Every parliamentary written question tabled by Joshua Reynolds this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 21 · Home Office
Whether people currently residing in the UK on a Student visa that are studying part-time are permitted to undertake unpaid volunteering roles within the NHS, including training as a volunteer paramedic; whether volunteering is distinguished from voluntary work for the purposes of visa conditions; and whether she has issued guidance on these matters.
Awaiting answer.
Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring (a) age and (b) intoxication verification both at (i) the point of order and (ii) the point of delivery for alcohol sold through delivery applications.
Awaiting answer.
What security protocols are in place to protect sensitive personal and commercial data submitted by sponsor employers as part of visa and sponsorship compliance processes.
The Home Office routinely requires additional evidence from sponsors. The evidence requested is proportionate to the purpose of its use.The Home Office has appropriate technical and organisational safeguards in place and applies a sensible, risk-based approach in line with Article 32 of the GDPR.Inbound data is received to secure gov.uk accounts, managed by security cleared persons. Teams are assigned to manage only certain application strands to reduce risk of data integrity compromise, with data being uploaded onto immigration systems promptly.
Whether her Department has made a comparative assessment of the survivor pension rules in the Police Pension Scheme 1987 in England and Wales and the equivalent rules applying to (a) police officers in Scotland and Northern Ireland and (b) the Armed Forces Pension Scheme.
The 1987 police pension scheme is now a closed scheme, superseded by the 2015 scheme, and there are no plans to make further improvements to the benefits accrued under it. From 1 April 2015, the 1987 police pension scheme was amended to allow widows, widowers and civil partners of police officers who have died as a result of an injury on duty to receive their survivor benefits for life regardless of remarriage, civil partnership or cohabitation.Policing is a devolved matter in both Scotland and Northern Ireland. Decisions of the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive should not form a precedent without due consideration of the government’s continuing duty to ensure that public services are affordable, sustainable and fair in England and Wales.In 2015, a justification was made under the previous government for allowing all surviving partners of Armed Forces pension scheme members to retain their survivor’s pension for life, relating to the combination of factors that apply specifically to members of the Armed Forces and their families.
For what reasons sponsor employers are required to submit large volumes of sensitive information without the routine use of protective measures such as password‑protected files or encrypted transfer systems.
The Home Office routinely requires additional evidence from sponsors. The evidence requested is proportionate to the purpose of its use.The Home Office has appropriate technical and organisational safeguards in place and applies a sensible, risk-based approach in line with Article 32 of the GDPR.Inbound data is received to secure gov.uk accounts, managed by security cleared persons. Teams are assigned to manage only certain application strands to reduce risk of data integrity compromise, with data being uploaded onto immigration systems promptly.
What steps her Department is taking to ensure that automated or AI-supported decision-making relating to sponsorship licences is transparent, fair, and subject to human oversight.
AI is not being used to make or support decision making in Sponsor Licensing applications, licence maintenance or visa sponsorship applications. There is some automation of updates to organisation and key personnel details made by sponsors via their Sponsorship Management System (SMS) and automated renewals of annual allocations of Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), where Sponsors have demonstrated a track record of compliance.For organisation and key personnel changes, whilst details are updated automatically in SMS to ensure that licence details are up to date, appropriate checks and case working still takes place.For the automatic renewal of annual allocations of CoS, renewed allocations are calculated using the sponsor’s usage in the previous allocation year. Where an increase in that allocation is required, the sponsor is required to submit a request, stating the reason for the increase, for consideration.
Whether artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automated analytical tools are used to process data submitted by sponsor employers for visa sponsorship purposes.
AI is not being used to make or support decision making in Sponsor Licensing applications, licence maintenance or visa sponsorship applications. There is some automation of updates to organisation and key personnel details made by sponsors via their Sponsorship Management System (SMS) and automated renewals of annual allocations of Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), where Sponsors have demonstrated a track record of compliance.For organisation and key personnel changes, whilst details are updated automatically in SMS to ensure that licence details are up to date, appropriate checks and case working still takes place.For the automatic renewal of annual allocations of CoS, renewed allocations are calculated using the sponsor’s usage in the previous allocation year. Where an increase in that allocation is required, the sponsor is required to submit a request, stating the reason for the increase, for consideration.
