Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill
4:30 pm
Mr Humfrey Malins (Woking, Conservative)
I appreciate the hon. Gentleman's expertise on the matter. When the last Conservative Government left office there were about 40,000 asylum applications a year, and a bilateral agreement with France was in force, whereby illegal entrants were sent back within 24 hours.
The thrust of the hon. Gentleman's remarks has real merit, because for many years we have faced difficulties in producing an asylum system that has the twin qualities of humanity, which is essential, and efficiency. During the course of the slimmed-down debates in the next week or two, I hope that we make some progress towards a system that works. I accept the spirit of what he said in respect of successive Governments, although I draw attention to some successes of the last Conservative Government.
The House, and outsiders, should be aware that the Home Secretary himself described the system as ''in chaos'' when he took over from his predecessor. There are tremendous strains and stresses and some unfairnesses in the system. It is unfair to ask the Committee to consider what the Government regard as a flagship Bill in the time available. We shall make our points in Committee as best we can. As hon. Members will know, we did not vote against the Bill the other night. We believe that it has good points, although certain aspects must be improved. When we reach the discussion on accommodation centres, in particular, we shall press very hard for changes, and we shall need time to discuss our proposals.
In addition, the time between application and decision, and decision and conclusion of appeal, is far too long. There are many important reasons for that, but a principal one is that the longer one is allowed to remain in a country, the more likely one is to put down roots. It therefore becomes harder, and in a sense more unfair, to tell someone at the end of the day that they must go. Justice delayed is justice denied. That phrase has often been used before, but it is very relevant to asylum proceedings.
We shall argue our case on accommodation centres, and I hope that the Government will listen. Our view is that the centres should provide a one-stop shop. Applicants should spend a short time in the centre, with the fullest possible legal and medical advice available on the spot. Immigration and Home Office officials should reach decisions within a week or two, and appeals should be concluded within a few weeks.
It is nonsensical to have the adjudicators miles away, when by being on site they could provide a one-stop shop. Instead of putting 6,000 asylum applicants through an accommodation centre in a year, they could put the same number through more quickly. I say that just to show that we shall need time to debate the issue.
For all those reasons, I oppose the motion.