Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that no person is extradited to Hong Kong for an act that is not a crime in the UK.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UKs extradition framework, governed by the Extradition Act 2003,enshrines the principle of dual criminality.
This legal requirement means that no person can be extradited from the UK unless the conduct in question would also constitute a criminal offence under UK law.
In addition, all UK extradition cooperation is underpinned by strong legalsafeguards operationalised by independent UK courts who have extensive powers to bar extradition where it is politically motivated or where it would beagainst an individual’s human rights.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps she has taken to secure the release of Jimmy Lai from detention in Hong Kong.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Jimmy Lai's case remains a high priority for the Government. We continue to call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their politically motivated prosecution and immediately release him. The Prime Minister, and Ministers across Government, have urged the Chinese authorities to release Mr Lai. The Government has discussed the case with our international partners; and we welcome President Trump's public commitment to Mr Lai's release.
Diplomats from our Consulate-General in Hong Kong attended Mr Lai's court proceedings throughout. We continue to press for consular access to our citizen.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the Hong Kong BNO immigration pathway on diplomatic relations with (a) China, (b) NATO allies and (c) Ukraine.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 22 September to Question 76322.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the level of English language proficiency by women from an ethnic minority background; and whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential impact of the level of English language proficiency by women from an ethnic minority background on barriers to their employment.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Data on English language proficiency falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Census 2021 provides datasets detailing population and proficiency in English. These datasets can be downloaded from nomis. Nomis is a service run on behalf of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) by the University of Durham publishing statistics related to population, society and the labour market at national, regional and local levels, including data from current and previous censuses. Data is freely available. Alternatively, you can obtain census data from the ONS.
The department is supporting cross-government work to invest in ongoing integration support, including English language training, employment programmes, and social integration initiatives, to ensure that people can fully participate in society well beyond their initial arrival. For example, the department provided £11.5 million of funding for English language courses and employment support for up to 12,500 Ukrainians across the UK through the ‘STEP Ukraine’ programme. We have now launched a follow-up ‘STEP’ programme of £4.2m (excl. VAT) for English language courses and employment support for Ukrainians and Hong Kong British Nationals. The aim is for the programme to reach 4,000 participants.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made a recent assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the threat level of the (a) Chinese Government and (b) Chinese Communist Party.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
This Government recognises that China poses a series of threats to UK national security - from cyber-attacks, foreign interference and espionage targeting our democratic institutions, to transnational repression of Hong Kongers. We are also alive to the fact that China presents the UK with opportunities as the world’s second largest economy and - together with Hong Kong - the UK’s third largest trading partner. We will continue to develop a consistent and pragmatic approach to economic engagement without compromising on our national security.
Asked by: Lord Banner (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to disabled war refugees from Ukraine including, but not limited to, in relation to employment opportunities.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Councils receive a tariff of £5,900 per Homes for Ukraine arrival in their area to support guests to rebuild their lives and fully integrate into communities. Councils can use this funding flexibly to support households as best suits the local area, this could include supporting individuals to access education and employment.
All Ukrainian guests have access to public services, including benefits to support housing, healthcare, education, and other essential services.
Guidance is available on GOV.UK in English, Ukrainian and Russian, which provides Ukrainian guests with information on finding a job, accessing benefits and healthcare provision. This also provides guidance on social care and support for carers.
We recognise that the ability to speak English is key to helping people integrate into life in the UK. The STEP programme which launched this month, will provide intensive English language lessons and employment support for up to 4,000 individuals across the Ukraine and Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) visa schemes. This builds on the success of the STEP Ukraine pilot which has supported over 13,000 Ukrainians, with an impressive 84% successfully completing the programme and 73% achieving 100% in their English language test.
The Department for Education also supports adults aged 19+ in England who do not have English as a first language to access English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision via the Adult Skills Fund (ASL).
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 her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper, published on 12 May 2025, whether her Department plans to include employment in the public sector as counting towards the long-term contribution to the country under the points-based system for British National (Overseas) visa holders seeking citizenship.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in future.
We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed plans for citizenship will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
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 settlement visa restrictions on Hong Kongers ability to travel.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in future.
We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year. All will be welcome to participate. We will provide details of how the scheme will work after that consultation.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the merits of holding an inquiry with HSBC and Standard Chartered on the withholding of the Mandatory Provident Fund from Hong Kong BNO visa holders.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 16 September to question 73901.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help secure the release of Mandatory Provident Fund saving being withheld from Hong Kong BNO visa holders.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware that individuals who have chosen to take up the BN(O) route are having difficulties accessing their Mandatory Provident Fund from Hong Kong. Hong Kong's Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority has declared that they will not accept the BN(O) passport or its associated visa as evidence in support of an application for early withdrawal of the Fund because they claim it does not prove permanent departure from Hong Kong. We have called on the Hong Kong authorities to work with trustees to find an immediate solution. Ministers have raised the issue directly with Hong Kong's Chief Secretary and Secretary for Financial Services and Treasury respectively this year, and we will continue to do so.