House of Lords Library sets out Government’s immigration and asylum policy commitments ahead of King’s Speech

HOUSE OF LORDS

LIBRARY
BRIEFING

King's Speech 2024: Home affairs

Author: Nicole Winchester
Date published: 12 July 2024

This research briefing sets out the Labour Party's commitments covering home affairs, drawing on its manifesto and other material in the public domain. It has been written in advance of the King's Speech to help members of the House of Lords prepare for the debate on the speech. It does not constitute official information about the government's intentions or provide a complete list of bills to be announced.

1. Illegal migration and the asylum system

1.1 Plans to tackle small boat crossings

Since 2018, people have been crossing the English Channel in small boats at a significant scale, with many seeking to claim asylum. The annual numbers peaked in 2022 when 45,774 crossed in this manner, before falling to 29,437 in 2023. [1] In 2024, 13,195 people had come to the UK via small boats as of 26 June, a higher number than seen for the same period in the previous four years. [2] The most recent data on arrivals covering the last seven days is available on the government's website, though these are from provisional operational data and are subject to change. [3]

Seeking to address this problem, in 2022 the previous Conservative government announced a scheme which aimed to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda, where they could claim asylum in that country. [4] Formally known as the 'Migration and economic development partnership', legislation was passed to implement the scheme, such as the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024. [5] However, the policy experienced a series of legal challenges which led to delays. [6], No asylum seekers were sent to Rwanda on a non-voluntary basis. [7]

On 6 July 2024, Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that the scheme would end during his first press conference as prime minister. [8] This honoured a commitment in the Labour Party's manifesto to scrap what the party described as the "wasteful" scheme and use its funding to create a new border security command. It argued this would target those who organise small boat crossings. [9] The creation of this new command was one of Labour's first six "steps to change", as set out in its manifesto. [10]

Labour has said that this new border command would operate internationally and be supported by new counter-terrorism style powers. [11] These plans would require legislation, with measures expected to include new powers to enable police to search those suspected of being involved in people smuggling, live monitor their finances and apply for court orders requiring the handover of financial information. [12] Keir Starmer said that legislation to introduce these measures would be passed "very quickly", with a Home Office press release announcing that:

Early legislation is being prepared to introduce new counter terror style powers and stronger measures to tackle organised immigration crime. [13]

Labour's manifesto also explained that the new command would be staffed by "hundreds of new investigators, intelligence officers, and cross-border police officers". [14] Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said that rapid recruitment for a leader of the command would begin on 8 July 2024, with an expectation that the individual would take up their post in the coming weeks. [15]

In addition, in its manifesto the Labour Party said that a new security arrangement with the EU would be sought to "ensure access to real-time intelligence and enable our policing teams to lead joint investigations with their European counterparts". [16] As part of the UK's deal to leave the EU, some police access to EU data on criminals, terror suspects and immigration offenders was lost. [17] Reporting on these plans, the Times said that Labour would seek to negotiate access to an EU system called Eurodac, a fingerprinting system used to identify asylum seekers and illegal migrants. [18] This would enable Border Force to identify individuals who have previously been rejected for asylum in another European country and fast-track their asylum case.

Mr Starmer's announcement that the Rwanda scheme would be ended was widely welcomed by those who had campaigned against the scheme. For example, Sonya Sceats, CEO of Freedom from Torture, and Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Amnesty International UK, both supported the decision. [19]

However, some commentators have expressed doubts that Labour's plans would tackle the issue of small boats. For example, Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, has argued that Labour's approach is too heavily focused on people smuggling networks, stating they will adapt quickly to law enforcement tactics. [20] Ms Sumption said that if one network was taken out, another would likely quickly move in to fill the space. She also questioned why Labour had not included a commitment to seek a returns agreement with Europe, despite this being something that Mr Starmer had previously said he would do. Former chief immigration officer for Border Force, Kevin Saunders, has also raised concerns. [21] Mr Saunders, who supported the Rwanda scheme, argued that the plan had acted as a deterrent and expressed concerns about what he described as the lack of a clear plan to stop small boat crossings going forward.

