Not for the first time, I find myself agreeing with my right hon. Friend wholeheartedly. It is fair to say that nobody needs to get into a small boat to reach safety. France is a safe country with a fully functioning asylum system, and the same applies to Belgium, Germany and countries across the European Union.
All people do by getting into a small boat is hand over significant sums of money to evil individuals who treat people as cargo and have no regard for human life. We have to bring it to an end, which is precisely what we seek to do with this Bill. I look forward to my right hon. Friend’s support in the Lobby, as we have had throughout the Bill’s passage.
Government amendments 19 to 25 to clause 12 make small technical amendments to apply the provisions in the clause to asylum seekers or failed asylum seekers who are supported under existing legislation if and when uncommenced provisions come into force.
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Government amendment 26 to clause 15, in respect of a “reasonable period”, will amend the provisions relating to the inadmissibility of asylum claims from claimants with a connection to a safe third country. As I have set out, the Government are clear that people should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach, rather than make dangerous journeys to the UK to claim asylum here. Inadmissibility is a long-standing process designed to prevent secondary movements across Europe. Inadmissibility measures are being moved from the immigration rules into primary legislation to support the process. We acknowledge that there are circumstances in which it may be appropriate to consider such cases here in the UK. We are removing the power to consider an asylum claim that has been declared inadmissible in the UK where it is unlikely to be possible to remove the claimant to a safe third country within a reasonable period. Instead, this will be set out in the immigration rules.
Amendments 27 to 38, 44, 45 and 91 to 93 relate to the evidence notice and the priority removal notice. The Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004 requires decision makers to take into account certain behaviours that may be deemed damaging to a claimant’s credibility when they assess a protection of human rights claim. Those behaviours include concealing information, obstructing or delaying the handling of a claim, providing late evidence, and not acting in good faith, along with behaviours that are designed or are likely to mislead. It is right that all decision makers, including the tribunal, should clearly set out when and how they have taken into account the claimant’s credibility when they assess a protection of human rights claim.
The remainder of the Government amendments in the group are minor and technical and make sure that all the measures that relate to the priority removal notice operate in the manner intended.