Category: asylum

Social workers should not assess asylum seeker ages for Home Office, professional body says – The Guardian

Posted March 17th, 2023 in asylum, children, government departments, immigration, local government, news, social services by sally

‘The professional body for social workers has urged its members not to work with the Home Office to assess the ages of asylum seekers, saying that political pressures could undermine their professional judgment.
The Home Office is recruiting social workers to join the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB), which was set up under the Nationality and Borders Act to take responsibility for determining the age of asylum seekers away from local authorities.’

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The Guardian, 15th March 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Migration bill ‘would rock the UK’s standing as a reliable nation’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 15th, 2023 in asylum, bills, deportation, government departments, immigration, international law, Law Society, news, refugees by sally

‘Law Society speaks out as measure aimed at tackling small-boat crossings goes before House of Commons.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 13th March 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Asylum seekers win permission to challenge UK’s Rwanda policy – The Guardian

Posted March 15th, 2023 in appeals, asylum, deportation, government departments, immigration, judicial review, news, refugees, Rwanda, trafficking in human beings by sally

‘A court of appeal judge has ruled that a group of asylum seekers can bring a legal challenge against the Home Office for what they claim has been a failure to consider the dangers and risks of deporting them to Rwanda.’

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The Guardian, 14th March 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

What Does the Illegal Migration Bill Mean for Modern Slavery? – Each Other

Posted March 14th, 2023 in asylum, bills, forced labour, human rights, immigration, news, trafficking in human beings by sally

‘Following the publication of the Illegal Migration Bill, EachOther summarises developments in the Bill and what it could mean for victims of modern slavery in the UK.’

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Each Other, 14th March 2023

Source: eachother.org.uk

London councils urge Home Office to rethink hotels policy for asylum seekers – The Guardian

Posted March 13th, 2023 in asylum, government departments, hotels, immigration, local government, London, news, refugees, trafficking in human beings by sally

‘Two-thirds of London’s councils have signed a letter to the home secretary calling for a major shake-up of the government’s hotels policy for asylum seekers.’

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The Guardian, 12th March 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Council judicial review application over asylum seeker hotels refused – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 10th, 2023 in asylum, children, government departments, hotels, immigration, injunctions, judicial review, local government, news, refugees, social services by sally

‘The High Court has refused a judicial review application from Torbay Council that argued the placement of asylum seekers in local hotels would have a significant impact on Children’s Services.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th March 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

What are the legal obstacles faced by the UK’s illegal migration bill? – The Guardian

Posted March 9th, 2023 in asylum, bills, human rights, immigration, news, treaties by sally

‘A major piece of legislation unveiled this week seeks to achieve nothing less than the holy grail of current immigration policy: making asylum claims inadmissible from those who travel to the UK on small boats.’

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The Guardian, 8th March 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Sunak Plans Lifetime Ban For Channel Migrants – Each Other

Posted March 8th, 2023 in asylum, bills, deportation, government departments, human rights, immigration, news, refugees, trafficking in human beings by sally

‘Prime minister Rishi Sunak is set to introduce an Illegal Migration Bill to remove migrants arriving on small boats and ban them from re-entering the UK.’

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Each Other, 7th March 2023

Source: eachother.org.uk

Asylum plan ‘very concerning’ and would break international law – UN refugee agency – BBC News

Posted March 8th, 2023 in asylum, bills, deportation, government departments, human rights, immigration, international law, news, refugees, trafficking in human beings, United Nations by sally

‘The government’s proposed asylum law is “very concerning” and would block even those with a compelling claim, the United Nations refugee agency has said.’

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BBC News, 8th March 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Asylum seeker plans legal challenge to Home Office questionnaire – The Guardian

Posted February 28th, 2023 in asylum, government departments, news, race discrimination by sally

‘A Sudanese asylum seeker is planning a legal challenge to a new Home Office questionnaire that is being circulated to 12,000 asylum seekers to speed up their claims.’

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The Guardian, 27th February 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

James Robottom: The State’s Legal Duty to Hold an Independent Inquiry into the Mass Disappearance of Asylum Seeking Children in its Care – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted February 24th, 2023 in asylum, children, government departments, immigration, inquiries, news, statutory duty by sally

‘The disappearance of hundreds of asylum seeking children out of Home Office run hotels is an issue of acute national concern. After the Observer reported on 21 January 2023 that “[d]ozens of asylum-seeking children ha[d] been kidnapped by gangs from a Brighton hotel run by the Home Office in a pattern apparently being repeated across the south coast”, Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick informed the House of Commons that 440 children had gone missing from six hotels since July 2021. Some had been found but 200 remained missing. On 18 February the Observer further reported that children taken from Home Office hotels in Sussex had been found in 18 different police areas. On 26 January over 100 charities wrote to the Prime Minister to request an end to the “unlawful and harmful” practice of placing asylum seeking children in hotels prior to their transfer to local authority care. The charities demanded an urgent independent inquiry into the scandal.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 23rd February 2023

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Asylum backlog at record high, Home Office figures show – BBC News

Posted February 24th, 2023 in asylum, delay, government departments, immigration, news, refugees, statistics by sally

‘The number of asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their case in the UK has soared to record levels, with about 166,000 people in the backlog.’

