Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Statement on Asylum Policy of 17 of November, Official Report column 509, which international partners have raised similar concerns about the inability to apply the public interest to the Article 3 Absolute Right under the European Convention on Human Rights.

A number of Council of Europe members have expressed concern over the interpretation and application of the ECHR in the context of migration. An open letter of nine Council of Europe countries of 22 May 2025 called for "discussion about how international conventions match the challenges of today". We agree on the importance of addressing these challenges together and the Deputy Prime Minister will meet with other Justice Ministers at the Council of Europe on 10 December to set out the UK position and advance work on the ECHR reform agenda.