Whether her Department has reviewed guidance provided to caseworkers on assessing the likelihood that visitor visa applicants will leave the UK at the end of their visit, particularly in cases where applicants have established long-term residence, employment and family connections in a third country.
The UK keeps its visa system under regular review, which includes regularly reviewing and updating caseworker guidance. The Visit guidance was updated most recently on 25 February 2026, and this document is available publicly on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visit-guidance.The guidance includes extensive information for caseworkers on assessing the likelihood that visitor visa applicants will leave the UK at the end of their visit. However, as no changes have occurred recently to this assessment, it is not considered necessary to update this section of the guidance document at this time.
How many directors with responsibility for human resources are employed across their department and its executive agencies; and how many of those directors hold professional HR qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development or equivalent professional bodies.
The Home Office has two Directors with responsibility for human resources, both of which hold qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
What assessment has been made of the potential impact of applying retrospective changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain qualifying periods on individuals currently in the UK on UK Ancestry visas who made long-term decisions based on the existing five-year settlement pathway.
The earned settlement public consultation ran for 12 weeks and closed on 12 February 2026. We are now reviewing and analysing all responses received. This analysis will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures for those already on a pathway to settlement.Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly. As with all significant policy changes, the proposals will be subject to both an economic impact assessment and equality impact assessment which we will publish as well as the Government’s response in due course.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed increase in English language requirements to B2 level on Hong Kong families using the British National (Overseas) visa route where household members have varying levels of educational attainment.
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation. An impact assessment will be developed alongside the finalised policy and published in due course.In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply, including the current B1 English language requirement.
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of protective security funding allocated to places of worship, schools and community centres in financial year 2025-26; and what steps she is taking to ensure such funding is adequate to meet current threat levels.
This Government is committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion at their chosen place of worship, and to making our streets and communities safer.In 2025/26, up to £70.9 million is available to protect faith communities. This includes additional emergency funding of £10 million each this year to support the safety, security and peace of mind for both Jewish and Muslim communities.The Government and police work closely together to review threats and strengthen protections for communities against terrorism and hate crime. The Home Office continuously reviews the adequacy of its protective security schemes for faith communities through evaluating information provided by policing and intelligence partners on threat levels, monitoring data on uptake of the schemes, and reviewing feedback from faith communities and other stakeholders.
What steps her Department is taking to ensure police forces receive (a) adequate training and (b) resources to (i) identify, (ii) prevent and (ii) prosecute antisemitic hate crimes.
Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, and the government is committed to tackling it in all its forms. The government is committed to ensuring there are consistent, high standards in police training and leadership to help maintain public trust and confidence. That is why the Home Office continues to fund the College of Policing to deliver support to forces and improvements to leadership and training standards through the National Police Leadership Centre. The College of Policing sets national guidance and standards for policing in England and Wales, including publishing Authorised Professional Practice on hate crime. This Authorised Professional Practice provides guidance on how police should respond to hate crimes and promotes a proportionate and consistent approach that upholds the rights of victims and protects free speech. While the College sets the overall framework, individual police forces are responsible for determining their own local delivery of training. Police forces are operationally independent, but we expect them to use these standards, tools and guidance, and to work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure robust charging decisions and prosecutions in cases of antisemitic hate crime. The Home Secretary launched an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation on 5 October. This review will assess whether police powers remain fit for purpose, are used consistently, and strike the right balance between protecting the public and safeguarding the right to lawful protest. It will address whether the existing legislation is effective and proportionate, whether it adequately protects communities from intimidation and hate and whether it strikes a fair and sustainable balance between the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest, and the need to prevent disorder and keep communities safe.
How many people have been deprived of their British citizenship in each year since 2020; and how many of those (a) were born British citizens, (b) became stateless as a result, and (c) had their citizenship restored following an appeal.
