Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, page 29, whether requirements to learn English for new arrivals will apply to asylum seekers as a condition of receiving (a) asylum and (b) settled status.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The ability to use and understand our shared language is a fundamental basis for participating in society and an expectation of all who wish to call the UK home. English language proficiency is a key facilitator of cohesive communities, and proficiency provides opportunity for individuals, including improved social connections, participation, access to employment and access to essential services.
A decision to grant asylum is based on whether an individual is at risk of persecution in their home country. In compliance with our international obligations, this does not take into account whether or not they can speak English.
As outlined in Protecting What Matters, this government has already strengthened English language requirements for people subject to immigration control, including those applying for settlement. We will also review English language provision to identify best practice, and explore how innovation, including digital delivery, can increase the numbers able to speak English, with conclusions published in Autumn 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many staff, broken down by grade, are in the Home Office adjudication team which considers matters relating to asylum accommodation and representations from local authorities.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has a dedicated function responsible for assessing matters relating to asylum accommodation and for considering representations made by local authorities.
Staff involved in this activity work across a range of grades and responsibilities, and their work forms part of wider operational roles rather than a separately recorded staffing group. As such, the Home Office does not hold a discrete breakdown of staff numbers by grade for this specific function.
The Department keeps staffing levels under regular review to ensure it can respond effectively and proportionately to operational demand, including the handling of local authority representations.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of potential merits of making English language training compulsory for asylum seekers who do not have English language proficiency.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has set out its commitment to supporting successful integration, as highlighted in the Immigration White Paper. Being able to communicate effectively in English is essential for accessing public services, participating in civic life, securing employment, and building strong connections within local communities. Without sufficient language skills, individuals may face barriers to integration and increased risk of social isolation.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Child Poverty Strategy, published on 5 December 2025, what discussions the Home Office have had with the Department for Education about the guidance to local authorities on statutory duties under section 17 of the Children Act 1989; and what steps they have taken to ensure that safeguarding and the best interests of children are considered in that guidance.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 establishes the general duty of local authorities in England to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need and, so far as is consistent with that duty, to promote the upbringing of such children by their families.
I can confirm that the Home Office is working with the Department for Education alongside other government departments and the NRPF network to produce guidance to assist local authorities in their duties to those with No Recourse to Public Funds as part of the Child Poverty Strategy.
The duty Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 duty does not apply to the Home Office. Instead, Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 places a duty on the Home Office to make arrangements for ensuring that immigration, asylum, nationality and general customs functions are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK.
The statutory guidance, called ‘Every Child Matters’, issued under Section 55 (3), sets out the key arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children as they apply both generally to public bodies who deal with children in the UK (Part 1) and specifically to the Home Office (Part 2).
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of their consultation titled Family Returns: Reforming Asylum Support and Enforcing Family Returns, launched on 5 March, (1) what plans they have, if any, to consult local authorities, and (2) why the consultation has not been published on Gov.uk.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The consultation, launched on 5 March, has been shared with a range of expert stakeholders across government, the third sector and beyond, including local authorities. A copy was also deposited in the libraries of both Houses and can be found online.
There will be a range of workshops and engagements over the coming weeks to maximise reach and engagement.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled A National Plan to End Homelessness, published on 11 December 2025, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of adding homelessness prevention targets for (a) the Home Office (b) the Department for Work and Pensions.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Plan to End Homelessness announces a long-term ambition that no one should leave a public institution into homelessness. This parliament we will take the first steps towards this through joint cross-government targets to reduce the number of people leaving institutions into homelessness.
The Home Office have committed to strengthen data sharing processes with councils for 100% of newly granted refugees at risk of homelessness within two days of an asylum discontinuation of support notification. This supports early intervention by enabling councils to commence homelessness assessments.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the suspension of refugee family reunion and the introduction of income-threshold requirements for family reunification on women and children.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The decision on whether to publish equality impact assessments, considered through the development of the announced asylum reforms, will be taken by Ministers once the policy development stage has concluded.
The Government recognises the importance of family, including for this vulnerable group of individuals. However, as a responsible Government, we have to recognise the pressures that are being placed on public services, in part as a result of the number of people arriving under refugee family reunion.
The current pressures are not sustainable and we have to take urgent action to help manage the burdens that are being felt by local authorities and public services more generally. Impacts on vulnerable individuals and equalities considerations are at the front and centre of our work. As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, we consider equality impacts throughout the policy development process, refugee family reunion is no exception.
The Government is committed to meeting its obligations and to providing effective support to ensure that victims are assisted in their recovery from their experiences of exploitation or trafficking. We are carefully considering the impact of proposed reforms on victims of trafficking and exploitation.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish equality impact assessments for new asylum reforms.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The decision on whether to publish equality impact assessments, considered through the development of the announced asylum reforms, will be taken by Ministers once the policy development stage has concluded.
The Government recognises the importance of family, including for this vulnerable group of individuals. However, as a responsible Government, we have to recognise the pressures that are being placed on public services, in part as a result of the number of people arriving under refugee family reunion.
The current pressures are not sustainable and we have to take urgent action to help manage the burdens that are being felt by local authorities and public services more generally. Impacts on vulnerable individuals and equalities considerations are at the front and centre of our work. As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, we consider equality impacts throughout the policy development process, refugee family reunion is no exception.
The Government is committed to meeting its obligations and to providing effective support to ensure that victims are assisted in their recovery from their experiences of exploitation or trafficking. We are carefully considering the impact of proposed reforms on victims of trafficking and exploitation.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of compliance with legal requirements in proposed asylum reforms on victims of trafficking.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The decision on whether to publish equality impact assessments, considered through the development of the announced asylum reforms, will be taken by Ministers once the policy development stage has concluded.
The Government recognises the importance of family, including for this vulnerable group of individuals. However, as a responsible Government, we have to recognise the pressures that are being placed on public services, in part as a result of the number of people arriving under refugee family reunion.
The current pressures are not sustainable and we have to take urgent action to help manage the burdens that are being felt by local authorities and public services more generally. Impacts on vulnerable individuals and equalities considerations are at the front and centre of our work. As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, we consider equality impacts throughout the policy development process, refugee family reunion is no exception.
The Government is committed to meeting its obligations and to providing effective support to ensure that victims are assisted in their recovery from their experiences of exploitation or trafficking. We are carefully considering the impact of proposed reforms on victims of trafficking and exploitation.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have been resettled in Northern Ireland this year.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Northern Ireland is not a dispersal area and asylum seekers are therefore not routed between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Only those claiming asylum in Northern Ireland are accommodated there. Northern Ireland’s asylum population is, however, proportionate to its population when compared to the UK.
Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK