Clause 39 - Choice of form of support
Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill
12:00 pm
Mr Richard Allan (Sheffield, Hallam, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendment No. 217, in page 20, line 41, after 'subsection', insert
'and refused without reasonable excuse'.
During debates on the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, we discussed how the Secretary of State's support system takes the individual circumstances of asylum seekers into account. Concerns remain about whether the individual can advance reasonable arguments to show why one support arrangement is more suitable than another.
The clause provides only one option. The Secretary of State will make an offer and any individual who refuses it will have no recourse to an alternative—or, rather, the Secretary of State has no duty to take account of that. The amendment is designed to allow an individual to provide reasonable grounds for failing to accept proposed accommodation. In those circumstances, the Secretary of State would have a duty to make a second offer.
We are worried about the family and social circumstances of individuals who have suffered persecution in their home country. They might have specific social requirements that would militate against dispersal. If an individual has been tortured or suffered persecution, those requirements should be advanced at an early stage of the process of applying for support, and the decision takers should take it into account. Some individuals might slip through the net and be offered support that is inappropriate in view of their particular social needs. At that stage, will they be able to advance reasonable grounds for not accepting a decision?