Written questions by Stainbank.

What steps her Department is taking to support (a) police forces and (b) community groups to protect places of worship from targeted attacks.

The Government is clear that protecting the right of all faith communities to worship in peace and without fear is fundamental.In 2026/27, record funding of up to £77.4 million has been made available for the Home Office’s protective security schemes for faith communities. This includes £32.4 million for the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant, £40 million for the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme and for security and Muslim faith schools, and £5 million for places of worship and associated faith community centres of all other faiths.On 30 April, the Government also announced £25 million of immediate funding in 2026/27 to strengthen policing, protect Jewish communities and provide reassurance in response to the terrorist attack in Golders Green and recent spate of antisemitic attacks. This includes £20 million to support policing in maintaining enhanced, visible patrols and other operational measures, and a further £4 million for the JCPS Grant, contributing to the overall £32.4 million funding outlined for the Grant above.The Home Office has also launched a brand-new scheme, Faith Security Training (FST), to better protect faith communities in England and Wales. The FST scheme, developed in partnership with policing and faith representatives, is a free scheme designed to help faith communities strengthen their security awareness and preparedness. This training is practical, accessible, and tailored to the needs of faith leaders and volunteers.The Government continues to work closely with the police and other partners to monitor threats and ensure that effective and proportionate protections are in place to protect communities from hate crime, terrorism and wider security threats.

What recent discussions she has had with devolved administrations on coordinating prevention and response to targeted attacks on places of worship.

The Government is clear that protecting the right of all faith communities to worship in peace and without fear is fundamental.The Home Office works closely with the devolved administrations on issues relating to the safety and security of communities. This includes regular engagement through the governance of the CONTEST system, which monitors the implementation of the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy and ensures that we maintain effective co-ordination across government.We continue to work closely with the police and other partners to monitor threats and ensure that effective and proportionate protections are in place to protect communities from hate crime, terrorism and wider security threats.

Whether decisions made by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission are binding on his Department.

Orders and directions issued by the courts—including the Special Immigration Appeals Commission—are binding on the parties involved, and the Home Office gives effect to them, subject to any applications to appeal or review.

Which country of origin had the lowest asylum applicant initial decision success rate since July 2024.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial decisions on asylum claims by nationality is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions datasets’. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2025.Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2025. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Which country of origin had the highest percentage of asylum applicant initial decision success rate since July 2024.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial decisions on asylum claims by nationality is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions datasets’. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2025.Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2025. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

How many and what proportion of asylum applicant initial refusals were reversed in the period between July 2024 and July 2025.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum appeals and latest outcomes in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.Data on asylum appeals is published in table Asy_D06 and Asy_D07 of the ‘Asylum appeals lodged and determined detailed datasets’. The latest data relates to the year ending March 2023.Data on latest asylum outcomes is published in table Asy_D04 of the ‘Asylum claims and decisions detail datasets’. Table Asy_D04 shows, for main applicants only, the number of asylum claims made each year and the initial and latest outcomes for those claims. Initial outcomes of an asylum claim are subject to change following an appeal or a reconsideration. The latest published data relates to claims made up to the end of 2024, with outcomes as at the point of data extraction in October 2025.Information on how to use these datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. Please note that figures for immigration and asylum appeals at First-Tier Tribunal and subsequent stages are published by the Ministry of Justice as part of their Tribunal Statistics release. The latest data relates to July to September 2025.

Whether an entry clearance manager can consider a non-English untranslated document in support of a visa.

The Immigration Rules set out that where specified documents submitted in support of a visa application are not in English or Welsh, the applicant must provide both the version of the document in the original language and a full translation that can be independently verified by the decision maker. See Immigration Rule 39B(f)Immigration Rules - Immigration Rules part 1: leave to enter or stay in the UK - Guidance - GOV.UKFor all types of documents, including non-specified documents that are not translated, an ECM may write to the applicant to request a translation of the document if it is relevant to whether the requirements of the Immigration rules are met. This approach is in line with the published Evidential Flexibility policy. Evidential flexibility

What length of time since the date of issue may Military Service Exemption cards be used by VISA applicants before they no longer qualify as proof of VISA applicants' circumstances by Home Office Entry Clearance Officers.

Evidence of exemption from military service is not a requirement of the UK Immigration Rules. Where an applicant presents a document to demonstrate their exemption from military service in their home country, the entry clearance officer would consider this evidence in the round and against the relevant immigration rules for the route applied for.

How many (a) large sites and (b) hotel sites for Asylum Seekers are there in the Falkirk Council area.

For the safety and security of those we accommodate and staff, it is our longstanding policy not to disclose information about sites which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office.The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area, including figures for hotels and other contingency sites. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that people based in the UK, including people granted asylum, are protected from politically-motivated red notices.

The Government views any allegation of misuse of INTERPOL’s systems very seriously and works closely with INTERPOL to ensure the legitimacy of the Red Notice system.Any State that is found to be wilfully abusing and misusing the INTERPOL system should be held to account to the fullest extent. This is even more important for any states that are already under corrective measures.The Home Office works with INTERPOL and the National Crime Agency (NCA), which acts as the UK’s National Central Bureau (NCB) for INTERPOL, to monitor the effectiveness of existing safeguards.We encourage INTERPOL to uphold international human rights obligations and we won’t hesitate to recommend further reforms to INTERPOL as necessary.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reports that Russia is using Interpol systems to target political opponents abroad on UK national security.

