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Written question asked by Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain) on Friday, 26 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 30 June 2026. It was answered by Alex Norris (Labour) on Monday, 6 July 2026 on behalf of the Home Office.

Asylum: General Practitioners

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what oversight and verification processes are applied to medical evidence provided by general practitioners in support of applications under section 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; whether guidance is issued to those practitioners; and whether those practitioners are part of standard NHS GP services and contracted healthcare provision linked to asylum accommodation, including hotels, dispersal accommodation, and contingency and military sites.

Answer

For information on support provided under sections 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, Table AS_01 of the Asylum Support Data in the Migration Transparency Datasets provides the total number of applications for S4 support, with data available back to 2010. This table can be used to address questions relating to overall volumes of section 4 support applications.

Further detail on grants of Section 4 support is available in Table Asy_09c within the Asylum summary tables (Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK), which shows the of number of decisions to grant section 4 support. The latest data relates to the year ending March 2026.

Healthcare for asylum seekers in Home Office accommodation including hotels and large, former military, sites is provided through the NHS in line with national guidance for newly arrived migrants.

The Home Office does not routinely publish average processing times for Section 4 support applications by application type, including applications made on medical grounds or applications for additional support. The Home Office categorises Section 4 support applications as either imminent, where there is an urgent need for support, or non-imminent. Between June 2025 and May 2026, applications categorised as imminent were completed in an average of 3 days, whilst non-imminent applications were completed in an average of 9 days. Delays can occur where additional information is required from applicants or other departments, or where specialist medical advice is required as part of the decision-making process.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
13661
Session
2026-27
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Asylum Applications General practitioners
Legislation
Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk