My Lords, I thank all the noble Lords who spoke in this debate. To take the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, I
sometimes wish that people would listen to the points I make, but sometimes, because it is politics, they choose not to.
On Amendment 47, which relates to refugee family reunion, we have a comprehensive framework to manage cases that fall outside our rules. For example, refugees can sponsor children aged under 18—including siblings, nieces and nephews—to come here where there are serious and compelling circumstances, and there is further discretion to consider any other familial relationship as necessary. As part of the 2021 safe and legal routes review, we sought to clarify in our Immigration Rules which exceptional circumstances may be engaged for children whose applications are being considered outside the rules. This will bring further consistency and transparency to our policy.
Regarding allowing child refugees to sponsor family members under this new clause, I cannot stress enough the objectionable consequences this could create. It risks incentivising more children to be encouraged, or even forced, to leave their family and risk hazardous journeys to the UK, playing into the hands of criminal gangs who exploit vulnerable people, which goes against our safeguarding responsibilities. I know that noble Lords would not want to see that outcome.
I thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham and the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, for tabling Amendment 48, which is about safe routes for those seeking to claim asylum in the UK, including unaccompanied children, to travel from countries in Europe to join family in the UK. I know that the noble Lord, Lord Kerr, and the noble Baroness, Lady Ludford, also support this proposed new clause, but I cannot. It tries to create a scheme similar to the EU’s Dublin regulation in UK law with respect to those who are in a European country but have family members in the UK. However, unlike the Dublin regulation, where the asylum claim is initially made in the EU country they are in, this new clause attempts to introduce a route for those who are in safe European countries to come to the UK to claim asylum.
On the Dubs scheme, we did not end it; we completed what we set out to do, which was to take 480 children under the Dubs scheme. On family reunion under Dublin, noble Lords will see in the table I sent the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, and which I distributed to all Members of your Lordships’ House, that Dublin had about a tenth of the number of our refugee family reunion scheme over a similar period. The noble Lord also talked about the Safe Passage cases. I understand that the Home Office asked him to send details of them. We would be very happy to receive them should he see fit to send them.
In response to the noble Lord, Lord Kerr, noble Lords will be aware that the UK sought to negotiate on these matters, specifically for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, but it was not possible to reach an agreement with the EU on family reunion. When the UK was seeking to raise these matters with the EU, our proposals had very clear safeguards for children. This new clause has none and fails to consider the individual needs of children, which raises significant issues. While the noble Lords who tabled the new clause might have good intentions, it is not drafted
with a child’s interests as paramount. It creates entitlements to come to the UK to claim asylum if the individual has the specified UK relatives but does not consider whether this is in the unaccompanied child’s best interests. That is a really important fact. Neither does it consider whether the UK relative can actually take care of the child, nor does it involve any consideration of whether the child would be better placed with a relative, potentially an even closer relative, in another European state.
I cannot ignore the fact that this new clause would encourage asylum seekers, including vulnerable unaccompanied children, to make dangerous journeys to Europe to benefit from its provisions. By the same token, it would discourage asylum seekers, when in Europe, who wish to travel to the UK to interact with the care and support mechanisms or the asylum systems of those safe European countries which should provide them with the safety and protection they are entitled to under the same international legal obligations that the UK abides by.
I have been very clear that we will not consider a more favourable approach to family reunion in the Immigration Rules for those in the EU, including unaccompanied children, as opposed to those in the rest of the world who want to join family here in the UK. A single global approach to family reunion—as taken by our current refugee family reunion policy—is fair and does not encourage what are often dangerous journeys into Europe, facilitated by smugglers and traffickers. As I have said many times, European member states are safe countries with international obligations towards protecting asylum seekers and children, as we do here in the UK, affording all asylum seekers in Europe an opportunity to access the rights to which they are entitled.
The right reverend Prelate talked about community sponsorship and my articulated support for it. That does not diminish; I would like to see far more schemes develop here in the UK. He also linked it to the Ukraine humanitarian pathway. The two are not the same. I am sure we will get more detail on the latter in due course, but I think it is a really good idea.
I thank my noble friend Lady Stroud, on behalf of my noble friend Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate, for speaking to Amendment 49. The Government have time and again demonstrated their commitment to helping people in need of international protection. To date, our resettlement schemes have been non-legislative, operating outside of the Immigration Rules and on a discretionary basis. Operating in this way has effectively enabled us to respond to both protracted and emerging humanitarian crises and has seen us resettle over 27,000 vulnerable people since 2015. The noble Lord, Lord Green of Deddington, outlined why that was so workable in the Syrian context.
Last summer, the UK undertook the biggest and fastest emergency evacuation in recent history, helping over 15,000 people to safety from Afghanistan. The Government have recently opened, on 6 January, the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme, which will provide up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK. This scheme
is in addition to the Afghan relocations and assistance policy, which has already seen over 8,000 people relocated to the UK, with an estimated additional 11,000 likely to be eligible to be relocated under this route. ARAP is neither time limited nor capped, which is a good thing.
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On Amendment 50, I can assure the House of my support for the humanitarian intention behind the proposals. The noble Baroness referred to my commitments made in 2019. We announced our intention to pilot an Emergency Resettlement Mechanism to provide urgent protection in exceptional circumstances to refugees referred to UNHCR in need of rapid emergency resettlement. The implementation of the ERM is on hold temporarily due to the unprecedented circumstances in which we find ourselves as a result of our successful evacuation efforts in Afghanistan which helped bring over 15,000 people to safety. It is important that we consider our capacity in the UK to not place additional pressures on local authority housing and services at a time when capacity is really stretched. The Government remain committed to implementing the ERM as soon as practicable.
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Alton, for proposing Amendment 51, and for his welcome contribution to this important debate so far. On his point about the Yazidis, we have resettled 40 Yazidis through both the UK resettlement scheme and the vulnerable persons resettlement scheme.
On the wider point about genocide, this strays into some of the FCDO equities. In Committee, I committed to refer this onwards to the FCDO. We are utterly committed to the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Our approach to genocide determination does not prevent, and has not prevented us, taking action to address atrocities. Whether or not a determination of genocide is made, the UK is committed to seeking an end to serious violations of international human rights law—and, where appropriate, international humanitarian law—preventing the escalation of any such violations and alleviating the suffering of those affected.
The amendment would represent a significant departure from the Government’s long-standing policy of not assessing asylum claims from abroad. Therefore, we cannot support it. It is not practical for us to be bound to consider asylum claims in British missions abroad from the very large numbers of individuals overseas who might like to come here. Even with a cap on the number of individuals ultimately recognised as refugees under the route, opening an opportunity to claim asylum could make the operation of these locations impractical and unsafe where large numbers sought to do so.
Finally, I turn to Amendment 54A. The Government have made very clear their support for Ukrainians fleeing in fear of their lives. The Prime Minister announced that the UK is prepared to take Ukrainian refugees in considerable numbers. Every conflict and threat situation is unique and requires a tailored response. The Government have already announced a bespoke humanitarian support package for the people of Ukraine, having listened carefully to the asks and requests of
the Ukrainian Government. I will also add that the Government have announced that the numbers are not capped.
We have helped hundreds of British nationals and their families resident in Ukraine to leave the country, with Home Office staff working around the clock to assist them. British nationals, and any person settled in the UK, can bring over immediate Ukrainian family members. Through this policy alone, an additional 100,000 Ukrainians could be eligible to come to the UK and access work and public services. I understand that people are being processed through these schemes in a matter of hours, as we speak. This is very good news.
We are establishing an expansive Ukrainian family settlement scheme which will be fee-free and allow British nationals and people settled in the UK to bring a wider group of family members to the UK. This extends eligibility to adult parents, grandparents, children over 18, siblings and their immediate family members. As I said earlier to the right reverend Prelate, we have committed to establishing a humanitarian sponsorship pathway, whereby Ukrainians who may not have family ties in the UK can be sponsored to come here by willing and able individuals, businesses or community organisations. There will be no cap on this scheme, as I have said, and we will welcome as many Ukrainians as wish to come who have matched sponsors.
I outlined some of the other things we have been doing in the debate on a previous group so I will not go over them again, but what I have outlined is an extremely generous and expansive package befitting the need of Ukrainians for our refuge and protection. On that point, I hope that noble Lords will withdraw or not press their amendments.