Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons her Department has reduced the operational hours of the Immigration and Asylum Unit for hon. Members during the 2017 Summer Recess.

The UKVI MP Account Management teams have offered a reduced phone service from 11am – 4pm since the beginning of recess to enable them to respond to an unprecedented increase in written enquiries from Members of Parliament. Hon. Members continue to be able to contact their MP Account Managers direct to raise urgent enquiries outside of these operating times. Records show that the teams are handling similar call volumes in the reduced operating hours.

Reducing the operational hours of the service helps ensure that the teams continue to deliver high levels of service both on the phones and in writing.