Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Home Office spent on consultancy fees in relation to their Resources for asylum seekers in the UK leaflets and posters.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office spent approximately £2,400 in consultancy fees in relation to the Resources for asylum seekers in the UK leaflets and posters.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total weight of Class A, B and C drugs that were seized from British airports in each year since 2024, broken down by drug type and airport.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The total weight of drugs seized by Border Force, broken down by type and by year, is available within our regularly published transparency data via the following link:Migration transparency data - GOV.UK
Statistics on the proportion of these seizures which took place at an airport or any other mode are not part of the published transparency data.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the Home Office's decision to revoke the Bloomsbury Institute's licence to sponsor international students, how many other (1) higher, and (2) further, education institutions are under investigation for failing to meet any or all of the assessments that they are required to comply with to remain on the Register of Student Sponsors.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
All licensed sponsors are subject to ongoing compliance monitoring, including through the Basic Compliance Assessment and wider sponsorship compliance framework.
It would not be appropriate to comment on ongoing investigations, including the number of sponsors currently subject to live compliance action. Where a sponsor is found not to be meeting its obligations, the Home Office may take a range of compliance actions, including action plans, licence restrictions, suspension or revocation.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many student visa applications were (1) accepted, and (2) rejected, in each year since 2023–24.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes the data you have requested in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on sponsored study outcomes are published in table Vis_D02 of the entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets’. The latest data goes up to the year ending March 2026. Please find below a table on sponsored study visas issued and refused for each year between the year ending March 2024, to the year ending March 2026.
Sponsored study (‘Student’ and ‘Child Student’) entry clearance visas issued and refused between the YE March 2024 to the YE March 2026
Year Ending | Issued | Refused |
YE March 2024 | 557,221 | 24,749 |
YE March 2025 | 421,621 | 14,155 |
YE March 2026 | 409,954 | 20,399 |
Notes: The figures include both main applicants and dependant family members.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what test will be applied in determining whether the effect of a person’s deportation on their partner or child would be "unduly harsh" under section 117C of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, as amended by clause 20 of the Immigration and Asylum Bill.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
In respect of offenders sentenced to less than four years, the current Article 8 regime allows a deportation decision to be made with consideration to only the impact on the criminal or their family. Clause 20 changes this so that account must be taken of the wider public interest in deportation. The actual test in relation to unduly harsh will reflect current case law requiring the need to demonstrate a significant interference with family life.
However, the new s117C framework will thereafter allow a person’s criminal and immigration history to be considered before a person’s deportation can be deemed disproportionate.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what test will be applied in determining whether a person has been “socially and culturally integrated in the United Kingdom” for the purposes of clause 20 of the Immigration and Asylum Bill.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The published guidance states that positive and negative factors will need to be balanced against each other to form an overall assessment of whether a foreign national is socially and culturally integrated in the UK.
These factors include the ability to speak English, financial independence, immigration status, and criminal offending. Mere presence in the UK is not an indication of integration. However, under the new section 117C framework, the courts must consider not only the interference with a person’s rights under Article 8 that exist by virtue of meeting the private life criteria (including that the person is socially and culturally integrated in the UK), but also whether that can be justified by the public interest in favour of the person’s deportation.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish a timetable for the reopening of Cameron Barracks for use by all previous user groups; and whether they plan to ensure Highland Council and other affected user groups receive formal notification as soon as the handover from the Home Office is complete.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is returning Cameron Barracks to the Ministry of Defence and the transfer will be completed on or before the agreed hand back date of October 2026.
As responsibility for the site will then rest with the Ministry of Defence, decisions on its future use, including any timetable for reopening and any notifications to Highland Council or other interested parties, will be matters for the Ministry of Defence.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what would be considered a “serious breach of a condition attached to their leave to enter or remain” in clause 19(4) of the Immigration and Asylum Bill.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Immigration and Asylum Bill, introduced on 30 June, will make fundamental changes to the immigration system to restore control at our borders and restore public confidence.
The reforms seek to ensure a fair and consistent system by reinforcing that compliance with the Immigration Rules is central to decision-making. Differences in treatment will reflect individuals’ immigration histories and circumstances and are assessed within a lawful Article 8 framework.
Further details on what would be considered a “serious breach of a condition attached to their leave to enter or remain” will be clarified in due course.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Notice of Refusal letters they have issued since 2024, broken down by month.
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.
Statistics on Returns from the UK are published quarterly. The latest release shows that there were a total of 39,000 returns from the UK in the year ending March 2026.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Notice of Liability to Remove letters they have issued since 2024, broken down by month.
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.
Statistics on Returns from the UK are published quarterly. The latest release shows that there were a total of 39,000 returns from the UK in the year ending March 2026.