Key plank of new UK asylum law dropped to cut backlog

Rishi Sunak has softly dropped a cardinal plank of past year’s asylum instrumentality that introduced a two-tier exile strategy and made lives tougher for tens of thousands of radical who arrived successful the UK via tiny boats.

In a determination to chopped the asylum backlog, the Home Office said successful a written connection connected Thursday that it would nary longer differentiate betwixt radical who get by irregular means, specified arsenic those who travel crossed the Channel, and different asylum seekers, arsenic had been stipulated successful past year’s Nationality and Borders Act.

It means the authorities volition beryllium capable to velocity up the processing of claims for astir 55,000 radical who person arrived successful the UK since past June, according to exile experts. Of those, astir 15,000 from countries with precocious assistance rates specified arsenic Afghanistan and Sudan tin beryllium processed utilizing questionnaires alternatively of in-person interviews.

It besides means that radical who arrived by tiny vessel volition beryllium fixed improved rights specified arsenic the quality to reunite with household members.

Enver Solomon, the main enforcement of the Refugee Council, said the determination was an admittance that the authorities had failed to deliver.

“It’s the close determination to intermission the differentiation argumentation that treats refugees based connected however they got to the UK alternatively than connected their request for protection,” helium said. “The authorities is present admitting that its flagship Nationality and Borders Act has failed to deliver. As was predicted by america and different exile organisations, it hasn’t deterred hopeless men, women and children from taking unsafe journeys but has simply led to unnecessary misery for galore refugees.”

Labour seized connected the alteration arsenic further grounds of authorities incompetence implicit migration policy. Yvette Cooper, the shadiness location secretary, said the determination had near the government’s argumentation successful tatters.

“They person slipped retired the announcement successful a written connection to debar publicity oregon scrutiny,” she said. “This is simply a damning indictment of the Conservatives’ flagship migration bill, and of their full grounds connected tiny boats, and shows ministers person nary thought what they are doing.”

Some elder Conservatives condemned the decision. One said: “This gets escaped of a beardown deterrent and looks similar a de facto amnesty introduced conscionable truthful they tin process cases alternatively of stopping the boats. We are softening the attack nether Rishi, which is not going to spell down good connected reddish partition doorsteps.”

Priti Patel arsenic location caput past twelvemonth announced plans to overhaul the asylum strategy and differentiate betwixt radical entering by ineligible routes, specified arsenic resettlement, and those arriving by irregular routes oregon having passed done countries deemed safe.

Under the caller law, those who came via tiny boats and successfully applied for asylum were to beryllium offered impermanent presumption of up to 30 months, with abridged rights and benefits that were regularly reviewed. The menace of removal would bent implicit their stay.

The argumentation was condemned by the UNHCR for “undermining the 1951 exile normal and longstanding planetary practice connected exile issues”.

The U-turn was announced successful a connection from by the migration minister, Robert Jenrick, released connected parliament’s website.

He wrote: “We volition intermission the differentiation argumentation successful the adjacent bundle of migration rules changes successful July 2023. This means we volition halt taking grouping decisions nether the differentiated asylum strategy aft these rules changes and those individuals who are palmy successful their asylum application, including those who are granted humanitarian protection, volition person the aforesaid conditions.”

Jenrick said the caller attack of the amerciable migration bill, which is making its mode done parliament, tackled the aforesaid contented that the two-tier differentiation argumentation sought to address.

He said radical who had received a second-tier “group 2” status, which was reserved for those who arrived by irregular means, would person their conditions aligned with those of “group 1” refugees.

He backdated the applications to erstwhile the instrumentality was introduced successful June 2022, adding that the authorities would “streamline” claims from radical arriving from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Sudan.

According to the Refugee Council, the alteration volition impact 54,653 asylum claimants who arrived aft June 2022. Of those, astir 15,000 came from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Sudan.