Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average timeframe is for decisions on fee waiver applications for partner visas.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Fee Waiver data is published in tables FW_01 – FW_03 of the ‘Immigration and Protection dataset’ found here: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK,
However, the specific information requested is not currently available from the published statistics because fee waiver applications are not categorised by a specific route such as "partner", instead, fee waiver applications include everyone applying on Family and Private Life grounds. The requested data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make an assessment of trends in the level of regional income disparities for people applying for UK family visas.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The MIR was raised in April 2024 from £18,600 to £29,000. This was the first time it had been increased since its introduction.
To help ensure we reach the right balance and have a solid evidence base for any further change, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) was commissioned to review the financial requirements in the Family Immigration Rules.
Conducting a full review of the financial requirements across the family routes will ensure we have a clear and consistent system. The MAC published their independent review of the financial requirements across the family routes and their report is now under review.
We will consider the recommendations made by the MAC and the Home Secretary will respond to the review in due course.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the ability of airports to complete full customs checks on small packages imported from abroad in the last 12 months.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Border Force work closely with law enforcement partners to share intelligence and have a strong track record in targeting illicit commodities via a threat and intelligence led approach; and we continue to examine goods brought into the UK by passengers are appropriately declared and abide by customs and excise rules. Border Force has an excellent relationship with airport security personnel nationally, ensuring they are aware and able to identify potential smuggling risks. If, when carrying out their security function, airline staff identify a person who may be of interest to Border Force, they will share that information, allowing Border Force Officers (BFOs) to take appropriate action. Border Force examines thousands of parcels arriving into the UK every day as part of Border Security checks. Border Force has had a record-breaking year in terms of seizures, highlighting our ability to complete high volumes of checks, with data available via Migration transparency data - GOV.UK
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made any assessment of the potential merits of lowering the costs of settlement visas for spouses of British citizens.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps fees for immigration and nationality applications under regular review. Fees are set in accordance with the powers in Section 68 of the Immigration Act 2014, which allow the Department to take account of a range of factors, including the cost of processing applications, the benefits and entitlements associated with a successful application, and the wider costs of operating the migration and borders system.
The Home Office does not make a profit from these fees; income generated above the estimated unit cost contributes to the operation of the migration and borders system, helping to reduce the burden on UK taxpayers.
The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, is currently subject to public consultation, running until 12 February 2026. The consultation seeks views on the impact proposed changes might have on different groups. 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.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help support welfare claimants with learning difficulties during the migration process to Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department provides tailored support for customers with learning difficulties during their migration to Universal Credit. This includes the Citizens Advice Help to Claim service, face-to-face assistance in Jobcentres, and a dedicated helpline.
Customers may also receive help from friends, family members, or approved third parties. Additionally, we offer an Enhanced Support Journey, alternative formats, and home visits to ensure the process is accessible and that customers feel supported throughout their transition.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of court phone numbers that, when called, tell you to call a different number.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is committed to improving the experience of users contacting us by telephone. We have migrated call handling for a number of services from local courts and tribunals to centrally managed National Service Centres. Since migration telephony wait times continue to improve, for example, average call waiting times in our digital service centres have fallen year on year, from 17 minutes in December 2023, to 15 minutes in December 2024, and to 13 minutes in December 2025, against our 15-minutes target.
A proportion of callers continue to use older phone numbers that appear on historic paperwork or in third‑party online sources retained by citizens and professionals. To avoid leaving these callers without guidance, HMCTS maintains recorded messages on such lines to signpost to the correct, active number or service.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 not resolving the status of children in care before turning 18 on their development.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Secretary set out in the Immigration White Paper published on 12 May that the Home Office will ensure children who have been in the UK for some time, turn 18 and discover they do not have status, are fully supported and able to regularise their status and settle where appropriate. This will also include a clear pathway for those children in care and care leavers.
Policy development is ongoing, but as part of this, separate targeted engagement will take place with external stakeholders to help us to understand the challenges in this area and develop a policy solution which supports children in care without status while upholding the need to have a robust and coherent migration system. Children who have claimed asylum are dealt with under separate provisions.
A range of reforms are underway across the immigration and asylum system, and the development of a clear pathway to settlement for children in care and care leavers must be considered alongside these changes.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Ukraine visas extensions applications have been affected by technical issues in each of the last three years.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The number of applications affected by technical issues does not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in Council Tax Reduction entitlement following migration to Universal Credit on low‑income households, particularly where the Limited Capability for Work or Work‑Related Activity element results in claimants being placed in a higher income band.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local council tax support for working age households, including the treatment of benefits, is designed by councils in consultation with their residents, taking into account the needs and circumstances of their local communities. Each year, councils must consider whether to revise or replace their scheme. The government has not undertaken an assessment, including any discussions with local authorities, of the potential impact of Universal Credit migration on individual claimants.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has had discussions with local authorities on the treatment of the Limited Capability for Work and Limited Capability for Work‑Related Activity elements of Universal Credit as income for the purposes of Council Tax Reduction calculations.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local council tax support for working age households, including the treatment of benefits, is designed by councils in consultation with their residents, taking into account the needs and circumstances of their local communities. Each year, councils must consider whether to revise or replace their scheme. The government has not undertaken an assessment, including any discussions with local authorities, of the potential impact of Universal Credit migration on individual claimants.