Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to issue physical proof of status alongside eVisas to enhance accessibility.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are conscious of the lessons learnt from Windrush and are committed to ensuring that all people, including the most vulnerable, are properly supported as we transform our immigration system.
People who need support can contact the UKVI Resolution Centre to request that an account is created for them so they can access their eVisa. They can also get help to access their eVisa from Grant Funded Organisations or Local Authorities, or through the Assisted Digital Service if they are digitally excluded.
We are continuing to listen to the views and concerns of stakeholders and users of our digital systems and aim to continually enhance the user experience wherever possible. We have also increased the number of support services available to vulnerable people and have delivered £4m of grant funding to 72 voluntary and community sector organisations across the UK.
Listening to feedback from users, we have provided information and guidance videos on GOV.UK which show all users how to access and use their UKVI account.
We are continually improving the functionality and ease of use of the UKVI account to access an eVisa. For example, we recently added the facility for a person without an identity document to create an account and we will add the ability to link a Home Office issued travel document to a UKVI account later in 2025.
Monitoring of the system since the end of December 2024 suggests that for most people the transition to eVisa has gone smoothly. By the end of April 2025 over 4.3 million people had created an online (UKVI) account to access their eVisa, with the latest statistics published on GOV.UK on 22 May 2025. Further statistics will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support people having problems with E-visas.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are conscious of the lessons learnt from Windrush and are committed to ensuring that all people, including the most vulnerable, are properly supported as we transform our immigration system.
People who need support can contact the UKVI Resolution Centre to request that an account is created for them so they can access their eVisa. They can also get help to access their eVisa from Grant Funded Organisations or Local Authorities, or through the Assisted Digital Service if they are digitally excluded.
We are continuing to listen to the views and concerns of stakeholders and users of our digital systems and aim to continually enhance the user experience wherever possible. We have also increased the number of support services available to vulnerable people and have delivered £4m of grant funding to 72 voluntary and community sector organisations across the UK.
Listening to feedback from users, we have provided information and guidance videos on GOV.UK which show all users how to access and use their UKVI account.
We are continually improving the functionality and ease of use of the UKVI account to access an eVisa. For example, we recently added the facility for a person without an identity document to create an account and we will add the ability to link a Home Office issued travel document to a UKVI account later in 2025.
Monitoring of the system since the end of December 2024 suggests that for most people the transition to eVisa has gone smoothly. By the end of April 2025 over 4.3 million people had created an online (UKVI) account to access their eVisa, with the latest statistics published on GOV.UK on 22 May 2025. Further statistics will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the e-visa process is (a) inclusive and (b) accessible.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are conscious of the lessons learnt from Windrush and are committed to ensuring that all people, including the most vulnerable, are properly supported as we transform our immigration system.
People who need support can contact the UKVI Resolution Centre to request that an account is created for them so they can access their eVisa. They can also get help to access their eVisa from Grant Funded Organisations or Local Authorities, or through the Assisted Digital Service if they are digitally excluded.
We are continuing to listen to the views and concerns of stakeholders and users of our digital systems and aim to continually enhance the user experience wherever possible. We have also increased the number of support services available to vulnerable people and have delivered £4m of grant funding to 72 voluntary and community sector organisations across the UK.
Listening to feedback from users, we have provided information and guidance videos on GOV.UK which show all users how to access and use their UKVI account.
We are continually improving the functionality and ease of use of the UKVI account to access an eVisa. For example, we recently added the facility for a person without an identity document to create an account and we will add the ability to link a Home Office issued travel document to a UKVI account later in 2025.
Monitoring of the system since the end of December 2024 suggests that for most people the transition to eVisa has gone smoothly. By the end of April 2025 over 4.3 million people had created an online (UKVI) account to access their eVisa, with the latest statistics published on GOV.UK on 22 May 2025. Further statistics will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claims have been submitted by Ukrainian nationals in each of the last three years; and what proportion of those were successful by oblast of origin.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of asylum claims and initial decisions by nationality is published in table Asy_D01 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the year ending March 2025.
