Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to change their definition of torture in relation to the treatment of asylum claims and related legal proceedings; and, if so, whether they intend to table debates in both Houses of Parliament on those plans before they are implemented.

The Government laid draft revised statutory guidance before Parliament on 21 March 2018, and the corresponding statutory instruments on 27 March, to implement a new definition of torture for the purposes of immigration detention. The statutory instruments and guidance give effect to a recent High Court judgment and are subject to the negative resolution procedure.