The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 23rd May 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government whether there have been any changes to asylum screening interviews since 7 March.
Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con, Home Office): There have been no changes to the asylum screening interview template since 7 March.
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of families with children that will be (1) detained, and (2) removed, under the Illegal Migration Bill in 2024.
Lord Murray of Blidworth: As set out in clause 1(1), the purpose of the Bill is to prevent and deter unlawful migration, and in particular migration by unsafe and illegal routes, by requiring the Home Secretary to return illegal migrants to their home country or remove them to a safe third country.
An economic impact assessment will be published for the Bill in due course.
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government whether people who meet the four conditions in Clause 2 of the Illegal Migration Bill who make a (1) protection, and (2) human rights, claim will undergo an asylum screening interview.
Lord Murray of Blidworth: The implementing measures and processes relating to people falling within the scope of clause 2 of the Illegal Migration Bill will be set out in due course.
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what they plan will happen to a person whose protection or human rights claim is deemed inadmissible under Clause 4(2) of the Illegal Migration Bill but who cannot be removed from the UK.
Lord Murray of Blidworth: The purpose of the Illegal Migration Bill is to prevent and deter unlawful migration, and in particular migration by unsafe and illegal routes, by requiring the Home Secretary to return illegal migrants to their home country or remove them to a safe third country.
Under clauses 2 and 5 of the Bill, the Home Secretary is under a duty to make arrangements for the removal of a person who meets the conditions in clause 2 as soon as is reasonably practicable.
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government how many children they predict will be subject to the duty to remove under Clause 2 of the Illegal Migration Bill in 2024.
Lord Murray of Blidworth: The purpose of the Illegal Migration Bill is to prevent and deter unlawful migration, and in particular migration by unsafe and illegal routes.
The duty to make arrangements for removal under clause 2 of the Bill only applies to children who are part of a family group. We do not inadvertently create incentives for people smuggling to target vulnerable individuals.
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government how many people they forecast will be detained under the powers contained in Clause 12 of the Illegal Migration Bill in (1) 2024, (2) 2025, and (3) 2026.
Lord Murray of Blidworth: The purpose of the Illegal Migration Bill is to prevent and deter unlawful migration, and in particular migration by unsafe and illegal routes.
Those who arrive illegally will be liable to detention and will be swiftly removed to their home country or to a safe third country. The powers to detain are contained in clause 10 of the Bill.
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what role, if any, the detention gatekeeper will have in relation to decisions to detain people under Clause 12 of the Illegal Migration Bill.
Lord Murray of Blidworth: The powers to detain are contained in clause 10 of the Illegal Migration Bill. The detention gatekeeper will continue to have a role in assessing an individual’s suitability for detention, in line with published policy.
The detention gatekeeper works independently of both referring operational teams (for example Border Force, Immigration Compliance and Enforcement & others) and detained casework teams (National Returns Command, Foreign National Offenders Return Command and others) to ensure individuals only enter immigration detention where detention is for a lawful purpose and is considered to be a proportionate measure on the facts of the case.
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