Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum application caseworkers are currently employed by the Home Office; and what plans they have to hire more staff to address the appeals backlog.

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

The number of full time equivalent (FTE) asylum caseworkers employed at the Home Office per month until December 2025 is published in the ASY_05(M) tab of the published migration transparency statistics, located on the Immigration and Protection data; September to December 2025. At the end of December 2025, there were 2,028 FTE asylum caseworkers.

We are continuing to onboard staff to maintain staffing at the required levels to allow us to manage asylum intake, reduce the overall time to make initial asylum decisions and deal with appeals.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of community consultation in the development of water management solutions; and what steps they are taking to ensure best practice is pursued in the ongoing reforms to the water regulation sector.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra recognises the value of consulting the public on water management solutions. Defra officials consult reflecting these principles and set out monitoring and evaluation plans in the published policy Impact Assessments. The department is reviewing the recent consultation on Water Efficiency Standards in Building Regulations ahead of Autumn.

Defra also recognises the importance of engaging local communities through collaborative delivery and pilots. For example, in Greater Cambridge, the Government is working with local partners and farmers to trial innovative approaches to water management, including water efficiency measures, water reuse and nature-based solutions. This will help build evidence on what works to inform ongoing policy and wider water reforms.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the training available to asylum application caseworkers; and whether they plan to revise the guidance for them.

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

There is a comprehensive training programme and mentoring framework in place to support asylum decision makers. This is delivered by a dedicated team of senior grade trainers and technical experts.

The initial training for asylum decision makers is a 9-week programme designed to give an understanding of relevant legislation, policy, and the Refugee Convention. Alongside the initial training, a range of other technical training is available to decision makers to consolidate their learning, this includes a specialised course which focuses on assessing all medical evidence, training to help detect potentially fraudulent documents, training on identifying and making appropriate intelligence referrals, as well as training on how to respond to and consider any underlying factors, such as trauma, which may be evident in a claimant’s account. The wellbeing of decision makers is also addressed in training and covers issues such as vicarious trauma and resilience.

Training materials are subject to continuous review, informed by insights from policy, operational teams as well as independent expert stakeholders. When training has not been delivered for a period of time, it undergoes a formal and rigorous review process and is updated as necessary to ensure it remains accurate, relevant, and fully compliant before being delivered.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to mark the 75th anniversary of the Refugee Convention.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington

The most appropriate way to mark this anniversary will be for the UK to continue providing essential services and life-saving support to thousands of refugees in desperate need across the world, from Cox's Bazar to the camps in Adré.

We will also use the occasion to recall the UK's consistent efforts over the past 75 years - alongside like-minded international partners, - to help millions of innocent civilians forced to flee their homes because of conflict and disaster.

Ahead of the upcoming anniversary, the Foreign Secretary met Barham Salih, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, on 16 June, where they discussed the importance of maintaining an effective international protection system, while also addressing abuse of asylum systems and maintaining public confidence.