Migration and asylum

Home Affairs Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 4 May 2022 Closed: 24 May 2024 Parliament page
Following the announcement that a General Election will be held on 4 July, Select Committees will be unable to meet from 24 May and will cease to exist from 30 May until after the General Election. This work has therefore closed The Committee is carrying out an umbrella inquiry looking … Read more
2 Recommendations
8 Conclusions
1 Report
5 Oral sessions
41 Letters
5 Events
Activity timeline 53 events
5 Mar
2024
Correspondence
21 Feb
2024
Correspondence
2 Feb
2024
Correspondence
31 Jan
2024
Correspondence
24 Jan
2024
Correspondence
24 Jan
2024
Correspondence
17 Jan
2024
Correspondence
13 Dec
2023
Oral evidence
13 Dec
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
8 Sep
2023
Report published
6 Sep
2023
Correspondence
12 Jun
2023
Report published
Oral evidence sessions 5 sessions
13 Dec 2023
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Dan Hobbs · Home Office Michael Tomlinson KC · Home Office Tom Pursglove · Home Office
7 Dec 2022
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Dr Andi Hoxhaj · University College London Dr Peter William Walsh · The Migration Observatory Esme Madill · Migrant and Refugee Children's Legal Unit (MiCLU) at Islington Law Centre His Excellency Qirjako Qirko Professor Dame Sara Thornton · The Rights Lab, University of Nottingham
6 Jul 2022
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Alison Pickup · Asylum Aid David Wood Enver Solomon · Refugee Council Rhys Clyne · Institute for Government Theresa Schleicher · Medical Justice Tony Smith CBE
8 Jun 2022
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David Neal
11 May 2022
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Dan Hobbs · Home Office Tom Pursglove · Home Office
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Second Report - Asylum and migration: Albania HC 197 12 Jun 2023 10 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
10 results
1 Conclusion Accepted
Second Report - Asylum and migrati…
Little evidence suggests Albanian citizens routinely require political asylum in the UK from government actions.
Albania is a safe country and we have seen little evidence that its citizens should need to seek political asylum in the UK or elsewhere as a result of the actions of its Government. We saw no reason why the … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees Albania is a safe country, stating it has issued new guidance for caseworkers, designated Albania as a safe state, and is expediting Albanian claims with dedicated staff. The Illegal Migration Act will further prevent illegal entrants from accessing the asylum system.
Home Office
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2 Conclusion Accepted
Second Report - Asylum and migrati…
Establish appropriate safeguards for trafficked Albanian citizens prior to any return to Albania.
While claims for political asylum should not normally be entertained, there are unquestionably cases of Albanian citizens being trafficked to the UK, from within Albania or from within other European countries, where appropriate safeguards must be in place before they … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to supporting Albanian structures to bolster victim referral mechanisms, investing in additional protection services, and supporting investigations into trafficking. Specific actions include funding primary service providers for reintegration support, providing mental health counselling, and a feasibility study for an emergency multifunctional centre.
Home Office
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3 Recommendation Accepted
Second Report - Asylum and migrati…
Explain high initial asylum grant rates for Albanian citizens compared to other EU countries.
The Home Office should set out in its response to this Report why up to 51% of asylum claims from Albania were given positive initial grounds decisions up to June 2022 and why that rate was much higher than rates … Read more
Government Response
The government explains that UK asylum processing is subject to specific country guidance case law and various factors impacting grant rates. They highlight a decrease in the Albanian grant rate to 34% by March 2023, and that high withdrawal rates bring the effective grant rate down to 5% when taken into account.
Home Office
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4 Conclusion Accepted
Second Report - Asylum and migrati…
Explain significantly higher asylum grant rates for Albanian women compared to men.
The Home Office should explain in its response to this Report why the asylum grant rate for Albanian women is so much higher than the grant rate for men. (Paragraph 20) Safe and legal routes
Government Response
The government explains that higher grant rates for Albanian women reflect specific vulnerabilities and increased risks of persecution, citing country guidance case law on trafficked women. They also mention an ongoing project addressing gender inequality and providing comprehensive support services for female trafficking victims, and commit to updating Country Policy and Information Notes.
