Mr. GerardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the organisations and individuals who have made submissions to the 293W review of the detention of asylum seekers; and when he expects to (a) announce and (b) publish the findings of the review; [17419]
(2) what is the timetable for the inter-departmental review of the detention of asylum seekers. [17461]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienAt the beginning of September, I wrote to 12 non-governmental organisations inviting their comments on the major policy areas covered by the detention review. Submissions have been received from the following groups:
- United Nations High Commission for Refugees
- Amnesty International
- Immigration Advisory Service
- The Law Society
- The Refugee Council
- Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants
- Churches Commission for Racial Justice
- Refugee Legal Centre
- Charter 87
- Immigration Law Practitioners Association
A number of other bodies have put forward submissions on this issue, both before and during the review.
Consideration is now being given to the comments received. I expect to be able to announce the results in the new year.
Mr. GerardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what issues relating to asylum are currently under review; which Government Departments are involved; and what are the terms of reference of each review group. [17420]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienAll the issues relating to asylum are under review, especially the procedures for dealing with asylum claims and the means of supporting asylum seekers while their claims are being assessed. The Government Departments which have provided members of the study team are the Home Office; Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions; Department of Health; Department of Social Security; and the Cabinet Office. Departments represented on the Steering Group which is overseeing the study team's work, in addition to those already listed, are the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; the Lord Chancellor's Department; Department for Education and Employment; and Her Majesty's Treasury.
The terms of reference are: to carry out a scrutiny of the arrangements for dealing with and providing for asylum seekers to assess how these might be improved to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the arrangements taken as a whole, and to identify ways of minimizing costs across government with a view to containing those costs well within the total provision for asylum seekers in existing Departmental programmes. In particular:
to evaluate whether the existing allocation of responsibilities between Departments for processing and provision is the most conducive to efficient and cost-effective management and to recommend any options for improvement;to recommend other changes to structures, incentives and information flow to enhance the overall efficiency of systems of processing and provision;294Wto develop coasted proposals to reduce significantly both the time taken from the beginning to the end of the asylum process and the number of unfounded applications; andto make recommendations on the most cost effective arrangements for providing for asylum seekers throughout the process, taking account of the impact of those arrangements on the numbers of applicants for asylum and the likely take-up.We are also conducting internal reviews of detention policy and of the immigration and asylum appeals system.