Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her plan to offer permanent settlement to refugees only after 20 years residence in the UK will apply to people currently (a) in the asylum system and (b) holding refugee status.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We will carefully manage the transition into the new system - avoiding any risk of a 'closing down sale'. That is why we will seek to put in place transitional provisions to ensure that the offer remains clear and fair.
Refugees who are given core protection will be able to switch into a new, bespoke work and study route to access family reunion and settlement rights with new fees and conditions in accordance with the rules of that route. This will enable them to earn down their length of time before they can settle in the UK from 20 years.
Settlement requirements will be considered in an upcoming consultation on earned settlement, covering both legal and illegal migrants.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her international counterparts on legal frameworks to support legitimate cybersecurity research.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is conducting an ongoing review of the Computer Misuse Act. As part of the review, we are scoping several proposals to update the act, including how we can better support legitimate cybersecurity researchers so they can operate within a clear and supportive legal framework, while maintaining robust safeguards against misuse.
We are always interested in learning from the approaches taken in other jurisdictions. We are speaking with international counterparts, including our major allies, to understand how they approach the issue of legislative frameworks for protecting legitimate cyber security researchers.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of workers residing in the country without legal permission or valid immigration status employed by food delivery companies.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold an estimate of the number of people working illegally in the gig economy. The recent joint work between the Office for National Statistics and the Home Office explains the complexities: Measuring illegal migration: our current view - Office for National Statistics.
The government takes illegal working very seriously, and we are determined to clamp down on the employment of individuals with no right to work in the UK.
In July 2025, the Home Office announced a new operational partnership with key food delivery companies to tackle illegal working in the gig economy, particularly among food delivery riders.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking in Edinburgh to identify employers recruiting people residing in the city without legal permission or valid immigration status.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The government is committed to taking effective action against employers of illegal workers. The Home Office collaborates closely with labour market enforcement bodies, routinely sharing intelligence and information to understand the threats and to inform the development of tactical action plans.
Intensification activity targeting illegal working has been undertaken by operational teams right across the UK including in Edinburgh. Immigration and Compliance Teams conduct compliance and intelligence led enforcement visits and will take robust enforcement action against those individuals applying a range of sanctions.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure the biomedical sector has (a) efficient and (b) cost-effective visa routes for attracting world-leading scientists to the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home office’s Immigration White paper, published on 12 May, sets our proposed reforms in a wide range of areas including attracting top scientific talent to the UK, further details of which will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of which academic fields have benefitted most from the Global Talent visa scheme.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following its introduction in February 2020, the Home Office commissioned Ipsos to undertake research into the impact of the Global Talent visa. Wave 1 of the research was published in May 2022 and wave 2 was published in March 2024.
The Global Talent Visa Evaluation is published at:
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the Global Talent visa scheme.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following its introduction in February 2020, the Home Office commissioned Ipsos to undertake research into the impact of the Global Talent visa. Wave 1 of the research was published in May 2022 and wave 2 was published in March 2024.
The Global Talent Visa Evaluation is published at:
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 age-related pay for people with Skilled Worker visas on opportunities for exploitation by unscrupulous employers.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May, sets out the Home Office’s proposals for reform in a number of areas, including exploitation of individuals on worker visas.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 age-related pay for workers on the Skilled Worker Visa on exploitation in the airline industry.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May, sets out the Home Office’s proposals for reform in a number of areas, including exploitation of individuals on worker visas.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to evaluate the effectiveness of her Department's Enough campaign at tackling violence against women and girls.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
To evaluate communications activity, including the Enough campaign to help tackle violence against women and girls, the Department follows the steps set out by the Government Communication Service: GCS Evaluation Cycle - UK Government Communications.