A report said that one in three refugee women have been physically or verbally abused since they arrived in the United Kingdom, and do not feel safe enough to go out alone during the day.
Source: Hildegard Dumper, 'Is it Safe Here?' Refugee Women s Experiences in the UK, Refugee Action (020 7654 7700)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2002-Dec
A think-tank pamphlet argued for a zero net immigration policy. It said that immigration at current levels 'imports poverty, increases social tensions, crime, public health problems such as TB and HIV, and creates parallel communities'.
Source: Anthony Browne, Do We Need Mass Immigration?, Civitas (020 7401 5470)
Links: Summary | Press release
Date: 2002-Dec
It was announced that the Sangatte Red Cross Centre near Calais (France) would close completely on 30 December 2002, four months earlier than previously planned. The government said that thousands of illegal immigrants would no longer be able to use Sangatte as a staging post on their way to the United Kingdom. About 1,200 Iraqi and Afghan migrants will come into Britain on four-year work permits when the centre closes.
Source: Press release 2.12.02, Home Office (0870 000 1585) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 2.12.02, columns 611-625, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Press release | Hansard | Guardian report
Date: 2002-Dec
A report attempted to give a measure of the involvement of refugee community organisations in the settlement of refugees in the United Kingdom.
Source: Maknun Gameledin-Ashami, Libby Cooper and Barry Knight, Refugee Settlement: Can Communities Cope?, Charities Evaluation Services (020 7713 5722)
Links: None
Date: 2002-Dec
New, flexible penalties for hauliers and other carriers who bring clandestine illegal immigrants into the country came into force on 7 December 2002. Variable penalties will in future reflect, among other factors, the degree of care that hauliers, drivers and other carriers are deemed to have taken to prevent illegal immigrants from hiding in their transporters.
Source: Press release 6.12.02, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Press release
Date: 2002-Dec
A research report examined the training and employment experiences of refugees who are eligible to work. In particular, it looked at the levels of education, skills and work experience people brought with them to Britain, their experiences of training, education and employment in Britain and their barriers to work. Many refugees working in Britain were found to have less skilled jobs than those they left behind in their home countries
Source: Alice Bloch, Refugees' Opportunities and Barriers in Employment and Training, Research Report 179, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2002-Dec
A report said that refugee women with professional qualifications as teachers, nurses and doctors are being denied the chance to work in Britain despite acute shortages of their skills.
Source: Hildegard Dumper, Missed Opportunities: A skills audit of refugee women in London from the teaching, nursing and medical professions, Greater London Authority (020 7983 4000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Press release
Date: 2002-Dec
The government welcomed an adjudication decision in the case of the Ahmadi family (confirming that the family should be returned to Germany for consideration of their asylum claim). It said: 'It cannot be right to allow people to use political asylum to shop around for the best deal in benefits or the most attractive place to settle or find a job'. (The Ahmadis were a Muslim family who fled persecution and torture by the Taliban in Afghanistan.)
Source: Press release 24.12.02, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Press release
Date: 2002-Dec
A report outlined existing knowledge on the economics of migration, and summarised the results from several recent studies commissioned by government departments. One study presented a range of key descriptive analyses relating to migrants in the United Kingdom. Two other studies examined the labour market outcomes and impact of migrants. The government commented that: 'The research published today shows that it is simply not true that migrants 'take the jobs' of the existing work force. It confirms that migrants can add to our economy, expand businesses and create success, jobs and opportunities for us all'.
Source: Jeremy Kempton, Migrants in the UK: Their characteristics and labour market outcomes and impacts, Occasional Paper 82, Home Office (020 7273 2084) | Press release 10.12.02, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report (pdf) | Press release
Date: 2002-Dec
A leaked document reportedly revealed that the government had dropped plans for a dedicated grant that would have allowed local education authorities to deal with unexpected influxes of children of refugee and asylum-seeking families.
Source: The Guardian, 7.12.02
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2002-Dec
The government announced tough new rules on the support given to asylum claimants. From 8 January 2003, most single people and childless couples will receive no support - no food, cash or accommodation - unless they claim asylum as soon as they arrive at a United Kingdom port.
Source: Press release 28.11.02, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Press release
Date: 2002-Nov
The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill received Royal Assent. The government said the new law is designed to speed up the asylum process; reform immigration controls to exclude those who are an immigration or security risk, while allowing others to pass through quickly; tackle abuse and fraud, people trafficking and illegal working; and update nationality law. The Conservative Party dropped its opposition to accommodation centres in rural areas (and its support for a series of Lords amendments) in return for a scheme for monitoring their suitability.
