Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many referrals to counter-extremism programmes have been made in each of the last five years, broken down by ideology.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
i) Individuals referred to the Prevent programme
Prevent aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It works to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are offered appropriate interventions and support, and that communities are protected against radicalising influences.
The Home Office publishes statistics annually on individuals referred into Prevent, which can be found here.
Links to the data on individuals referred in by the type of concern, or ideology, can be found below.
ii) Years 2024-2025, broken down by ideology. Table 16.
iii) Years 2023-2024, broken down by ideology. Table 6.
iv) Years 2022-2023, broken down by ideology. Table 6.
v) Years 2021-2022, broken down by ideology. Table 6.
vi) Years 2020-2021, broken down by ideology. Table 6.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the she plans to apply the proposed salary threshold and RQF Level 6 requirements for Skilled Worker visas retrospectively to people already in the UK under existing visa conditions when they apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain; and whether she plans to implement transitional protections for families who entered the UK legally under previous rules.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026. Details of the earned settlement scheme, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has considered suspending visa routes from countries assessed as high-risk for terrorism;
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK operates a robust and effective visa system, which is an important part of securing the UK border and a vital tool for the UK in reducing illegal immigration, tackling organised crime and protecting national security. A requirement to obtain a visa prior to travelling to the UK means that we can assess, based on a visa application and following background checks, whether an individual will comply with the Immigration Rules on arrival. It allows us to intervene and, where necessary, refuse a visa before the individual travels to the UK.
This Government will not stop at anything to protect border and national security, and the UK keeps its visa system under regular review. This is conducted on the basis of a range of factors including security, compliance and returns arrangements. However, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail on specific operational security matters.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria are used to designate a country as high-risk for terrorism and extremist activity for the purposes of visa policy.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK operates a robust and effective visa system, which is an important part of securing the UK border and a vital tool for the UK in reducing illegal immigration, tackling organised crime and protecting national security. A requirement to obtain a visa prior to travelling to the UK means that we can assess, based on a visa application and following background checks, whether an individual will comply with the Immigration Rules on arrival. It allows us to intervene and, where necessary, refuse a visa before the individual travels to the UK.
This Government will not stop at anything to protect border and national security, and the UK keeps its visa system under regular review. This is conducted on the basis of a range of factors including security, compliance and returns arrangements. However, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail on specific operational security matters.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which visa routes are currently open to nationals of countries designated as high-risk for terrorism-related activity.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK operates a robust and effective visa system, which is an important part of securing the UK border and a vital tool for the UK in reducing illegal immigration, tackling organised crime and protecting national security. A requirement to obtain a visa prior to travelling to the UK means that we can assess, based on a visa application and following background checks, whether an individual will comply with the Immigration Rules on arrival. It allows us to intervene and, where necessary, refuse a visa before the individual travels to the UK.
This Government will not stop at anything to protect border and national security, and the UK keeps its visa system under regular review. This is conducted on the basis of a range of factors including security, compliance and returns arrangements. However, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail on specific operational security matters.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what role the Prevent strategy currently plays in identifying and disrupting Islamist radicalisation; and whether changes are planned to improve its effectiveness.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Prevent aims to limit exposure to radicalising narratives, both online and offline, and to create an environment where radicalising ideologies are challenged and are not permitted to flourish.
The Prevent Duty Guidance sets out how local partners should address this issue by identifying and considering opportunities to disrupt those who use extremist narratives to spread hatred and division and radicalise others to terrorism.
This includes information sharing, risk assessment, and developing operational plans to proactively address the influences and narratives that may foster permissive environments within the community.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many premises have been investigated, restricted, or closed in the last five years due to concerns relating to extremist ideology.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
It is a long-standing policy that the Home Office does not comment on specific cases.
Regardless of the worldview it draws from, if an ideology is causing harm by radicalising others into hatred, violence and extremism we will take action to prevent this and to safeguard susceptible individuals.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure proper support for venues transitioning to the requirements of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 during the implementation period.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act, also known as Martyn’s Law, received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025.
An implementation period of at least 24 months is now underway, giving those responsible for premises and events sufficient time and support to meet their new obligations. It will also allow time for the Security Industry Authority (SIA) to establish its new regulatory function.
The Act is intended to improve protective security and organisational preparedness across the UK. It will require certain premises and events to ensure steps have been taken to prepare for potential terrorist attacks. Larger premises and events will be required to consider and, where appropriate, implement steps to reduce their vulnerability to acts of terrorism.
Statutory guidance will be published during the implementation period to help those responsible to understand the requirements set out in the legislation. The guidance is being designed to be easy to follow, requiring no specialist expertise or the use of third-party products or services.
The Home Office continues to engage with businesses and organisations, including through attendance at industry events and a nationwide webinar series to raise awareness and understanding for sectors in scope of the Act, and regularly issues communications and updates via ProtectUK, Gov.uk, SIA.gov.uk and the Home Office and SIA social media channels.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of protective security funding allocated to places of worship, schools and community centres in financial year 2025-26; and what steps she is taking to ensure such funding is adequate to meet current threat levels.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
This Government is committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion at their chosen place of worship, and to making our streets and communities safer.
In 2025/26, up to £70.9 million is available to protect faith communities. This includes additional emergency funding of £10 million each this year to support the safety, security and peace of mind for both Jewish and Muslim communities.
The Government and police work closely together to review threats and strengthen protections for communities against terrorism and hate crime. The Home Office continuously reviews the adequacy of its protective security schemes for faith communities through evaluating information provided by policing and intelligence partners on threat levels, monitoring data on uptake of the schemes, and reviewing feedback from faith communities and other stakeholders.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Restoring Control Over the Immigration System: White Paper, whether her Department plans to apply the 5 and 10 year penalties for accessing public funds to those on limited leave to remain who are currently living in the UK and receiving benefits.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Data regarding how many people in the UK are subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition (NRPF) is currently in development and not ready for release. We will continue to explore what further information on NRPF can be produced. We are unable at this time to provide a specific timeframe for data publication or indeed confirm what will be published.
The earned settlement model is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026. Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following that consultation.
The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Consideration will then be given, if appropriate, to how transitional arrangements may be designed to ease the impact of policy change, especially for individuals or groups already afforded permissions by the previous system.
The final model will also be subject to equality impact assessment, which the government has committed to publish in due course.
Free school meals are not classed as a 'public fund' for immigration purposes. It is the Department for Education who set the eligibility criteria for who can access free school meals.