Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has set out her Immigration and Asylum Bill which she says will protect the asylum system for a generation after sparking a backlash
Shabana Mahmood has set out the biggest asylum shake-up in decades as she vowed to save the system for a generation.
Legislation put in front of MPs on Tuesday includes a string of controversial measures – including forcing successful asylum seekers to pay back £10,000 toward the cost of their accommodation and support once they start earning.
This has sparked a backlash, with one furious Labour backbencher dismissing it as “performative cruelty” and critics warning it could create chaos for years to come. It is expected to be an early challenge for Prime Minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham, who is understood to have seen the contents of the bill, which will be discussed in the Commons next week.
The Home Secretary argues that without tough action to make the system fairer, the public will lose confidence in the asylum system – giving the far-right an opening to sew division. Changes to family circumstances – such as having a baby while in the asylum system – will not be rewarded, the legislation said.
Her Immigration and Asylum Bill will strip judges of the power to decide asylum appeals. Instead a new Independent Immigration Appeals Authority (IIAA) will be created, with rulings by trained members of the public. The government claims will help clear an appeals backlog which stood at over 86,000 at the end of March.
And in a major change, last-minute modern slavery claims will not prevent deportations in most cases. The Home Office said 434 removals were frustrated by such claims last year.
If passed, the bill will make deporting criminals from overseas easier – with tougher rules applying to foreign national offenders regardless of the length of their sentence.
Ms Mahmood said she will also target the abuse of human rights laws, including the right to family life. Under her plans, rules set out in the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) will also be tightened – only allowing claims related to parents, spouses and children under 18 except in exceptional circumstances.
The Home Secretary stated: “Britain has always offered sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution. But this system only survives if the public trusts that it is fair, controlled, and not open to abuse.
“I will open new legal routes for genuine refugees, while closing loopholes that have been too often abused. My goal is simple: to ensure we have an asylum system not just today, but for generations to come.”
Ms Mahmood’s plan to force asylum seekers to contribute to the cost of their accommodation and support have been criticised. Labour backbencher Kim Johnson said: “This is a tax on refugees. It’s performative cruelty.
“We shouldn’t be punishing people for fleeing war and persecution. The relentless demonisation of refugees must stop.”
Imran Hussain, director of external affairs at the Refugee Council, said: “This is a Bill that could cause chaos in the Home Office and for the next Prime Minister for years to come. It would create a whole new architecture of bureaucracy for the Home Office by building a new appeals system and imposing an unfair extra tax on refugees, while ignoring the poor quality of initial decisions that is actually driving significant delays and costs.
“Every day in our frontline services, we see men, women and children from countries like Afghanistan and Sudan, who have escaped torture, devastating war and persecution from brutal regimes. Like generations of refugees before them, all they want is to settle and stand on their own two feet, finding work in our NHS, our care homes and on our high streets.
“If the government is serious about building a fair and functioning asylum system, it must start by breaking the cycle of quick fixes and bills that create long term chaos.”
Mubeen Bhutta, of the British Red Cross, said: “We want to see an asylum system that is fair and compassionate, but it’s unclear how this bill will improve things.
“Many of the reforms in this bill will make it harder for refugee families to be together and create more uncertainty for people who have already faced unimaginable trauma.”