Source: Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Act | Home Office press release | Hansard (Lords amendments)
Date: 2002-Nov
The government announced that it will be made easier for newly wed recent immigrants who leave a relationship because of domestic violence to stay in the United Kingdom.
Source: Press release 26.11.02, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Press release
Date: 2002-Nov
The government said that (following opposition) it is considering a smaller-scale accommodation centre to house single men as part of its trial of asylum seeker accommodation centres; that it has dropped plans for one site; and that it is continuing to discuss with the Refugee Council their proposal for a 'core and cluster' accommodation model.
Source: Press release 5.11.02, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Press release
Date: 2002-Nov
A report by a House of Lords committee said that the government needs to adopt an integrated approach to legal and illegal immigration.
Source: A Common Policy on Illegal Immigration, Thirty-seventh Report 2001-02, HL 187, House of Lords European Union Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2002-Nov
Applications for asylum in July-September 2002 were 11 per cent higher than the previous quarter (20,400), 20 per cent higher than the same quarter in 2001, and the highest quarterly level on record. The government responded by announcing that 'exceptional leave to remain' is to be replaced by a new status of 'humanitarian protection' for those who have protection needs but who are not covered by the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Source: Asylum Statistics: 3rd Quarter 2002 - United Kingdom, Home Office (020 7273 2084) | Press release 29.11.02, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report (pdf) | Press release | Guardian report
Date: 2002-Nov
A joint report by MPs and peers recommended that government amendments to its own Bill on immigration and asylum should be altered to protect rights to freedom from inhuman or degrading treatment, to liberty, to respect for private and family life, to adequate housing, food and clothing, and to appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance for children seeking asylum.
Source: Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill: Further Report, Twenty-third Report 2001-02, HL 176 and HC 1255, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2002-Oct
The government announced new measures against 'abuse' of the asylum system, including: introducing a list of countries from which asylum claims will be presumed to be unfounded; ending the presumption of support for those who apply for asylum in this country, outside of airports or ports, unless they meet certain tests; and ending the routine granting of exceptional leave to remain in respect of particular countries. Shelter said the proposals were a recipe for increasing homelessness among refugees.
Source: Press release 7.10.02, Home Office (0870 000 1585) | Press release 9.10.02, Shelter (020 7505 4699)
Links: HO press release | Shelter press release
Date: 2002-Oct
A report said that government plans to introduce accommodation centres would further undermine the rights of asylum seekers, because of the lack of expert legal advice that would be available in the centres.
Source: Asylum City, Asylum Coalition, available from Refugee Council (020 7820 3042)
Links: Report (pdf) | Refugee Council press release
Date: 2002-Oct
A report set out 50 key actions aimed at promoting the successful integration of refugees in Scotland and the provision of more accessible, co-ordinated and good quality services.
Source: Draft Action Plan, Scottish Refugee Integration Forum, TSO (0870 606 5566)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2002-Oct
The Law Lords ruled that it is lawful for asylum seekers to be held in fast-track detention centres while their applications are determined.
Source: R. v. Secretary of State For The Home Department Ex Parte Saadi (Fc) and Others (Fc), UKHL 41, House of Lords Judicial Office (020 7219 3111)
Links: Judgement
Date: 2002-Oct
The House of Lords voted to defeat a late government amendment granting ministers 'Henry VIII' powers to amend any part of the Nationality, Asylum and Immigration Bill without a full debate in Parliament, through secondary legislation.
Source: The Independent, 1.11.02
Links: Article
Date: 2002-Oct
A report from the British Medical Association said that the health of asylum seekers may actually get worse after entry to the United Kingdom.
Source: Asylum Seekers: Meeting their Healthcare Needs, British Medical Association (020 7387 4499)
Links: Report (pdf) | Press release page
Date: 2002-Oct
A Liberal Democrat MP called for a single 'European Refugee Authority', designed to manage the numbers of asylum seekers entering each European Union country and to ensure that each country takes a 'fair and proportional percentage of genuine applicants'.
Source: Simon Hughes MP, Who Goes Where? Asylum - opportunity not crisis, Centre for Reform (020 7222 5121)
Links: CFR homepage
Date: 2002-Oct
The Community Fund decided to award a grant of 336,261 to the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns, subject to additional conditions being met regarding its campaigning activities. The grant was frozen in August following concerns raised by ministers and criticism in tabloid newspapers. Members of the Fund's Board reportedly threatened mass resignation over government 'meddling'.
