Asked by: Lord Moraes (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure children born in the UK or brought to the UK as children, particularly those in care, are not entering adulthood without their UK citizenship registered.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Public Protection Specialist Safeguarding Team (formerly the Citizenship Vulnerable Person Team) has worked with local authorities since June 2022 to promote awareness of citizenship options for children in care. It has proactively engaged with every local authority to help ensure they understand the full range of British citizenship registration routes available to children for whom they are responsible and to support them in making applications.
On 8 April, the fee to register a child as a British citizen was reduced from £1,214 to £1,000. The fee can be waived for those unable to afford it and does not apply to children looked after by a local authority.
The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 introduced section 4L of the British Nationality Act 1981, which allows adults to be registered as British citizens where they would have been, or would have been able to become, a British citizen but for historical legislative unfairness, an act or omission of a public authority, or exceptional circumstances relating to the applicant. While not limited to such cases, the provision provides a route for adults who were raised in care and who may have missed a time-limited opportunity to register as British citizens because the necessary action was not taken on their behalf.
Asked by: Lord Moraes (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have requested a suspension of the EU Entry/Exit System during peak periods in 2026; and whether they have had any discussions with the European Union about easing delays for non-EU citizens currently experiencing additional border checks.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided by the Minister of State for Europe on 28 April in response to Question HC129419, which - for ease of reference - is reproduced below:
The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) is an EU scheme introduced to register travellers from third countries each time they enter or leave the Schengen area. While the UK is supportive of the aims of EES to improve border security, we want to see EES implemented in a way that minimises negative impacts on border fluidity. The Government is actively engaging EU and Member State counterparts on EES and has worked with industry partners to encourage clear communications to travellers. We continue to monitor implementation closely and keep Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Travel Advice updated. I have raised issues around EES implementation with multiple ministerial counterparts over recent months, and we continue to keep the situation in all Schengen member states under close review, raising issues as appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Moraes (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the European Union regarding delays for UK citizens as a result of additional checks since the launch of the EU Entry/Exit System in October 2025.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided by the Minister of State for Europe on 28 April in response to Question HC129419, which - for ease of reference - is reproduced below:
The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) is an EU scheme introduced to register travellers from third countries each time they enter or leave the Schengen area. While the UK is supportive of the aims of EES to improve border security, we want to see EES implemented in a way that minimises negative impacts on border fluidity. The Government is actively engaging EU and Member State counterparts on EES and has worked with industry partners to encourage clear communications to travellers. We continue to monitor implementation closely and keep Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Travel Advice updated. I have raised issues around EES implementation with multiple ministerial counterparts over recent months, and we continue to keep the situation in all Schengen member states under close review, raising issues as appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Moraes (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to collaborate with businesses to track and address the increase in fraud committed against consumers using generative AI tools, including voice cloning.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to working with industry to tackle all fraud, including AI enabled fraud.
The ‘Fraud Strategy 2026 to 2029’ sets out our plan to tackle fraud. The strategy is already delivering a strong, partnership-focussed approach with business, including:
The Government is also working with leading technology companies, academics and experts to develop and implement a world-first deepfake detection evaluation framework. This will help to tackle synthetic media threats, including image, audio and video.
Asked by: Lord Moraes (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what statistics they produce on the number of UK citizens who are victims of online fraud originating (1) within the UK, and (2) outside of the UK.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
According to the Office for National Statistics, there were an estimated 4.16 million incidents of fraud against adults in England and Wales, across 3.4 million victims in the year ending March 2025. 56% of these incidents were estimated to have some online element to them, implying 2.3 million incidents of online-enabled fraud.
We do not collect data on the number of frauds that originate from overseas. However, in 2022, the City of London Police estimated that around 70% of fraud incidents have an international element to them.
We use data from a wide range of sources to build our understanding of the fraud landscape, including published reports from businesses and consumer groups, and surveys such as the Economic Crime Survey. We continue to build the threat picture to better target our interventions, including through our Online Crime Centre launched in April.
Asked by: Lord Moraes (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to collaborate with businesses and consumer groups to gather statistics on the number of UK citizens affected by online fraud.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
According to the Office for National Statistics, there were an estimated 4.16 million incidents of fraud against adults in England and Wales, across 3.4 million victims in the year ending March 2025. 56% of these incidents were estimated to have some online element to them, implying 2.3 million incidents of online-enabled fraud.
We do not collect data on the number of frauds that originate from overseas. However, in 2022, the City of London Police estimated that around 70% of fraud incidents have an international element to them.
We use data from a wide range of sources to build our understanding of the fraud landscape, including published reports from businesses and consumer groups, and surveys such as the Economic Crime Survey. We continue to build the threat picture to better target our interventions, including through our Online Crime Centre launched in April.
Asked by: Lord Moraes (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they collect figures on the number of children (1) seeking to register their entitlement to, and (2) refused a request for, British citizenship under each section of the British Nationality Act 1981 broken down by age group; and if not, whether they have any plans to collect and publish such data.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes quarterly transparency data showing the number of applications for citizenship.
There are currently no plans to publish data with the level of detail mentioned in the question.
Asked by: Lord Moraes (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to including the legal registration rights of adults to be registered as British citizens under the British Nationality Act 1981 within the scope of civil legal aid.
Answered by Baroness Levitt
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) sets out the matters in scope of legal aid and the eligibility criteria, and seeks to ensure that legal aid is available to those most in need.
The rights of adults to be registered as British citizens under the British Nationality Act 1981 is not within scope of legal aid. Where an issue falls outside the scope of legal aid, individuals can apply for Exceptional Case Funding (ECF). ECF will be granted if, without legal aid, there is a risk that the person’s human rights may be breached. ECF applications are determined by the Legal Aid Agency on a case-by-case basis.
Legal aid is available for separated migrant children for applications for registration as a British citizen or British subject, and for immigration applications for entry clearance, leave to enter, or to remain in the United Kingdom. This provision is available due to the particular vulnerability of this cohort, subject to means and merits testing as applicable.
We regularly engage with other government departments to understand the impact of their policies on immigration legal aid and consider taking action to expand the scope of legal aid where needed.
Asked by: Lord Moraes (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the increase in homelessness of refugee households; and what assessment they have made of the impact that the 28-day move-on period for asylum seekers given refugees status has on homelessness levels.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is committed to supporting individuals granted leave to remain to successfully transition from asylum accommodation to mitigate the risk of homelessness.
This Government is aware of the need for a smooth transition between asylum accommodation and other accommodation. The Home Office is working to identify and implement efficiencies to support this process and mitigate the risk of homelessness.
The Home Office has also placed Asylum Move-On Liaison Officers in over 50 Local Authorities across the UK, working alongside the Migrant Help and NGOs to support individuals who will be leaving asylum accommodation, and ensure a successful transition.
An independent evaluation of the impact of the 56-day pilot has been completed. The evaluation gathered insights from local authorities, devolved governments, service providers, and voluntary sector partners.
It is important that we take the necessary time to review this evidence before making any longer-term policy decisions. This measured approach ensures that future arrangements are sustainable and continue to meet our statutory duties while supporting those granted asylum effectively.
Asked by: Lord Moraes (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have had discussions with the government of Australia about any lessons that could be learned from Australia’s introduction of a law to ban under-16s from social media platforms.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The government recognises international efforts being made to tackle the issues that arise from harmful content and age-inappropriate experiences on social media. This includes new age-restrictions on certain social media platforms in Australia that are due to take effect from 10 December.
We have a close relationship with Australia and continue to engage closely under the UK-Australia Memorandum of Understanding for Online Safety and Security to share evidence and learn from each other’s approaches to protecting children from harm online.