Please note that data on asylum claims by sub-national regions of origin is not published.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help reduce the number of e-scooters on high streets in Newbury constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for the Government and a key part of the Safer Streets Mission. We are giving police the powers they need to tackle anti-social vehicles including the illegal use of e-scooters, to make it easier for them to seize these vehicles from offenders and dispose of them.
On 25 February 2025, the Crime and Policing Bill was introduced to Parliament. The Bill includes proposals to give the police greater powers against illegal use of e-scooters involved in anti-social behaviour with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.
Removing this requirement to provide a warning will make the s59 Police Reform Act powers easier to apply, allowing police to put an immediate stop to offending and seize vehicles which are used anti-socially and send a clear message that this sort of behaviour is not tolerated.
Law enforcement, including the enforcement of law on the roads, is an operational matter for the relevant Chief Officer, who will decide how to deploy available resources taking into account any specific local problems and demands they face
Product safety laws require all consumer products to be safe before they are sold. In addition, distributors, including online marketplaces, must not supply products they know, or should know, are unsafe.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the arrest made at a Quaker meeting house in London in March 2025 on peaceful protest.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Metropolitan Police are operationally independent of the government. It is for the police to make decisions about how to respond to specific incidents based on their professional judgement and the circumstances at hand.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of time-limited visas on Ukrainian families that have relocated to the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To provide future certainty, Ukrainians provided with temporary sanctuary in the UK under the Ukraine visa schemes can apply for a further 18 months’ permission to remain in the UK through the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, which opened to applications on 4 February 2025.
Those granted further permission to remain in the UK under the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme will receive the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare and education as provided under the existing Ukraine Schemes.
We recognise the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine. It is important our approach respects these wishes. This is why the temporary Ukraine Schemes do not lead to settlement in the UK.
Individuals with permission under one of the Ukraine schemes have access to standard immigration routes to remain in the UK once their permission expires, in order to complete higher education courses they commence during their initial period of permission.
Individuals will have continued access to student support and home fee status where they can show they have been granted further leave to remain in the UK.
We will, of course, continue to keep the Ukraine Schemes under consistent review in line with developments in the ongoing war.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of adjusting the duration of Ukrainian visas to align with the academic school year.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To provide future certainty, Ukrainians provided with temporary sanctuary in the UK under the Ukraine visa schemes can apply for a further 18 months’ permission to remain in the UK through the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, which opened to applications on 4 February 2025.
Those granted further permission to remain in the UK under the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme will receive the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare and education as provided under the existing Ukraine Schemes.
We recognise the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine. It is important our approach respects these wishes. This is why the temporary Ukraine Schemes do not lead to settlement in the UK.
Individuals with permission under one of the Ukraine schemes have access to standard immigration routes to remain in the UK once their permission expires, in order to complete higher education courses they commence during their initial period of permission.
Individuals will have continued access to student support and home fee status where they can show they have been granted further leave to remain in the UK.
We will, of course, continue to keep the Ukraine Schemes under consistent review in line with developments in the ongoing war.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has plans to (a) extend and (b) modify the duration of the Ukrainian Visa scheme.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To provide future certainty, Ukrainians provided with temporary sanctuary in the UK under the Ukraine visa schemes can apply for a further 18 months’ permission to remain in the UK through the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, which opened to applications on 4 February 2025.
Those granted further permission to remain in the UK under the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme will receive the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare and education as provided under the existing Ukraine Schemes.
We recognise the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine. It is important our approach respects these wishes. This is why the temporary Ukraine Schemes do not lead to settlement in the UK.
Individuals with permission under one of the Ukraine schemes have access to standard immigration routes to remain in the UK once their permission expires, in order to complete higher education courses they commence during their initial period of permission.
Individuals will have continued access to student support and home fee status where they can show they have been granted further leave to remain in the UK.
We will, of course, continue to keep the Ukraine Schemes under consistent review in line with developments in the ongoing war.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to improve the (a) cost, (b) accessibility and (c) appeal process of visa applications.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government regularly reviews the cost and accessibility of visas and process of appeals to ensure that public services are efficient and provide value for money to the taxpayer.