Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for the provision of accommodation for women and children seeking asylum who are awaiting a decision on their claims once they are moved out of hotel accommodation.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Home Office officials keep the asylum accommodation estate under continual review. As part of this estate management, operational adjustments are made on an ongoing basis to ensure sufficient and suitable capacity is maintained to meet expected levels of demand.
As the department reduces its reliance on hotel accommodation, individuals and families, including women and children, are moved into more appropriate longer‑term forms of asylum accommodation within the existing estate. This includes dispersal accommodation and, where required, other contingency arrangements that meet the necessary standards for safety and suitability.
The Home Office is committed to ensuring that destitute asylum seekers are provided with safe, secure and appropriate accommodation, and that they are treated with dignity throughout the asylum process.
In line with the Allocation of Accommodation policy, accommodation is offered on a no‑choice basis across the United Kingdom. Where an individual has specific, acute needs that require them to be accommodated in a particular area, established processes supported by Migrant Help and asylum support casework teams are in place to consider such circumstances.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the report by Birthmark of Africa, The Windrush Justice Inquiry Report, Towards Justice: Truth, Accountability, and Repair, published in June 2025, which found that the current readdress scheme fails to meet international standards of justice and restitution, what assessment have they made of launching a public inquiry into the Windrush scandal.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to righting the wrongs of the Home Office Windrush Scandal. Our focus is very much on delivering real change for those impacted by Windrush. We have delivered on our manifesto commitment by appointing Rev Clive Foster as the independent Windrush Commissioner, who has undertaken significant engagement with the Windrush generation and key stakeholders, and is acting as a trusted voice for the Windrush community.
The Windrush Unit has been reestablished and is in the final stages of reviewing all 30 recommendations of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review. We have also worked with the Windrush Commissioner to make improvements to the Compensation Scheme.
The causes of the Home Office Windrush Scandal and the Home Office’s response thereafter have been the subject to several investigations and inquiries by a range of public bodies including extensive parliamentary scrutiny.
Alongside the independent Windrush Lessons Learned Review and the Historical Roots of the Windrush Scandal research report, both commissioned by the Home Office and published, parliamentary committees including the Home Affairs Select Committee and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights have conducted their own investigations. Further public bodies such as the National Audit Office and the Equality and Human Rights Commission have published their findings and recommendations into the scandal. These reports have approached the issues from different perspectives, reflecting the specialisms of the different bodies.
Given that there have been numerous reviews we do not believe a public inquiry would add to the scrutiny and understanding of the Home Office Windrush Scandal, rather it would divert critical resources away from ensuring meaningful change is achieved.
We will continue to work to rebuild trust with the Windrush generation, and ensure that justice is delivered.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government to what extent they have implemented the recommendations made by the independent review by Wendy Williams, Windrush Lessons Learned Review, published in March 2020; and whether they plan to provide an update on implementation.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to righting the wrongs of the Home Office Windrush Scandal. Our focus is very much on delivering real change for those impacted by Windrush. We have delivered on our manifesto commitment by appointing Rev Clive Foster as the independent Windrush Commissioner, who has undertaken significant engagement with the Windrush generation and key stakeholders, and is acting as a trusted voice for the Windrush community.
The Windrush Unit has been reestablished and is in the final stages of reviewing all 30 recommendations of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review. We have also worked with the Windrush Commissioner to make improvements to the Compensation Scheme.
The causes of the Home Office Windrush Scandal and the Home Office’s response thereafter have been the subject to several investigations and inquiries by a range of public bodies including extensive parliamentary scrutiny.
Alongside the independent Windrush Lessons Learned Review and the Historical Roots of the Windrush Scandal research report, both commissioned by the Home Office and published, parliamentary committees including the Home Affairs Select Committee and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights have conducted their own investigations. Further public bodies such as the National Audit Office and the Equality and Human Rights Commission have published their findings and recommendations into the scandal. These reports have approached the issues from different perspectives, reflecting the specialisms of the different bodies.
Given that there have been numerous reviews we do not believe a public inquiry would add to the scrutiny and understanding of the Home Office Windrush Scandal, rather it would divert critical resources away from ensuring meaningful change is achieved.
We will continue to work to rebuild trust with the Windrush generation, and ensure that justice is delivered.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan, subject to the 'emergency brake' on visas announced on 4 March, will be once again be able to apply for Chevening Scholarships.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The decision to introduce a visa brake on the Student visa route for Sudan, Afghanistan and two other nationalities was based on data-driven migration and border security considerations. There are no exceptions for government-funded scholarship programmes, including the Chevening programme. Whilst we recognise that most people who apply to study in the UK do so genuinely, the evidence is clear that the Student route for these nationalities has been a source of both high numbers and high proportions of visa-linked asylum claims. We have therefore acted to halt this unacceptable strain on our asylum system, and to ensure that the system remains fair, credible, and sustainable.
