Response: publication of Independent Review into Labour Shortages – Home Office
Farming Minister Mark Spencer responds to the publication (30 June) of John Shropshire’s Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain.
To read the full statement, click here
UK and New Zealand expand Youth Mobility schemes for young people – Home Office
More young Brits and Kiwis will be eligible to experience life-changing opportunities on the other side of the world thanks to the expansion of shared visa schemes between the UK and New Zealand. From Thursday 29 June, the age limit for New Zealanders coming to the UK will go up from 30 to 35 and the maximum time they can stay will also be extended to 3 years.
To read the full article, click here
Hundreds of modern slavery cases on hold after Home Office admits ‘unlawful’ guidance – The Independent
Hundreds of modern slavery cases will be put on hold after the government admitted its own guidance for considering victims’ claims was unlawful – in a fresh blow to its “stop the boats” pledge. The admission means the Home Office must stop refusing new claims until it draws up new instructions for officials, piling more pressure on the growing backlog of cases already taking an average of 18 months to decide.
To read the full article, click here
Defeats for small boats bill in the Lords as Channel crossings set new record – The Guardian
The government’s small boats bill has suffered a series of defeats in the House of Lords, as Channel crossings in June by people seeking asylum set a new record.
Peers voted on Monday to limit the time that children and pregnant women who claim asylum after arriving by irregular means can be detained and backed preventing LGBTQ+ people from being deported to a country where they would have a well-founded fear of persecution. Ministers are seeking to ensure that the illegal migration bill will enable the detention and deportation of asylum seekers who arrive via irregular means to a third country such as Rwanda.
To read the full article, click here
Steve Baker withdraws support for Braverman over grooming gangs rhetoric – The Guardian
Suella Braverman’s rhetoric about child sexual abuse and grooming gangs has cost her the support of an influential Conservative backer, Steve Baker, in a sign her hard-line approach to culture war issues could hamper her chances of becoming Tory leader. Baker, a Tory MP on the Brexiter right of the party, who is now a Northern Ireland minister, was Braverman’s de facto campaign manager when she stood to succeed Boris Johnson as Conservative leader and prime minister last summer.
To read the full article, click here
Home Office admits placing lone nine-year-old in asylum seeker hotel – The Guardian
The Home Office has admitted that an unaccompanied nine-year-old child was placed in an asylum seeker hotel because of shortages of local authority care placements.
The disclosure came during an urgent injunction application in the high court from Brighton and Hove city council, which is trying to prevent the Home Office from resuming placements in a hotel from which many children previously disappeared. Some of them are suspected to have ended up with traffickers or people who are exploiting them.
To read the full article, click here
Over 24,000 UK asylum seekers could be sent to Rwanda despite court ruling – The Guardian
More than 24,000 asylum seekers from about one-third of the world’s countries could face removal to Rwanda by the UK Home Office in the future, even though the scheme was found to be unlawful in the court of appeal on last Thursday.
Home Office data obtained under a freedom of information request shows that, between January 2021 and March 2023, 24,083 asylum seekers were issued with letters warning them that they were being considered for forcible removal.
To read the full article, click here
Battle over Rwanda deportations to continue as No 10 gears up for appeal – The Guardian
The bitter legal battle over the government’s flagship immigration policy is set to reach new heights after Downing Street insisted it would fight to overturn a ruling that sending refugees to Rwanda was unlawful. Charities and others were jubilant on last week, after judges at the court of appeal ruled in favour of campaign groups and 10 affected asylum seekers, while the opposition claimed the policy at heart of Rishi Sunak’s “Stop the Boats” pledge was now unravelling.
To read the full article, click here
Home Office must process asylum claim every four minutes to clear backlog by January – The Guardian
The Home Office needs to process an asylum claim every four minutes between now and the end of the year if the prime minister’s pledge to clear the backlog is to be honoured, according to new data. Earlier this month the prime minister reiterated that the government would meet this target, although critics are sceptical this target will be achieved.
Rishi Sunak said ministers were “on track” to clear the current asylum backlog, which stood at 74,410 cases on 28 May according to government data, “entirely by the end of the year”.