Home Office
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5 Conclusion Rejected
Second Report - Asylum and migrati…
Supporting economic development and promoting short-term work visas offers long-term migration solutions.
The long-term solution to migration from countries such as Albania where emigration is driven not by oppression or war but by absence of jobs and decent incomes lies in supporting such countries to become wealthier. There is no case for … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the idea of actively promoting short-term work visas as a means of transferring wealth or reducing illegal migration, stating this is not the purpose of the UK immigration system and there is no evidence it would be effective.
Home Office
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6 Conclusion Rejected
Second Report - Asylum and migrati…
Promote time-limited short-term visas for seasonal or lacking sectors to aid origin country economic development.
We invite the Government to respond to the idea of actively promoting in those countries that have qualified unemployed workers in particular sectors time-limited or short-term visas for seasonal work, such as fruit-picking, or in sectors in which the UK … Read more
Government Response
The government refers to its response to point 5, reiterating that it is not the purpose of the UK immigration system to facilitate the international disbursement of wealth, thus rejecting the idea of promoting short-term visas for this aim.
Home Office
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7 Conclusion Accepted
Second Report - Asylum and migrati…
Avoid using language that may jeopardise cooperation agreements with the Albanian government.
The increase in the number and proportion of Albanian nationals arriving in the UK in small boats in 2022 was both sharp and unexpected. It is inevitable that it would attract comment from politicians and others as explanations were sought. … Read more
Government Response
The government committed to establishing a joint communication working group with Albanian officials to ensure effective messaging, while also highlighting existing strong relations and operational collaboration.
Home Office
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8 Conclusion Accepted
Second Report - Asylum and migrati…
Require the Home Office to detail plans for rapidly increasing asylum decision-making rates
The Prime Minister told the House of Commons Liaison Committee in March that around 4,000 cases had been cleared in the three months since he pledged to clear the backlog outstanding at 28 June last year. We invite the Home … Read more
Government Response
The government committed to clearing the legacy asylum backlog by the end of 2023 through a Streamlined Asylum Process, process efficiencies like shorter interviews, and increasing decision makers to 2,500 by September 2023 with redesigned, shorter training.
Home Office
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9 Conclusion Accepted
Second Report - Asylum and migrati…
Albania not the sole cause of migration concerns, but contributed to asylum system strain
We have focused on Albania because of its unexpected emergence as the source of most people trying to cross the English Channel on small boats and the subsequent interest in why that should have happened so suddenly and unpredictably. Albania … Read more
Government Response
The government committed to implementing the Illegal Migration Act to detain and remove illegal entrants, establishing a new Small Boats Operational Command with 700 staff, doubling funding for the Organised Immigration Crime taskforce, creating a Joint Migration Task Force in Tirana, and using new migrant accommodation sites.
Home Office
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10 Recommendation Accepted
Second Report - Asylum and migrati…
Mandate quarterly government reports on asylum backlog progress, including decision rates and recruitment
We recommend that the Government report progress on clearing the asylum backlog to us on a quarterly basis (30 September, 31 December, 30 March and 30 June). The progress reports should include data on: a) the number of pending claims … Read more
Government Response
The government stated it already publishes most of the requested asylum backlog data quarterly through existing official statistics releases, but it does not intend to publish decisions on a weekly basis.