The brake will be kept under regular review. The visa brake is not intended to be permanent, but it will only be released once the government considers it appropriate to do so.
As set out in the Restoring Order and Control policy statement, the Government remains committed to the introduction of capped safe and legal routes for refugees and displaced people to come to the United Kingdom. Work is underway to develop these routes, including confirming the eligibility criteria and the number of places to be made available for each new safe and legal route.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to implement the recommendations made by the independent review by Wendy Williams, Windrush Lessons Learned Review, in full.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to righting the wrongs of the Home Office Windrush Scandal. Our focus is very much on delivering real change for those impacted by Windrush. We have delivered on our manifesto commitment by appointing Rev Clive Foster as the independent Windrush Commissioner, who has undertaken significant engagement with the Windrush generation and key stakeholders, and is acting as a trusted voice for the Windrush community.
The Windrush Unit has been reestablished and is in the final stages of reviewing all 30 recommendations of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review. We have also worked with the Windrush Commissioner to make improvements to the Compensation Scheme.
The causes of the Home Office Windrush Scandal and the Home Office’s response thereafter have been the subject to several investigations and inquiries by a range of public bodies including extensive parliamentary scrutiny.
Alongside the independent Windrush Lessons Learned Review and the Historical Roots of the Windrush Scandal research report, both commissioned by the Home Office and published, parliamentary committees including the Home Affairs Select Committee and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights have conducted their own investigations. Further public bodies such as the National Audit Office and the Equality and Human Rights Commission have published their findings and recommendations into the scandal. These reports have approached the issues from different perspectives, reflecting the specialisms of the different bodies.
Given that there have been numerous reviews we do not believe a public inquiry would add to the scrutiny and understanding of the Home Office Windrush Scandal, rather it would divert critical resources away from ensuring meaningful change is achieved.
We will continue to work to rebuild trust with the Windrush generation, and ensure that justice is delivered.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps are they taking to protect the education and safety of vulnerable women from Sudan and Afghanistan who had already been selected for government-funded scholarships prior to the announcement of an 'emergency brake' on visas for nationals of those countries on 4 March; and whether they have established a formal mechanism to exempt Chevening Scholars from this restriction.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The decision to introduce a visa brake on the Student visa route for Sudan, Afghanistan and two other nationalities was based on data-driven migration and border security considerations. There are no exceptions for government-funded scholarship programmes, including the Chevening programme. Whilst we recognise that most people who apply to study in the UK do so genuinely, the evidence is clear that the Student route for these nationalities has been a source of both high numbers and high proportions of visa-linked asylum claims. We have therefore acted to halt this unacceptable strain on our asylum system, and to ensure that the system remains fair, credible, and sustainable.
The brake will be kept under regular review. The visa brake is not intended to be permanent, but it will only be released once the government considers it appropriate to do so.
As set out in the Restoring Order and Control policy statement, the Government remains committed to the introduction of capped safe and legal routes for refugees and displaced people to come to the United Kingdom. Work is underway to develop these routes, including confirming the eligibility criteria and the number of places to be made available for each new safe and legal route.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Muslim organisations have applied for funding through the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme in every year since it was established; and of these, how many have been successful in obtaining funding.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme is open to places of worship from all faith communities, except for Muslim and Jewish sites, which are supported through separate schemes. Muslim organisations are therefore not eligible for the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme. Instead, mosques and their associated faith community centres can access protective security measures through the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme.
However, between 2016 and the launch of the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme in 2023, Muslim communities were eligible to apply to the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme.
To protect the integrity of the scheme and ensure the continued safety of vulnerable sites, the Home Office does not publish data on processing of applications or the specific offers made to individual sites. Releasing this information could inadvertently disclose sensitive details about faith communities and their security arrangements.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Final Police Funding Settlement (England and Wales) 2026-27, how much funding her Department has specifically provided for violence reduction units in the 2026-27 financial year.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Violence prevention is crucial to achieving our ambition of halving knife crime and making our streets safer.
The 2026/27 Police Funding Settlement included an allocation of £66.6m for Serious Violence Reduction Programmes.
This funding will be used to maintain our network of 20 Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) in the areas of England and Wales which are experiencing over 80% of knife crime; support public sector bodies to fulfil their statutory requirements under the Serious Violence Duty and continue the promising work of the Young Futures Panel pilots, which are identifying young people at risk of being drawn into crime and intervening earlier with positive, diversionary support.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether police and fire call handlers are required to have working knowledge of (a) What Three Words and (b) the NATO phonetic alphabet.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Police Call Handlers are not required to have working knowledge of What Three Words and the Nato Phonetic Alphabet. This is an operational matter for Chief Constables.
For matters regarding the Fire Service, I would direct my Rt Hon friend to the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government, which is responsible for fire policy.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of levels of public resource available where constabularies act upon intelligence or referrals generated by industry-funded vehicle crime units.
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 the 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.The Governance arrangements for NaVCIS are a matter for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).