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Written question asked by Lord Hylton (Crossbench) on Friday, 18 November 2022, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Friday, 2 December 2022. It was answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth (Conservative) on Wednesday, 30 November 2022 on behalf of the Home Office.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the results of existing initiatives to deter irregular Channel crossings; and in any such assessment, what consideration they have given to alternative approaches whereby potential asylum seekers have their asylum applications considered before arrival in the UK.

Answer

The UK has a proud record of providing protection for people who need it, in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. Our work to deter and stop irregular Channel crossings is dependent on a range of interventions, and the cumulative impact of these. There is no single silver bullet and seeing impact overall will take time. We carefully monitor impact, including through regularly published migration statistics

Whilst we sympathise with people in many difficult situations around the world, we are not bound to consider asylum claims from the very large numbers of people overseas who might like to come here. The UK provides safe and legal routes through the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Mandate Resettlement Scheme, Community Sponsorship and the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme. Following the Ukraine crisis, we also introduced the Ukraine Family Scheme (UFS), and the Homes for Ukraine (HFU) Scheme. We also have additional safe and legal routes for people to come to the UK should they wish to join family members here, work or study. This commitment, alongside a fair and firm asylum system, will ensure we continue to offer safe and legal routes to the UK for those in need of protection. Our focus will remain on helping individuals directly from regions of conflict and instability.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL3552
Session
2022-23
Subjects
Asylum Applications Undocumented migrants English Channel
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk