Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of UK Visa and Immigration holding applicants' passports for multiple months on those applicants.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Visa processing times are published on the UKVI website at Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). UKVI are currently processing applications on the overwhelming majority of its visa routes within their published customer service standards.
With the introduction of the eVisa digital permission, eligible customers can complete their biometric appointment at the Visa Application Centre (VAC) and retain their passport. Where customers applied before eVisa rollout, passports are retained whilst a decision is being made on their visa application by the Home Office and when a decision is made, this is communicated to the Visa Application Centre who in turn contact the customer to arrange collection of their passport. Some customers can purchase an optional service to retain their passport whilst a decision is being taken.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that passports sent to UK Visas and Immigration are returned in a timely manner.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Visa processing times are published on the UKVI website at Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). UKVI are currently processing applications on the overwhelming majority of its visa routes within their published customer service standards.
With the introduction of the eVisa digital permission, eligible customers can complete their biometric appointment at the Visa Application Centre (VAC) and retain their passport. Where customers applied before eVisa rollout, passports are retained whilst a decision is being made on their visa application by the Home Office and when a decision is made, this is communicated to the Visa Application Centre who in turn contact the customer to arrange collection of their passport. Some customers can purchase an optional service to retain their passport whilst a decision is being taken.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps is her department taking to ensure all UK Visa and Immigration applications are processed in a timely manner.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Visa processing times are published on the UKVI website at Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). UKVI are currently processing applications on the overwhelming majority of its visa routes within their published customer service standards.
With the introduction of the eVisa digital permission, eligible customers can complete their biometric appointment at the Visa Application Centre (VAC) and retain their passport. Where customers applied before eVisa rollout, passports are retained whilst a decision is being made on their visa application by the Home Office and when a decision is made, this is communicated to the Visa Application Centre who in turn contact the customer to arrange collection of their passport. Some customers can purchase an optional service to retain their passport whilst a decision is being taken.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to investigate the use of English-as-a-Foreign-Language Courses as a route for individuals trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein to obtain UK visas.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This is a live police investigation, so we are unable to comment. The Government stands ready to support the police in whatever way it can.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 introduction of the Electronic Travel Authorisation requirement from 25 February 2026 on dual British nationals travelling to the UK.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We have been clear on the requirement for dual British citizens to travel with a valid British passport or Certificate of Entitlement. This requirement applies equally to all British citizens, whether or not they hold another nationality. We recognise the enforcement of ETAs by carriers is a significant change, and so we have provided additional temporary guidance to carriers on possible alternative documentation, and have put in place around the clock support for carriers to prepare for these changes. In line with current practice, on arrival at the UK border, Border Force will still assess a person’s eligibility to enter the UK and conduct additional checks if required.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of applying the proposed immigration reforms to BNO visa holders who are already registered to vote on the electorate.
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.
We sought views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, which was open between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026. We will now carefully review and analyse all responses received and the findings will support the development of the final earned settlement model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures. Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.
Economic and equality impact assessments will be conducted on the final model and will consider the impacts on different groups and will be published in due course.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the number and proportion of licensed sponsoring employers for (a) Skilled Worker visa holders and (b) Health and Care Worker visa holders registered in each local authority area.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.
Statistics regarding the UK population is a matter for the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with (a) Police Scotland and (b) relevant Scottish trading standards bodies on compliance and enforcement activity relating to the sale of realistic imitation firearms and imitation firearms.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
There has been action taken by the National Crime Agency and police forces in England and Wales against certain types of imitation firearms that have been found to be readily convertible into lethal firing firearms. Such imitation firearms, depending on their features, are subject to firearms legislation and are illegal. An amnesty was held in February this year to allow owners of the certain types of imitation firearms of concern to hand them into police stations so they can be disposed of safely.
Discussions were held with the authorities in Scotland about the imitation firearms of concern, including Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), and the Scottish Government, and I also wrote to the Lord Advocate about whether a similar scheme could be introduced in Scotland. We were advised that the operational and legal context in Scotland were different, and a public awareness campaign would be considered to support public safety in respect of these imitation firearms.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has evaluated the cost to local police constabulary of changes to licensing requirements around shotgun ownership.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is intending to consult on strengthening shotgun controls in due course. The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published in February 2025, included a commitment to having a consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns, in the interests of public safety.
We will also provide an impact assessment in relation to any changes that we bring forward after the consultation, including in relation to the police, in the normal way.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many charges there have been for offences relating to the termination of pregnancy through the the pills-by-post scheme.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does collect and publish official statistics on the number of charges for the offences of ‘Procuring illegal abortion’ offences and ‘intentional destruction of a viable unborn child’ recorded by the police in England and Wales.
However, it is not possible to separately identify investigations relating to the termination of pregnancy through the pills-by-post scheme in data that is held centrally.