Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to process the outstanding asylum applications of Syrians in the UK.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
Following the fall of the Assad regime, the Home Office has withdrawn the Country Policy Information Notes and Guidance relating to Syria and has temporarily paused all asylum interviews and decisions.
The pause is being kept under constant review and when there is a clear basis upon which to make decisions, we will resume the processing of them.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the White paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published in May 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the settlement rule on British Nationals (Overseas) visa holders.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) route was launched on 31 January 2021 in response to China’s passing of the National Security Law. The route reflects the UK’s historic and moral commitment to those people of Hong Kong who chose to retain their ties to the UK by taking up BN(O) status at the point of Hong Kong’s handover to China in 1997.
The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in future.
Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2025 to Question 51421 on Students: Personal Independence Payment, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, on students no longer eligible for personal independence payment under proposed reforms.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have committed to introduce a new requirement that claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). We are mindful of the impact this change to PIP eligibility could have on people. That is why, in the Green Paper Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working (published on 18 March), we are consulting on how best to support those who lose entitlement due to the reforms, including how to make sure health and care needs are met. We are working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care on this.
For those already on PIP, the changes will only apply from November 2026 at their next award review, subject to parliamentary approval. People will be reviewed according to their normal schedule by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstance before any changes are made. More information on the impacts and equality analysis for these changes published on 26 March can be found: Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2025 to Question 51421 on Students: Personal Independence Payment, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of consulting with students who receive Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out a range of proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support and opened a public consultation on certain reforms. The consultation welcomes all views, and we hope that a wide range of voices, including students, will respond before it closes on the 30 June 2025.
We are also running a programme of accessible public events to further facilitate input. The series of both virtual and in-person events across the country, will help us to hear from people directly.
We are continuing to facilitate other ways to involve stakeholders and disabled people in our reforms. In addition to the consultation itself, we will establish ‘collaboration committees’ that bring groups, including disabled people and other experts, together for specific work areas.
Our wider review of the PIP assessment, led by myself, will also bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience. Throughout the review, we will work closely with disabled people, the organisations that support them and others, to ensure that the voices of those who go through the PIP assessment and those with expertise in the system are embedded in the review.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to provide an additional resettlement quota for Afghan refugees in Pakistan identified by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for resettlement.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Between 2021 and March 2025, over 34,000 individuals have been resettled and relocated through the Afghan Resettlement Programme. The latest immigration statistics can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-march-2025.
The Government’s priority remains the resettlement and relocation of those already identified as eligible but who have not yet travelled.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the next set of Greening Government Commitments will be published for the years 2025-2030.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 April 2025 to PQ 45716.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to page 326 his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24, HC 314, published on 18 December 2024, what recent progress has been made on (a) creating a natural asset register presented within an accessible geospatial mapping format and (b) other aspects of the cross-government nature strategy; when he plans to publish these maps; whether these maps will be available on the Multi-Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside website; and how the cross-government nature strategy relates to the forthcoming land use framework.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is making progress on creating a natural asset register presented within an accessible geospatial mapping format and developing a cross-Government nature strategy.
A geospatial natural capital register of the Defra group estate has now been developed. Defra is leading on expanding the geospatial natural capital register for the government estate. Defra is considering the publication of the geospatial natural asset register on the Multi-Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside (MAGIC) website. No date for publication has been set.
Defra is leading the development of a cross-Government nature strategy. The strategy will apply the principles of the land use framework.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) technical and (b) financial support he is providing to Ukraine to help (i) identify and (ii) document casualties of the war in that country.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We condemn Russia's barbaric assault against Ukraine's civilian population. From 24 February 2022 to 30 April 2025, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 45,001 civilian casualties in Ukraine: 13,134 killed and 31,867 injured. April was the deadliest month for civilians since September 2024. The actual figures are believed to be considerably higher given the challenges of receiving accurate information from locations under Russian control.
Since 2014, The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) (through the Human Rights Monitoring Mechanism on Ukraine (HRMMU)) has maintained a comprehensive record of conflict-related civilian casualties in Ukraine, with data disaggregated by sex, age, place of incident, and type of incident or weapon involved. The UK has provided support to the HRMMU and, overall, we are among the top 10 donors to OHCHR.
We are working closely with our humanitarian partners in Ukraine to protect the most vulnerable and prevent the worst impacts of the conflict on people. This includes support to the Red Cross Movement who help identify bodies and exchange mortal remains of casualties of war in Ukraine.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, on students no longer eligible for personal independence payment under proposed reforms.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made. The Department does not hold data about the student status of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).
There will be no immediate changes. Changes to PIP eligibility and rebalancing of UC aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from April 2026 for UC and November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval.
PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years. At the award review, claimants will be considered by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstances.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.
We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with the Moroccan Ambassador on the recent occupation of further territory in Western Sahara.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Officials regularly meet and discuss with our Moroccan partners, in addition to regional and international partners, on the issue of Western Sahara. The UK continues to support the work of Staffan de Mistura, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara and the UN-led efforts to reach a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, based on compromise, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. The UK Government consistently urges all states to uphold international law, and we will continue to encourage constructive engagement with the political process.