Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to reopen resettlement programmes, humanitarian visas or family reunion.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK continues to welcome refugees and people in need through our global resettlement schemes, which include the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and the Mandate Resettlement Scheme.
We are developing new capped sponsored refugee pathways across education, labour and community routes. This will ensure that there are routes available to support individuals in need of protection, but in a way that meets the need of UK communities.
During the suspension of Appendix Family Reunion, the Government is taking forward wider asylum and family reforms to place the system on a fairer, more controlled and sustainable footing. Further information on forthcoming changes will be set out in due course. In the meantime, other family routes remain available, including Appendix FM: Family Members, which was amended to allow applications from a partner and dependent children of a sponsor with protection status in the UK.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether work and study visas for refugees will only be available to those refugees who are assessed as in need of protection.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Restoring Order and Control policy statement set out how the Government would transform its approach to safe and legal routes. Alongside the new community sponsorship route, the Government committed to the creation of capped routes for refugee and displaced students to study in the UK, and for skilled refugees and displaced people to come to the UK for work.
Work is underway to operationalise these new routes and further details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to open new community sponsorship safe routes.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
In the Restoring Order and Control policy statement, the Government committed to launching new Safe and Legal routes. This includes the creation of a named sponsorship scheme to enable community groups to sponsor refugees and displaced persons.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to announce transitional arrangements for people who are awaiting the outcome of an asylum claim submitted before 2 March 2026.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The family reunion route was suspended to ease the pressures that local authorities and public services have been placed under due to the recent significant increase in people arriving under this route in recent years.
Outstanding applications will continue to be considered under the family reunion rules in place prior to the commencement of the suspension, including those that are at appeal.
During the suspension, the Government is taking forward wider asylum and family reforms to place the system on a fairer, controlled and sustainable footing. Further information on forthcoming changes will be set out in due course. In the meantime, other family routes remain available, including Appendix FM.
Those who claimed asylum or made further submissions before 2 March 2026, and who are eligible for protection, will receive 5 years’ permission to stay in accordance with the transitional arrangements included in the Immigration Rules laid on 5 March 2026.
We will encourage refugees to switch out of the Core Protection route wherever possible into a new, bespoke work and study route to access family reunion and settlement rights with new fees and conditions in accordance with the rules of that route.
Refugees granted refugee status or humanitarian protection (as well as those arriving under one of the UK’s resettlement schemes) have immediate access to the labour market and benefits, including employment support from Department for Work and Pensions work coaches. Unemployed refugees are eligible for full funding for English for Speakers of Other Languages learning.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how refugees on the core protection route will be supported to transition on to work and study visas.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The family reunion route was suspended to ease the pressures that local authorities and public services have been placed under due to the recent significant increase in people arriving under this route in recent years.
Outstanding applications will continue to be considered under the family reunion rules in place prior to the commencement of the suspension, including those that are at appeal.
During the suspension, the Government is taking forward wider asylum and family reforms to place the system on a fairer, controlled and sustainable footing. Further information on forthcoming changes will be set out in due course. In the meantime, other family routes remain available, including Appendix FM.
Those who claimed asylum or made further submissions before 2 March 2026, and who are eligible for protection, will receive 5 years’ permission to stay in accordance with the transitional arrangements included in the Immigration Rules laid on 5 March 2026.
We will encourage refugees to switch out of the Core Protection route wherever possible into a new, bespoke work and study route to access family reunion and settlement rights with new fees and conditions in accordance with the rules of that route.
Refugees granted refugee status or humanitarian protection (as well as those arriving under one of the UK’s resettlement schemes) have immediate access to the labour market and benefits, including employment support from Department for Work and Pensions work coaches. Unemployed refugees are eligible for full funding for English for Speakers of Other Languages learning.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to resume refugee family reunion.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The family reunion route was suspended to ease the pressures that local authorities and public services have been placed under due to the recent significant increase in people arriving under this route in recent years.
Outstanding applications will continue to be considered under the family reunion rules in place prior to the commencement of the suspension, including those that are at appeal.
During the suspension, the Government is taking forward wider asylum and family reforms to place the system on a fairer, controlled and sustainable footing. Further information on forthcoming changes will be set out in due course. In the meantime, other family routes remain available, including Appendix FM.
Those who claimed asylum or made further submissions before 2 March 2026, and who are eligible for protection, will receive 5 years’ permission to stay in accordance with the transitional arrangements included in the Immigration Rules laid on 5 March 2026.
