Oral Answers to Questions

Jo White Excerpts

Monday 26th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

T2. For over 12 months, academics, health workers and care workers in my constituency have been raising concerns with me about the insecurity created by proposals to treble the standard qualifying period for ILR. Can we really call our system fair when people who came here under one set of rules now face a retrospective change to the terms on which they have built their lives? Will the Minister provide clarity on these proposals and give the people affected the certainty they deserve?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Jo White)]

The Government have consulted on our proposals for a reformed earned settlement scheme. We received more than 200,000 responses, which are being reviewed and analysed. The Government’s response will be announced in due course.

[Rishi Sunak (Richmond and Northallerton) (Con)]

T5. I recently met hard-working gamekeepers and farmers in the Yorkshire dales concerned about the recent uptick in antisocial behaviour and criminality. I am grateful to the North Yorkshire chief constable for his support and responsiveness in addressing these concerns. However, does the Minister agree with me about the importance of tackling crime in remote rural areas and of effective cross-border policing to tackle criminals who are crossing police boundaries?

--- Later in debate ---

[Jo White]

We are currently consulting on proposals for earned settlement, but I would be happy to hear more about the situation facing the hon. Member’s constituent.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

T6. I spoke to one of my constituents, originally from Zimbabwe, about the Government’s proposed immigration reforms. She works two jobs caring for elderly residents while also raising her two kids as a single mum. She does not yet have indefinite leave to remain, and she said to me:“I am a hardworking person but day in, day out I live with anxiety due to not knowing what our future holds.”Can the Minister reassure me that we will do right by people such as my constituent who are working hard, contributing to society, and building their lives and futures here?

[Jo White]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this case. As she will know, we received over 200,000 responses, and we are now in the process of carefully considering the feedback received. The proposals set out a fundamental reform of the settlement system, and it is right that we take the time needed to consider the impacts. The House will be updated in due course.

[Sarah Pochin (Runcorn and Helsby) (Reform)]

T10. Many of my communities in Runcorn and Helsby are plagued by antisocial and threatening gangs of youths on illegal e-motorbikes. Will the Minister please give the police the powers and the training to stop them? Most importantly, will the Government back officers when they do stop them, as incidents can happen and injury might occur?

[Lizzi Collinge (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Lab)]

T7. Between 2023 and 2025, we saw an 82% drop in net migration. This week, the Chancellor will lay out his Budget and there will be lots of chatter about headroom, tax take and fiscal rules. Given that Government estimates show that the entire 2022-23 skilled worker visa cohort will make a net positive lifetime contribution of approximately £47 billion, what assessment has the Home Secretary made of the economic impact on tax take and other measures of the reduction in net migration and the proposed changes to legal migration policy?

[Jo White]

Net migration remains high compared with pre-2020 levels, and GDP continues to grow. Over-relying on international recruitment while failing to train and upskill our domestic workforce is not a sustainable economic strategy.

[John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)]

Mears, acting for the Home Office, is acquiring properties to accommodate asylum seekers in small, rural communities in the Scottish Borders, where GP surgeries, schools and transport are already stretched. Scottish Borders council tells me that it is not being properly consulted by either the Home Office or Mears before these properties are acquired. Will the Minister meet me, together with representatives from Scottish Borders council, so that we can discuss how engagement can be improved?