Tag: asylum

A total of 175,457 people were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK at the end of June 2023, up 44%…reports Asian Lite News

The backlog of asylum claims in the UK has hit a new record high, according to Home Office figures. A total of 175,457 people were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK at the end of June 2023, up 44% at the end of June 2022 and the highest figure since current records began in 2010.

It means the total cost of the asylum has now reached £3.97bn a year – up by £1.85 billion in 2022/23, from £2.12 billion in 2021/22. In 2012/13, the total was £500.2 million.

The Home Office said the “unacceptable number of people risking their lives” coming to the UK via small boats across the Channel was “placing an unprecedented strain on our asylum system”.

The government spokesperson added: “Our priority is to stop the boats, and our Small Boats Operational Command is working alongside our French partners and other agencies to disrupt the people smugglers.”

But according to the Migration Observatory, the department’s figures showed that only 41% of asylum seekers arrived by this route – down on the previous year when it was 45% – even though the overall number of applications rose.

Dr Peter William Walsh, senior researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford said political debate had been “hyper-focused on small boats”, but it did not reflect the larger proportion of people who used other routes.

The number of people waiting more than six months for an initial asylum decision stood at 139,961 at the end of June, up 57% year-on-year from 89,231 and another record high.

In total, there were 134,046 cases being dealt with by the Home Office in relation to the 175,457 people waiting for an initial decision at the end of June 2023.

At the end of July 2023, the number of cases being handled had risen to 136,779 – but the data does not show how many people this related to.

The number of people lodging asylum claims has also risen to a two-decade high.

Some 78,768 applications were made in the year to June 2023 – again, there can be more than one person covered by each application.

This is 19% higher than the previous 12 months, and higher than the European migration crisis, where 36,546 applications were made in a 12-month period.

Stephen Kinnock, Labour’s shadow immigration minister, said: “These new statistics set out in stark terms the complete chaos the Tories have created in the immigration and asylum system.

“The asylum backlog has reached a new record high, with 175,000 people now waiting for decisions. Only 1% of last year’s 45,000 small boats cases have received a decision and the number of failed asylum seekers being returned is also down a whopping 70% since 2010. This is a disastrous record for the prime minister and home secretary.

“With this level of mismanagement, there is very little prospect of reducing the eye-wateringly high bill for hotel rooms for all those left in limbo, currently costing the British taxpayer £6 million a day.”

There has also been a sharp rise in the number of worker visas issued in the past year compared to the previous 12 months.

The new statistics published by the Home Office also show a 63% rise in the number of people coming to the UK on work visas in the year to June 2023, compared to the year to June 2022 – meaning 538,887 arrived to work in the past year.

The number of study visas issued is up 34% to 657,208.

Both these figures include dependents brought into the UK on the programmes alongside the main visa holder.

This means that 208,295 more people came to the UK on work visas in the 12 months to June 2023 and 165,968 more people entered on study visas. It comes despite a Tory 2019 manifesto commitment to “bring overall numbers down”.

The government has changed the law to mean that, from January 2024, people on student visas will no longer be able to bring dependents with them. A sizeable proportion of those entering on work visas are health and care workers, for whom the government created a new pathway in 2020.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The public rightly expects us to control immigration and ensure it works in the UK’s best interests, by filling skills gaps and growing the economy.

“Health and care visas made up the largest proportion of work visas granted. These workers are helping our health and social care sector by providing a much-needed staffing boost.”

But Jonathan Gullis, a Tory MP and member of the New Conservatives group said,”I think a lot of people will rightly be concerned to see another huge rise in skilled worker visas particularly as the thresholds in education have been reduced, so we will probably be continuing to rely on cheap foreign labour into the future, whenever there is a shortage.

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Prime Minister vows immediate action needed to restore public confidence, calls unscrupulous practice truly shocking…reports Asian Lite News

The solicitors’ watchdog in England and Wales has confirmed it is investigating law firms accused of helping clients make false asylum claims.

It comes after a Daily Mail reporter, posing as an economic migrant, asked law firms for help applying for asylum. Two companies allegedly agreed to help devise fictional backstories aimed at increasing the success of a claim.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has urged the regulator to use the “full force of sanctions” at its disposal. In an unusual step, Rishi Sunak and Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk said the ‘appalling’ conduct uncovered by this newspaper must be met with the ‘full force of sanctions’.

In a letter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Chalk said the practices exposed were ‘unacceptable and must stop’. He called on the watchdog to conduct an urgent review of the sector to root out corrupt behaviour.

The move was echoed by the Prime Minister, who said immediate action was needed to restore public confidence. Sunak said: “While the vast majority of lawyers take their professional responsibilities seriously, these allegations of exploitation and unscrupulous practice brought to light by the Mail are truly shocking and it is vital that those found to be abusing their position face the full consequences of their actions. I am determined to rebuild the public’s confidence that it is their country and their government who should decide who comes here, not people looking to profit from undermining our laws. That’s why this Government will continue to strain every sinew to end the abuse of our system and stop the boats.”

The interventions followed this newspaper’s damning investigation into the activities of unscrupulous lawyers charging thousands of pounds to submit false asylum claims for illegal immigrants.

Some law firms are charging up to £10,000 to invent stories of torture, death threats and modern slavery designed to help clients claim asylum. The investigation found legal staff readily agreeing to help submit false claims, in apparent contravention of the solicitors’ code of conduct.

