Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the location, size and occupancy of HMOs used for asylum accommodation by local authority area.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
For the safety and security of those we accommodate and staff, it is our longstanding policy not to disclose information about sites which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what weekly financial support is provided to asylum seekers, including cash payments and vouchers; and how many people receive this support.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The level of the allowance given to those supported under section 95 and section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is reviewed each year to ensure it covers an asylum seeker’s “essential living needs”. Full details of the items that are considered essential are set out in Asylum support: What you'll get - GOV.UK.
The Home Office publishes data on asylum seekers in receipt of Home Office support, by support type, in table Asy_D09 of the Immigration System Statistics release. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2025. Further details can be found on Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many HMOs on the Isle of Wight are currently licensed for use as asylum accommodation; what the capacity of each is; and how many asylum seekers are currently housed in each property.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is not currently using HMOs on the Isle of Wight to accommodate asylum accommodation.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many enforcement actions have been taken against providers of HMOs used for asylum accommodation on the Isle of Wight in the last five years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is not currently using HMOs on the Isle of Wight to accommodate asylum accommodation.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds data on all Home Office contractors and subcontractors operating HMOs for asylum accommodation on the Isle of Wight.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is not currently using HMOs on the Isle of Wight to accommodate asylum accommodation.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many illegal immigrants are currently being housed in Northern Ireland; and what steps are being taken to process their cases.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
In accordance with the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide destitute asylum seekers with accommodation and subsistence support whilst their application for asylum is being considered.
Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK
The Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives, including innovative tooling to speed up decision-making, reduce the time people spend in the asylum system, decrease the number of people awaiting an interview or decision, and improve the quality and consistency of our work. Our efforts span the entire asylum journey and will enable us to maximise capacity and progress cases in a more efficient and cost-effective way. We have taken action to speed up asylum processing so that asylum seekers do not wait months or years, at vast expense to the taxpayer, for a decision. The number of outstanding asylum decisions is falling, and we continue to make good progress.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 8 December 2025, to Question 95340, on Asylum: Hillingdon, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of publishing grant payments made to local authorities; and if she will make it her policy to publish the Hillingdon figures.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not publicly publish grant payment levels by local authority, and we have no plans to do so. We do however publish the grant funding instructions, which can be found here:
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the annual cost of asylum (a) support payments, (b) accommodation and (c) associated services.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The full cost of asylum support is disclosed in the Departments published Annual Report and Accounts and includes support payments, accommodation and all other support services.
A link to the text on the 2024-25 Home Office Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) relating to Asylum Support can be found at this link Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025 (on page 75).
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase transparency in the way immigration applications are processed.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
All entry clearance, permission to stay and settlement applications are subject to customer service standards which we report on our website along with transparency data on performance. Where an individual is refused permission they are provided with a full refusal notice and in some categories have a right to an administrative review or full right of appeal.
Applicants are also able to view guidance which is published on GOV.UK (Visas and immigration operational guidance - GOV.UK), that caseworkers use when they consider making decisions on applications.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the government’s proposed Earned Settlement reforms on disabled partner visa applicants and primary carers, including the proposed personal earnings requirement; what steps her Department is taking to ensure that such reforms do not indirectly discriminate against those with protected characteristics; and what transitional arrangements will apply to families already on the partner route to prevent retrospective disadvantage.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
The consultation seeks views on the impact proposed changes might have on different groups, including disabled people and carers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation.
The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course