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BBC News, 23rd February 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Asylum claims for 12,000 to be considered without face-to-face interview – BBC News

Posted February 23rd, 2023 in asylum, criminal records, delay, government departments, news, refugees by sally

‘Some 12,000 asylum seekers to the UK are to be considered for refugee status without face-to-face interviews.’

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BBC News, 23rd February 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

High Court judge sets aside order requiring council to provide interim relief to asylum seeker bringing legal challenge over age assessment – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 22nd, 2023 in asylum, benefits, children, immigration, judicial review, local government, news, young persons by sally

‘A High Court judge has granted an application from Liverpool City Council to set aside his order requiring it to provide interim relief to an asylum seeker who claimed that an age assessment carried out by the local authority was “erroneous”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st February 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Lone children as young as 14 detained at Manston asylum seeker centre – The Guardian

Posted February 20th, 2023 in asylum, children, detention, government departments, immigration, news by sally

‘Lone children as young as 14 have been detained at the Manston asylum seeker processing centre in Kent, a freedom of information request has revealed. According to the immigration rules, children should not be detained in short-term holding facilities such as Manston, apart from in exceptional circumstances, and holding them for more than 24 hours is unlawful.’

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The Guardian, 19th February 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Asylum support rate increased after Home Secretary’s unlawful failings – EIN Blog

Posted February 13th, 2023 in asylum, benefits, government departments, immigration, news by sally

‘On 16 December 2022, following a one-day trial heard in the High Court in Manchester, Fordham J. made an eyebrow-raising order including declarations that the Home Secretary had unlawfully failed to review the rate of asylum support payments under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (“IAA 1999”) and had failed to ensure the rate is adequate to meet the essential living needs of asylum seekers. Unbeknown to many, that state of affairs had been so since 14 September 2022. The Home Secretary would continue to be acting unlawfully unless and until she increased the rate, either by a policy decision or by amending the Asylum Support Regulations 2000.’

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EIN Blog, 6th February 2023

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Appeal rights exhausted care leavers and human rights assessments – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 13th, 2023 in appeals, asylum, children, human rights, immigration, local government, news, social services by sally

‘A local authority recently conceded that Children Act 1989 duties take precedence over residual and discretionary Immigration Act 1999 powers. Amanda Weston KC and Maria Moodie explain why.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th February 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

People smuggling gang jailed for 26 years – Home Office

Posted February 13th, 2023 in asylum, gangs, government departments, immigration, imprisonment, news, sentencing, trafficking in human beings by sally

‘Members of an organised crime group which smuggled more than a dozen Middle Eastern nationals into the UK have been jailed for a combined 26 years.’

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Home Office, 10th February 2023

Source: www.gov.uk

International Children Law Update: January 2023 – Family Law Week

Posted February 13th, 2023 in asylum, children, families, family courts, immigration, news by sally

‘Jacqueline Renton and Mani Singh Basi, both barristers of 4 Paper Buildings, review the latest key decisions in international children law.’

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Family Law Week, 3rd February 2023

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Daniella Lock: UK Government Assessments of Risk to Refugees and ECHR Constraints on UK Immigration Policy in the Rwanda Ruling – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted February 7th, 2023 in asylum, deportation, human rights, news, Rwanda by sally

‘This post examines the High Court’s December ruling on the lawfulness of the UK Government’s Rwanda scheme. The Rwanda scheme allows people to be removed to Rwanda to have their asylum claims determined, where that claim is considered inadmissible in the UK. The lawfulness of the scheme partly turned on its compatibility with the UK’s obligations under the UN Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by reference to whether, as asserted by the UK Government, refugees deported under the scheme would face a real risk of mistreatment (contrary to Article 3 and the Refugee Convention). The ruling therefore provides an important lens through which to examine Government assessments of the risks faced by refugees as part of its immigration policy and the ECHR constraints on such policies. This is a timely issue in light of recent reports that the Prime Minister is considering proposals for the UK to withdraw from membership of the ECHR should it constrain the Government in its immigration plans.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 7th February 2023

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org