We need a dose of reality in the debate about English Channel crossings
It's absurd that wave machines or volcanic islands would even be articulated as ideas, let alone the fact that ASYLUM APPLICATIONS HAVE FALLEN
Yes, there are fewer asylum seekers coming to the UK
Some useful figures from evidence to the Home Affairs Committee here
The number of asylum seekers arriving via small boats rose from 465 to 2,012 in the first 2 quarters of the year, but the number arriving by other routes dropped from 8,455 to 4,850
In a press briefing today, the National Crime Agency reiterated the fact that boats are being used more because of a fall in lorries coming via ferry and general air and sea traffic during coronavirus
They expect Channel crossings to fall as the weather worsens
It's not an invasion, it's not a crisis, it's not even a surprise
It's past time for the government to admit that publicly
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On appeals against being sent to Rwanda, the PM claimed: "The judiciary have made available 25 courtrooms and identified 150 judges who could provide over 5,000 sitting days"
A judicial spokesman said: "The deployment of judges is a matter for the judiciary..."
"...in line with new provisions in the Illegal Migration Act, the judiciary have identified a number of First Tier Tribunal judges who may be asked to sit in the Upper Tribunal to deal with any increase in appeals"
But decisions will be made by the Senior President of Tribunals
And take into "account the interests of justice and the need for all matters before the Tribunals to be handled quickly and efficiently"
Any decision on temporary deployment is for the judiciary, not the government, and there are already massive backlogs inews.co.uk/news/politics/…
Follow this thread for a fact-checked watch-along of prime minister Rishi Sunak's press conference on the Rwanda scheme
Wow he's going fast, I'll do my best
1. "We're going to deliver this indispensable deterrent so that we finally break the business model of the criminal gangs"
The Rwanda scheme required a rare ministerial direction because there is no evidence it will deter Channel crossings
2. "We've prepared for this moment to detain people while we prepare to remove them. We've increased detention spaces to 2,200 to quickly process claims"
By the end of December, 1,782 immigration detention centres were full, because they are needed for many other purposes
Exclusive: The Home Office has been quietly rolling out a multi-million IT system that was supposed to "automate" asylum, citizenship and visa cases
It's now causing chaos, with errors, bugs and delays leaving staff "sobbing" while applicants suffer inews.co.uk/news/politics/…
At least £71m has so far been spent on the Atlas digital caseworking system and spending is rising, with the Home Office admitting “significant resource is being put in place to resolve” issues
Some of the glitches have been classified as a P1 “critical” technical incidents
It has been causing delays to applications including British citizenship, skilled worker visas, asylum claims, EU settlement scheme and Homes for Ukraine, while slowing down immigration enforcement operations
Some cases get stuck, while civil servants get locked out of others
New: Official figures passed to the UK by the Rwandan government raise fresh issues about its capacity to process asylum seekers from the UK
It has decided just over 400 claims in 5 years, and refused three quarters of them inews.co.uk/news/politics/…
Between 2019 and the end of November a total of 421 asylum claims were decided, and only 113 (27%) were granted
The largest number of cases considered by Rwanda in a single year was 164, in 2023. During the same period, the UK made decisions on more than 112,000 asylum cases
Any limits on Rwanda's capacity will affect the number of migrants the UK can send
The treaty says transfers must be agreed in advance, "taking into account Rwanda’s capacity to receive them & all administrative and other needs" necessary to comply with assurances on treatment
🚨Breaking: The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has conducted a legal assessment of the UK government's new Rwanda treaty and bill - and concludes the scheme still violates international law🚨
The government has claimed it can "address the Supreme Court's concerns" - the ruling that the Rwanda scheme was unlawful- with treaty enhancing safeguards on treatment of asylum seekers plus training and capacity building in Rwanda
The UNHCR says it hasn't fixed systemic issues
UNHCR also criticises plan to let asylum seekers from the UK stay in Rwanda if they're given refugee status or not - one of the key measures aimed to tackle the risk that asylum seekers may be sent directly or indirectly to countries where they're at risk (refoulement)
Revealed: The UK has lost track of thousands of migrants by removing their asylum claims from the system
But the Home Office's reliance on posted letters is causing chaos, and it is already having to reverse decisions and put cases back into the backlog inews.co.uk/news/politics/…
The asylum withdrawal process was designed for people who no longer wanted to claim asylum, had left UK or were non-compliant
But the tactic has rocketed amid changes to make it faster and easier since Rishi Sunak’s backlog pledge, and is now being used against genuine refugees
Official stats aren't out but Home Office sources say most recent withdrawals were "implicit", meaning they were done without the consent of asylum seekers because of procedural rules
Reasons include not updating address, not attending interviews, not returning questionnaires