Source: Press release 22.10.02, Community Fund (020 7747 5300) | The Observer, 13.10.02
Links: No link
Date: 2002-Oct
A paper argued that the social and economic costs of large-scale immigration have been seriously underestimated. (MigrationwatchUK is a new campaigning group which holds that 'many of the arguments adduced in favour of the current large-scale immigration are unsound either in fact or in economics, or both'.)
Source: Migrants - Do They Bring Economic Benefit?, Bulletin 8, MigrationwatchUK (01869 337007)
Links: Paper (pdf) | Press release
Date: 2002-Oct
A study examined whether research synthesis can help in formulating policy on refugee integration. (Research synthesis aims to assemble evidence about the benefits and harms of a variety of medical and social interventions using explicit, scientifically defensible methods.)
Source: Yongmi Schibel, Mina Fazel, Reive Robb and Paul Garner, Refugee Integration: Can Research Synthesis Inform Policy?, On-line Report 13/02, Home Office (web publication only)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2002-Oct
Asylum seekers are sometimes being left destitute for weeks and months as a result of the government s continuing failure to deal with serious and systemic problems with the National Asylum Support Service, according to a report.
Source: Distant Voices, National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (020 7833 2181)
Links: Report (Word file) | Press release
Date: 2002-Oct
The number of people granted settlement in the United Kingdom in 2001 fell by 15 per cent compared to 2000, to 106,820. This was mainly due to a fall in asylum-related settlement.
Source: Eleni Mallourides and Gill Turner, Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom, 2001, Statistical Bulletin 11/02, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Bulletin (pdf)
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/2, Digest 122, paragraph 8.3
Date: 2002-Sep
The government reportedly admitted that its target of removing 30,000 failed asylum seekers every year is unachievable and has been dropped.
Source: The Independent, 19.9.02
Links: Independent article
Date: 2002-Sep
Researchers examined the numbers and social characteristics of disabled refugees and asylum-seekers, together with their experiences and those of service providers. Unmet personal care needs, unsuitable housing and a lack of aids and equipment were found to be common.
Source: Keri Roberts and Jennifer Harris, Disabled People in Refugee and Asylum Seeking Communities, Policy Press for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: JRF Findings 962
Date: 2002-Sep
The government decided to contest the refusal of two local authorities to give planning permission for new accommodation centres for asylum-seekers in rural areas. It is expected that construction of the centres will be delayed by a year.
Source: Press release 2.8.02, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Home Office press release
Date: 2002-Aug
A report said that immigration to the United Kingdom had reached a rate equivalent to 2 million every decade. The figures were reportedly dismissed by the government and by refugee groups.
Source: Bulletin 7, MigrationwatchUK (01869 337007) | The Guardian, 6 August 2002
Links: Migrationwatch news page | Guardian report
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/3, Digest 123, paragraph 8.3
Date: 2002-Aug
The Community Fund agreed to conduct a 'thorough review' of the work of the National Coalition of Anti Deportation Campaigns (to which the Fund had agreed to award a grant), following expressions of concern by the tabloid press and the government. Opposition MPs criticised the government for 'kowtowing to conservative opinion on asylum and immigration'.
Source: Press release 16.8.02, Community Fund (020 7747 5300)
Links: Guardian report | Independent article
Date: 2002-Aug
Applications for asylum in the United Kingdom in the second quarter of 2002 were four per cent higher than in the previous quarter, and at the highest level since the last quarter of 2000.
Source: Asylum Statistics: 2nd Quarter 2002 United Kingdom, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Report (pdf) | Home Office press release
Date: 2002-Aug
Afghan asylum seekers who want to go home will be able to apply for a voluntary assisted return package ( 600 for single people and up to 2,500 for families), the government announced.
Source: Press release 20.8.02, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Home Office press release
Date: 2002-Aug
A report revealed that asylum seekers are suffering from 'unacceptable' levels of poverty and hardship, based on findings from 40 organisations that work directly with asylum seekers.
Source: Jan Penrose, Poverty and Asylum in the UK, Refugee Council (020 7820 3042) and Oxfam
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2002-Jul
The British and French governments reached an agreement on the closure of the Sangatte Red Cross Centre in northern France, by early 2003 at the latest.
Source: Press release 12.7.02, Home Office (020 7273 4000)
Links: Home Office press release
Date: 2002-Jul
Applications for asylum excluding dependants fell by 11 per cent in 2001, to 71,365.
