Dear Constituent,
Thank you for contacting me about the Nationality and Borders Bill.
The United Kingdom has a strong record of helping those fleeing persecution, oppression or tyranny from around the world. Alongside providing £10 billion a year to support people through overseas aid, the UK is a global leader in refugee resettlement. Between 2016 and 2019 the UK resettled more refugees from outside Europe than any member state of the EU.
In 2015, the Government committed to resettle 20,000 of the most vulnerable refugees to flee the conflict in Syria through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS). I am pleased that the Government has since met that commitment and is also supporting the resettlement of people from Afghanistan through a number of schemes.
It is therefore extremely encouraging that thousands of Afghan women, children and others most in need will be welcomed to the UK. The new Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) is one of the most generous resettlement schemes in the history of the UK. The new route is modelled on the successful Syrian vulnerable persons resettlement scheme, which resettled 20,000 Syrian refugees over a 7-year period from 2014 to 2021.
Ministers previously outlined that the new scheme would resettle 5,000 Afghan nationals in its first year, and the Minister for Afghan Resettlement, Victoria Atkins, has confirmed that, in light of the emerging situation in Afghanistan and the success of the UK’s evacuation efforts, the UK will exceed that aim.
I would like to reassure you that this new scheme is separate from, and in addition to, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), which offers any current or former locally employed staff who are assessed to be under serious threat to life priority relocation to the UK. Around 7,000 people alone have already been helped by this scheme.
In total across the full range of our resettlement schemes, the UK has now resettled more than 25,000 vulnerable refugees over the past six years, with around half children. Importantly, these refugees are resettled directly from regions of conflict and instability, not from safe European countries. I believe that it is most important to prioritise those refugees in dangerous situations, not those already in Europe.
I welcome the fact that the Government provides safe and legal routes for people needing protection or seeking to reunite with their families. In the year ending December 2020, over 5,400 refugee family reunion visas were issued to partners and children of those previously granted asylum or humanitarian protection in the UK. Over 29,000 family reunion visas have been issued in the last five years.
I have always believed that resettlement is vital as a safe and legal pathway to protection for vulnerable refugees fleeing persecution. It is right, and I will continue to ensure, that the Government continues to offer safe pathways for those in need. The launch of a new global UK Resettlement Scheme will build on the success of previous schemes and continue the UK’s record of resettling refugees who need our help from around the world.
It is also the case that refugees in the UK need to have the freedom to succeed as they settle. This means ensuring refugees have access to the tools required to become fully independent and provide for themselves and their families, which is why I welcome the Home Secretary’s announcement that £14 million of funding will support newly granted refugees to learn English, move into work, access housing and build links in their local communities. This will allow refugees to be in a position to contribute and integrate into the economic and cultural life of the UK.
The United Kingdom has a proud history of supporting those in need of protection; our resettlement programmes have provided safe and legal routes to better futures for hundreds of thousands of people from across the globe. Since 2015, over 185,000 men, women and children seeking refuge have been offered a place in this country, which is more than any other similar resettlement scheme in Europe. This includes almost 100,000 British Nationals Overseas threatened by draconian security laws in Hong Kong, 20,000 through the Syrian scheme, 13,000 from Afghanistan, and around 50,000 Ukrainians.
In my view, it is important to set the Nationality and Borders Bill in the above context. The Nationality and Borders Bill will allow the UK to continue to resettle genuine refugees directly from places of danger and to offer refugee family reunions. It will improve support for refugees to help them build their life in the UK, integrate and become self-sufficient members of society. The Bill also seeks to introduce a new temporary protection status for those who do not come directly to the UK or claim asylum without delay once here but who have, in any event, been recognised as requiring protection.
Some constituents have raised with me concerns that the new Bill will create a “two tier” approach to asylum policies but I do not accept that. The proposals in the New Plan for Immigration - New plan for immigration: legal migration and border control strategy statement (accessible web version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) - and the Nationality and Borders Bill fully comply with the UK's global obligations including commitments to the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Refugee Convention. As you will be aware, through the Bill, whether people enter the UK legally or illegally may also have an impact on how their asylum claim progresses, and on their status in the UK if that claim is successful. After looking into this, the UN Refugee Convention does allow for different treatment where, for example, refugees have not come directly from a country of persecution. For example, if someone enters the UK via a safe country, where they could have claimed asylum, they are not seeking refuge from imminent peril. Therefore, returning them to a safe third country is not inconsistent with the UN Refugee Convention.
In relation to clause 11 and amendment 9, as set out above, the plans are compliant with international law and under the provisions in the legislation, therefore, those who meet the terms of the Refugee Convention will be granted refugee status. There is no question of this clause making it harder to be a refugee or otherwise enabling the Government to refuse refugee protection to those who need it. That is simply not true. What the clause does is enable the Secretary of State to distinguish between refugees based on whether they came directly and claimed without delay, but anyone considered under this policy will be a refugee.
The New Plan for Immigration has 3 objectives:
- to increase the fairness and efficacy of our system so that we can better protect and support those in need of genuine asylum
- to deter illegal entry into the UK, thereby breaking the business model of criminal trafficking networks and protecting the lives of those they endanger
- to remove more easily from the UK those with no right to be here
My principal concerns in relation to the Bill related to my long-standing concerns in relation to indefinite immigration detention and also in relation to the need for greater protections for victims of modern slavery. I tabled specific amendments in relation to this, and although not selected for a vote, I set out my concerns during my speech - Borders and Nationality Bill debate - YouTube
With regard to concerns about citizenship, as you will know, currently in order to protect the country, the Home Secretary holds powers to deprive someone of their British citizenship in situations where it would not render them stateless. This power has been in place for more than a hundred years and has been used by successive Home Secretaries. Any decision to deprive someone of their citizenship is only used in exceptional circumstances where there is a significant threat to the public, such as terrorism, and based on all available evidence, including secret intelligence, with a right to appeal.
I support the ability of the Home Secretary to deprive citizenship on conducive grounds. This is of course reserved only for those who pose a threat to the UK or whose conduct involves very high harm.
The Nationality and Borders Bill will amend the law in order to allow the deprivation of citizenship where it is not practicable to provide notice. This could be in a case where there is no way of communicating with the person, for example if they are in a war zone.
It is vital for national security that this power be effective and I support the Government in ensuring that this is the case.
Finally, if you have contacted me regarding the Government's Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda, people who enter the UK illegally may have their asylum claim considered in Rwanda (not in the UK), with a view to receiving the protection they need there if their claim is successful.
The UK is investing £120 million into Rwandan economic development and growth, with funding also provided to help deliver asylum operations, similar to the costs incurred in the UK. Furthermore, Rwanda has one of the fast-growing economies and enterprise cultures, with growing trade links with the UK, which this scheme will complement as part of our Global Britain agenda.
Under this agreement, Rwanda will process claims in accordance with the UN Refugee Convention, national and international human rights laws, and will ensure their protection from inhuman and degrading treatment or being returned to the place they originally fled.
My further views are set out here: Tackling Illegal Immigration | Richard Fuller
Thank you again for contacting me.
Sincerely,
