Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that there is adequate (a) capacity and (b) resources for anticipated levels of demand for English-language classes, in the context of proposed requirements for English language proficiency for visa applications.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
I refer the Hon Member to Paragraphs 244-258 of the Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May 2025, which addresses these issues in detail. Further updates will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to begin consulting with adult social care providers on proposals for a Fair Pay Agreement.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, we are committed to consulting on the design of the Fair Pay Agreement process, and we aim to begin a public consultation after the Employment Rights Bill receives Royal Assent later this year. We expect the consultation to run for 12 weeks, and we will work with partners to reach as much of the sector as possible.
We have already begun engaging with sector representatives in England through the Department’s Fair Pay Agreement Working Group and policy specific task and finish groups, which will help to inform policy options for a public consultation on the design of the Fair Pay Agreement process.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support the Community Sponsorship scheme for refugees.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May 2025, announced a review of our existing refugee sponsorship and resettlement schemes to develop a more cost-effective and sustainable framework which will deliver better outcomes for refugees and the communities in which they live.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to (a) increase capacity and (b) ensure more passengers are able to be seated on services into London on South Western Railway.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is working closely with South Western Railway on the introduction of the Arterio fleet which will add the much needed additional capacity and seats on services into London. In the meantime, South Western Railway is managing the rest of its train fleet to ensure that capacity is prioritised where it is most needed.