRS in any given year will depend on a range of factors, including the capacity of local authorities to welcome, accommodate and integrate refugees.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether Jobcentre Plus staff receive training on trauma-informed approaches when working with refugees and asylum seekers.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP launched introductory trauma informed learning in Summer 2025, following a successful pilot across 23/24; supporting staff to respond to experiences of adversity and trauma including that experienced by refugees and asylum seekers. The learning is further embedded through bespoke products and wider initiatives.
This is part of a comprehensive training package designed to equip staff with the skills to provide high-quality, inclusive customer service to all claimants and tailor support to individual needs.
The Department remains committed to continually reviewing and improving training to meet the diverse requirements of customers.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with African Union partners to help secure the safe passage of people leaving Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 21 January to Questions 106571-78.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January to Question 102465, on North Africa: Refugees, when her Department last assessed the effectiveness of her Department's existing migration prevention work in North Africa.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
All aspects of the Department's work are kept under continuous review, in all regions of the world, particularly on priority issues such as the fight against illegal migration.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of UK asylum and visa policies, in the context of Iranian nationals potentially seeking refuge.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK has a proud history of providing protection and we continue to welcome refugees and people in need through our safe and legal routes. However, there is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge. Whilst we sympathise with people in many difficult situations around the world, we are not bound to consider asylum claims from the very large numbers of people overseas who might like to come here. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.
Our visa policy is kept under review. Iran is a visa national country, and we will assess any visa applications against the relevant immigration rules in the normal way.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what impact on applications for refugee status in the UK transpires when an applicant's home country refuses to share criminal activity data with UK authorities.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office performs mandatory and case-by-case verification and security checks on individuals applying to enter or remain in the UK. To protect the integrity of the specific identity and security checking processes that are conducted, information about them is not disclosed publicly.
We will deny the benefits of refugee status to those who commit serious crimes and are a danger to the community or those who are a threat to national security. Article 1F of the Refugee Convention and Section 72 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 allow us to exclude individuals from protection status where there are serious reasons to show they have committed a particularly serious crime or pose a danger to the community.
In accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention and domestic law, we do not disclose information about an individual’s asylum claim to their home country or seek information in a way that could expose them, or any family who remain in that country, to serious risk.