Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the criteria used to determine whether an extradition request from Hong Kong is politically motivated, particularly where charges are presented as criminal offences; and what safeguards are in place to prevent the authorities in Hong Kong from misusing criminal law as a means of targeting political opponents and seeking their extradition.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government remains resolutely committed to ensuring that no individual is extradited from the United Kingdom for politically motivated purposes, including in cases where charges are presented as criminal offences. The Extradition Act provides statutory safeguards and judicial oversight. It is for an independent UK court to determine whether any request for extradition is made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing an individual on account of their political opinions, or whether if extradited they might be prejudiced at their trial or punished, detained or restricted in their personal liberty by reason of their political opinions and, if it is, there is a statutory bar to the extradition.
The extradition process under the Extradition Act 2003 affords judicial oversight and includes the protections in the European Convention on Human Rights. In all UK extradition proceedings, the court considers whether the requested person's extradition would be compatible with their human rights. These are defined as Convention rights within the meaning of the Human Rights Act 1998. The court must order the requested person's discharge from their extradition proceedings if extradition would not be compatible with their Convention rights.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that political activists, journalists and human rights defenders, including Jimmy Lai, are protected from politically motivated prosecution or extradition from Hong Kong.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government will never allow a situation where Hong Kongers or any other nationality is extradited for politically motivated purposes. UK courts have extensive powers under the Extradition Act 2003 to assess whether any individual extradition would be compatible with the requested person's human rights or if it is politically motivated. If a UK judge ever determines any extradition request is politically motivated, they have the power to bar extradition.
The 1997 UK-Hong Kong Extradition Treaty remains suspended and the government is updating Hong Kong's designation under the Extradition Act 2003 to reflect the absence of international extradition arrangements with the UK. This formalises the severing of ties between the British and Hong Kong extradition systems for the purposes of the Extradition Act.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to assess and prevent transnational repression of Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa holders and their families in the United Kingdom, particularly through the misuse of financial, tax, immigration or identity data by foreign governments.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The National Security Act 2023 has provided a comprehensive suite of powers to counter the threat of Transnational repression (TNR). The Government, working alongside operational partners, have mature mechanisms in place to prevent, assess and respond to potential threats in the UK. We will continue to take action as necessary to tackle those threats.
The safety and security of Hong Kongers in the UK is of the upmost importance, and the UK will always stand up for the rights of the people of Hong Kong. Any foreign state-directed crime against an individual in the UK will not be tolerated. TNR can take on many forms, but acts of TNR tend to be targeted and specific against individuals who a foreign state perceives as a threat or otherwise seeks to control. This often includes vocal critics, dissidents, or activists or those connected to that foreign state.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they will take to bring forward legislation to implement the commitments set out in the G7 leaders' statement on transnational repression, published on 17 June.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The G7 leaders' statement on transnational repression marks an important milestone in collaboration with international partners. It demonstrates the G7's shared commitment to building our collective resilience.
Focus has now turned to working with partners to implement the deliverables in the statement, including a Resilience and Response Mechanism to share information on joint responses, and actively working to counter the threat through initiatives like the Canada-UK Common Good Cyber Fund
The National Security Act 2023 is the cornerstone of the UK's legislative framework for protecting the democratic integrity of the UK against foreign interference, including transnational repression.
As set out in the Act, the legislation will be kept under review to ensure we can respond effectively to the evolving threat. For example, Jonathan Hall KC's recent review of counter-terrorism powers that could be emulated to tackle state threats, makes a number of recommendations where we could further strengthen our legislation, and we have committed to taking these forward.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average time taken to process applications for asylum and refugee status; how many applications are outstanding; and what is the longest outstanding time of a current application.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum on gov.uk as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision is published in Asy_D03 of the asylum detailed tables. As at 31 March 2025, there were 78,745 cases awaiting an initial decision.
The average time taken to process claims is not currently available from published statistics and could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at a disproportionate cost. However, the Home Office publishes on gov.uk the age of cases awaiting an initial decision in table Asy_02 of the Immigration and Protection transparency data. As at 31 March 2025, 58% of cases that were awaiting an initial decision had been waiting for more than 6 months, and 31% of the total cases had been awaiting an initial decision for more than 12 months.
The longest outstanding time for a claim awaiting an initial decision is not currently available from published statistics and could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people who have no right to work are currently identified and referred within the National Referral Mechanism for modern slavery; and what is the average total annual cost of providing benefits for those who are in the National Referral Mechanism.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The requested data is not available form published statistics, and could only be collated for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
The Home Office funds the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC), which is contracted to spend £379 million over 5 years to provide specialist and statutorily mandated support to adult victims of exploitation and trafficking, in England and Wales. The MSVCC provides safe accommodation where necessary, financial support, and access to a support worker.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether changes to immigration rules, particularly the proposed extension from a five-year to a ten-year settlement route, will apply retrospectively to British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa holders; whether the new English language requirement for indefinite leave to remain will apply BNO visa holders already in the UK; and whether changes to immigration rules will be backdated to 2020.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in the future. We will consult new earned settlement and citizenship rules announced in the Immigration White Paper, including on the potential impacts on those on the BN(O) route.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received about the impact of the amendments to immigration rules, particularly those associated with the new contribution-based settlement model, to British National (Overseas) visa holders currently residing and working in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in the future. We will consult new earned settlement and citizenship rules announced in the Immigration White Paper, including on the potential impacts on those on the BN(O) route.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the finding in the report Safety and Survival by Women for Refugee Women that women banned from working are being forced into abusive and exploitative situations and relationships.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform in relation to the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, and a wide range of other areas.
The Government provides support to migrant victims of VAWG through the Migrant Victims Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) and works with sector leads on this group to ensure they are part of the broader strategy on VAWG.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of policies banning women seeking asylum from working and their objective of preventing violence against women and girls.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform in relation to the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, and a wide range of other areas.
The Government provides support to migrant victims of VAWG through the Migrant Victims Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) and works with sector leads on this group to ensure they are part of the broader strategy on VAWG.