Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure the integration of immigrants in the UK, and what programmes they provide to encourage integration.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office’s Immigration White paper, published on 12 May 2025, announced proposed reforms in a wide range of areas – including integration, community cohesion, and language requirements – further details of which will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of France about the departure of 1,195 asylum seekers in small boats on 31 May.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
As set out in the Home Secretary’s statement to the House of Commons on 2 June, the French Minister of the Interior and the French Cabinet have now agreed that their maritime rules need to change to tackle the kind of tactics seen on 31 May. We will continue to cooperate closely with our French counterparts on the action necessary to disrupt and dismantle organised immigration crime gangs.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of applications for asylum made by those who have entered the UK illegally in small boats have been successful in the past three years.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Of the 105,754 people who arrived on a small boat between April 2022 and March 2025 and claimed asylum, 32,506 have subsequently been granted asylum or some other protection status. This data is published in Irr_D03 in the 'Irregular migration detailed datasets' as part of the 'Immigration system statistics quarterly release' on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people deported from the United Kingdom have returned illegally in the past three years.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
A deportation order requires an FNO to leave the UK and prohibits them from entering the UK while it remains in force. Anyone discovered at the border attempting to do so will be automatically denied entry or detained.
Entering in breach of a deportation order is a criminal offence under section 24(1)(a) of the 1971 Act, so if an individual who was previously deported is found again in the UK, other than at the border, they will again be liable to be detained and returned to prison.
Work is currently underway to publish more detailed information on FNOs subject to deportation.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what funding they will provide to meet the cost of asylum applications for those entering the UK via small boats in the current financial year.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not allocate funding based on the route by which asylum seekers have entered the UK.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Spain about allowing UK passport holders to use e-gates at Spanish airports.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We have secured confirmation that there will be no legal barriers to eGates use for UK nationals travelling to and from EU Member States after the introduction of the EU's Entry/Exit System.
But the Prime Minister has been clear that we believe European countries should go further and faster now.
We are therefore working with individual Member States at pace to make that transition happen as soon as possible. This includes discussions with Spain.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with European and other allies with a view to updating the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government remains committed to ensuring that all asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered in accordance with our international obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention. This means that we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many contractors they have engaged to assist with the provision of accommodation for asylum seekers.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The asylum accommodation estate is provided by three providers under the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts, Serco, Mears and Clearsprings Ready Homes. Previously, the Bibby Stockholm which housed asylum seekers, was managed by CTM under the Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services contract.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that work visas will be issued to those with dog grooming skills.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Points Based Immigration System uses the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code system, owned by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), to classify job roles. These codes can be broad, covering a multitude of job roles, many of which visas are unlikely to be granted for.
There is more to obtaining a Skilled Worker visa than just having a role on the list of eligible occupations. Jobs must also meet the required salary thresholds, as well as applicants having to be sponsored by a licensed employer, and meet English language requirements.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what financial allowances their contractors are permitted to provide to asylum seekers per month for (1) food, (2) clothing, (3) mobile phones, (4) education, (5) leisure activities, (6) accommodation, and (7) transport.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has a legal obligation to meet the essential living needs of asylum seekers or dependents who appear to be destitute or are likely to become destitute within a prescribed period, while their asylum claim is being considered.
Details of what is considered essential can be found in the annual asylum support rate review reports, published on gov.uk.