Home Office
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Government Response AI assessment · 10 of 2 classified
Accepted 8
Rejected 2
Total 2 recs + 8 conclusions
Correspondence 41 letters
5 Mar 2024 To committee Letter from the Minister for Legal Migration and the Border to the Chair following the Committee’s visit to the Bibby Stockholm, dated 1 March 2024
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21 Feb 2024 To committee Letter from London Councils regarding asylum and migration, dated 2 February 2024
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2 Feb 2024 From committee Letter to the Minister for Illegal Migration following up the Committee's visit to the Bibby Stockholm barge, dated 1 February 2024
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31 Jan 2024 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office on the value for money assessment of the Bibby Stockholm, dated 30 January 2024
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24 Jan 2024 From committee Letter to the Migration Ministers following up the evidence session on 13 December, dated 19 January 2024
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24 Jan 2024 To committee Letter from the Minister for Legal Migration on the Windrush Compensation Scheme, dated 18 January 2024
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17 Jan 2024 To committee Letter from the Migration Ministers following up the evidence session on 13 December 2023, dated 12 January 2024
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6 Sep 2023 To committee Letter from the Home Secretary on the use of hotels to accommodate Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC), dated 19 April 2023
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17 May 2023 To committee Letter from the Home Secretary on the recruitment of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, dated 5 May 2023
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19 Apr 2023 From committee Letter to the Home Secretary from the Chairs of HASC and JCHR on unaccompanied children, dated 31 March 2023
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19 Apr 2023 From committee Letter to the Home Secretary on the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), dated 19 January 2023
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19 Apr 2023 To committee Letter from the Home Secretary on the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), dated 30 March 2023
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23 Mar 2023 From committee Letter to the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for LUHC on data on asylum seekers, dated 9 November 2022
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23 Mar 2023 To committee Letter from the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for LUHC on data on asylum seekers, dated 13 March 2023
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22 Mar 2023 To committee Letter from the Home Secretary on data for small boat crossings, dated 14 March 2023
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22 Mar 2023 To committee Letter from the Minister for Immigration on passport fees, dated 28 February 2023
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22 Mar 2023 From committee Letter to the Minister for Immigration on passport fees, dated 6 February 2023
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22 Mar 2023 To committee Letter from the Minister for Immigration to Layla Moran MP on immigration detention, dated 14 December 2022
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22 Mar 2023 To committee Letter from the Minister for Immigration on immigration detention, dated 10 March 2023
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8 Mar 2023 From committee Letter to the Home Secretary on Tier-1 Investor Scheme Visas, dated 8 November 2022
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8 Mar 2023 To committee Letter from the Home Secretary on Tier-1 Investor Scheme Visas, dated 27 February 2023
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22 Feb 2023 From committee Letter to the Home Secretary on data for channel crossings, dated 2 February 2023
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22 Feb 2023 From committee Letter to Care4Calais on Committee's visit to France, dated 1 February 2023
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22 Feb 2023 To committee Letter from Care4Calais on Committee's visit to France, dated 6 February 2023
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1 Feb 2023 To committee Letter from the Minister for Immigration on the Short Term Holding Facility (Amendment) Rules, dated 31 January 2023
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1 Feb 2023 From committee Letter to the Prime Minister on asylum backlog and channel crossings, dated 11 January 2023
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1 Feb 2023 To committee Letter from the Minister for Immigration on public health considerations in asylum accommodation, dated 23 January 2023
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1 Feb 2023 To committee Letter from Home Secretary on asylum backlog and channel crossings, dated 29 January 2023
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1 Feb 2023 From committee Letter to the Minister for Immigration on Short Term Holding Facility (Amendment) Rules, dated 18 January 2023
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1 Feb 2023 To committee Letter from the Minister for Immigration on bilateral readmissions with Georgia, dated 26 January 2023
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1 Feb 2023 To committee Letter from the Minister for Immigration on the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2018 and the Passport (Fees) Regulations 2022, dated 17 January 2023
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18 Jan 2023 To committee Letter from the Home Secretary on Manston processing centre, dated 17 January 2023
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11 Jan 2023 To committee Letter from the Minister for Immigration on the amendment of the Short Term Holding Facilities Rules 2018, dated 20 December 2022
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7 Dec 2022 To committee Letter from the Clandestine Channel Threat Commander on Manston asylum centre, dated 1 December 2022
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7 Dec 2022 From committee Letter to the Clandestine Channel Threat Commander on Manston asylum centre, dated 10 November 2022
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30 Nov 2022 From committee Letter to Minister for Immigration on Channel crossings and Manston, dated 30 October 2022
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30 Nov 2022 From committee Letter to Home Secretary on the Temporary Protection Directive, dated 29 June 2022
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30 Nov 2022 From committee Letter to Home Secretary on small boat Channel crossings and conditions at Manston asylum processing centre, dated 28 November 2022
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30 Nov 2022 To committee Letter from the Minister for Immigration on Channel crossings and Manston, dated 22 November 2022
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30 Nov 2022 To committee Letter from Home Secretary on the Temporary Protection Directive, dated 23 November 2022
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12 Oct 2022 Letters to and from Medical Justice on the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, dated 27 July and 9 August 2022
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