Immigration (Hansard, 18 March 2002)

§ Lord Rooker

As my noble and learned friend Lord Falconer of Thoroton said, the answer to this question is largely a matter for speculation. We know that Britain is perceived as a stable and attractive place in which to live. This view arises partly because of our buoyant and successful economy, and the employment opportunities it has brought, but also because of the universality of the English language and global communication that mean that millions of people hear about the United Kingdom and aspire to come here.

However the perception that we receive a disproportionate number of illegal immigrants is not entirely accurate. The United Kingdom ranks 10th out of 16 European countries in 2001 for applications as a percentage of population. None the less we are also doing all we can at a European level to create a level playing field. In many ways the laws governing the treatment of asylum seekers in France and other European Union countries are not dissimilar to those currently in force in the United Kingdom. However, some real and perceived differences do exist, which may in some cases influence where an asylum seeker chooses to lodge a claim. This is one of the reasons why France and the United Kingdom, along with other European Union countries, are in the process of agreeing a range of measures governing the treatment of asylum seekers in order to achieve a higher degree of harmonisation across the European Union. These measures will include procedures setting out how an asylum seeker is treated on arrival in a European country, a uniform criteria on who exactly qualifies for refugee status and what rights and benefits they are entitled to during and after consideration of their asylum application. Such harmonisation is expected to greatly reduce unwarranted movements of asylum seekers between European countries.

As well as working with our European partners we are also determined to clamp down on the abuse of the current system while continuing to meet our international obligations. The White Paper Secure Borders, Safe Haven: Integration with Diversity in Modern Britain sets out the key challenges in nationality, immigration and asylum policy and the measures we have taken and are taking to produce a coherent strategy. We are determined to reform the asylum system based on the principle that we should have a humanitarian process which honours our obligations to those fleeing persecution while deterring those who have no right to asylum from travelling here.