The Government must rule out any intention to detain, or forcibly
remove to Rwanda, asylum-seeking children, concludes a new report
published today by the Women and Equalities Committee on equality
and the UK asylum process.
The Committee raises concerns about the “unnecessary risks” to
vulnerable people presented by the Nationality and Borders Act,
the UK/Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership and
the Illegal Migration Bill. It describes the equality impact
assessment of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 as
“inadequate” because it fails to set out how the risks of unequal
effects will be mitigated. It says the potential harms of
detaining and removing asylum-seeking children to Rwanda
“outweigh” any risk to the deterrent effect intended by the
Government’s reforms.
The Committee also calls for an “urgent review” of safeguards for
vulnerable people in all types of asylum accommodation. This
includes existing contingency accommodation and the proposed use
of barges, which the Home Office announced earlier this year. The
Committee’s report describes the current housing of vulnerable
people – including single women, mothers, children and LGBT
people – in crowded temporary asylum accommodation as
“unacceptable”. The report calls for a needs-based risk
assessment of all accommodation facilities, including barges,
before any women, families, children or LGBT people at risk of
hate crime are housed alongside single men.
The Committee recommends that the Government monitor and reduce
the “unequal effects” of its asylum reforms, including on women
with histories of sexual and gender-based violence and abuse. The
report urges the Home Office to stop the “dangerous practice” of
moving pregnant women between asylum accommodation settings and
highlights that mothers and babies should only move after
receiving clinical advice and with the mother’s consent.
MPs also raise concerns on the low level of financial support
available to people seeking asylum. They note that while meeting
essential living costs is challenging for all groups, evidence
shows that women in the asylum system face specific difficulties
related to maternity care and period poverty. The report calls on
the Government to increase support to 70% of the standard rate of
Universal Credit available to over 25s and to consider a separate
higher rate for women, to help address period poverty.
Committee Chair, , said:
“This inquiry took place in the context of an asylum system under
immense strain, with increasing numbers of claims and a
staggering increase in the backlog of people waiting for a
decision on their case.
“We set out to understand the fairness of the UK asylum process,
looking specifically through the lens of the UK Equality Act at
the treatment of those with vulnerabilities arising from their
protected characteristics.
“We were disturbed by the Home Office’s inadequate management of
risks of harm to asylum seekers with protected characteristics,
including women, LGBT people, children and disabled people.
Alarmingly, these risks will increase under the Government’s
recent and planned reforms.
“One of our biggest concerns is the treatment of children within
the asylum system. Any intention to detain child asylum seekers
under the Illegal Migration Bill and forcibly remove them to
Rwanda must be abandoned. The risk of harm to children outweighs
any perceived damage to the effectiveness of the Government’s
policy agenda.”
Other key recommendations for the Government
include:
- Suspend notices of intent for removal to Rwanda and issue no
new notices until all legal challenges are complete.
- Publish official equality data on the protected
characteristics of those within the asylum system, including
those selected for removal to Rwanda and people detained,
including where they are detained and for how long.
- Establish a specialist team to handle claims by women with
histories of sexual and gender-based violence and introduce
independent expert advocates to support women.
- Improve equalities training for Home Office staff handling
claims and tribunal presenting officers.
- Increase funding for asylum legal aid to ensure adequate
specialist support for claimants with claims related to sexual
orientation, gender identity, sexual and gender-based violence
and religious belief.
- Improve the timeliness of its actions once a notice of appeal
has been served and when an outcome is known.
- Address potential barriers to accessing legal advice in
Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre, the main facility for
detention of women.
