The other week, the Home Secretary announced the ‘New Plan for Immigration’ – a welcome step, building on our earlier reforms, and which has the following three key objectives:
- To increase the fairness and efficacy of our system so that we can better protect and support those in genuine need of asylum;
- To deter illegal entry into the UK, thereby breaking the business model of criminal trafficking networks and protecting the lives of those they endanger;
- To remove more easily from the UK those with no right to be here.
This is an important announcement and one which seeks to deliver on the promises we made at the General Election. Now, there is a formal engagement and consultation process underway that will run for six weeks. The Home Secretary wants to hear a wide range of views and perspectives on the plans, and I would encourage people locally to take part, here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/new-plan-for-immigration. You will be able to provide views on our proposals for:
- Protecting those fleeing persecution, oppression and tyranny;
- Ending anomalies, and delivering fairness in British Nationality Law;
- Reforming the asylum system;
- Streamlining asylum claims and appeals;
- Supporting victims of modern slavery;
- Disrupting criminal networks behind people smuggling;
- Enforcing removals, including foreign national offenders.
This is a very welcome set of proposed changes – that deliver genuine fairness, ensure we do right by those who legitimately require asylum, whilst working to punish those who seek to capitalise on human misery through people smuggling, and ensuring foreign national offenders are swiftly deported. Common sense reforms that deliver on our promises.