Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of violence against women and girls on the number of people going missing.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Violence against women and girls is a national emergency, and we’ve made it our mission to halve it in a decade. We are deploying the full power of the state through our VAWG Strategy, which was published on 18th December 2025.
Every missing person case deserves a swift and thorough response from all safeguarding agencies. We also recognise the link between a person going missing and their vulnerability to violence against women and girls, which is why tackling VAWG remains central to our approach.
The Missing Persons Authorised Professional Practice, established by the College of Policing, provides a comprehensive national framework that police forces in England and Wales must follow in missing person investigations. Within this, the National Crime Agency (NCA) publishes an annual report setting out available data on missing persons.
Missing People Ltd has been in receipt of Home Office funding for its core support services since 2011, including its helpline. This is in recognition of the work of the police as a multiagency safeguarding partner and the role in some missing cases.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
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 proposals in the consultation paper entitled A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: statement and accompanying consultation on earned settlement, published on 28 November 2025, on (a) the number of Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa holders eligible for indefinite leave to remain and (b) the time taken to qualify for settlement; and whether she plans to publish an impact assessment on the proposed English language level B2 requirement and a contribution to the Exchequer criteria.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.
BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation. An impact assessment will be developed alongside the finalised policy and published in due course.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of students obtaining a Student Visa for study at a higher education provider since July 2024 have provided a Secure English Language Test from an approved provider.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
All successful Student visa applications from a Higher Education Provider (HEP) must demonstrate that the student has the required English Language.
The Study Sponsor Guidance sets out the requirements for a sponsor’s duty for English Language assessment on page 31. It details how a HEP with a track record of compliance can self-assess English Language. If not a HEP with a track record of compliance, it details how students demonstrate their English language competence.
Student Sponsor Guidance - Document 2: Sponsorship Duties
A sponsor who is self-assessing may use a SELT. There are no published statistics showing this breakdown.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what vetting her Department undertakes into people who arrived in the UK illegally who subsequently apply for leave to remain.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office performs mandatory identity verification and security checks on all individuals applying to enter or remain in the UK. These checks are set out in comprehensive, internal guidance called the UK Visas and Immigration Operating Mandate (OM). To protect the integrity of the specific identity and security checking processes that are conducted under the OM, the information contained within it is not disclosed publicly.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Immigration White Paper S.176, what future steps she plans to take to ensure that workers can more efficiently change sponsors.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As per the Immigration White Paper, we are continuing to explore a range of policy options and their feasibility. Further details will follow in due course as necessary and appropriate.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that newly recognised refugees who are survivors of trafficking, domestic abuse or torture are not left destitute or homeless when asylum support ends.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office is committed to supporting individuals granted leave to remain to successfully transition from asylum accommodation to mitigate the risk of homelessness.
The government is aware of the need for a smooth transition between asylum accommodation and other accommodation for those asylum seekers who are granted leave to remain. The Home Office is working to identify and implement efficiencies to support this process and mitigate the risk of homelessness.
Additionally, the Home Office has also placed Asylum Move On Liaison Officers (AMLOs) in over 50 Local Authorities across the UK, working alongside the Migrant Help and NGOs to support individuals who will be leaving asylum accommodation, and ensure a successful transition.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of Secure English Language Tests were obtained via remote testing in 2024-25.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The current Secure English Language Testing contract is one that was tendered and awarded for physical test sites therefore, remote testing is not currently offered as part of the Secure English Language Test service.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to hold a trial of the proposed remote and digital-by-default method of English language testing for visas.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As part of the procurement, we have undertaken significant Market Engagement that has already assessed the deliverability of the service and there will be robust processes for evaluation of bids and subsequent mobilisation that will assure that the service is secure, safe and delivers our intent. This will include significant IT testing including robust quality assurance testing and an implementation that follows standard agile delivery phases, including private and public beta stages with defined entry and exit criteria that must be met before progressing and scaling the solution.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of moving to digital by default on the security of English language testing.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We have engaged the market to understand what capability is available to maintain the high standards of security and integrity of the test and have developed a robust security schedule and solution requirements to ensure this remains at the heart of the digital by default solution. Security measures will be assessed as part of the procurement process and assured during implementation.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Home Office intends to publish a formal follow-up to the Casey Review’s recommendations on systemic racism in policing.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 17 December 2025, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and Mayor of London announced an independent review of the force’s progress against Baroness Casey’s 2023 report, to be chaired by Dr Gillian Fairfield.
The follow-up review is a matter for the MPS, in conjunction with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).