The Government views any allegation of misuse of INTERPOL’s systems very seriously and works closely with INTERPOL to ensure the legitimacy of the Red Notice system.Any State that is found to be wilfully abusing and misusing the INTERPOL system should be held to account to the fullest extent. This is even more important for any states that are already under corrective measures.The Home Office works with INTERPOL and the National Crime Agency (NCA), which acts as the UK’s National Central Bureau (NCB) for INTERPOL, to monitor the effectiveness of existing safeguards.We encourage INTERPOL to uphold international human rights obligations and we won’t hesitate to recommend further reforms to INTERPOL as necessary.

Whether per capita share of asylum accommodation across regions is a criteria in deciding asylum hotel closure priority.

Hotel closure will be prioritised based on a wide range of criteria. The hotel exit plan will continue to be carefully managed to ensure that all supported asylum seekers are accommodated in suitable alternative accommodation. The department operates a Full Dispersal model which works to ensure that asylum accommodation is equitably and fairly spread out across the country, meaning that a small number of local authorities are not unduly burdened.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that new asylum seeker accommodation is equitably dispersed between the regions and nations of the United Kingdom.

The department operates a Full Dispersal model which works to ensure that asylum accommodation is equitably and fairly spread out across regions and nations of the United Kingdom, meaning that a small number of local authorities are not unduly burdened.To facilitate this, we have developed Asylum Accommodation Plans in partnership with Local Government which set out our approach to the procurement and occupancy of Dispersal Accommodation across the UK.The Plans are underpinned by an indexing model which weights three key overarching factors. Indexing provides a flexible, transparent evidence-based for the dispersal of the national asylum-seeking population to ensure equity remains at the core. The overarching factors are:The current housing market and viabilitySocial factors including pressures on local servicesExisting population including extant Home Office cohortsThese three factors ensure the plans are evidence- based and strike a balance between equity and availability, as well as for the first time considering various pressures in local areas which we have worked on with The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The plans and indexing are reviewed regularly to ensure the plans are flexible to changing external factors.

What percentage of asylum seekers received initial decisions in quarter 4 of 2025 (October to December) compared to quarter 2 2024 (April to June).

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial decisions of asylum claims is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions datasets’. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2025.Data for the year ending December 2025, which will include Quarter 4 of 2025, will be published on 26 February 2026.

What progress her Department has made on the development of the new Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy; and how her Department is working with devolved governments, including the Scottish Government, to ensure effective coordination on prevention, perpetrator interventions and data sharing.

“Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls”, was published on 18 December 2025. It sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver our unprecedented commitment to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade.We have engaged with the Welsh Government, Scottish Government, and Northern Ireland Executive in the development of the Strategy.Each Devolved Government has its own strategy, and ours has been informed by best practices drawn from the approaches of all three jurisdictions, including Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy to prevent and eradicate VAWG, the Northern Ireland Ending VAWG Strategic Framework, and Wales’s Strategy for Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence. We are committed to sharing learning and best practice to make our work complementary, and this includes sharing data. VAWG is a national and international emergency, and we will continue working with all devolved governments to ensure a coordinated UK-wide response.

What assessment she has made of the potential for accelerating asylum hotel closures in the nations and regions of the United Kingdom that will be hosting large military site accommodation for Asylum seekers.

Hotel closure will be prioritised based on a wide range of criteria. The hotel exit plan will continue to be carefully managed to ensure that all supported asylum seekers are accommodated in suitable alternative accommodation, including large sites, elsewhere in the estate.

With reference to her Statement on Asylum Policy of 17 of November, Official Report column 509, what the qualifying tests for family reunion for refugees applying through the work and study route will be.

A refugee who is given core protection will have no automatic right to bring family to the UK. Refugees will be able to switch into a new, bespoke work and study route to access family reunion and settlement rights with new fees and conditions in accordance with the rules of that route. This will enable them to earn down their length of time before they can settle in the UK from 20 years.The Government will set out the requirements and timelines in due course.

With reference to her Statement on Asylum Policy of 17 of November, Official Report column 509, what the length of time for settlement for refugees who successfully apply through that route will be.

These details are subject to further policy development which will be set out in due course.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of clause 52 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to permit the denial of refugee status to asylum seekers who are serious offenders.

Clause 52 ensures that convictions for Schedule 3 sexual offences will be assumed to be ‘particularly serious’ for the purpose of exclusion from the Refugee Convention. Not only have these individuals failed to respect the laws of the UK by committing heinous acts, but they have also undermined public confidence in the ability of the state to protect the public. All crime causes harm to victims, communities, and society in general. By their very nature, sexual offences (especially those which warrant the imposition of the notification requirement) can have very serious impacts on victims and the overall fabric of society. Parliament has debated these issues and considered these offences to sit in a unique category, not least given the effect they have on victims and communities. These individuals will be liable for removal at the earliest opportunity. Where removal is not possible due to our ECHR obligations, clause 52 will ensure that such individuals are not afforded the generous benefits of protection status in the UK.

With reference to her Statement on Asylum Policy of 17 of November, Official Report column 509, which means other than sponsorship will be opened up to new, capped, safe and legal routes for asylum seekers.

The UK has rightly played its part alongside other countries in response to crises such as Ukraine, Hong Kong and Afghanistan.As set out in the policy statement, in addition to the sponsorship pathways, we are developing new capped safe and legal routes at pace for refugees and displaced people to access the UK for work and study purposes.This approach remains flexible to respond to global crises, as demonstrated by recent extensions to the Ukraine scheme and targeted support for individuals affected by conflicts in Gaza.