HL Deb 02 February 2004 vol 656 cc83-4WA
Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why the Home Office is sending letters to some of the 15,000 heads of families who applied for asylum before 2 October 2000 advising them to withdraw their pending asylum claim, when they are not guaranteed indefinite leave to remain after consideration of their cases: and [HL720]

Why the Home Office is depriving the 15,000 families who applied for asylum before 2 October 2000 of the right to pursue their claims for full refugee status, when this would confer benefits on them additional to the status of indefinite leave to remain; and [HL721]

Whether an asylum claimant who applied before 2 October 2000 and who agrees to abandon his claim on the basis of advice from the Home Office or the Legal Services Commission would lose his entitlement to National Asylum Support Service support pending a decision on his eligibility for the concession announced by the Home Secretary on 24 October 2003; and, if so, whether they will write to all those who have already been advised to withdraw their claims warning them of financial disadvantages of doing so. [HL722]

The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal)

Families who appear eligible under the one-off exercise to grant indefinite leave to remain to families who applied for asylum before 2 October 2000 are being sent a questionnaire which includes a declaration they are invited to sign. The declaration saysI wish to withdraw my outstanding applications if I am granted Indefinite Leave to Enter or Remain in the United Kingdom.

Therefore, if an applicant chooses not to sign this declaration, or if having signed the declaration they are not in fact granted indefinite leave to enter or remain, then their asylum status will not be changed. The Government are not, therefore, depriving families of the opportunity to pursue asylum claims.

If the declaration is signed and the family is granted ILR, any outstanding asylum or human rights claim will be treated as withdrawn only once they have received ILR and the family will continue to be supported by National Asylum Support Service (NASS) until then.

Since applicants will not lose entitlement to support pending a decision on eligibility under the concession, the issue of writing a warning letter to applicants simply does not arise.

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