Asked by: Martin Rhodes (Labour - Glasgow North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the number of children in the UK who are (a) stateless and (b) at risk of statelessness.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The information requested is not available from published statistics and could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether UK aid to Sudan will include support for refugees who flee Sudan into other countries in the region.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The conflict has created a displacement crisis with more than 3 million Sudanese refugees seeking safety in neighbouring countries, and a further 8.8 million people internally displaced within Sudan. In November 2024, the Foreign Secretary announced a £113 million aid package, which doubled the UK's aid commitment to £226.5 million. This package will assist over 600,000 people in Sudan and 700,000 people in neighbouring countries who had fled the conflict, including Chad and South Sudan. Education Cannot Wait will also receive UK support to provide safe learning spaces and psychosocial support for 200,000 vulnerable children in refugee and host communities in Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Uganda.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 30616, on Asylum: Health services, what the (a) forecast and (b) budgeted aggregate spend on refugees and asylum seekers by local government in England was in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The most recent data collected by the department regarding budgeted spending on refugees and asylum seekers by local government in England is from 2024-25 and can be found here. The relevant lines are: RA326 Children's social care – Asylum seekers; and RA349 Social support – Asylum seeker support.
The most recent data collected by the department regarding outturn spending on refugees and asylum seekers by local government in England is from 2023-24 and can be found here. The relevant lines are: RO3 Line 18 Children looked after – asylum seeking children who are looked after; RO3 Line 26 Children’s social care – Asylum Seekers; and RO3 Line 49 Social support – Asylum seeker support.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 30616 on Asylum: Health services, what the outturn aggregate spend was on refugees and asylum seekers by local government in England in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The most recent data collected by the department regarding budgeted spending on refugees and asylum seekers by local government in England is from 2024-25 and can be found here. The relevant lines are: RA326 Children's social care – Asylum seekers; and RA349 Social support – Asylum seeker support.
The most recent data collected by the department regarding outturn spending on refugees and asylum seekers by local government in England is from 2023-24 and can be found here. The relevant lines are: RO3 Line 18 Children looked after – asylum seeking children who are looked after; RO3 Line 26 Children’s social care – Asylum Seekers; and RO3 Line 49 Social support – Asylum seeker support.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to introduce an (a) expedited and (b) automatic process for granting refugee status to children born in the UK to parents with existing refugee status.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Immigration Rules protection status can only be granted when an individual’s protection needs have been considered and they are found to be eligible for refugee status in their own right.
All asylum decisions must demonstrate that the child’s best interests have been a primary (albeit not necessarily the only) consideration. In many cases the basis of a child’s claim for asylum is the same as that of their parent(s), and we can assess a child’s claim for asylum based on the information the parent provides to us, applying the same principles as the Family Asylum Claim process. Further information about the Family Asylum Claim process is available here: Family asylum claims: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK.
There may be cases where a child has no protection needs and would not be at risk on return to their country of origin. In these cases, parents can apply for leave-in-line on behalf of their child. Further information can be found in the dependants and former dependants guidance here: Dependants and former dependants: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK.
We keep all of our policies under review and the Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives to focus on speeding up decision making and reduce the time people spend in the asylum system and decrease the number of people who are awaiting an interview or decision.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2025 to Question 22720 on Housing: Foreign Nationals, in what circumstances are (a) unaccompanied child and (b) other (i) asylum seekers and (ii) refugees allocated free housing by the Government; and in what circumstances the provision of such accommodation is provided by (A) local authorities and (B) housing associations.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
Local authorities have a statutory duty under S20 of the Children Act 1989 to look after children in need in their area. This includes unaccompanied asylum seeking (UAS) children who either arrive in a local authority area or are transferred there under the mandated National Transfer Scheme (NTS). The NTS provides a mechanism for the statutory responsibility for an UAS child to be transferred from an entry local authority to another local authority in the UK for ongoing care and support.
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.
