Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many in-person inspections were carried out by Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority officers on farms in Scotland in 2025.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The GLAA does not record ‘Complaints’ about licensed entities. Instead, it records ‘General Issues’ (referrals from members of the public, victims, workers, etc.) which may or may not be negative in nature.
Since 1 January 2025, the GLAA has received 11 ‘General Issues’ referrals relating to Scottish farms.
Since 1 January 2025, GLAA Officers have undertaken 16 in person inspection visits to farms in Scotland. These figures include compliance and enforcement inspections, as well as joint operations with other enforcement bodies.
As of November 2025, the GLAA has a total headcount of 117, with 2 members of staff currently based in Scotland.
The GLAA deploys members of staff from all over the UK to support operations wherever they are required. It is therefore not possible to provide an accurate breakdown of the number of staff who cover Scotland as part of their roles and responsibilities, as this will change depending on demand.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints were received by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority with reference to farms in Scotland in 2025.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The GLAA does not record ‘Complaints’ about licensed entities. Instead, it records ‘General Issues’ (referrals from members of the public, victims, workers, etc.) which may or may not be negative in nature.
Since 1 January 2025, the GLAA has received 11 ‘General Issues’ referrals relating to Scottish farms.
Since 1 January 2025, GLAA Officers have undertaken 16 in person inspection visits to farms in Scotland. These figures include compliance and enforcement inspections, as well as joint operations with other enforcement bodies.
As of November 2025, the GLAA has a total headcount of 117, with 2 members of staff currently based in Scotland.
The GLAA deploys members of staff from all over the UK to support operations wherever they are required. It is therefore not possible to provide an accurate breakdown of the number of staff who cover Scotland as part of their roles and responsibilities, as this will change depending on demand.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the total number of Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority staff; and how many of these staff are a) based in Scotland and b) cover Scotland in their role responsibilities.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The GLAA does not record ‘Complaints’ about licensed entities. Instead, it records ‘General Issues’ (referrals from members of the public, victims, workers, etc.) which may or may not be negative in nature.
Since 1 January 2025, the GLAA has received 11 ‘General Issues’ referrals relating to Scottish farms.
Since 1 January 2025, GLAA Officers have undertaken 16 in person inspection visits to farms in Scotland. These figures include compliance and enforcement inspections, as well as joint operations with other enforcement bodies.
As of November 2025, the GLAA has a total headcount of 117, with 2 members of staff currently based in Scotland.
The GLAA deploys members of staff from all over the UK to support operations wherever they are required. It is therefore not possible to provide an accurate breakdown of the number of staff who cover Scotland as part of their roles and responsibilities, as this will change depending on demand.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Department how many UK Visas and Immigration seasonal worker visa scheme compliance visits were conducted in a) England, b) Scotland and c) Wales in 2025.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
UKVI does not produce published data on seasonal worker visa scheme compliance visits.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghans were evacuated from Pakistan under the (a) Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and (b) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy each month from January 2025 to the latest month for which data is available.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 38,700. people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan schemes.
Afghanistan Resettlement Schemes operational data is published quarterly with the last publication on the 21 August 2025.
Data on recent and planned resettlement is not available due to the operational nature of the schemes. For operational security reasons, we are unable to provide additional information on plans for future resettlement flights.
The data published within: immigration system statistics release (year ending June 2025, published 21 August 2025) provides a breakdown of arrivals by quarter. The number of individuals resettled under the schemes is as follows: 19,048 under ARAP. 10,160 individuals under ACRS Pathway 1, 1,406 individuals under ACRS Pathway 2 and 1,679 individuals under ACRS Pathway 3.
Afghan Operational data is viewable at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when was the most recent evacuation under the (a) Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and (b) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy; and when are the next planned evacuations.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 38,700. people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan schemes.
Afghanistan Resettlement Schemes operational data is published quarterly with the last publication on the 21 August 2025.
Data on recent and planned resettlement is not available due to the operational nature of the schemes. For operational security reasons, we are unable to provide additional information on plans for future resettlement flights.
The data published within: immigration system statistics release (year ending June 2025, published 21 August 2025) provides a breakdown of arrivals by quarter. The number of individuals resettled under the schemes is as follows: 19,048 under ARAP. 10,160 individuals under ACRS Pathway 1, 1,406 individuals under ACRS Pathway 2 and 1,679 individuals under ACRS Pathway 3.
Afghan Operational data is viewable at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will place in the House of Commons Library all (a) reports, (b) reviews, (c) internal evaluation and (d) evidence gathered in relation to her Department's pilot of a 56-day move period from asylum accommodation for refugees with newly granted status to remain in the UK.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Move-on evaluation report will be published as part of the Home Office Analysis and Insights (HOAI) Research Series subject to satisfactory peer review and Ministerial clearance. The House of Commons library and any member of the public can access all HOAI research reports which are published online here: Research at Home Office - Home Office - GOV.UK
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will provide the (a) criteria and (b) arrangements for evacuating students from Gaza to the relevant (i) universities and (ii) hon. Members.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
I refer the Honourable Member to the previous Home Secretary’s oral statement to the House on 1 September 2025 on strengthening border security and reforms to the asylum system. Further details will be set out in due course.
The Home Office has put in place systems to issue expedited visas, with biometric checks conducted prior to arrival for all Chevening Scholars from Gaza.
We are in the process of doing the same for a group of students who have been awarded fully funded scholarships covering course fees and living costs at UK universities so they can start their studies in Autumn 2025.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is doing everything it can to support their safe exit and onward travel to the UK. The situation on the ground in Gaza makes this extremely challenging.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many in-person inspections were carried out by Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority officers on farms in Scotland in 2024; and how many (a) workers and (b) workers on the UK seasonal worker visa were spoken to at each inspection.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In 2024, 18 in-person inspection visits were undertaken by Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) officers on farms in Scotland. This figure includes compliance and enforcement inspections, as well as joint inspections with other enforcement bodies, such as UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). The GLAA does not hold data on which visas are held by workers at these farms.
In England and Wales, the GLAA has responsibilities to investigate reports of modern slavery. In Scotland, the primacy for this lies with Police Scotland but the GLAA support this activity to target, dismantle and disrupt serious and organised crime.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to proposed reforms to the Basic Compliance Assessment in the White Paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 12 May 2025, if she will consult with (a) sponsoring institutions and (b) bodies representing them on the implementation of those reforms.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office regularly engages with a range of stakeholders when developing policy. The implementation timetable, transitional arrangements, and further details of the reforms to the Basic Compliance Assessment will be confirmed in due course.