Source: Tina Heath and Rachel Hill, Asylum Statistics: United Kingdom 2001, Statistical Bulletin 9/02, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Statistical Bulletin (pdf)
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/4, Digest 124, paragraph 8.2
Date: 2002-Jul
A study of decision-making by asylum seekers found little evidence that they have detailed knowledge of United Kingdom immigration or asylum procedures, entitlements to benefits in the UK, or the availability of work in the UK.
Source: Vaughan Robinson and Jeremy Segrott, Understanding the Decision-Making of Asylum Seekers, Research Study 243, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Study (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2002-Jul
The High Court ordered the Home Secretary to reconsider his decision to refuse milk tokens to an asylum seeker mother with HIV.
Source: Press release 29.7.02, Child Poverty Action Group (020 7837 7979)
Links: Press release
Date: 2002-Jul
A study looked at the practice of imprisoning asylum seekers (the study was commissioned in 2001 at a time when a growing number of immigration detainees were held in prisons in England and Wales - a practice subsequently discontinued).
Source: Jane Shackman, Criminal Treatment: The Imprisonment of Asylum Seekers, Prison Reform Trust (020 7251 5070)
Links: PRT publications page
Date: 2002-Jul
The government ended a concession allowing asylum seekers to work if they have not had an initial decision within six months, claiming faster processing of claims rendered it obsolete.
Source: Press release 23.7.02, Home Office (020 7273 4000)
Links: Home Office press release
Date: 2002-Jul
An evaluation of the voluntary assisted returns programme found that it is generally succeeding in its objectives. (The programme helps asylum seekers
who want to return to their home country by providing advice, travel documents, transport arrangements and help once people arrive home.)
Source: Deloitte and Touche, The Voluntary Assisted Returns Programme: An Evaluation, Findings 175, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Findings (pdf)
Date: 2002-Jul
A study examined how information about countries of asylum is disseminated to potential asylum seekers before they arrive in their destination country.
Source: Khalid Koser and Charles Pinkerton, The Social Networks of Asylum Seekers and the Dissemination of Information about Countries of Asylum, Findings 165, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Findings (pdf)
Date: 2002-Jul
A Bill to tighten immigration and asylum procedures was given a third reading.
Source: Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Bill (pdf)
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/4, Digest 124 (paragraph 8.3)
Date: 2002-Jun
An updated study examined the benefits that refugees bring to the United Kingdom.
Source: Credit to the Nation: Refugee Contributions to the United Kingdom, Refugee Council (020 7820 3042)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2002-Jun
The Refugee Council proposed a pilot community-based accommodation process for asylum seekers, based on a linked network of small to medium sized hostels or centres.
Source: Asylum Seeker Accommodation Process, Refugee Council (020 7820 3042)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2002-Jun
A report highlighted the problems faced by refugee children in England.
Source: A Case for Change: How Refugee Children in England are Missing out, Refugee Council (020 7820 3042), Children's Society and Save the Children
Links: Report (pdf)
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/2, Digest 122 (paragraph 8.2)
Date: 2002-Jun
A Parliamentary Committee on human rights expressed serious concern over the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill.
Source: Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill, Seventeenth Report (Session 2001-02), HL 132 and HC 961, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/4, Digest 124 (paragraph 8.3)
Date: 2002-Jun
The United Kingdom government published proposals for a common European policy on asylum and migration.
Source: Press release 12.6.02, Home Office (020 7273 4000)
Links: Home Office press release
Date: 2002-Jun
The government promised new safeguards over its plans to educate refugee children outside mainstream schools, including a promise that all children will have their education needs assessed after six months.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Debate 11.6.02, columns 728-838, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard
Date: 2002-Jun
The government began consultation on plans to allow an increase in immigration by temporary workers.
Source: Press release 29.5.02, Home Office (020 7273 4000)
Links: Home Office press release
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/3, Digest 123 (paragraph 8.3)
Date: 2002-May
Government plans to 'fast track' asylum deportations in certain cases with no right of appeal were heavily criticised by campaign groups.
Sources: Press release 30.5.02, Home Office (020 7273 4000) | Press release 1.6.05, Immigration Advisory Service (020 7357 6917)
Links: Home Office press release
Date: 2002-May
The government announced the first three trial sites for asylum accommodation centres. Campaigners expressed fears about the isolation of asylum seekers in the centres, and plans to educate their children outside mainstream schools.
Sources: Press release 14.5.02, Home Office (020 7273 4000) | Press release 14.5.02, Refugee Council (020 7820 3000)
Links: Home Office press release | Refugee Council press release
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/2, Digest 122 (paragraph 8.2)
Date: 2002-May