Ahead of Rishi Sunak’s update on the progress made in the six
months since he introduced the Illegal Migration Bill, Labour is
highlighting the Prime Minister’s actual record on tackling the
issue:
Overall:
Since made his December statement:
- 7,600 people have crossed the Channel this year alone:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1159868/30_May_2023_Small_boats_-_time_series.ods
- The total asylum backlog has ballooned to over 172,500, up
from 166,000 in December:
(All applicants)https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1156820/asylum-applications-awaiting-decision-datasets-mar-2023.xlsx
- The Prime Minister is on track to miss his target to
eliminate the pre-June 2022 backlog by December 2023, with less
than 20% of cases cleared so far this year – while the post-June
2022 backlog has grown even faster:
(IMB_02) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1160634/statistics-relating-to-the-illegal-migration-bill-data-tables-to-may-2023.ods
- Caseworker numbers have stalled, and fell
between January and May:
(IMB_06) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1160634/statistics-relating-to-the-illegal-migration-bill-data-tables-to-may-2023.ods
- Fewer than 1% of asylum claims from last year’s small boat
arrivals have been processed:
Irregular migration to
the UK, year ending March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- Only 0.1% of people the government has tried to return to
safe countries they travelled through have actually been returned
(23 out of approximately 24,000 who the government considered
“inadmissible”):
(Inadmissibility) How many people do we
grant protection to? - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- Hotel use has persisted and currently stands at 47,500,
despite the Prime Minister’s pledge to remove 10,000 people from
hotels immediately:
(IMB_03) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1160634/statistics-relating-to-the-illegal-migration-bill-data-tables-to-may-2023.ods
Specific:
-
says he has “signed the
largest ever small boats deal with France”, but it doesn’t
include returns. He completely failed to negotiate a returns
agreement or secure a deal to cover returns and legal routes.
The Tories voted against Labour’s proposal to negotiate such a
deal:
NC16, illegal_migration_rep_day_0426
(parliament.uk)
-
says he has “delivered a new
deal with Albania”, but it isn’t working to return Albanian
asylum seekers:
o Despite 12,000 Albanians arriving by small boat
last year, only 91 have even reached the point of having a
decision made on their case:
Irregular migration to the
UK, year ending March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
o The Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick admitted
small boat asylum applicants are not being returned and only a
few hundred people, mainly foreign national offenders rather than
asylum seekers, have been returned:
Immigration Minister
Robert Jenrick says 'hundreds' of migrants have been returned to
Albania under government's deal | News UK Video News | Sky
News
o Total enforced returns for all immigration types
are still lower than before the pandemic:
(IMB_05) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1160634/statistics-relating-to-the-illegal-migration-bill-data-tables-to-may-2023.ods
o The government voted against Labour’s plan to
fast-track asylum decisions for safe countries like Albania,
which would have allowed for small boat arrivals to be
returned:
NC10, illegal_migration_rep_rm_0424.pdf
(parliament.uk)
-
says he has “established a
new permanent Small Boats Operational Command with 700 new
staff”, but it isn’t stopping the gangs:
o The number of convictions for people smuggling are
down almost 40% on 2010:
Offence Code 78.2, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1158218/outcomes-by-offence-2022.xlsx
o The government has failed to back Labour’s plan for
a new elite cross-border police unit to tackle the gangs
upstream, and voted against removing suspected terrorists who
enter the country on small boats:
NC21 - illegal_migration_cwh_day_0328.pdf
(parliament.uk)
NC15 - illegal_migration_rep_day_0426
(parliament.uk)
-
says he has “increased
illegal working raids by 50%”:
o Total enforcement visits are still significantly
lower than pre-pandemic:
(IMB_04), https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1160634/statistics-relating-to-the-illegal-migration-bill-data-tables-to-may-2023.ods
o But the government is issuing around a third of the
illegal working penalties it issued in 2016 – down from 3,000 to
just 1,100
(CP_02) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1158618/IE_Q1_2023_Published.ods
-
says he has “secured the
passage of the Stop the Boats Bill through the House of
Commons, which goes further than any other previous immigration
bill to ensure that if you come here illegally, you will be
detained and swiftly removed.” But even the Home Office admits
the costs will double and even former Tory Home Secretaries
think it won’t work:
- Almost 4,500 people have arrived on small boats since the
Bill was introduced
- The government’s own estimates suggest the bill will cost
£6bn over the next two years - because more people will be in
asylum accommodation for even longer:
Illegal migrants plan
could cost £6bn over two years, say government projections -
BBC News
- The lack of significant return agreements with Europe mean
the policies won’t work. Of the 24,000 people the government
has tried to return to other safe countries under the
provisions of last year’s legislation, only 23 have been
returned.