To read the full article, click here
Kent County Council threatens government with judicial review – BBC News
Kent County Council (KCC) has called on all local authorities to receive “their fair share” of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC). Council leader Roger Gough said Kent had suffered “disproportionate strain” on its child services.
As a result, the authority has served a claim for judicial review asking the Home Secretary to direct councils other than Kent to receive more UASC.
To read the full article, click here
Mandate of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises – UNITED NATIONS
Dr. Pichamon Yeophantong, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group, wrote a letter to the EC President addressing the UK’s request to join the ‘Lugano Convention’. The EC had refused this request, claiming that it would adversely affect the right to effective judicial remedy for victims of UK business-related human rights abuses committed abroad. Dr. Yeophantong explains that the convention addresses the limitations imposed by the forum non-conveniens doctrine, allowing victims to initiate legal actions regarding corporate activities outside their home state without hindrance.
To read the correspondence, click here
CASE LAW
AAA and others v. The Secretary of State for the Home Department
Case Nos: CA-2023-000176; CA-2023-000180; CA-2023-000170; CA-2023-000172; CA 2023-000185; CA-2023-000193; CA-2023-000189
In the majority decision of the Court of Appeal concludes that the Rwanda plan is unlawful due to concerns over the country’s lack of safety. Essentially, the inability of Rwandan authorities to effectively differentiate between genuine and non-genuine refugees poses a significant risk of returning genuine refugees to their home countries where they could potentially be subjected to persecution.
To read the full decision, click here
Full hearing can be viewed here
Celik (EU exit; marriage; human rights) [2022] UKUT 00220 (IAC)
The Appellant was a relationship with a Romanian national in December 2019 and subsequently began cohabiting with them in or after February 2020. In October 2020, the Appellant applied for leave to remain under the EUSS, but the application was rejected due to the absence of a registration certificate, family permit, or residence card as a durable partner of an EEA national. No appeal was made against this refusal.
Post marriage, the Appellant applied for leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme as the spouse of an EEA national. However, the application was declined on June 23, 2021, on the grounds that insufficient evidence had been provided to establish the Appellant’s status as a family member (specifically, a durable partner) of a relevant EEA national prior to the specified date.
The appeal was heard in the First-tier Tribunal on December 22, 2021 where the appeal was dismissed. Permission to appeal was granted to appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
The Upper Tribunal determined that the principle of fairness could not aid the Appellant, as it does not empower a Judge to disregard the Withdrawal Agreement. Furthermore, the Upper Tribunal concurred with the Respondent’s submission that the Appellant cannot rely on EU legal principles, the Citizens’ Rights Directive, or the Charter of Fundamental Rights, except to the extent required by the Withdrawal Agreement.
Permission to appeal against the Upper Tribunal’s decision was granted and the Court of Appeal heard Cilek this week.
The Hearing on 4th July can be viewed here and on 5th July can be viewed here
HOME OFFICE GUIDANCE & POLICY DOCUMENT UPDATES
- Visit Visa caseworker guidance has been updated on 5th July 2023. To view the updated version, click here
- Ukraine Visa Schemes: visa data has been updated on 6th July 2023. To access the data, click here
- Policy paper Illegal Migration Bill: overarching documents has been updated on 5th July 2023. To download the Paper, click here
- Guidance Modern slavery victims: referral has been updated on 1st July 2023. To download the Guidance, click here
- Guidance Piloting devolving decision-making for child victims of modern slavery has been updated on 30th June 2023. To update the Guidance, click here
- Collection – Responses to reports by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has been updated on 29th June 2023. These include Response to a report on country of origin information: Iraq and Myanmar and Response to an inspection of operations to effect the removal of FNOs. To view the full archive of Collection, click here
- Thematic update on progress against the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations has been updated on 29th June 2023. To view the correspondence, click here
- Immigration Rules Appendix Youth Mobility Scheme has been updated on 29th June 2023. To view the updated Rules, click here
- Guidance- Introduction to the sponsorship management system: SMS guide 1 has been updated on 22nd June 2023. To access the Guidance, click here
