Written questions by Robinson.

Whether any guidance exists for each Constabulary on the number of candidates they recommend to the College of Policing’s Executive Leadership Programme in any given year to assist with professional development and succession in leadership.

The Government is committed to ensuring there is strong and consistent leadership across policing and a pipeline of diverse and talented candidates for chief officer appointments. The College of Policing’s Executive Leaders Programme aims to open up access to a wide pool of officers, who have the skills, experience and potential to become chief officers, ready for substantive appointment to a chief officer role.Neither the Home Office nor the College of Policing issues guidance to police forces on the specific number of candidates they should recommend to the Executive Leaders Programme. Recruitment is managed locally by individual police forces, following national guidelines and the application, assessment, and selection framework set by the College of Policing.The Home Office does not collect data on the number of candidates attending and completing the Executive Leaders Programme.The College of Policing has undertaken a review of the effectiveness of the Executive Leaders Programme, which was carried out in 2023-2024 on the first two cohorts. Based on the recommendations of the review, further improvements were communicated to forces and implemented in subsequent cohorts of the programme by the College of Policing.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the College of Policing’s Executive Leadership Programme.

The Government is committed to ensuring there is strong and consistent leadership across policing and a pipeline of diverse and talented candidates for chief officer appointments. The College of Policing’s Executive Leaders Programme aims to open up access to a wide pool of officers, who have the skills, experience and potential to become chief officers, ready for substantive appointment to a chief officer role.Neither the Home Office nor the College of Policing issues guidance to police forces on the specific number of candidates they should recommend to the Executive Leaders Programme. Recruitment is managed locally by individual police forces, following national guidelines and the application, assessment, and selection framework set by the College of Policing.The Home Office does not collect data on the number of candidates attending and completing the Executive Leaders Programme.The College of Policing has undertaken a review of the effectiveness of the Executive Leaders Programme, which was carried out in 2023-2024 on the first two cohorts. Based on the recommendations of the review, further improvements were communicated to forces and implemented in subsequent cohorts of the programme by the College of Policing.

Which police constabulary referred the (a) highest and (b) lowest number of candidates across the UK to the College of Policing’s Executive Leadership Programme since 2023.

The Government is committed to ensuring there is strong and consistent leadership across policing and a pipeline of diverse and talented candidates for chief officer appointments. The College of Policing’s Executive Leaders Programme aims to open up access to a wide pool of officers, who have the skills, experience and potential to become chief officers, ready for substantive appointment to a chief officer role.Neither the Home Office nor the College of Policing issues guidance to police forces on the specific number of candidates they should recommend to the Executive Leaders Programme. Recruitment is managed locally by individual police forces, following national guidelines and the application, assessment, and selection framework set by the College of Policing.The Home Office does not collect data on the number of candidates attending and completing the Executive Leaders Programme.The College of Policing has undertaken a review of the effectiveness of the Executive Leaders Programme, which was carried out in 2023-2024 on the first two cohorts. Based on the recommendations of the review, further improvements were communicated to forces and implemented in subsequent cohorts of the programme by the College of Policing.

How many candidates from Police Service Northern Ireland successfully completed the College of Policing’s Executive Leadership Programme since 2023.

The Government is committed to ensuring there is strong and consistent leadership across policing and a pipeline of diverse and talented candidates for chief officer appointments. The College of Policing’s Executive Leaders Programme aims to open up access to a wide pool of officers, who have the skills, experience and potential to become chief officers, ready for substantive appointment to a chief officer role.Neither the Home Office nor the College of Policing issues guidance to police forces on the specific number of candidates they should recommend to the Executive Leaders Programme. Recruitment is managed locally by individual police forces, following national guidelines and the application, assessment, and selection framework set by the College of Policing.The Home Office does not collect data on the number of candidates attending and completing the Executive Leaders Programme.The College of Policing has undertaken a review of the effectiveness of the Executive Leaders Programme, which was carried out in 2023-2024 on the first two cohorts. Based on the recommendations of the review, further improvements were communicated to forces and implemented in subsequent cohorts of the programme by the College of Policing.

How many candidates from Police Service Northern Ireland have attended the College of Policing’s Executive Leadership Programme since 2023.

The Government is committed to ensuring there is strong and consistent leadership across policing and a pipeline of diverse and talented candidates for chief officer appointments. The College of Policing’s Executive Leaders Programme aims to open up access to a wide pool of officers, who have the skills, experience and potential to become chief officers, ready for substantive appointment to a chief officer role.Neither the Home Office nor the College of Policing issues guidance to police forces on the specific number of candidates they should recommend to the Executive Leaders Programme. Recruitment is managed locally by individual police forces, following national guidelines and the application, assessment, and selection framework set by the College of Policing.The Home Office does not collect data on the number of candidates attending and completing the Executive Leaders Programme.The College of Policing has undertaken a review of the effectiveness of the Executive Leaders Programme, which was carried out in 2023-2024 on the first two cohorts. Based on the recommendations of the review, further improvements were communicated to forces and implemented in subsequent cohorts of the programme by the College of Policing.

If she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of allowing applications to be dealt with in the UK for asylum applicants who have been granted asylum in another European country.

Where a person already has asylum or subsidiary protection in another European country, the person’s claim will usually be declared inadmissible (meaning that their asylum claim will not be substantively considered in the UK), and they will be removed to that country, if they refused to return voluntarily.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of not implementing the proposed changes to Spousal and Skilled Worker Visa applicants set out in the White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025.

