Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps are they taking to protect the education and safety of vulnerable women from Sudan and Afghanistan who had already been selected for government-funded scholarships prior to the  announcement of an 'emergency brake' on visas for nationals of those countries on 4 March; and whether they have established a formal mechanism to exempt Chevening Scholars from this restriction.

The decision to introduce a visa brake on the Student visa route for Sudan, Afghanistan and two other nationalities was based on data-driven migration and border security considerations. There are no exceptions for government-funded scholarship programmes, including the Chevening programme. Whilst we recognise that most people who apply to study in the UK do so genuinely, the evidence is clear that the Student route for these nationalities has been a source of both high numbers and high proportions of visa-linked asylum claims. We have therefore acted to halt this unacceptable strain on our asylum system, and to ensure that the system remains fair, credible, and sustainable.

The brake will be kept under regular review. The visa brake is not intended to be permanent, but it will only be released once the government considers it appropriate to do so.

As set out in the Restoring Order and Control policy statement, the Government remains committed to the introduction of capped safe and legal routes for refugees and displaced people to come to the United Kingdom. Work is underway to develop these routes, including confirming the eligibility criteria and the number of places to be made available for each new safe and legal route.