The Home Office publishes data on the number of citizenship deprivation orders. These reports are available on Gov.UK as part of the HMG Counter-Terrorism Disruptive Powers reports and the Immigration and Protection transparency dataHowever, the full information requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.
How many enhanced DBS check applications for care sector roles have exceeded 60 days at the police checking stage in each of the last six months; and whether the Government plans to provide additional resources to police forces experiencing significant backlogs in DBS processing.
The DBS does not report its performance by specific job sectors. The DBS publishes its performance for Enhanced checks on a quarterly basis at DBS performance and metrics - GOV.UK. These attainments apply to applications across all employment sectors including the care sector.The DBS works closely with all police forces to ensure checks are completed as quickly as possible. This includes funding additional staff and overtime within forces. Where possible, police forces with capacity are also helping those with a large number of outstanding cases, a process managed by the DBS.
What the average processing time is for enhanced DBS checks in the care sector in each of the last twelve months; and what steps the Government is taking to reduce the time taken in the police checking stage of DBS applications.
The DBS does not report its performance by specific job sectors. The DBS publishes its performance for Enhanced checks on a quarterly basis at DBS performance and metrics - GOV.UK. These attainments apply to applications across all employment sectors including the care sector.The DBS works closely with all police forces to ensure checks are completed as quickly as possible. This includes funding additional staff and overtime within forces. Where possible, police forces with capacity are also helping those with a large number of outstanding cases, a process managed by the DBS.
Whether she plans to change the minimum income requirement and English language proficiency level for applicants under the BN(O) visa scheme.
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.There are no plans to change the requirements of the BN(O) visa route for those applying for entry clearance or permission to stay.As set out in the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, BN(O) visa holders will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements which include meeting level B2 in English language and having paid at least three years of National Insurance contributions.We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation. In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of naturalisation fees on UK residents with Indefinite Leave to Remain who have not applied for British citizenship; and if she will reduce citizenship application fees to administration costs only.
No specific assessment has been made on the impact of naturalisation fees on those who are resident in the UK with Indefinite Leave to Remain and have not applied for British Citizenship. However, where changes to fee legislation are made, Impact Assessments are produced which identify potential impacts resulting from the changes. When fees for naturalisation applications were increased on 09 April 2025, an Equalities Impact Assessment was published, which can be viewed through this link: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/363/pdfs/uksiod_20250363_en_001.pdf.The Home Office acknowledges that whilst some individuals may wish to apply to become a British citizen, it is not mandatory, and many choose not to do so. This is because, in addition to lawful permanent residence in the UK, a person with Indefinite Leave to Remain enjoys the benefit of access to the UK labour market, state education and healthcare and the ability to sponsor family members’ residence in the UK.The Home Office keeps fees for immigration and nationality applications under review. However, the Home Office does not make a profit from fees and any income from fees set above the cost of processing is utilised for the purpose of running the Migration and Borders system, reducing reliance of taxpayer funding.
What her timetable is for ending the operations of organised people smuggling gangs; and how she will measure progress towards this goal under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.
