Written questions by Moran.

What guidance the Government provides to police forces to (a) help deal with racially aggravated sexual assault and (b) support victims of those crimes.

Police are operationally independent and work in line with College of Policing guidance to respond to hate crime and sexual offences.However, the Government expects the police to fully investigate each and every assault and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.The Ministry of Justice will invest £550 million over the next three years to provide counselling, court guidance and children’s services for victims. This funding will be delivered via PCCs, who assess local need and are best placed to commission tailored services, including for victims with protected characteristics such as race.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of settlement visa restrictions on Hong Kongers ability to travel.

The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in future. We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year. All will be welcome to participate. We will provide details of how the scheme will work after that consultation.

With reference to her speech at the Labour Party Conference of 29 September 2025, whether her proposed changes to the conditions in which indefinite leave to remain is granted will apply to (a) all applicants or (b) new applicants only.

We will be consulting on the new settlement rules later this year. Following that, we will provide details of how this initiative will work, including on any transitional arrangements for people already in the UK.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposals in the immigration white paper of 12 May 2025 on people on ancestry visas.

The Government values the UK’s close cultural and historical ties with its fellow Commonwealth countries and this is reflected by the UK Ancestry visa, which allows Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born grandparent to live and work in the UK.Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course and, where necessary, will be subject to consultation.

Whether British National Overseas visa holders will be impacted by her Department's proposed changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain.

The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in future.Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of removing the referee requirement for UK citizenship applications, in the context of the introduction of biometric identity checks.

The application process for British citizenship is kept under regular review with a view to making it as efficient and straightforward as possible while upholding necessary security requirements.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the exemption criteria for the EU Settlement Scheme, in the context of the exceptional circumstances faced by some applicants during the covid-19 pandemic.

There is already significant flexibility available to those applying to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) whose circumstances have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, they can be absent from the UK for a period of up to 12 months without breaking their continuity of residence where this is for an important reason, which can include COVID-19.The relevant published guidance, which provides for further flexibility for EUSS applicants who would otherwise have broken their continuous qualifying period of residence in the UK because of COVID-19, is available at:www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-eu-settlement-scheme-guidance-for-applicants