UK Borders Bill

I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Judd, who makes a good case. I listened to his argument with great care. I shall try to explain the Government’s reason for sticking to their policy on asylum appeals and for resisting this amendment, despite some of its attractions. An asylum claimant whose claim for refugee status is refused, but who is, none the less, granted more than 12 months of leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, can appeal to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal against the rejection of his claim for asylum. Where someone’s asylum claim is refused and they are granted 12 months or less of leave to enter or remain, they may not immediately appeal. We believe that strong policy reasons still exist for the 12-month restriction which this amendment is proposing to remove. It is important to point out that where a period of leave of less than 12 months is granted there will still be a right of appeal once leave expires and a decision is made to enforce removal. Where someone is granted a period of leave of 12 months or less, we expect that person to return to their home country after a period of short stability in the United Kingdom and without the need for an enforced removal. The main reason for introducing an upgrade appeal for those people who are refused asylum but are granted a period of leave of less than 12 months was to ensure that such people were not prevented from appealing the finding on their asylum application for a lengthy period of time should they choose not to leave the United Kingdom. Our view remains that, if a period of leave of 12 months or less is granted, it is reasonable to expect the applicant to wait until the expiry of that leave before he or she is entitled to bring a statutory appeal. I am sure that Members of the Committee will agree that great strides and progress have been taken in speeding up the immigration appellate system in recent years, but appeals still take time to conclude. The length of time that it takes from lodging an appeal to receiving a tribunal determination takes less than 12 weeks in 95 per cent of cases, which, given where we started from, is a real sign of improvement. Once an appeal has been determined, the tribunal will be asked to consider an application for reconsideration in 49 per cent of cases. Most applications are refused, but this application process takes further time to conclude the appeal. Thus, if someone refused asylum but granted a short period of leave was able to appeal straightaway, the appeal could still be running when that leave expired. Assuming the appeal was dismissed, enforcement action would commence which would attract a further right of appeal. The Government’s one-stop policy on immigration appeals says that there should be one appeal which considers all arguments that someone may have for remaining in the United Kingdom. If accepted, Amendment No. 41 would increase the numbers of persons who could qualify for two appeals, which runs contrary to the one-stop principle that the Government believe is perfectly sensible and has attracted widespread support. In making his argument, the noble Lord, Lord Judd, suggested that we discriminate against people on the basis that they are asylum-seeking children. There is no discrimination on the basis that someone is an asylum-seeking child. The availability of an upgrade appeal depends on the period of leave granted. We feel that if a period of 12 months or less of leave is granted, it is not unreasonable to expect the person granted leave to wait until the expiry of this period before he or she can bring a statutory appeal. If anyone wants to challenge an asylum refusal before this point, judicial review remains available. It is for reasons of practicality, good process, simplicity and a tidier appeals process, and—I would argue—in the interests of the appellant, that this policy is the right one. Having heard that, I hope that the noble Lord will reflect on it and withdraw his amendment.