Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Rejected
Paragraph: 14
Asylum system's breakdown is not solely attributable to Channel migrant crossings.
Conclusion
While we agree with the Home Secretary that the asylum system is broken, we invite her to make it clear, given the long-term and growing pressures on the system, that it was not migrants crossing the Channel who broke it.
Government Response Summary
The government did not accept the recommendation, instead reiterating that the high number of migrants making illegal and dangerous journeys across the Channel places intense pressure on and increases costs within the asylum system.
Paragraph Reference:
14
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The Government is committed to fixing the broken asylum system which now costs the taxpayer £2bn a year to operate including over £5m a day on hotels. The high number of migrants making illegal and dangerous journeys across the channel, rather than claiming asylum in the first safe country they reach, means that intake remains higher than in recent years. In the year ending June 2022 there were 63,089 asylum applications, 77% more than in 2019 and in the same period there were 35,356 small boat arrivals. It is clear that the large number of arrivals, often concentrated into single 24-hour periods, puts intense pressure on the asylum system. The rise in the number of migrants arriving in the UK from Albania—a manifestly safe country—is of particular concern. Modern Slavery referrals more than doubled between 2017 and 2019 and 98% of those referred after being detained for removal were released. Through the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, the Government introduced measures to test the credibility of those who make late claims related to modern slavery using robust systems to ensure that we can support genuine victims while making sure that the system is not misused.