Further details and assessments of measures announced in the White Paper will be published in due course, when the relevant rules are introduced.

If he will estimate the number of asylum applicants who have had their initial claims rejected and subsequently made a further application.

Data on initial decisions on asylum claims, including refusals, is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions detailed datasets’. The latest data relates to the year ending March 2025. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. Data on the number of further submissions is not available from published statistics.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2025 to Question 29448 on Police: Workplace Pensions, what progress has been made on discussions with the Chief Constables in each of the devolved regions on the McCloud Judgement.

The Home Office has engaged with the National Police Chiefs’ Council in working to resolve issues related to the McCloud remedy in relation to England and Wales.As policing is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the policy and legislative responsibility for the police pension scheme in those regions lies with the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive respectively.

What steps her Department plans to take to improve the asylum system.

I refer the Hon Member to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill introduced to Parliament on 30 January (Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill 2025 - GOV.UK.) and the Immigration White Paper published on 12 May (Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper - GOV.UK), both of which will drive forward the Government’s objectives to restore order to the asylum system, and cut costs it imposes on the taxpayer.

How many asylum applications were received in Northern Ireland in the last financial year.

Available data on people claiming asylum in the UK is published in table Asy_D01 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions detailed datasets’. Data on asylum seekers in receipt of support by local authority is published in table Asy_D11 of the ‘Asylum support detailed datasets’.The latest data relates to the year ending March 2025 and as at 31 March 2025. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks.

How many applications were (a) received, (b) granted and (c) rejected for (i) asylum, (ii) Spousal Visas and (iii) Skilled Worker Visas in the last financial year.

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by visa type, including Partner and Skilled Worker visas, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D01’ whilst data on the outcomes of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the ‘detailed entry clearance dataset’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data is from January 2005 up to the end of March 2025.The Home Office also publishes data on the number of people claiming asylum and the number of initial decisions is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions detailed datasets’. The latest data relates to the year ending March 2025.

If she will take steps to ensure that decisions on third country asylum applications are dealt with within 6 months.

We always aim to process inadmissibility decisions as promptly as possible.

What assessment she has made of the merits of the further submissions criteria in the asylum system.

All Further submissions must be considered in line with the UK’s obligations to assess whether the additional evidence means that an individual requires protection.We aim to deal with further submission claims quickly so that there is no incentive to lodge spurious claims to frustrate removal.

If she will list by (a) age, (b) gender and (c) country the number of asylum claims granted protection to (i) asylum seekers who crossed the English Channel by sea and (ii) all asylum seekers in each of the last five years.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum, including by nationality, age and sex, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial decisions of asylum claims, by the date of the decision, is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions detailed datasets’. Data on initial decisions of asylum claims from small boat arrivals, by the date of arrival, is published in table Irr_D03 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed tables’ and by the date of decision in asylum summary tables Asy_02c and Asy_02d.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 March 2025.

How many asylum seekers processed had an application for asylum granted in another country in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

How many asylum seekers subsequently submitted an application for family reunion by (a) age, (b) gender and (c) country of origin in each of the last five years; and how many family members were included in each application.

The Home Office publishes statistics relating to family visas in the Immigration system statistics publication. Data on family visas can be found in the Entry clearance visa data tables. Table Vis_D01 relates to applications of entry clearance visas granted for family reasons, by nationality. Data on family reunion grants by age and sex can be found in the family reunion detailed dataset.The Home Office does not publish statistics regarding sponsorship detail.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) enforce and (b) monitor the application of legislation on the rights of migrants to (i) rent and (ii) otherwise reside in Northern Ireland.

The Right to Rent Scheme (the Scheme) requires landlords and letting agents to check that prospective adult tenants have the relevant permission to access the private rental sector. The Scheme is in force in England only and has not been rolled out to the devolved nations and therefore does not apply to Northern Ireland. The Home Office continues to keep the Scheme’s operation under review.Immigration Enforcement teams are active in Northern Ireland as they are in the rest of the UK. As part of our Plan for Change, this government is cracking down on criminal industry at every level, including stepping up our visits to businesses where illegal working is taking place, and increasing our enforcement action both against illegal workers and the people who employ them in Northern Ireland.

How many outstanding calculations remain for retired police officer pensions arising from the McCloud Judgement within each police force in the United Kingdom.

Calculations for the police pension scheme, including those related to the McCloud remedy, are produced for each scheme member by the relevant scheme administrator.While the Home Office has responsibility for overarching policy and legislative changes to the police pension regulations in England & Wales, the police pension scheme is locally administered by individual police forces. The devolved governments have overarching policy and legislative responsibility in Scotland and Northern Ireland.It is for each Chief Constable, in their role as scheme manager for their force, to determine their administrative timetable.The Home Office is actively collaborating with policing to support the effective implementation of the McCloud remedy for all affected individuals.

If she will take steps to provide British citizenship to the children of British National (Overseas) passport holders from Hong Kong that are in the UK.

British National (Overseas) status holders who are on the BN(O) route in theUK may apply for British citizenship after 5 years’ qualifying residence, and being free from immigration time restrictions for a further year.Their children who have come to the UK as their dependants can apply when they meet the requirements.Children born to BN(O)s in the UK will be able to apply for registration as a British citizen once their parent becomes settled.