Every parliamentary written question tabled by Will Forster this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 21–40 of 55 · Home Office
What the estimated cost is of reviewing refugee status for every refugee every two and a half years for 20 years.
We are committed to ensuring our policies are sustainable and do not place unnecessary burdens on the taxpayer, and this policy is no different.We do not want people to remain on Core Protection for the long term, and only those who do remain on Core Prot...
Whether her Department plans to publish a formal response to the earned settlement consultation.
The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026.As part of this consultation, we sought views on the potential impact of the proposed c...
Whether she plans to introduce transitional arrangements for individuals who are currently on the five-year route to indefinite leave to remain.
The Government ran a public consultation from 20 November 2025 to 12 February 2026 to gather views on the earned settlement proposals.The consultation has now closed and we are in the process of reviewing and analysing all responses received. This analysi...
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on skills shortages of changes to the indefinite leave to remain pathway for skilled worker visa holders.
The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026.As part of this consultation, we sought views on the potential impact of the proposed c...
What estimate she has made of how many more staff her Department will need to review refugee status for every refugee, every two and a half years, for 20 years.
Only those who remain on core protection will have their protection needs regularly reviewed, not every refugee. Such reviews will also be efficient and targeted; we will reassess where country conditions or personal circumstances have changed significant...
Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of Sarah’s Law on women.
The Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, also known as Sarah's law, was introduced in 2011 and allows members of the public to make an application to police for information about a person who has contact with a child.The Scheme is designed to safeguard a...
What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of using modular buildings to reduce reliance on hotels for asylum accommodation.
We are actively exploring all viable options so we can reduce reliance on hotels, including using modular buildings and ex-military sites.We’ve learned important lessons from inherited decisions made by the previous government. These are now informing our...
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of withdrawing accommodation as proposed in the Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum-Seekers) (Amendment)
The policy's intention is to ensure compliance with the conditions of support and permission to work rules and only remove support from those who breach these rules. The responsibility to support asylum seekers remains with the Home Office, and this respo...
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum-Seekers) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 on victims of human traffic
The policy's intention is to ensure compliance with the conditions of support and permission to work rules and only remove support from those who breach these rules. The responsibility to support asylum seekers remains with the Home Office, and this respo...
If she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of Clare’s Law.
We know that more needs to be done to address issues and inconsistencies in the way that the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (also known as ‘Clare’s Law’) is currently being implemented across forces in England and Wales.In the recently published Viol...
What steps her department is taking to support improvements at Surrey Police, in the context of the recent report by HMICFRS.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) assesses the operational performance of forces in England and Wales. HMICFRS last published a Police Effectiveness Efficiency and Legitimacy inspection (PEEL) report for S...
How many naturalised British people are called for first-time adult passport interviews; and whether those interviews are chosen by risk-based selection.
Passport interviews are part of a range of checks to confirm the identity of a passport applicant. Where a customer applying for their first British passport has been naturalised within the last 12 months and UK Visa and Immigration records confirm the customer’s photograph, identity and personal details, they will not routinely be interviewed unless their application has increased complexity or other indicators of risk. His Majesty’s Passport Office reserves the right to interview any applicant where its checks to confirm the applicant’s identity have not been satisfactorily completed.The number of naturalised British citizens who have been interviewed as part of the passport application process is not held in a reportable format, and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
What the longest time was that it has taken for a paid for priority and super priority application to be turned around and decided since 2000.
Statistics on UK Visas and Immigration applications is published in table VSI_01a on GOV.UK in the ‘Visas, status and immigration data: October to December 2025’, as part of the 'Migration Transparency data'. The information displayed goes back to 2021. For migration transparency data before 2021 please see the ‘Migration Transparency Data – March 2014 to December 2024’ on National Archives website.The VSI_01a data table provides data on the volume of overseas and in-country applications received and input for each route and performance against service standard for each route including for Priority and Super Priority Services.UKVI’s communications to visa customers applying for Priority and Super Priority Services set out that it can take longer to get a decision beyond the advertised waiting times for these services. For example, if the Home Office needs to ask for more information or check details with other government departments. Where an individual who has applied for these services may experience a delay beyond advertised times for these services, customers are notified by relevant UKVI caseworking teams.
What the average waiting time is for a paid for priority and super priority application to be turned around and decided.
Visa processing times for priority and super priority applications are published on the UKVI website at Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK and Visa decision waiting times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK. UKVI are currently processing applications on the overwhelming majority of its visa routes within their published customer service standards.
Whether she has considered banning Valentina Gomez from entering the country.
The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.The Home Secretary has the power to exclude a person who is not a British Citizen if their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good. The Immigration Rules also provide for the refusal of entry clearance or permission at the border if a person’s character, conduct or associations mean it is undesirable to grant them entry to the UK.
What guidance the department has provided to people trapped in the UK, who are visiting from Iran.
The Home Office continues to monitor the situation in Iran and its impacts. We recognise the disruption to travel routes through the Middle East and the impact on people whose onward travel has been delayed.Those already living in the UK who have permission to stay should continue to follow their immigration conditions. For those whose permission to stay is due to expire, there are a variety of existing routes under the Immigration Rules to allow a person to extend or vary their permission in the UK. Guidance on varying permission to stay can be found on the GOV.UK website: Vary your immigration application - GOV.UK.
What steps she is taking to help reduce investigation times in cases related to sexual offences.
Rape and sexual offences are among the most harmful crimes in society and can have devastating impacts on victims, their loved ones, and communities. The Home Office has invested £13.1 million to launch the new National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and Public Protection (NCVPP) to improve the national response to violence against women and girls and child sexual abuse.Through the NCVPP, we are continuing to support Operation Soteria and ensuring that police forces build the strongest possible, suspect‑focused cases to bring perpetrators of these horrific crimes to justice. This includes embedding victim-orientated, trauma-informed training at frontline, specialist and leadership levels so that officers are equipped to deliver high-quality investigations, to support victims better, and to build capability across forces in the long term.We are embedding specialist rape and sexual offence teams in every police force in England and Wales, to ensure the right expertise is in place to investigate these crimes effectively, and we are working closely with the NCVPP to ensure a consistent national approach.We will continue to work with law enforcement agencies to ensure that the right powers are available for the authorities to tackle sexual crimes, bring perpetrators to justice and manage sex offenders.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the required alignment of surnames on EU and UK official documents on women from European countries who retain their birth name on official documents from their home country.
The Home Office holds a one name for all official purposes policy, to protect the integrity and security of the British passport, helping His Majesty’s Passport Office confirm the identity of anyone applying for a British passport.The aim of the policy is to deter and disrupt those who wish to change their name to commit crime or evade detection, and by the fact it is applied equally to all customers.Exceptions can be supported where it would be unreasonable to ask a customer to change their name.In such cases, HM Passport Office can apply an administrative fairness test and may issue a passport in the name the customer has applied in, even though it is different to the name on their foreign passport. This includes where a married woman cannot assume her spouse’s surname.We continue to monitor the effectiveness and impacts of this policy.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of its earned settlement proposals on the number of children who will be born in the UK without British citizenship; and the number of such children whose entitlement to British citizenship will require a formal application for their registration.
The public consultation on ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’ 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.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.
What estimate her Department has made of the number and administrative cost of applications for leave to remain per annum that will result from the earned settlement proposals.
The public consultation on ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’ 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.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.The Home Office publishes the fees charged and the estimated unit cost of processing immigration and nationality applications on Gov.UK. This can be reviewed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-fees-transparency-data.