Asked by: Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2014 to Question 218042, how many cases of fraud or abuse in relation to English language testing have been identified in each country in each of the last five years; and what proportion such cases were of the total number sitting those tests in each country.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The data requested is not held centrally and the costs of gathering the information would involve disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2014 to Question 218042, what steps her Department takes to ensure that the candidate sitting a test online is the same person who completed the secure online verification process.
Answered by James Brokenshire
English language tests for visa purposes require attendance in person at an invigilated test centre. It is incumbent upon Secure English Language Test (SELT) providers to check the identity of individuals sitting their tests. The secure online verification process is the system delivered by the SELT test providers which the Home Office uses to check results relied on in support of an immigration application.
Asked by: Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2014 to Question 218042, how many concerns regarding fraud or abuse in relation to English language testing were reported to her Department by English language testing providers in each country in each of the last five years.
Answered by James Brokenshire
This information is not available in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2014 to Question 218042, what licences were awarded to which companies testing English language skills in connection with visa applications for travel to the UK in the last five years.
Answered by James Brokenshire
In April 2011 this Government introduced a requirement that certain immigration routes required a Secure English Language Test (SELT) as evidence of English language ability. When SELTs were introduced in 2011, 5 providers were licensed to provide SELTs for Immigration purpose. These were Trinity, Pearson, Cambridge, City & Guilds and ETS. All of these providers were already providing English language tests for certain immigration purposes prior to
2011. In December 2012 a sixth provider, Cambridge International Examinations, was added as an approved SELT provider for UK Immigration purposes.
Asked by: Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what controls are in place to prevent personation by people sitting English language tests in connection with visa applications for travel to the UK; and if she will estimate the proportion of people who pass such tests who do so as a result of personation.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The licence with secure English language testing providers is clear that providers must put measures in place to combat abuse and any concerns regarding fraud or abuse should be reported to the Home Office.
Over the lifetime of the licence, the Home Office has introduced a range of improvements including a more secure online verification system; extra identity and security checks on candidates; and further measures to ensure the test
centres are secure. In addition this Government introduced a requirement that a visa officer must be satisfied that an applicant is a genuine student, tested at interview, helping to prevent abuse of the student visa system.
The Home Office will not hesitate to take action where abuse is identified.