Every parliamentary written question tabled by Joshua Reynolds this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 23 · Home Office
What steps her Department is taking to help reduce delays in the processing of Disclosure and Barring Service check; and what assessment she has made of the impact that such delays have on individuals awaiting employment.
Awaiting answer.
Whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of introducing public awareness campaigns to issue seasonal water safety warnings aimed at preventing drowning incidents
Responsibilities for water safety sit with various government departments and agencies including the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs and the Health and Safety Executive, which has produced the Prevention of drowning document (link(opens i...
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 s
The Licensing Act 2003 provides the legal framework for the sale and supply of alcohol in England and Wales. It is already an offence, under section 141 of the Act, for a person to knowingly sell or attempt to sell alcohol to a person who is drunk or unde...
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 paramed
All students may volunteer, provided they are still able to prioritise their studies.Voluntary work involves working under a contract, unlike volunteering where you give your time freely. Only students with permission to work can do voluntary work. Studen...
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 app...
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 a
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...
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 s
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 app...
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 i
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, wido...
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 Spons...
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 Spons...
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.
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.
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.
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.