Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 11 July (HL1285), whether they consider as a matter of policy that all asylum seekers travelling to the UK from France have done so unlawfully and are therefore unable to claim asylum; if so, on what grounds; and how many individuals seeking asylum after crossing the English Channel in small boats have been granted asylum in each of the last five years.

Asylum seekers who travel to the UK from France either commit a criminal offence of entering the UK without leave under section 24(B1) of the Immigration Act 1971, or of arriving in the UK without an entry clearance under section 24 (D1), depending on their method of entry or arrival. In line with the Kakaei and Bani judgments, those who are rescued and brought ashore (the majority of those crossing the channel in small boats) are deemed to have arrived without permission

The Home Office are able to provide the total number of individuals seeking asylum after crossing the English Channel in small boats who have been granted asylum in each of the last four years, from 2018-2021. However are not able to provide information prior to this date as there were no small boat crossing attempts.