Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on their duties under section 17, and paragraph 7 of Schedule 2 to the Children Act 1989 to promote the upbringing of children in need by their families.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department’s principal guidance to local authorities on their duties under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 is ‘Working together to safeguard children’. This statutory guidance sets out how agencies should work together to help, support and protect children, including how they should identify and respond to the needs of children in need and their families, including through the provision of Family Help.
The Families First Partnership programme guide provides further non-statutory guidance on delivering Family Help. It brings together targeted early help and support provided under section 17, helping to ensure children and families receive the right support at the right time.
The department does not issue separate statutory guidance specifically on paragraph 7 of Schedule 2 to the Children Act 1989. Local authorities must comply with their duties under the Act and must have regard to relevant statutory guidance, including working together to safeguard children.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the proposed earned settlement framework will apply to individuals who entered the UK on a Youth Mobility Scheme visa and subsequently switched to a Skilled Worker visa, and whether time spent on the Youth Mobility Scheme route will count towards their qualifying period for settlement.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026. The consultation included questions on the treatment of public service occupations, previous residence under temporary routes and transitional arrangements under the future system.
We received over 200,000 responses and are now in the process of carefully considering the feedback received. The proposals set out fundamental reform of the settlement system and it is right that we take the time needed to consider the impacts. For this reason, I am unable to commit to when we will respond to the consultation.
The government recognises the valuable role of those who are working in vital public services. The command paper set out the proposal that there should be a shorter pathway to settlement for those who are working in vital public services. The occupations which qualify for this reduction will be determined once the analysis of the consultation responses has been completed.
There are almost 70 different routes within the Immigration Rules, approximately 40 lead to settlement. As part of these proposals, we are not changing which routes contribute to the qualifying period for settlement.
The consultation also sought views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements may be designed to ease the impact of policy change; however no final decisions have been made.
The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether time spent lawfully resident in the UK on a Youth Mobility Scheme visa will count towards the qualifying period for settlement under the proposed earned settlement framework.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026. The consultation included questions on the treatment of public service occupations, previous residence under temporary routes and transitional arrangements under the future system.
We received over 200,000 responses and are now in the process of carefully considering the feedback received. The proposals set out fundamental reform of the settlement system and it is right that we take the time needed to consider the impacts. For this reason, I am unable to commit to when we will respond to the consultation.
The government recognises the valuable role of those who are working in vital public services. The command paper set out the proposal that there should be a shorter pathway to settlement for those who are working in vital public services. The occupations which qualify for this reduction will be determined once the analysis of the consultation responses has been completed.
There are almost 70 different routes within the Immigration Rules, approximately 40 lead to settlement. As part of these proposals, we are not changing which routes contribute to the qualifying period for settlement.
The consultation also sought views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements may be designed to ease the impact of policy change; however no final decisions have been made.
The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the immigration route on which an individual has previously been resident in the UK will be a relevant consideration under the proposed earned settlement framework.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026. The consultation included questions on the treatment of public service occupations, previous residence under temporary routes and transitional arrangements under the future system.
We received over 200,000 responses and are now in the process of carefully considering the feedback received. The proposals set out fundamental reform of the settlement system and it is right that we take the time needed to consider the impacts. For this reason, I am unable to commit to when we will respond to the consultation.
The government recognises the valuable role of those who are working in vital public services. The command paper set out the proposal that there should be a shorter pathway to settlement for those who are working in vital public services. The occupations which qualify for this reduction will be determined once the analysis of the consultation responses has been completed.
There are almost 70 different routes within the Immigration Rules, approximately 40 lead to settlement. As part of these proposals, we are not changing which routes contribute to the qualifying period for settlement.
The consultation also sought views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements may be designed to ease the impact of policy change; however no final decisions have been made.
The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether existing Skilled Worker visa holders who are currently on a five-year pathway to indefinite leave to remain will be eligible for transitional arrangements allowing them to qualify for settlement under the rules in place when they commenced that pathway.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026. The consultation included questions on the treatment of public service occupations, previous residence under temporary routes and transitional arrangements under the future system.
