Written questions by Forster.

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.

Whether her Department has taken steps to review public safety at protests.

The right to peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy. The government and the police are committed to upholding the rights to freedom of expression and assembly, and for people to do so in a manner that is safe and in keeping with the law.As part of this commitment, the Home Office continues to keep its public order legislation under constant review and will consider any further changes as may be necessary.In keeping legislation under review, the government has previously reaffirmed the commitment to expedited post‑legislative scrutiny of the Public Order Act 2023, which began in May 2025. Separately, in November 2025, the Home Secretary announced an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation, led by Lord Macdonald of River Glaven KC. The Review will assess whether existing police powers remain effective, proportionate and used consistently, including in relation to lawful protest.

How many priority service applications for visas are processed within 5 working days; and how many super priority service applications are processed by the end of the next working day.

This information is published in table VSI_02 (column L) of the UK Visa & Immigration Transparency Data. This shows the proportion of applications processed in line with the 5 working days service standard for priority application, and next working day service standard for super priority applications. Cases which are defined as non-straightforward due to their complexity sit outside the service standard and are therefore excluded from these figures.

How many migrants crossing the Channel in small boats present with either pre-existing medical conditions or injuries, or with injuries sustained from the crossing itself.

These records are not held in a readily retrievable form, and it would only be possible to provide the information being sought at a disproportionate cost. Migrants who have made dangerous, illegal, and unnecessary crossings of the Channel by small boat do sometimes present with injuries such as petrol burns, or dangerous medical conditions such as hypothermia. Our response to these crossings is reducing the risk to safety of life at sea, and the Home Office has a reception process which includes assessment of all arrivals by suitably qualified medical personnel.

Given the forthcoming report of the Cranston Public Inquiry into the tragic loss of 27 lives in the English Channel in November 2021, has she undertaken a review of Channel operations, and the search and rescue capability UK Border Force provides to His Majesty's Coastguard.

It would be wrong to pre-empt the findings and recommendations of a public inquiry, but it should be noted that considerable improvements had been made in how UK authorities detect and respond to these dangerous, illegal and unnecessary crossing attempts of the Channel, even before the Cranston Inquiry was announced.The Home Office will study the findings and recommendations of the Inquiry when they are delivered.Our thoughts remain with the loved ones of those many people who were lost in this appalling tragedy.

If her department has considered the use of AI to help tackle the backlog of asylum applications.

The Asylum Case Summarisation (ACS) tool uses artificial intelligence (AI) to summarise asylum interview transcripts. The Asylum Policy Search (APS) tool is an AI search assistant that finds and summarises country policy information. The tools were designed as an aid for decision-makers to improve efficiency but do not, and cannot, replace any part of the decision-making process. APS has been rolled out and is accessible to all Asylum decision makers and ACS development continues, with a full roll out planned in the new year. Further tooling is being worked on including an asylum letter writing assistant for caseworkers which supports the decision-maker in the drafting of outcome letters. It does not make the decision for the decision-maker.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the trial of extending the move on period for refugees from 28 to 56 days on the number of refugees who were rough sleeping during the trial.

On 9 December 2024, the Home Office operationalised a pilot to extend the grace period to 56 days to support local authorities during a period of increased asylum decision making and with the transition to eVisas.An independent evaluation has been ongoing regarding the impact of this pilot. The evaluation—conducted by NatCen and RSM—has gathered insights from local authorities, devolved governments, service providers, and voluntary sector partners. It is assessing the impact of the extended move-on period, the introduction of eVisas, and associated initiatives such as Asylum Move On Liaison Officers and targeted funding for local authorities.Evidence from the evaluation of Move On initiatives will inform government decisions around whether to make any changes to the move on period, future funding and resource deployment.  It is important that we take our time to do this, considering overall net costs to taxpayers and impact on the accommodation estate, before making a decision on longer term policy.From 1 September 2025, the Home Office has taken the decision to pause the 56 day move on period pilot for single adults in receipt of a positive asylum decision, with the exception of individuals who are pregnant, over the age of 65 or have a known/evidence disability, as defined by the 2010 Equality Act. This is to ensure that the asylum system continues to run efficiently, and to enable us to continue taking action both to reduce the overall number of asylum hotels in different communities, and the number of people staying in them.We closely monitor the impact of all our policies, including the move on period, on the number and occupancy of asylum hotels, the overall costs of the asylum accommodation estate, the wider effect on local communities, and any pressures placed on local authorities and public amenities.The Home Office has worked, and continues to work, with colleagues at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) to understand rough sleeping and homelessness pressures within local authorities in England. It continues to identify and make efficiencies in supporting newly recognised refugees integrate into society before their support is discontinued to mitigate the risk of homelessness.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of extending the move-on period for refugees from 28 to 56 days.

On 9 December 2024, the Home Office operationalised a pilot to extend the grace period to 56 days to support local authorities during a period of increased asylum decision making and with the transition to eVisas.An independent evaluation has been ongoing regarding the impact of this pilot. The evaluation—conducted by NatCen and RSM—has gathered insights from local authorities, devolved governments, service providers, and voluntary sector partners. It is assessing the impact of the extended move-on period, the introduction of eVisas, and associated initiatives such as Asylum Move On Liaison Officers and targeted funding for local authorities.Evidence from the evaluation of Move On initiatives will inform government decisions around whether to make any changes to the move on period, future funding and resource deployment.  It is important that we take our time to do this, considering overall net costs to taxpayers and impact on the accommodation estate, before making a decision on longer term policy.From 1 September 2025, the Home Office has taken the decision to pause the 56 day move on period pilot for single adults in receipt of a positive asylum decision, with the exception of individuals who are pregnant, over the age of 65 or have a known/evidence disability, as defined by the 2010 Equality Act. This is to ensure that the asylum system continues to run efficiently, and to enable us to continue taking action both to reduce the overall number of asylum hotels in different communities, and the number of people staying in them.We closely monitor the impact of all our policies, including the move on period, on the number and occupancy of asylum hotels, the overall costs of the asylum accommodation estate, the wider effect on local communities, and any pressures placed on local authorities and public amenities.The Home Office has worked, and continues to work, with colleagues at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) to understand rough sleeping and homelessness pressures within local authorities in England. It continues to identify and make efficiencies in supporting newly recognised refugees integrate into society before their support is discontinued to mitigate the risk of homelessness.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the backlog of Leave to Remain applications.

To help reduce the number of outstanding claims for protection we are investing in a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives that will speed up and simplify our processes, reduce the time people spend in the asylum system and decrease the number of people who are awaiting an interview or decision. The Home Office is investing in innovative techniques, including AI, to explore how we can improve productivity, speed up processing the asylum backlog, and restore order in the asylum system. We are also committed to ensuring our operational teams who process applications for leave to remain, have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand.

If her Department will publish an impact assessment on suspending new applications under the refugee family reunion route.

The suspension of the refugee family reunion route is temporary while the Government undertakes a full review and reform of the current family rules to ensure we have a fair and properly balanced system. In the meantime, those with protection status can use other family routes to sponsor a partner and child to come to the UK. Information relating these changes are published on gov.uk at Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1298, 4 September 2025 - GOV.UK.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the suspension of new applications for refugee family reunion on children seeking to reunite with family members.

The suspension of the refugee family reunion route is temporary while the Government undertakes a full review and reform of the current family rules to ensure we have a fair and properly balanced system. In the meantime, those with protection status can use other family routes to sponsor a partner and child to come to the UK. Information relating these changes are published on gov.uk at Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1298, 4 September 2025 - GOV.UK.

If she will issue national guidance to police to provide a receipt or paperwork to confirm that a person has produced their driving documents when requested.

Under section 164 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 a police officer has the power to require the production of a driving licence and under section 165 of the same Act the power to obtain names and addresses of drivers and others, and to require the production of MOT and insurance certificates.It is for individual police forces and their chief officers to determine how they handle document production and whether to provide any form of receipt or confirmation.The Home Office has no plans to issue national guidance to police to confirm that a driver has produced their driving documents in line with road traffic legislation.

What steps her Department is taking to support overseas carers unable to take up alternative employment as their employer’s sponsorship licence has been suspended and not yet revoked.

Whilst a Sponsor is suspended, there is no impact on a worker’s ability to continue to remain in their employment. We do not predetermine an outcome related to their licence at this stage.However, the Home Office have confirmed they will support these workers in the same way as those whose licence is revoked, via the relevant Regional Partnerships, should the workers seek that support.

What steps her Department is taking to help protect British peoples' (a) assets and (b) other interests that are held abroad in the context of trends in the level of (i) cyber fraud and (ii) digital asset theft.

The Home Office works closely with international partners and law enforcement, including the National Crime Agency, to tackle the threat from cyber crime from abroad as well as at home to protect the UK and its interests. 70% of fraud has an overseas element, and so international collaboration is a critical part of our work to protect British people and their assets from fraud.The UK is committed to international cooperation on cyber crime. As part of this, we have driven international policy making on ransomware through the UK’s leadership position in the Counter Ransomware Initiative, leading the world’s first international government statement against ransomware payments in 2023 and the world’s first joint policy guidance for ransomware victims with the cyber insurance sector in 2024.Working with key international partners, we have secured key safeguards in the UN Cybercrime Convention which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2024. The Convention will also standardise legislative and investigative practises on cyber crimes, ensuring all nations improve their capability to deal with the threats that have been changed in scale or reach by the internet.As a global leader in the fight against fraud, the UK is driving forward policy and operational activity with key partners and on the multilateral stage. This has included playing a central role in the adoption of the first ever UN resolution on fraud at the 12th Conference of Parties for the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC). We have also recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Nigeria to provide increased protection for victims, faster law enforcement intervention and earlier disruption of cross-border criminal groups.We will continue to prioritise initiatives to keep the public safe from the evolving transnational threat as part of the new Fraud Strategy and cyber crime initiatives.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that asylum interviews are conducted (a) in full and (b) without unnecessary delay.

Asylum interviews are conducted in line with the published guidance available here: Conducting asylum interviews: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK.

What steps her Department is taking to tackle safeguarding issues relating to (a) children at risk of being removed from the UK in contravention of a court ruling and (b) other children with a foreign national parent.

The statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ 2023 is clear that, if at any time it is considered that a child may be in need or has suffered significant harm or is likely to do so, a referral should be made immediately to a local authority’s children’s social care service. Child protection agencies and the police treat allegations of abuse very seriously; they will investigate and take appropriate action, including prosecution, where there is sufficient evidence of an offence having been committed.A prohibited steps order (PSO) prevents a parent from carrying out actions in the exercise of their parental responsibility for a child without the court’s agreement. A PSO may prohibit a named person from removing a child from the United Kingdom. The court can also make other orders to support such an order to prevent the removal of the child from the United Kingdom, such as an order to surrender a passport. Breach of a PSO is a contempt of court, with penalties including a fine or imprisonment. A Port Alert Order is designed to prevent a child, or a Vulnerable adult being removed from England and Wales on the instruction of a Judge of the Family Court on Behalf of the High Court, or directly from a High Court Judge. Police then watchlist the named individual to ensure any intention to travel is identified. If travel is identified, then an alert is sent to the relevant Port and Police Force. The Order instructs police at port to seize the travel documents of the person subject to the Order (for example their Passport, Identity Card or other Travel Document) to prevent the child or Vulnerable adult from leaving the country.