§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why they have asked for responses by 17 November 2003 to the proposals for changes to the law on asylum, in the document New legislative proposals on asylum reform, issued on 27 October, when the Cabinet Office code of practice on written consultation, issued in November 2000, says (Criterion 5, page 16) that a minimum of 12 weeks should be allowed except in cases where there are "circumstances which unavoidably require a consultation period less than 12 weeks"; and why the document does not state "Ministers' reasons for departing from the code; and what special measures … have been taken to ensure that consultation is nevertheless as effective as possible", as further required by the code. [HL5295]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalAs my right honourable friend the Home Secretary first announced on 22 May this year, the Government are intending to introduce further legislative measures to 249WA address the specific problems of abusive appeals and undocumented applicants in the asylum system which continue to undermine the credibility of the system. As stated in the letter we sent to stakeholders, we consider that these are urgent measures and are therefore seeking to introduce them as soon as parliamentary time allows. While we are seeking the views of key stakeholders on the new provisions we believe that further reform is needed quickly if we are to capitalise on the success of our measures to date. Further dialogue is taking place with stakeholders on specific measures and a copy of the letter to stakeholders has been placed on the website of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate so that it is available to the public.