We received over 200,000 responses and are now in the process of carefully considering the feedback received. The proposals set out fundamental reform of the settlement system and it is right that we take the time needed to consider the impacts. For this reason, I am unable to commit to when we will respond to the consultation.
The government recognises the valuable role of those who are working in vital public services. The command paper set out the proposal that there should be a shorter pathway to settlement for those who are working in vital public services. The occupations which qualify for this reduction will be determined once the analysis of the consultation responses has been completed.
There are almost 70 different routes within the Immigration Rules, approximately 40 lead to settlement. As part of these proposals, we are not changing which routes contribute to the qualifying period for settlement.
The consultation also sought views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements may be designed to ease the impact of policy change; however no final decisions have been made.
The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether long-term employment in the UK Civil Service will be recognised as a contribution for the purposes of qualifying for accelerated settlement under the proposed earned settlement framework.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026. The consultation included questions on the treatment of public service occupations, previous residence under temporary routes and transitional arrangements under the future system.
We received over 200,000 responses and are now in the process of carefully considering the feedback received. The proposals set out fundamental reform of the settlement system and it is right that we take the time needed to consider the impacts. For this reason, I am unable to commit to when we will respond to the consultation.
The government recognises the valuable role of those who are working in vital public services. The command paper set out the proposal that there should be a shorter pathway to settlement for those who are working in vital public services. The occupations which qualify for this reduction will be determined once the analysis of the consultation responses has been completed.
There are almost 70 different routes within the Immigration Rules, approximately 40 lead to settlement. As part of these proposals, we are not changing which routes contribute to the qualifying period for settlement.
The consultation also sought views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements may be designed to ease the impact of policy change; however no final decisions have been made.
The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects to publish the Government's response to the consultation on earned settlement, A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, which closed on 12 February 2026.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026. The consultation included questions on the treatment of public service occupations, previous residence under temporary routes and transitional arrangements under the future system.
We received over 200,000 responses and are now in the process of carefully considering the feedback received. The proposals set out fundamental reform of the settlement system and it is right that we take the time needed to consider the impacts. For this reason, I am unable to commit to when we will respond to the consultation.
The government recognises the valuable role of those who are working in vital public services. The command paper set out the proposal that there should be a shorter pathway to settlement for those who are working in vital public services. The occupations which qualify for this reduction will be determined once the analysis of the consultation responses has been completed.
There are almost 70 different routes within the Immigration Rules, approximately 40 lead to settlement. As part of these proposals, we are not changing which routes contribute to the qualifying period for settlement.
The consultation also sought views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements may be designed to ease the impact of policy change; however no final decisions have been made.
The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the basis for Home Office caseworkers describing Hong Kong as having “competent criminal courts” in Electronic Travel Authorisation refusal decisions, given the operation of the National Security Law; and how this is consistent with guidance that applicants should not be refused solely for convictions for offences not recognised in UK law, particularly where charges are acknowledged as potentially politically motivated.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Guidance to Home Office decision makers is clear that self-declared convictions for offences not recognised in the UK should not necessarily result in the refusal of an ETA application. All applications are considered on a case-by-case basis, with full consideration given to the nature of any offences declared, and other relevant factors.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has considered altering the format of birth certificates to enable the parents to decide in which order their names are listed.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, and associated regulations, prescribe the information to be recorded in a birth entry in England and Wales and a birth certificate is a certified copy of that entry. The order in which the parents’ details are recorded on a register page does not give either parent precedence or greater significance, and there are currently no plans to redesign the birth register format or the birth certificate.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the annual number of section 17 and section 47 assessments undertaken in England in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has published the total number of referrals from 2016 to 2025. This data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/4b670aa7-818c-479a-8c3b-08df25240285.
The total number of social worker lead completed assessments is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/b40b3029-bf8d-4291-8c32-08df25240285. These figures are relevant to the section 17 framework.
The total number of section 47s for 2016 to 2025 is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/56a41c10-e509-42fd-4b41-08df251b5373.
In the year ending March 2025, there were 632,830 referrals, 648,830 completed assessments and 230,590 section 47s.