Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing transitional arrangements for current applicants when changing the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It 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. 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: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and leaders of local authorities, to increase tram services in towns and cities.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Government recognises the valuable role that tramways and mass transit networks can play as part of a truly integrated transport system, in the right circumstances, in our cities.
Responsibility for mass transit systems (including tramways) is devolved in England, where each local authority owns and is responsible for the operations and financial sustainability of its own system.
The Department works closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on a range of strategic projects which include mass transit proposals, such as those being explored by the Cambridge Growth Company. This partnership helps ensure transport and housing priorities are considered together to support sustainable development.
Government has confirmed £15.6 billion in funding through Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlements for our largest city regions to deliver their local transport priorities, which may include mass transit.