UKIAS: FUNDING OF REFUGEE UNIT (Hansard, 29 January 1992)

Viscount Astor

UKIAS currently receives grant-in-aid so that it may provide advice and representation before the immigration appellate authorities in cases where an application to enter or remain in the United Kingdom or a claim to asylum has been refused. We have a high regard for the service which UKIAS' staff50WA provide to their clients. We are not, however, satisfied with the manner in which UKIAS' General Council and Executive Committee oversee the service and we have repeatedly pressed them to make changes to conform with the standards expected of a body receiving grant-in-aid. In particular, we expect the organisation to become more broadly based, with a wider range of representation. We think that anybody who is paid by UKIAS or otherwise has a personal pecuniary interest in the provision of immigration advice should not be able to serve on the General Council or Executive Committee, and that the role of those committees should be restricted to general policy and senior staff appointments. We also expect UKIAS to account for the funds it receives by improving its corporate planning and performance measurement.

UKIAS has not so far accepted or implemented these changes. On 20th January we met the Executive Committee to discuss this. We gave notice that the current situation in UKIAS was such that the Government could not properly provide additional funds for the expansion of its refugee unit to meet the extra work created by the increase in asylum applications and the introduction of new rights of appeal in the Asylum Bill. The London representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, who attended the meeting and who hitherto has provided 75 per cent. of the refugee unit's funds, expressed similar concern. The refugee unit now needs to expand without further delay and, so that this can proceed, both the Government and the United Nations High Commission intend to transfer the funds for refugee work from UKIAS to a new body which will supervise the refugee unit temporarily. The transfer will take place as soon as the new body is established, we hope by the end of February 1992.

We also gave the Executive Committee notice that continued payment of the grant for general immigration work depended on its making the required changes within three months. If changes are made to meet the conditions we and the London representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees have set out, the grant for immigration work will continue and we will discuss the reattachment of the refugee unit to UKIAS. If, however, the necessary changes are not made, we have given notice that we shall feel bound to terminate the grant to UKIAS and fund a new organisation to provide these services.