§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will give an undertaking that asylum seekers with relatives in the United Kingdom will not be removed to third world countries through which 139WA they may have passed before their cases are considered here.
§ Baroness BlatchThe Secretary of State for the Home Department has no present plans to change his policy, which is kept under review, in respect of the exercise of his discretion to consider substantively claims made by asylum seekers who have travelled here from a safe third country and who might otherwise be returned here.
The Secretary of State will normally decide to consider a case substantively if the applicant's spouse or unmarried minor child is in the United Kingdom, or, if the applicant is an unmarried minor child, the applicant's parent is in the United Kingdom. In addition, discretion is exercised according to the merits of individual cases where the applicant is a parent whose married minor is in the United Kingdom (or vice versa); the applicant is an elderly or otherwise dependent parent; or the family link is not one which would normally be considered but there is clear evidence that the applicant is wholly or mainly dependent on the relative in the United Kingdom and that there is an absence of similar support elsewhere.