Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether transitional arrangements outlined in the 2025 UK Immigration White Paper include those close to settlement on existing long residence routes.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements refer to temporary measures or rules put in place to manage the shift from one system, or policy framework, to another. Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.
The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help ensure that trainees on the HMRC Tax Specialist Programme are able to be awarded a Skilled Worker Visa to maintain the Right To Work in the UK.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC values the contribution of all trainees on the Tax Specialist Programme (TSP) and recognises the importance of maintaining the Right to Work in the UK.
At present, the Tax Specialist Programme (TSP) is not designated as a role eligible for sponsorship because it does not meet HMRCs internal criteria for sponsorship, which prioritise roles that are demonstrably hard to fill.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with international partners on coordinated efforts to promote human rights in Iran.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer my Hon Friend to the statement made by the Foreign Secretary on 13 January, and her responses to the questions raised in the subsequent debate. I can also reassure my Hon Friend that staff from the British embassy in Tehran are continuing to discharge their duties remotely while the embassy is temporarily closed.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to assist British Iranians to access information about the welfare of family members in Iran.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer my Hon Friend to the statement made by the Foreign Secretary on 13 January, and her responses to the questions raised in the subsequent debate. I can also reassure my Hon Friend that staff from the British embassy in Tehran are continuing to discharge their duties remotely while the embassy is temporarily closed.