UK Asylum and Refugee Policy

Lord Roberts of Llandudno Excerpts

Friday 9th December 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Roberts of Llandudno (LD)]

My Lords, what a privilege it is to have the opportunity to take part in this debate and to follow my fellow Welsh Methodist minister, the noble Lord, Lord Griffiths. We were introduced on the same day, quite a few years ago now, and I am delighted that we are both able to take part in this debate.

Are the Government satisfied with the process that asylum seekers have to go through to achieve their status? This September there were 127,000 asylum applications waiting to be dealt with, some for a considerable time. Decision-takers are doing their very best, but clearly their whole recruitment and training needs to be of a standard that inspires confidence. With 100,000 negative immigration decisions rejected and reversed in the past five years, clearly the present system does not inspire confidence—not in the staff, who see their original decisions rejected 50% of the time. There is unnecessary anxiety for so many applicants, often with very serious and sad consequences, and millions of pounds in unnecessary expense because of these reversals and appeals; when an application must be reconsidered, that counts as unnecessary expense. The unnecessary delays lead to Governments acting harshly and the UK’s reputation being smeared.

There are steps that can be taken in a thoroughgoing overhaul of the Home Office. Its immigration responsibilities are crying out for research. The organisation Humanitarians Together is preparing a humanitarian manifesto, which I hope will propose changes that can be accepted by all parties in this Parliament.