Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential (1) risks, and (2) benefits, of adopting an entirely remote delivery model for the proposed Home Office English Language Testing service.

The Home Office has carefully considered both the risks and benefits of an entirely remote delivery model as part of the procurement to replace current Secure English Language Testing arrangements.

The key risks centre on maintaining the integrity and security of the immigration system, including identity assurance, protection against impersonation, and confidence in the reliability of test results. The Home Office has engaged the market to understand what capability is available to maintain high standards of security and integrity and has developed a robust security schedule and solution requirements to ensure this remains at the heart of the digital by default solution. Following rounds of pre-market engagement, the ongoing procurement is explicitly designed to test bidders' ability to meet these standards, and the Department will adopt only those solutions that demonstrably maintain the high level of assurance required.

The expected benefits include improved accessibility and customer service by removing physical barriers for applicants, stronger protections against fraud through enhanced security measures, and better value for money for applicants and the taxpayer.