Question
One of the criteria to gain long-term settlement rights that the Home Secretary set out was no debt being owed to the state. What does that look like in reality? I have advocated for a student loan-style system for debts to be repaid. Will the Home Secretary address what steps she is taking to abolish the impact of rogue sponsors, namely chicken shops, Turkish barbers and vape shops, which all exist in plain sight and are an acute problem in the illegal immigration web?
Answer
The hon. Member is right to acknowledge that there is a huge explosion in the number of people on the sponsorship register—that happened under the previous Government—and I will set out policy for how we resolve issues within the register. The hon. Member will already know that we are revoking licences where appropriate and where somebody should not be able to bring workers into this country. The debt the hon. Member references will include NHS, tax and litigation debt. For refugees, it will also include asylum support—either the payment of asylum support costs or at least for someone to be complying with a payment plan.17% point-scoring
Verdict: AMBER (52/100)
The reply gives a clear, concrete explanation of what the 'no debt owed to the state' criterion covers, including NHS, tax and litigation debt, and asylum support costs. It only partly answers the second part of the question. It acknowledges the growth in the sponsorship register and says licences are being revoked where appropriate, but it does not address how rogue sponsors affect illegal immigration or engage with the sectors named, and it defers the details to a future policy announcement. Much of the reply is hedged and political, so the person who asked would likely need to follow up for specifics on the sponsorship issue.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the Home Secretary's 'no debt owed to the state' criterion for long-term settlement means in practice. | Addressed | Direct | The reply explains in concrete terms what the 'no debt owed to the state' criterion covers: NHS, tax and litigation debt, plus asylum support costs or compliance with a payment plan for refugees, which answers what the criterion means in practice. |
| What the department is doing about the impact of rogue sponsors, identified in the question as chicken shops, Turkish barbers and vape shops, in the illegal immigration system. | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply acknowledges the growth in the sponsorship register and states that licences are being revoked where appropriate, which is a concrete action on rogue sponsors. However, it does not address the impact of such sponsors on the illegal immigration system, does not engage with the sectors named in the question, and defers the substance of how register issues will be resolved to a future policy announcement, with much of the reply being point-scoring about the previous government. |