Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with local authorities on the provision of services to prevent knife crime among young people.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government have set an ambitious but essential target to halve knife crime over this decade and we are making progress: since the start of this Parliament, knife crime has fallen by 8% and knife homicides are down by 27%.
To achieve this ambition we are engaging with partners across the system both to address knife crime and address the root causes of knife crime. This includes local authorities who play a vital role.
This role is formalised within the Serious Violence Duty which places a statutory requirement on a range of public sector bodies, including local authorities, to work collaboratively, analyse the local problem, and put in place a strategy to prevent and reduce serious violence. Community Safety Partnerships, led by the local authority and whose partners match those subject to the Serious Violence Duty must also comply with these requirements.
The Home Office had discussions and worked with relevant local authorities to deliver the extended knife surrender arrangements which the Government ran in July 2025 and covered various locations in London, West Midlands and Greater Manchester. The extended surrender arrangements involved the use of a mobile surrender van and 37 bespoke weapons surrender bins and a total of a 3,570 knives and weapons were surrendered through these arrangements.
The Home Office maintain regular discussions with local authorities through Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) and Young Futures Panels partnership arrangements to support the effective delivery of services to prevent knife crime among young people.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Operation Gull in Northern Ireland in the last 15 years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
To maintain the highest standards of accuracy, the Home Office prefers to refer to published data, as this has been subject to rigorous quality assurance under National Statistics protocols prior to publication. Information about the effectiveness of Operation Gull is not available in our published data
Our published national data on enforcement activity is available at the following link and includes data on detected irregular arrivals to the UK: Immigration system statistics, year ending September 2025 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visitors from (a) India, (b) Pakistan, (c) Bangladesh and (d) Nepal were refused visas in 2024.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by visa route, including Visitor visas, and nationality in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visa applications refused are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of September 2025.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposals in the Earned Settlement consultation on staffing levels in the adult social care sector; and whether social care roles will be included within the public service consideration which reduces the baseline qualifying period for earned settlement.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
As part of this consultation, we are seeking views on the potential impact of the proposed changes on different groups, including those working in sectors such as social care. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation.
The final proposals will also be subject to full economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the proposed changes to indefinite leave to remain status on (a) holders of ECAA Turkish Businessperson visas and (b) their businesses in the UK.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ’A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
Time spent in routes that currently count towards settlement after 5 years will continue to count towards the new standard qualifying period.
The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Protections will be put in place where appropriate.
Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following the consultation and will be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress she has made on responding to the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations on the minimum income requirement for the UK’s spouse and partner visa routes.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The MAC’s recommendations are being considered in detail alongside the work being carried out as a result of the Immigration White Paper (Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper - GOV.UK) which made clear that family migration would be reformed to tackle the over complex family immigration arrangements, including the financial requirements.
However, there is no set date for when we will publish a response to the MAC report.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her policy that only one person per household can respond to her open consultation on earned settlement.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
The consultation is open to anyone including multiple members of the same household. Each response must be submitted separately. People can request alternative formats of the consultation or report technical issues by contacting EarnedSettlementConsultationQueries@homeoffice.gov.uk.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many students have claimed asylum (a) while studying in the UK and (b) after completing their studies in each of the last three years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of people claiming asylum after holding a study visa as their most recent category of leave prior to claiming asylum is published in table Asy_D01a of the ‘Asylum claims and decisions detailed datasets’. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2025. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.
There is no published breakdown available on whether an individual claimed asylum before or after their visa expired.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2025 to Question 94005 on Immigration: Hong Kong, what plans her Department has to conduct face-to-face meetings with those people potentially affected and relevant campaign groups during the development of the impact assessment for the proposed earned settlement model.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Immigration White Paper set out the principle that settlement should be earned through contribution to the UK economy and society. The publication, ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, built on this principle and laid out proposals for the earned settlement model. It stated that we will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years and everyone who wishes to settle in this country will need to meet mandatory requirements, including a clean criminal record and strong English language skills.
The consultation on the earned settlement model was launched on 20 November 2025 and will close on 12 February 2026.
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK. BN(O) visa holders will attract a five-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after five years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
The consultation seeks views from Hong Kongers on the proposals, including whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement.
Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following the close of that consultation. In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department consulted with British National (Overseas) visa holders on the drafting of the White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Immigration White Paper set out the principle that settlement should be earned through contribution to the UK economy and society. The publication, ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, built on this principle and laid out proposals for the earned settlement model. It stated that we will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years and everyone who wishes to settle in this country will need to meet mandatory requirements, including a clean criminal record and strong English language skills.
The consultation on the earned settlement model was launched on 20 November 2025 and will close on 12 February 2026.
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK. BN(O) visa holders will attract a five-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after five years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
The consultation seeks views from Hong Kongers on the proposals, including whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement.
Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following the close of that consultation. In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.