The Border Security Command (BSC) continues to focus on tackling the organised immigration crime gangs that are facilitating small boat crossings, working with domestic partners such as the National Crime Agency, and overseas counterparts in a range of countries, to dismantle the gangs and disrupt their supply chains. This work has already led to a number of widely publicised raids and arrests, as well as agreements with France, Germany, Italy, Iraq and other key partners which will increase enforcement activity and cooperation further over the coming months.The BSC is working closely with delivery partners who tackle organised immigration crime across Whitehall, collecting key data across the system such as organised immigration crime disruptions, with the ambition to track long-term impact and support the delivery of operational activity. This will support the BSC’s ability to drive cohesive delivery across the system and ensure a secure and effective border. Working collaboratively in this way will allow us to increase the number of OIC groups which we break up and subsequently reduce small boat crossings. These numbers will be monitored to ensure we make changes to our approach when neededIn November last year the Prime Minister announced an additional £58m to the Agency’s core budget in 2025/26 to support NCA’s disruptions of serious and organised crime. This represents an increase of 9% from their 2024/25 core budget.On 11 June 2025, the Chancellor announced up to £280 million per year for the Border Security Command by the end of the spending review period in 2028-2029. We have boosted the NCA’s capacity to tackle organised immigration crime by funding 100 new specialist officers, bringing the total dedicated Full Time Employees close to 500.This summer, the Home Office announced a £100 million funding injection to further strengthen existing law enforcement operations. The funding will pay for up to 300 extra National Crime Agency officers (NCA), state-of-the art detection technology and new equipment to smash the networks putting lives at risk in the Channel.We have also signed a landmark agreement with France to prevent dangerous small boat crossings. This agreement means that anyone entering the UK on a small boat can be detained on arrival and returned to France by the UK government. The aim is to test the deterrent effect to prevent dangerous journeys by demonstrating that small boat crossings are not a viable way to enter and remain in the UK and to disrupt the organised immigration crime gangs.Ensuring we have the right legislation in place to take robust, meaningful action to address these challenges is crucial. With this in mind, the UK’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, currently going through Parliament, creates new powers for law enforcement through new criminal offences, expanded data-sharing capabilities and an improved intelligence picture to identify, intercept, disrupt and prevent serious and organised crime.Once the Bill has received Royal Assent the Home Office will report progress in the usual way. In addition, the Bill requires the Border Security Commander to produce an annual report which will be laid before Parliament ahead of publication. The report will include the implementation and delivery of measures contained within the Bill.
What steps is she taking to dismantle organised people smuggling gangs; and how recent (a) legislative and (b) operational measures will (i) improve border security and (ii) protect vulnerable individuals from exploitation.
The Border Security Command (BSC) continues to focus on tackling the organised immigration crime gangs that are facilitating small boat crossings, working with domestic partners such as the National Crime Agency, and overseas counterparts in a range of countries, to dismantle the gangs and disrupt their supply chains. This work has already led to a number of widely publicised raids and arrests, as well as agreements with France, Germany, Italy, Iraq and other key partners which will increase enforcement activity and cooperation further over the coming months.The BSC is working closely with delivery partners who tackle organised immigration crime across Whitehall, collecting key data across the system such as organised immigration crime disruptions, with the ambition to track long-term impact and support the delivery of operational activity. This will support the BSC’s ability to drive cohesive delivery across the system and ensure a secure and effective border. Working collaboratively in this way will allow us to increase the number of OIC groups which we break up and subsequently reduce small boat crossings. These numbers will be monitored to ensure we make changes to our approach when neededIn November last year the Prime Minister announced an additional £58m to the Agency’s core budget in 2025/26 to support NCA’s disruptions of serious and organised crime. This represents an increase of 9% from their 2024/25 core budget.On 11 June 2025, the Chancellor announced up to £280 million per year for the Border Security Command by the end of the spending review period in 2028-2029. We have boosted the NCA’s capacity to tackle organised immigration crime by funding 100 new specialist officers, bringing the total dedicated Full Time Employees close to 500.This summer, the Home Office announced a £100 million funding injection to further strengthen existing law enforcement operations. The funding will pay for up to 300 extra National Crime Agency officers (NCA), state-of-the art detection technology and new equipment to smash the networks putting lives at risk in the Channel.We have also signed a landmark agreement with France to prevent dangerous small boat crossings. This agreement means that anyone entering the UK on a small boat can be detained on arrival and returned to France by the UK government. The aim is to test the deterrent effect to prevent dangerous journeys by demonstrating that small boat crossings are not a viable way to enter and remain in the UK and to disrupt the organised immigration crime gangs.Ensuring we have the right legislation in place to take robust, meaningful action to address these challenges is crucial. With this in mind, the UK’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, currently going through Parliament, creates new powers for law enforcement through new criminal offences, expanded data-sharing capabilities and an improved intelligence picture to identify, intercept, disrupt and prevent serious and organised crime.Once the Bill has received Royal Assent the Home Office will report progress in the usual way. In addition, the Bill requires the Border Security Commander to produce an annual report which will be laid before Parliament ahead of publication. The report will include the implementation and delivery of measures contained within the Bill.