Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the White Paper Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May, whether the doubling of the standard qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain to 10 years will apply to those who are already on the existing five-year pathway.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will allow Ukrainian visa-holders to sponsor more family members through the Homes for Ukraine scheme, including (1) partners, (2) children over 18, and (3) siblings.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Following a review, on the 31 January 2025 we amended the sponsorship eligibility criteria under the Homes for Ukraine scheme to enable parents with Ukraine Scheme visas to sponsor their children to join them in the UK.
This change is intended to simplify the administrative process for children to reunite with their parents and has been developed in line with our duty to consider the best interests of children.
There are currently no plans to expand this beyond children under 18. Adults in Ukraine, including children over 18, will continue to be eligible to apply under the HFU scheme, once they have found an Approved Sponsor.
We continue to review our policies in line with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of those granted asylum in 2024 were accommodated in (1) dispersal accommodation, (2) hotel accommodation, and (3) other accommodation provided under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, at the time of the decision on their asylum claim.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Specific information on the support status asylum seekers at time of initial decision is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 8 April (HL6130), whether they intend to publish the interim and final findings of the evaluation of the changes to the move on period for refugees who have been granted leave to remain in the UK.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office will consider in due course what can be published in this area, once the department has had an opportunity to study the findings.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Hanson of Flint on 13 December 2024 (HL Deb cols 2010–12), whether the pilot will involve newly recognised refugees with lived experience of the moving on period; what the criteria will be to evaluate success; who is undertaking the pilot; and whether the interim findings will be published, and if so when.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) & RSM have been contracted to undertake an evaluation of the changes to the move on period on behalf of the Home Office. This evaluation will cover the extension of the move on period to 56 days, the provision of liaison officers to support those granted asylum, and the provision of £2.8m recognition payment for select local authorities. It will assess the implementation, early outcomes and value for money of these initiatives. It will also assess the early impact of the rollout of eVisas and how this interacts with the above initiatives.
The following outcomes are of interest, and the evaluation will assess how/whether the changes to the move on period have:
Evaluation methods include interviews with newly granted refugees to capture insights from those with lived experience of the move on process.
Interim evaluation findings are due to be delivered shortly, with final evaluation findings delivered this summer.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the purpose of the changes made to (1) illegal entry, and (2) arriving without a required valid entry clearance or electronic travel authorisation, having made a dangerous journey, in the Nationality: good character requirement guidance.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
There are already rules that can prevent those arriving illegally from gaining citizenship.
On 10 February 2025, the Home Office strengthened measures to make it clear that anyone who enters the UK illegally or who arrives without a required valid entry clearance or electronic valid authorisation having made a dangerous journey, including small boat arrivals, now faces having a British citizenship application refused on the basis that they will not normally be considered to be of good character. This change means that:
However, each citizenship application will continue to be considered on a case-by-case basis. The Secretary of State may choose to apply discretion to grant citizenship on an exceptional basis where there are particularly exceptional, compelling, or mitigating circumstances.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Hanson of Flint on 12 February (HL Deb col 1255), what estimate they have made of the number of refugees who have arrived by unauthorised routes who will (1) apply for citizenship, and (2) have their application for citizenship accepted on the basis that their circumstances are 'exceptional, compelling and mitigating'; and whether these data formed the basis of assumptions that informed the changes made to the Nationality: good character requirement guidance in February 2025.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
No such data is available, and no such estimates have been made.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the changes made to the Nationality: good character requirement guidance published in February are consistent with the practice of disregarding immigration breaches outside of a child's control.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
When assessing good character, it is normally appropriate to disregard immigration breaches if it is accepted this was outside of the applicant’s control. Given illegal entry is normally considered outside a child's control, most children would not be held accountable for their immigration breach. The 10 February 2025 amendments to the good character policy did not alter this position.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to receive the report about the use of age assessments from the Independent Chief Inspector or Borders and Immigration.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The ICIBI inspection on the Home Office’s use of age assessments began on 10 September 2024 and is still ongoing.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of granting refugees British citizenship on (1) integration, and (2) community cohesion.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the Immigration system under review.