Shabana Mahmood has set out a major overhaul of the migration system today which could prompt a fresh revolt among Labour MPs.
The Home Secretary has taken inspiration from Denmark, where the country’s left-leaning government has had success with more a hardline approach in recent years.
The reforms will mean stricter rules for those seeking asylum in the UK and their entitlements while living here.
Mahmood has promised a “compassionate but controlled” crackdown which reflects “Labour values”, warning MPs that failing to tackle the issue will open the door further to both Reform and the Green party.
But there are reportedly many Labour MPs uncomfortable with Mahmood’s approach which has also faced stinging criticised from charities.
Here The i Paper looks at what the main changes will be.
Lawbreakers thrown out of accommodation
Some asylum seekers have been worried about protests outside their hotels (Photo: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu via Getty)Asylum seekers who break the law will be thrown out of their Government-funded accommodation, Mahmood has said.
The current legislation around support for asylum seekers dates back to 2005 and was brought in as a result of an EU directive.
Labour says it now wants to make use of Brexit by repealing these laws and reverting back to a tougher stance which will make support more conditional.
Instances of asylum seekers committing criminal offences has prompted outrage in several communities around the country.
Hadush Kebatu was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, Essex, days after he arrived in the UK via a small boat last summer.
His arrest led to a wave of demonstrations outside The Bell Hotel in the town, where hundreds of other asylum seekers were living at the time.
Police outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, in August (Photo: Lucy North/PA)In January, Deng Majek was jailed for life for stabbing Rhiannon Whyte to death with a screwdriver near a railway station in Walsall.
He had been staying at the nearby Park Inn Hotel where Whyte was working.
Mahmood says that asylum seekers who commit crime or work illegally will lose their accommodation and cash aid.
End payments to asylum seekers who can support themselves
Asylum seekers are currently entitled to £49.18 per week, the equivalent of £7 per day, to support themselves while they await a decision on their claim to stay in the UK.
This is loaded onto a debit card which can be used at a cash machine.
If asylum seekers are staying in hotels which provide meals, they are entitled to £9.95 per person in their household instead.
The Government provides extra money for pregnant mothers and those with children under the age of three.
Labour claims that there are asylum seekers who should not be claiming this money because they are able to financially support themselves.
The Government says it will now ask asylum seekers to declare their financial assets and those who can support themselves will be denied any state cash.
Stopping people from some countries applying for study visas
The Government will stop issuing study visas to some countries due to concerns that the system is being abused.
No more visas will be issued to people from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan starting this month, Mahmood said.
Sailors on board a French rescue vessel hand out life jackets to a people on a migrant dinghy in Gravelines, France (Photo: Carl Court/Getty)These are the four countries from which people are most likely to claim asylum once their study visa expires.
An increasing number of people are coming to the UK via legal routes to study – and then declaring they need to claim asylum once their visa expires.
This means they are claiming it is unsafe for them to return home.
The Government says that this is dishonest and that people coming to the UK to study should be a separate route to those who claim to be refugees.
Max Wilkinson, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said it was “right to say student visas are for students and asylum routes are for refugees”.
“The problem is there are still no controlled, safe routes for refugees to reach the UK and no meaningful returns agreements with other countries for those whose claims are rejected,” Wilkinson said.
Payments for failed asylum seekers to leave UK
The Government also wants to make it easier to remove people who have no right to stay in the UK.
A pilot scheme will offer families who have put in a claim for asylum but failed offered payments of £10,000 per person, up to a maximum of £40,000, to leave voluntarily.
The money is likely to be given in the form of prepaid debit cards which can be used in their home country. They will also be given free flights to get there.
Mahmood claims a similar policy has shown “great success” in Denmark.
These incentives will bring a “significant saving” to the taxpayer if they prove effective, she said.
She added: “Where a voluntary removal is refused, we will escalate to an enforced removal for those who can be returned to their safe home country.”
Making refugee status temporary rather than permanent
The right to permanent asylum in the UK has also been scrapped as a result of Mahmood’s overhaul.
Instead, asylum seeker status will be temporary and reviewed every 30 months.
If, during this time, a person’s country is deemed safe, they will be sent back, Labour says.
The only exemption to this will be children who arrive unaccompanied by an adult.
Refugees will also have to “earn” their settlement rights by working and contributing to society.
Migrants will have to wait up to 20 years before they can apply to settle – or up to 30 if they arrived illegally.
Mahmood said: “Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution. But taxpayers cannot be expected to fund the lives of those who exploit the system or break our laws.
“Asylum support and accommodation will be conditional, reserved only to those who play by our rules.”
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