Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 11 March (HL14954), what factors led to the decision to introduced a revised move on period of 42 days.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

In reaching this decision, a range of evidence, including key findings from the evaluation of the 56-day pilot, operational data, and forecasted impacts on the asylum accommodation estate were considered. The Home Office will continue to work closely with our partners to reduce barriers and support effective transitions from asylum accommodation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the student visa emergency brake on the ability of Afghan women to access higher education in the United Kingdom, in light of the current restrictions on female education within Afghanistan; and what alternative safe and legal routes are being provided for this specific group.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

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.

It is essential that any safe and legal routes are sustainable, well managed, and aligned with the United Kingdom’s capacity to welcome, accommodate and integrate refugees. Work is underway to operationalise these new routes and further details will be provided in due course.

Equality Impact Assessments have been completed in line with the Equality Act 2010 for the emergency brakes on Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have conducted a formal Equality Impact Assessment regarding the implementation of the emergency brake on student visas for nationals of Myanmar, Sudan, Cameroon, and Afghanistan; and if so, whether they will publish the findings of that assessment.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

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.

It is essential that any safe and legal routes are sustainable, well managed, and aligned with the United Kingdom’s capacity to welcome, accommodate and integrate refugees. Work is underway to operationalise these new routes and further details will be provided in due course.

Equality Impact Assessments have been completed in line with the Equality Act 2010 for the emergency brakes on Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 6 March (HL14995), what estimate they have made of the number of individuals currently holding leave under the appendix to the European Communities Association Agreement who have not yet obtained indefinite leave to remain; and what assessment they have made of the potential impact on those individuals of the earned settlement proposals set out in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement (CP 1448), published on 20 November 2025.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

As set out in the Written Answer (HL14995) implementation of the earned settlement arrangements will be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

In the meantime, Appendix ECAA Settlement will continue to apply. Time spent in routes that currently count towards settlement after 5 years will also continue to count towards the new standard qualifying period.

Based on the latest published data, as of the end of December 2025, there had been around 18,000 grants of settlement since 2020 to individuals who previously held leave under the ECAA route, including ECAA workers, business persons and dependants. It is not possible to confirm the exact number of ECAA leave holders who have not yet obtained settlement.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many nationals from (1) Myanmar, (2) Sudan, (3) Cameroon, and (4) Afghanistan have applied for asylum in the UK following the expiry of a student visa in each of the last five years for which data is available.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information requested 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.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 11 March (HL14955), and the remarks by Lord Hanson of Flint on 5 November 2025 (HL Deb col 1973), what steps they plan to take to share the findings of the move on period evaluation with Parliament.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The evaluation report cannot be shared externally until we have two satisfactory external peer reviews. Once approved, the report will be published on GOV.UK as part of the Home Office Research Series.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they are giving to ensure equity for children in households with no recourse to public funds in the expansion of eligibility for free school meals from September.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The department has permanently extended free school meal eligibility to children in all households with no recourse to public funds (NRPF), provided they meet income thresholds set out in public guidance.

This ensures that children can access support regardless of their background or circumstances, including the immigration status of their parents.

The income thresholds for NRPF households were designed to account for the differences in household income between NRPF households and those with access to additional state support to ensure parity.

The government has set out plans to extend free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. We continue to keep all aspects of the free school meals system, including the guidance for families with no recourse to public funds, under review.

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.

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.

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.