§ Mr. GerrardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effects of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 on refusal rates for asylum seekers; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Charles WardleImplementation of the Act is being carefully monitored. The proportion of outright refusals of asylum applications has increased significantly since last July when the Act came into force. This is attributable not to the Act itself but to the accompanying change limiting the use of exceptional leave to cases where there are genuine humanitarian reasons for not enforcing removal.