Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what evidence on test security her Department reviewed as part of the market engagement process for the Home Office English Language tender.

During the market engagement process for the HOELT, the Home Office engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, including existing Secure English Language Test (SELT) providers, assessment bodies, regulators such as Ofqual, and independent experts. Evidence submitted through this process included information on test security approaches, the risks and mitigations associated with different delivery models, technical controls and international comparisons. The Department took this evidence into account in developing the procurement specification, alongside its own internal analysis of security risks. The specification also considers not only the solutions available at the point of contract commencement, but the bidders’ approaches to innovating and improving security measures throughout the life of the contract to respond to new and emerging threats.