Committee publication · Correspondence · 1 July 2026

Letter from the Minister for Border Security and Asylum relating to the Family returns consultation 17.06.2026

Summary

Minister Alex Norris responds to Dame Karen Bradley's concerns about the Home Office's family returns consultation. The letter defends the targeted stakeholder approach rather than full public consultation, confirms local authorities were engaged via regional partnerships and government associations, and commits to sharing impact assessments and data with councils before implementation, including children's impact and new burdens assessments.

Key findings

Home Office conducted a targeted stakeholder consultation rather than full public consultation, shared directly with local government associations and Regional Strategic Migration Partnerships to cascade to councils
Consultation was not published on GOV.UK but was shared with Parliament and published on the parliamentary website, extending to other parties on request
Family-level and appeal-status data on section 95 and section 4 support is not currently published, but modelling underpinning new burdens assessment will be shared with local authorities
Impact assessments including children's impact assessment (Section 55 duty) and equality impact assessment will be finalised before any decision on commencing Schedules 11 and 12 of the Immigration Act 2016
Home Office will engage with local authorities on regulations and policy guidance should the proposals be implemented, and intends to publish full consultation response on GOV.UK

Tone

Procedural

Topics

asylum-and-immigrationlocal-governmentchildren-and-familiespublic-consultation

Key actors

Alex Norris MP, Dame Karen Bradley MP, Home Office, Local Government Association for England, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), Welsh Local Government Association, Regional Strategic Migration Partnerships, Northern Ireland Executive

Notable line

“The modelling and assumptions underpinning the new burdens assessment will be shared with local authorities to seek their views, in accordance with the New Burdens Doctrine.”

Key Quotes

“I agree that local authorities are key stakeholders that would play an essential role in the delivery of the proposed changes and we are committed to ensuring their input informs our decision making.”
— Alex Norris MP · Opening response to Dame Karen Bradley's concerns about local authority engagement

“The Home Office chose to conduct the consultation as a targeted stakeholder exercise rather than a full public consultation. This is in line with the wider Cabinet Office principles on consultation.”
— Alex Norris MP · Explaining why consultation was not published on GOV.UK

“Given the complexity of the subject matter, particularly given the proposals relate to families and children, this approach enabled focused engagement with those best placed to assess the practical and safeguarding implications, while supporting ongoing policy development.”
— Alex Norris MP · Justifying targeted rather than full public consultation approach

“A new burdens assessment will take into account cost implications, affordability and wider pressures the proposals could have on local authorities in accordance with the New Burdens Doctrine.”
— Alex Norris MP · Describing impact assessment process for local authorities

“All assessments will be finalised in advance of any decision on commencement of Schedules 11 and 12 of the Immigration Act”
— Alex Norris MP · Confirming when impact assessments will be completed

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