We will encourage refugees to switch out of the Core Protection route wherever possible into a new, bespoke work and study route to access family reunion and settlement rights with new fees and conditions in accordance with the rules of that route.
Refugees granted refugee status or humanitarian protection (as well as those arriving under one of the UK’s resettlement schemes) have immediate access to the labour market and benefits, including employment support from Department for Work and Pensions work coaches. Unemployed refugees are eligible for full funding for English for Speakers of Other Languages learning.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the proposed changes to make refugee protection time-limited are compatible with the United Kingdom’s obligations under Article 34 of the 1951 Refugee Convention to facilitate the naturalisation and integration of refugees.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We take our international obligations, including those under the Refugee Convention 1951, very seriously. The proposed changes to reduce refugee permission to stay to 30 months are entirely in accordance with our international obligations.
This Government is committed to supporting refugees and those granted protection in the UK to fully integrate and contribute to the British economy and society, in a way that promotes community cohesion. All refugees and those granted protection in the UK should be able to fully integrate into life here and become self-sufficient, providing for themselves and their families, and contributing to the economy, aligning with Article 34 of the 1951 Refugee Convention. We will not remove anyone to their own or any other country where they have a well-founded fear of persecution or are at risk of serious harm.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many additional caseworkers they estimate will be required to conduct periodic reviews of refugees' status, and whether additional funding has been allocated for this purpose.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We want to encourage refugees to integrate more fully into the communities providing them sanctuary and we will encourage refugees to switch out of the Core Protection route wherever possible into a new, bespoke work and study route. In addition to the wider the socio-economic advantages, this will also enable them to access family reunion and settlement rights with new fees and conditions in accordance with the rules of that route.
We are committed to ensuring our policies are sustainable and do not place unnecessary burdens on the taxpayer, and this policy is no different. In terms of resources and processing, only those who do remain on Core Protection will have their protection needs regularly reviewed. Reviews will be targeted based on objective country information, and any other new information that comes to light, allowing us to make the most efficient use of resources. We will continue to monitor staffing levels and will deploy our workforce flexibly subject to business needs as we have done in the past.
The approach to reviewing status will be efficient and targeted; we will reassess where country conditions or personal circumstances have changed significantly.
To do this we will build on the efficiencies that have already seen record levels of initial decisions being made, including use of AI, such as our policy search tool or case summarisation which are already assisting asylum decision makers.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the administrative and staffing resources required within the Home Office to review the protection needs of refugees at 30-month intervals.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We want to encourage refugees to integrate more fully into the communities providing them sanctuary and we will encourage refugees to switch out of the Core Protection route wherever possible into a new, bespoke work and study route. In addition to the wider the socio-economic advantages, this will also enable them to access family reunion and settlement rights with new fees and conditions in accordance with the rules of that route.
We are committed to ensuring our policies are sustainable and do not place unnecessary burdens on the taxpayer, and this policy is no different. In terms of resources and processing, only those who do remain on Core Protection will have their protection needs regularly reviewed. Reviews will be targeted based on objective country information, and any other new information that comes to light, allowing us to make the most efficient use of resources. We will continue to monitor staffing levels and will deploy our workforce flexibly subject to business needs as we have done in the past.
The approach to reviewing status will be efficient and targeted; we will reassess where country conditions or personal circumstances have changed significantly.
To do this we will build on the efficiencies that have already seen record levels of initial decisions being made, including use of AI, such as our policy search tool or case summarisation which are already assisting asylum decision makers.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of temporary protection status on refugee integration, including access to employment, housing, and higher education.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We want to encourage refugees to integrate more fully into the communities providing them sanctuary and we will encourage refugees to switch out of the Core Protection route wherever possible into a new, bespoke work and study route. In addition to the wider the socio-economic advantages, this will also enable them to access family reunion and settlement rights with new fees and conditions in accordance with the rules of that route.
We are committed to ensuring our policies are sustainable and do not place unnecessary burdens on the taxpayer, and this policy is no different. In terms of resources and processing, only those who do remain on Core Protection will have their protection needs regularly reviewed. Reviews will be targeted based on objective country information, and any other new information that comes to light, allowing us to make the most efficient use of resources. We will continue to monitor staffing levels and will deploy our workforce flexibly subject to business needs as we have done in the past.
The approach to reviewing status will be efficient and targeted; we will reassess where country conditions or personal circumstances have changed significantly.
To do this we will build on the efficiencies that have already seen record levels of initial decisions being made, including use of AI, such as our policy search tool or case summarisation which are already assisting asylum decision makers.