Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether their Department has run any (a) recruitment and (b) internship schemes aimed to increase the number of people from underrepresented groups in the workforce in the last year.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
All Civil Service departments work within the Recruitment Principles, as regulated by the Civil Service Commission, to recruit using a fair and open process and appoint on merit.
As set out in the Civil Service People Plan 2024 - 2027, we are committed to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds, to create a modern Civil Service, now and for the future.
The Home Office have run Internship schemes aimed at increasing representation of underrepresented groups within the Home Office workforce in the last year:
The Home Office also support Government Employment Programs that utilse an exception within the Civil Service Recruitment Principles. This allows departments to appoint individuals temporarily for up to two years, providing fixed-term Civil Service roles for those whose circumstances and previous life chances make it difficult to compete for appointments on merit, and on the basis of fair and open competition, without further work experience and/or training opportunities. The programs the Home Office have employed over the last 12 months are:
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers who have had their claims rejected were in receipt of Home Office accommodation support on 10 October 2025.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of asylum seekers in receipt of support, by support type, is published in table Asy_D11 of the ‘Asylum support detailed datasets’.
Individuals receiving Section 4 support have had their asylum claim refused but they are destitute and there are reasons that temporarily prevent them from leaving the UK. Please note that Section 95 support data includes some failed asylum seekers who had children in their household when their appeal rights were exhausted.
The latest data relates to as at 30 June 2025. Data for as at 30 September 2025 will be published on 27 November 2025. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with companies in the gig economy on tackling illegal working.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is working closely with food delivery platforms in the gig economy to ensure they understand their responsibilities in preventing illegal working. As a result, Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat are undertaking right to work checks on all of their workers and recently introduced enhanced checks on registered substitutes following a ministerial roundtable in June.
In September, the Home Office commenced data sharing with these food delivery firms. The Department is committed to work alongside delivery firms to deepen cooperation and this measure is another important step to tackle illegal working hotspots and root out this criminality from within communities. By sharing this data, it means the firms will have more information to track down and suspend accounts of delivery riders working illegally.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures her Department has to deport failed asylum seekers.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Asylum related returns are set out at table Asy_00a of the Asylum summary tables, published at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables
Caseworker guidance on arranging returns is published on gov.uk at Returns preparation: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers who have had their claim refused have been deported in the last 3 years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Asylum related returns are set out at table Asy_00a of the Asylum summary tables, published at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables
Caseworker guidance on arranging returns is published on gov.uk at Returns preparation: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to refuse (a) asylum and (b) humanitarian leave to remain to anyone who does not speak English to a proficient level.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
It is not possible to impose language requirements as a prerequisite for being granted protection in the UK.
Every asylum claim admitted to the UK asylum system is carefully considered on its individual merits. Protection is normally granted where a claimant has a well-founded fear of persecution under the Refugee Convention, or a claimant faces a real risk of serious harm. Those found not to need protection are refused.
English language proficiency is a requirement across a range of other immigration routes.
The Government published an Immigration White Paper on 12 May setting out reforms to legal migration, so that we can restore order, control and fairness to the system, bring down net migration and promote economic growth. Part of these reforms will focus on introducing new English language requirements across a range of immigration routes, for both main applicants and their dependants. Further information is available on GOV.UK at: Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper - GOV.UK
We will separately set out new reforms to the asylum system and to border security in response to irregular and illegal migration, to bring the asylum system back under control and end the use of asylum hotels later this year.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many dependents of people granted humanitarian leave to remain have come to the UK in each of the last three years.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The information you have requested is published in the Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK Data on grants of humanitarian protection following an asylum claim is published in table Asy_D02 of the asylum detailed datasets. Data on grants of entry clearance visa applications, by visa type, is published in table Vis_D02 of the entry clearance visas detailed datasets. Data on refugees resettled is published in table Res_D02 of the resettlement detailed datasets. The latest data is available up to the end of June 2025. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the 'Notes' page of the workbook.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total cost to the public purse was for the translation of immigration and asylum (a) letters and (b) documentation into foreign languages in each of the last 3 years.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office does not provide a document translation service for immigration and asylum letters and documentation.
Where documentary evidence is submitted in evidence, it must be translated into English in order for the contents to be taken into account by the decision maker. The translation should be dated and set out who has translated the document with any relevant qualifications.
All asylum seekers are entitled to legal representation to support them. This includes translation. Legal aid can help pay for legal advice, if eligible.
Asylum claimants may also seek support from family, friends, Non-Government Organisations and other support networks to help them respond to any additional information requests. Some charities like Refugee Action, Asylum Aid or the British Red Cross, and other NGOs may offer informal translation help. Charities are listed on section four of the published guidance: Information booklet about your asylum application - GOV.UK
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to encourage male victims of domestic abuse to report that abuse to the authorities.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government is committed to ensuring that male victims and survivors get the support that they need and are encouraged to come forward to report abusive and violent crimes - such as stalking, domestic abuse, and sexual violence - to the authorities.
The Home Office and the Ministry of Justice fund organisations, including Respect, Galop, SignHealth, and Hourglass, which provide essential support to male victims. This includes the Men’s Advice Line, run by Respect, which offers vital support to male victims of domestic abuse. We continue to work closely with these organisations to raise awareness of the services available for male victims, addressing the barriers to reporting and ensuring that men feel supported when seeking help.
In February 2025, the Home Office announced £13.1 million funding to launch a new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP). The Centre will improve the police response to VAWG, creating a change in policing attitudes to ensure that officers respond effectively to VAWG crimes, including controlling and coercive behaviour, and offer all victims consistent protection.
We are working tirelessly across government to deliver the VAWG Strategy as soon as possible, which will set out commitments for all victims, including for men and boys that are victims of abuse.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of the repurposing of hotels as asylum accommodation on the number of jobs in the accommodation sector in each of the last three years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has a legal obligation to provide destitute asylum seekers with accommodation and subsistence support whilst their application for asylum is being considered. The Home Office is committed to ensuring that destitute asylum seekers are housed in safe, secure and suitable accommodation, and that they are treated with dignity while their asylum claim is considered.
There is no obligation for hotels to contract with Home Office accommodation providers. This Government is delivering on its pledge to close asylum hotels; drastically reducing taxpayer costs and giving control back to local communities.
From over 400 asylum hotels open in summer 2023, costing almost £9 million a day, there are now less than 210, and we want them all closed by the end of this Parliament.