1.2 UK asylum system

In recent years there has been a 'backlog' in the asylum system, with the number of initial asylum decisions awaiting an outcome reaching the highest level on record in June 2023. [22]

The previous government announced a plan to abolish this backlog in December 2022 and claimed in January 2024 that its target had been met. [23] However, the fact-checking charity Full Fact has highlighted that there are different types of backlog. [24] As at 14 April 2024, most applicants who arrived before 28 June 2022 (the 'legacy backlog') had had their claims processed, with 2,377 remaining. Migrants who have arrived since that date have their claims treated differently. This is termed the 'flow backlog'. As of April 2024 there were 80,777 flow backlog cases.

In its manifesto, the Labour Party argued that previous Conservative governments had created a "perma-backlog" of tens of thousands of asylum seekers who are often housed in hotels. [25] The party's manifesto outlined plans to hire additional caseworkers to clear the backlog and end the use of hotels as a source of accommodation. It also said it would set up a new returns and enforcement unit, with an additional 1,000 staff to "fast-track removals to safe countries for people who do not have the right to stay here".

In addition, Labour highlighted plans to speed up returns of failed asylum seekers by negotiating additional returns arrangements and increasing the number of safe countries that such individuals could be sent back to. [26] The previous government negotiated a returns agreement with Albania under which the two countries worked together to make it more difficult for illegal migrants to arrive and stay in the UK. [27]

Looking at the problem "upstream", the manifesto said that the party would work with international partners to "address the humanitarian crises which lead people to flee their homes, and to strengthen support for refugees in their home region". [28]

Focusing on Labour's plans to increase the number of bilateral returns agreements, David Suber, a doctoral researcher at the Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science at UCL, highlighted that the previous government's returns agreement with Albania led to two and half times more returns of Albanian nationals in 2023–24 than previous years. [29]

However, Mr Suber also noted that the top five countries people crossing the channel on a small boats come from were Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Eritrea and Iraq and that according to Home Office data, the vast majority of people coming from these countries would be recognised as refugees if their applications were processed. In addition, Mr Suber argued that governments of some of the countries with the most asylum seekers "are not particularly inclined to facilitate returns" because it is unpopular domestically with reliance on remittances sent by family members working abroad.

1.3 Windrush compensation scheme

Labour's manifesto also said it would ensure the Windrush compensation scheme was "run effectively". [30] More information about the Windrush scandal and compensation scheme can be found in the House of Lords Library briefing, 'Windrush scandal and compensation scheme' (15 February 2024).

[…]

About the Library

A full list of Lords Library briefings is available on the Library's website.

The Library publishes briefings for all major items of business debated in the House of Lords. The Library also publishes briefings on the House of Lords itself and other subjects that may be of interest to members.

Library briefings are produced for the benefit of Members of the House of Lords. They provide impartial, authoritative, politically balanced information in support of members' parliamentary duties. They are intended as a general briefing only and should not be relied on as a substitute for specific advice.

Every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in Lords Library briefings is correct at the time of publication. Readers should be aware however that briefings are not necessarily updated or otherwise amended to reflect subsequent changes.

Disclaimer

The House of Lords or the authors(s) shall not be liable for any errors or omissions, or for any loss or damage of any kind arising from its use, and may remove, vary or amend any information at any time without prior notice. The House of Lords accepts no responsibility for any references or links to, or the content of, information maintained by third parties.

This information is provided subject to the conditions of the Open Parliament Licence.

Authors are available to discuss the contents of the briefings with Members of the House of Lords and their staff but cannot advise members of the general public.

Any comments on Library briefings should be sent to the Head of Research Services, House of Lords Library, London SW1A 0PW or emailed to hlresearchservices@parliament.uk.

[30] Labour Party, 'Labour Party manifesto 2024', June 2024, p 73.