The Mail has handed over its evidence to the SRA, which is looking into the allegations. The independent watchdog said it would take action if it found evidence that solicitors or firms have acted in ways that contravene its rules and their duty to act legally and uphold the law.

In his letter to SRA chairman Anna Bradley, Chalk said ‘robust’ action was needed to retain public confidence in the immigration system, which he said was a ‘top priority for Government’.

He said he was ‘appalled’ by the ‘apparent abuse of the system by individuals relied upon to give legal advice’.

“I would strongly encourage you to use the full force of sanctions available to you against solicitors where there is a finding of a breach,” he said.

“It is vital that we show the public – and the majority of honest and professional solicitors – that this kind of abuse of the system will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly.”

Chalk said solicitors were ‘critical to the operation of a fair and robust immigration system’. But he added: ‘Any examples of practices which fall short of the high ethical standards we expect of solicitors risk serious disruption to the immigration system, tarnishing the reputation of those working in this area, and critically undermining public confidence.’

The SRA has the power to levy substantial fines and even shut down law firms with immediate effect. Crucially, it can also refer rogue lawyers to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which can levy unlimited fines and strike off solicitors, leaving them unable to practise.

However, a loophole in the law means that while migrants can face criminal sanctions for submitting false claims, it is much harder to prosecute their lawyers.

Chalk urged the SRA to reopen a review of the immigration law sector, which previously raised concerns but found that ‘overall, we were satisfied with the quality of service being provided’.

Chalk said the investigation ‘suggests that there are still firms operating that are not compliant’, adding: “As I’m sure you will agree, this is unacceptable and must stop.”

Writing to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, Mr Chalk said: “Solicitors are critical to the operation of a fair immigration system. I know that the overwhelming majority take their professional duties and obligations extremely seriously.

“However, any examples of practices which fall short of the high ethical standards we expect of solicitors risk serious disruption to the immigration system, tarnishing the reputation of those working in this area, and critically undermining public confidence.”

A spokesperson for the regulator said: “We can confirm we are investigating the firms/individuals. As a result of the information provided, we are looking to take urgent action to make sure the public are protected.

“If we find evidence that solicitors or firms we regulate have acted in ways that contravene our rules, and in particular their duty to act legally and uphold the law, we can and will take action.”

Last November, the regulator carried out a review of the immigration and asylum sector which concluded it was generally “satisfied with the quality of service being provided”.

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The legislation contains a “rights brake”, making asylum claims by those arriving on small boats inadmissible…reports Asian Lite News

The government is expected to present on Tuesday a new bill providing for the detention and swift deportation of asylum seekers who illegally enter the country via small boats, according to media reports.

Despite Brexit-related promises to tighten control of its borders, Britain has seen a considerable uptick in such arrivals, logging a record 45,000 last year, and pressure has mounted on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to tackle the situation.

The bill to be unveiled Tuesday includes measures facilitating the detention and deportation “as soon as reasonably practicable” of asylum seekers arriving in the country illegally.

The legislation contains a “rights brake”, making asylum claims by those arriving on small boats inadmissible.

The government intends to send at least some deportees to Rwanda under a deal that was struck last year but which had never been applied after running into legal challenges. People who arrived illegally would also be barred from returning to the UK for life.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Sunday defended the new legislation, saying in the Sun that Britain “must stop the boats”.

“It has to be that if you come here illegally you will be detained and swiftly removed,” she said. “Our laws will be simple in their intention and practice — the only route to the UK will be a safe and legal route.”

Secretary for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris, meanwhile, said stemming the flow of migrants across the English Channel also “involves proper conversations that are ongoing” with European countries to ensure would-be asylum seekers “are upheld in the first safe country that they come to”.

Sunak has made stopping the boats a flagship promise ahead of general elections, for which the opposition Labour Party currently leads in the polls.

Writing in the Sun, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the plans were “fair for those at home and those who have a legitimate claim to asylum”.

More than 45,000 people entered the UK via Channel crossings last year, up from around 300 in 2018, leading to pressure on the government to tackle the issue.

Under the new plans, the home secretary would have a duty to remove those who arrive on UK shores illegally in a small boat.

This “duty to remove” would take precedence in law over the right to claim asylum, although there would be exemptions for the under-18s and those with serious medical conditions.

Anyone removed would also not be permitted to return to the UK or seek British citizenship in future.

While the bill will not become law for several months it will apply retrospectively, meaning anyone arriving in the UK illegally from Tuesday will be at risk of deportation under the laws.

It is thought the legislation would place a duty on the home secretary to remove all those arriving on boats to Rwanda or a “safe” third country “as soon as reasonably practicable” – no matter where they had come from.

But despite a deal being reached last year, so far no migrants have been sent to Rwanda yet and any plans to do so are currently on hold after the policy was met with fierce opposition and legal interventions.

In an opinion piece for the Sun, Sunak said the UK has a “proud history of welcoming those most in need” and the new measures were “fair for those at home and those who have a legitimate claim to asylum”.

“Those arriving on small boats aren’t directly fleeing a war-torn country or facing an imminent threat to life,” he said.

“Instead, they have travelled through safe, European countries before crossing the Channel. The fact that they can do so is unfair on those who come here legally and enough is enough.”

He added that the plans would “send a clear signal that if you come to this country illegally, you will be swiftly removed” and “help break the business model of people smugglers”.

The plans have met with criticism from opposition figures and refugee groups.

Labour has said the new legislation rehashes previous plans that have not worked.

A new offence of arriving in the UK illegally was introduced in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 by the then Home Secretary Priti Patel, but has barely been used.

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