The Westminster lensArchive · Written questions · 396 tabled · 365 answered

Written questions by Forster.

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.

Department:All (396)Department of Health and Social Care (61)Home Office (59)Department for Transport (49)Department for Education (42)Department for Work and Pensions (36)Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (36)Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (21)Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (21)Treasury (14)Department for Business and Trade (13)Ministry of Defence (12)Ministry of Justice (11)

Showing 2140 of 59 · Home Office

← PreviousPage 2 of 3Next →
20 May 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of exempting families with children from the reduction in the move-on period for refugees in accommodation from 56 days to 28 days.

Reply

The Home Office has not reduced the move on period. In December 2024, the Home Office began piloting an extended 56-day grace period. In September 2025, the pilot was paused for single adults and came to an end for all cohorts on 8 March 2026.From the 9 M...

20 May 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

Whether an equality impact assessment was conducted on the decision to reduce the move-on period for refugees in accommodation from 56 days to 28 days.

Reply

The Home Office has not reduced the move on period. In December 2024, the Home Office began piloting an extended 56-day grace period. In September 2025, the pilot was paused for single adults and came to an end for all cohorts on 8 March 2026.From the 9 M...

20 May 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

How many people from Afghanistan claimed asylum in the UK from 2015 to 2020; how many of those people were women and girls; and how many of those people were granted asylum.

Reply

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. The number of asylum claims and grants, broken down by nationality, age, and sex, is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claims and initi...

20 May 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

What the estimated cost is of reviewing refugee status for every refugee every two and a half years for 20 years.

Reply

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...

20 May 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

How many people from Afghanistan claimed asylum in the UK from 2021 to 2025; how many of those people were women and girls; and how many of those people were granted asylum.

Reply

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. The number of asylum claims and grants, broken down by nationality, age, and sex, is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claims and initi...

18 May 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

Whether her Department plans to publish a formal response to the earned settlement consultation.

Reply

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...

18 May 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

Whether she plans to introduce transitional arrangements for individuals who are currently on the five-year route to indefinite leave to remain.

Reply

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...

18 May 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

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.

Reply

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...

18 May 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of Sarah’s Law on women.

Reply

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...

18 May 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of using modular buildings to reduce reliance on hotels for asylum accommodation.

Reply

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...

18 May 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

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)

Reply

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...

18 May 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

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

Reply

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...

18 May 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

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.

Reply

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...

18 May 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

If she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of Clare’s Law.

Reply

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...

15 May 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

What steps her department is taking to support improvements at Surrey Police, in the context of the recent report by HMICFRS.

Reply

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...

20 Apr 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

How many naturalised British people are called for first-time adult passport interviews; and whether those interviews are chosen by risk-based selection.

Reply

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.

13 Apr 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

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.

Reply

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.

10 Apr 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

What the average waiting time is for a paid for priority and super priority application to be turned around and decided.

Reply

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.

10 Apr 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

Whether she has considered banning Valentina Gomez from entering the country.

Reply

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.

26 Mar 2026·Home Office·Answered
Asked

What guidance the department has provided to people trapped in the UK, who are visiting from Iran.

Reply

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.

← PreviousPage 2 of 3Next →
Sources
SourceUK Parliament Members API
MethodQuestion and answer text as published. Question preamble (“To ask the…”) trimmed for readability; answers shown in full.