Individuals granted refugee status are eligible for assistance from their local authority in finding accommodation, if homeless, as well as temporary accommodation if they have a priority need. The Homelessness Code of Guidance sets out the framework which local authorities must follow when carrying out their homelessness duties. See: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homelessness-code-of-guidance-for-local-authorities
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help protect the (a) safety and (b) wellbeing of Palestinian children in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are alarmed by the impact of the Gaza conflict on children across the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The UK has consistently pressed Israel to do more to protect civilians in Gaza, not least children, and for all parties to ensure adherence to international humanitarian law. We led calls on Israel to enable the rollout of the polio vaccine across Gaza and we have supported partners to deliver lifesaving aid to children, as well as educational and psychosocial services. This includes an additional £6 million for United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to support vulnerable families in Gaza announced in August 2024, and £41 million funding for United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) this financial year to provide essential services including education across Gaza, the West Bank and Palestinian refugees in the region. £5.8 million of the UK's contribution to the Global Partnership for Education has been earmarked to support essential education service delivery in Gaza and the West Bank. We are also one of the largest donors to the Education Cannot Wait initiative, contributing £1.64 million of its £9.65 million funding to Gaza this financial year.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department’s policy paper entitled UK-Occupied Palestinian Territories development partnership summary July 2023, published on 17 July 2023, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of educational content that (a) incites violence, (b) glorifies terrorism and (c) contains antisemitism in (i) textbooks and (ii) other curriculum materials provided to children in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Education is an essential component of the humanitarian response in Gaza, and critical to building the foundations for a sustainable and lasting peace for the Israeli and Palestinian people, grounded in a two-state solution. It is therefore essential that partners delivering education services across the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) uphold the highest standards of neutrality. The majority of education services across Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem are delivered by the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) or the Palestinian Authority. Catherine Colonna's Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality notes the most recent UNRWA Rapid Review of textbooks from the Palestinian Authority (2022/2023) "found that 3.85 per cent of all textbook pages contain "issues of concern to UN values, guidance, or position on the conflict," either because they are deemed "educationally inappropriate" or because they are not in line with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) standards." The UK supports the Colonna review's conclusion that "the presence of even a small fraction of problematic content in textbooks, supplemental material and teaching content remains a serious issue." We welcome the initiatives launched by UNRWA to ensure neutrality of its educational material and teaching, in addition to its longstanding work with UNESCO and the Palestinian Authority to reform curricula and educational materials. £1 million of UK funding to UNRWA this financial year has been earmarked for the implementation of the Colonna review's recommendations. We also welcome the Palestinian Authority's commitment to enriching curricula and supporting development of educational material in its Education Sector Strategic Plan (2024-2027), with the support of UNESCO. On January 22nd, I met Marcus Sheff, CEO of the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), to discuss opportunities for further educational development.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of asylum seekers enrolled in university access programmes in each of the last five years.
Answered by Janet Daby
The UK has a longstanding and proud tradition of providing a safe haven to those who have no choice but to leave their home country because of endangerment to their lives or to those of their families. Higher education (HE) student support is available to those recognised as refugees, as well as their spouses, civil partners and children who were family members on the date the refugee applied for asylum, provided they have been ordinarily, i.e. lawfully, resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) since being recognised by the government as a refugee and are ordinarily resident in England on the course start date. They are exempt from the three-year ordinary residence requirement.
Individuals seeking asylum are not entitled to student support in England whilst they are seeking asylum.
The department does not hold data on the number of asylum seekers that have started or are currently enrolled on an HE course at a UK HE provider in any of the last five years.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many asylum seekers have begun degree qualifications whilst waiting for leave to remain in the UK.
Answered by Janet Daby
The UK has a longstanding and proud tradition of providing a safe haven to those who have no choice but to leave their home country because of endangerment to their lives or to those of their families. Higher education (HE) student support is available to those recognised as refugees, as well as their spouses, civil partners and children who were family members on the date the refugee applied for asylum, provided they have been ordinarily, i.e. lawfully, resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) since being recognised by the government as a refugee and are ordinarily resident in England on the course start date. They are exempt from the three-year ordinary residence requirement.
Individuals seeking asylum are not entitled to student support in England whilst they are seeking asylum.
The department does not hold data on the number of asylum seekers that have started or are currently enrolled on an HE course at a UK HE provider in any of the last five years.