UNHCR publishes evaluation of Action Access pilot for female asylum seekers who would otherwise be detained in Yarl's Wood
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) last week published an evaluation report presenting the findings from a pilot scheme into the use of alternatives to immigration detention.
The 81-page report is available here.
The pilot scheme, known as Action Access, was the first government-funded 'Alternative to Detention' (ATD) to be piloted under the Home Office's Community Engagement Pilot (CEP) series.
Action Access was designed by the Home Office together with the Newcastle-based charity Action Foundation. It had input from UNHCR and other relevant stakeholders.
Last week's evaluation report was authored by NatCen Social Research (NatCen), the UK's largest independent social research organisation.
NatCen explained: "The overall principle of the CEP Series is to test approaches to supporting people to resolve their immigration case in the community. UNHCR commissioned NatCen Social Research to undertake an independent evaluation of Action Access, the first pilot in the CEP series. Delivered by Action Foundation over two years from 2019 to 2021, Action Access aimed to support women with asylum-seeking status in a community-based, engagement-focused ATD through the provision of one-to-one support from a support worker, shared accommodation, and legal counselling from a qualified legal professional. Our evaluation included desk research, interviews with pilot participants (at two time points) and interviews with delivery and strategic stakeholders and key informants from civil society."
The Action Access pilot aimed to test whether support in the community leads to more efficient case resolution for migrants and asylum seekers when compared with detention.
While the scheme initially set out to support up to 50 female asylum seekers who would otherwise be detained in Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre, the impact of Covid-19 and lockdown meant the pilot had to be adapted and it did not reach its full capacity (20 women participated).
Overall, NatCen's evaluation report finds that supporting asylum seekers in the community is a more humane and significantly less expensive alternative to keeping them in immigration detention centres.
It is estimated that a future ATD programme could be less than half the cost of holding an individual in detention.
Outcomes for participants in the pilot were improved, with the report concluding: "The main value of the pilot from the perspective of pilot stakeholders, pilot participants and key informants from the wider sector was that Action Access offered more humane treatment than immigration detention. Our evaluation found qualitative evidence that participants experienced more stability and better health and wellbeing outcomes whilst being supported by Action Access in the community than they had received while in detention. Evidence from this pilot suggests that these outcomes were achievable without decreasing compliance with the immigration system."
A legal counselling model was also developed during the pilot which was designed to give participants an opportunity to be treated fairly, have their case fully considered, and have their legal options clearly explained.
The report states: "The pilot's legal counselling model is an important example of promising practice in terms of providing pilot participants with the opportunity to have their case reviewed by an independent legal representative and to feel that they had been treated fairly. The legal counselling model provided pilot participants with three meetings with a legal representative and was designed to allow the pilot participants to fully explore their immigration options. This approach was seen to be more likely to result in case resolution.
"The holistic support offered in parallel with the legal counselling was integral to the delivery of the legal counselling model. The pilot provided a more humane and less stressful environment for pilot participants to engage in the legal review and make decisions about their future, compared with immigration detention. Even when those decisions were difficult and participants had no legal case to remain in the UK, the pilot gave the participant space and time to engage with their immigration options."
Duncan McAuley, Action Foundation's Chief Executive, said the results of the evaluation demonstrated the need for a new approach to immigration detention. Nevertheless, the Home Office opened a new female-only immigration removal centre in Durham in November 2021.
McAuley said: "While we recognise the need for some capacity in Immigration Removal Centres, it is shocking to see the Home Office investing millions of pounds in a new facility on our doorstep at Derwentside. Instead, we would love to see taxpayers' money invested in alternatives, avoiding the huge personal cost to the individuals themselves. Why spend millions of pounds building and running a centre 15 miles down the road when we've demonstrated a cheaper, more humane alternative based in local communities?"