Month: September 2023

These are direct attacks by Home Secretary – Suella Braverman on the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights are not in our name:

26 September 2023: Guardian: UN rebukes Suella Braverman over her attack on refugee convention

UNHCR defends 1951 convention after UK home secretary’s speech on ‘uncontrolled and illegal migration’

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/sep/26/un-suella-braverman-refugee-convention-unhcr-migration

Guardian: Braverman to ask world leaders to make refugee rules ‘fit for the modern age’

Home secretary’s address in Washington will urge reform of UN convention and has already prompted concern from charities

Suella Braverman will appeal on Tuesday to world leaders and political thinkers to consider rewriting key refugee rules so they are “fit for the modern age”.

In a move to alter an agreement that undermined UK plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, the home secretary will argue that the United Nations 1951 refugee convention must be reformed to tackle a worldwide migration crisis.

18 September 2023: Public Law Project: LORD CHANCELLOR FACES LEGAL CHALLENGE OVER LEGAL AID CRISIS

Public Law Project has taken the first step in bringing legal proceedings against the Lord Chancellor, Alex Chalk KC, arguing that he is in breach of his constitutional duty to make legal aid available for immigration and asylum issues.  

Explore our report written with Haringey Migrant Support Centre: ‘An Ocean of Unmet Need’

In a pre-action letter for judicial review, PLP claims that access to legal aid for immigration and asylum is now so poor that many people are being denied access to justice, which it is the Lord Chancellor’s duty to uphold.

People are tragically dying and being seriously injured because their e-scooter battery has exploded, or they are trapped by this fire and are trying to get away.

People in asylum accommodation may not come across the warnings that are being sent out to help us all understand the risks. The batteries can explode when they are being charged – here are some safety points from the fire service.

Can we get this to as many people as possible, including those in hotels: https://www.manchesterfire.gov.uk/your-safety/fire-safety/house-maisonette-or-bungalow/electrical/e-bikes-and-e-scooters/

Thank you

Key messages:

Money talks! 12 September 2023: Politics Home: £121m in Dividends to Shareholders of Companies Running Asylum Accommodation

Private companies contracted to run Government-funded accommodation for asylum seekers in the UK have collectively paid £121m in dividends to shareholders since securing the most recent contracts in 2019, according to research by PoliticsHome.

Mears, Serco and Clearsprings, the three firms that have been awarded contracts to run the vast majority of the UK’s asylum seeker accommodation, also posted a collective profit of well over £800m in that time.  Since 2019, Clearsprings Ready Homes Ltd has posted profits of £42.7m and paid £37.9m in dividends, according to Companies House filings. Clearsprings housing stock is mostly used for asylum seeker accommodation, but they also provide private rented accommodation as well as non-convention rentals, such as homes for ex-convicts. 

Mears, a social housing provider, has recorded net profits of £89,800,000 from a combination of conventional rentals and asylum seeker accommodation. The company won the contract to provide asylum seeker accommodation in the North East and Yorkshire, Scotland and Northern Ireland in 2019 and has paid £26.27m in dividends to its shareholders in that time.  While Serco has posted profits of £729.6m since 2019, the firm runs a wide array of other services meaning profit from housing asylum seekers only accounts for a fraction of this income. It also paid £56.8m in shareholder dividends.

Read more: Politics-Home, https://tinyurl.com/mrx5zz9f

[Just a reminder that it is within international law to seek asylum]

12 September 2023: From :Home Office and The Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP: New Illegal Migration Act measures and age dispute assessment tests

Next steps set out for delivery of new laws to stop the boats.

A series of measures to strengthen the immigration system and prevent abuse are being introduced to Parliament this week, marking the next step in the delivery of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 and our plan to stop the boats.

Legislation signed on 11 September includes changes to strengthen the asylum decision making process to clamp down on abuse of the system. This will see updated criteria for caseworkers assessing credibility of claims by explicitly setting out that factors such as the destruction of, or failure to produce an identity document, as well as refusal to disclose information required to access an electronic device like a phone passcode when asked, should be considered when assessing claims.

This came via signatories GWAD, and Payday Men’s Network:

Dear friends

Migrants’ movements in Canada are organising to demand regularization of undocumented migrants’ status on and around 17th September. Please find their call for action below.

Without immigration status, asylum seekers and other undocumented migrants are left destitute, deprived of basic rights, health care, decent housing and other resources. Women are particularly disadvantaged as the primary carers for children and other loved ones and live with the fear of their children being taken by the State.

We hope you can join in these actions that would strengthen migrants everywhere.