Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what resource has been allocated to administer the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme in financial year (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
UKVI are currently assessing Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme (UPE) visas within the published processing times. Information on visa processing times can be found at Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK
Average processing times do not form part of any current transparency data for Ukraine Extension Permission applications and are not published.
A range of processing data including case outcomes on Ukraine visa applications, can be found at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK and Migration transparency data - GOV.UK
Resourcing arrangements are flexible across all visa routes, with decision-makers deployed to different areas at different times of the year. This enables UKVI to meet peaks in demand and operate efficiently throughout the operational year.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of visa applications under the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme are determined within eight weeks in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
UKVI are currently assessing Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme (UPE) visas within the published processing times. Information on visa processing times can be found at Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK
Average processing times do not form part of any current transparency data for Ukraine Extension Permission applications and are not published.
A range of processing data including case outcomes on Ukraine visa applications, can be found at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK and Migration transparency data - GOV.UK
Resourcing arrangements are flexible across all visa routes, with decision-makers deployed to different areas at different times of the year. This enables UKVI to meet peaks in demand and operate efficiently throughout the operational year.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken is to determine a visa extension under the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
UKVI are currently assessing Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme (UPE) visas within the published processing times. Information on visa processing times can be found at Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK
Average processing times do not form part of any current transparency data for Ukraine Extension Permission applications and are not published.
A range of processing data including case outcomes on Ukraine visa applications, can be found at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK and Migration transparency data - GOV.UK
Resourcing arrangements are flexible across all visa routes, with decision-makers deployed to different areas at different times of the year. This enables UKVI to meet peaks in demand and operate efficiently throughout the operational year.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has considered gifting Watchkeeper to Ukraine.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK and partners will continue to ensure we equip Ukraine as best we can to defend its sovereign territory and ensure it is in a position of strength for any peace negotiations.
Since Watchkeeper Mk1 entered service in 2010, drone technology has evolved at remarkable pace, driven by the extensive use of unmanned systems in the war in Ukraine. The Department has therefore prioritised this effort on more cost-effective drones that deliver comparable capability and can operate in the most demanding environments.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with her G7 counterparts on (a) the potential impact of the oil price cap on the level of the Russian Federation's revenues to date and (b) the potential merits of reducing the level of the oil price cap; and what estimate she has made of the potential impact of the oil price cap on the Russian Federation's fiscal revenues in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The implementation of the oil price cap has achieved its joint aims of 1) reducing Russian oil revenues by capping the price at which Russian oil can be transported using G7 maritime services (such as insurance and brokering for example), while also, 2) maintaining global oil flows and limiting market in instability.
This is why the UK, alongside the EU announced our intention to lower the crude oil price cap in July 2025 with Canada, Japan and New Zealand following shortly afterwards.
At 23:01 (GMT) Saturday 31 January 2026 the crude Oil Price Cap will be lowered from $47.60 to $44.10 per barrel. The UK has chosen to mirror the EU's new price to maintain regulatory alignment in targeting Russian revenues and is part of the UK’s ongoing commitment to supporting Ukraine. Remaining aligned with the EU on this matter ensures clarity and ease for UK businesses operating in Europe.
Following the introduction of the oil price cap on crude oil in December 2022, and refined oil products in February 2023, Russian oil export revenues have been significantly reduced. Compared to 2022, the price cap contributed to an approximately 18% fall in Russian oil export revenues in 2023 and 2024, and a 30% decline in 2025. This success, coupled with significantly lower Urals prices, has weakened Putin’s ability to sustain his illegal war in Ukraine.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support is available to families who are hosting Ukrainian citizens who need to extend their visas under the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme in financial year (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Sponsors/hosts of Homes for Ukraine guests are eligible for a thank you payment of £350 a month for the duration of a guests’ Homes for Ukraine visa period and for 18-months of the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme visa period.
The extension of thank you payments for 18-months of UPE provides time for guests and sponsors/hosts to plan for next steps, including securing independent accommodation if needed. Alternatively sponsors/hosts and guests may want to consider converting to a lodging arrangement and making use of the Government’s Rent a Room scheme. Where sponsors/hosts charge rent, they will not be eligible to receive a thank you payment.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Cutting-edge drone degree to train military forces of the future unveiled, published on 21 January, whether elements of the undergraduate drone degree will involve studying the use of drones in a combat scenario.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The undergraduate drone degree is designed to equip students with the technical skills required to build, upgrade and sustain drone systems, rather than to train them in their operational use. Some elements of the programme will involve students working with industry and defence partners on practical problem solving projects, which may include challenges linked to the operational employment of drones in combat settings.
Students on the programme will not participate in military exercises. However, having Army personnel learning alongside civilian students, supported by academic staff and defence contractors, will provide valuable insight into the realities of operating drones in contested environments and supports a collaborative approach to innovation.
The course does not provide training in how to operate drones; this is delivered separately through the Army’s existing small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems training pathways. Instead, the degree focuses on ensuring personnel have the technical knowledge and engineering expertise to sustain and adapt drone systems at the pace required by rapidly evolving operational demands, as seen in Ukraine
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Cutting-edge drone degree to train military forces of the future unveiled, published on 21 January 2025, whether the undergraduate drone degree will involve participation in any military exercises.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The undergraduate drone degree is designed to equip students with the technical skills required to build, upgrade and sustain drone systems, rather than to train them in their operational use. Some elements of the programme will involve students working with industry and defence partners on practical problem solving projects, which may include challenges linked to the operational employment of drones in combat settings.
Students on the programme will not participate in military exercises. However, having Army personnel learning alongside civilian students, supported by academic staff and defence contractors, will provide valuable insight into the realities of operating drones in contested environments and supports a collaborative approach to innovation.
The course does not provide training in how to operate drones; this is delivered separately through the Army’s existing small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems training pathways. Instead, the degree focuses on ensuring personnel have the technical knowledge and engineering expertise to sustain and adapt drone systems at the pace required by rapidly evolving operational demands, as seen in Ukraine
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Cutting-edge drone degree to train military forces of the future unveiled, published on 21 January 2025, whether the undergraduate drone degree will involve training in the use of drones.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The undergraduate drone degree is designed to equip students with the technical skills required to build, upgrade and sustain drone systems, rather than to train them in their operational use. Some elements of the programme will involve students working with industry and defence partners on practical problem solving projects, which may include challenges linked to the operational employment of drones in combat settings.
Students on the programme will not participate in military exercises. However, having Army personnel learning alongside civilian students, supported by academic staff and defence contractors, will provide valuable insight into the realities of operating drones in contested environments and supports a collaborative approach to innovation.
The course does not provide training in how to operate drones; this is delivered separately through the Army’s existing small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems training pathways. Instead, the degree focuses on ensuring personnel have the technical knowledge and engineering expertise to sustain and adapt drone systems at the pace required by rapidly evolving operational demands, as seen in Ukraine
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the business centre in Kyiv on the time taken to deliver defence equipment to Ukrainian armed forces that is supplied by the UK defence sector.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The business centre is being designed to address the challenges that currently complicate operations for smaller UK companies. This will accelerate business processes and provide greater opportunities for both nations. The Ministry of Defence will work with the selected delivery partner, and relevant stakeholders, to ensure that the hub's operational framework delivers enduring change, including the transition to reconstruction at the appropriate time.