Advocacy Update – 15th November 2024Our fortnightly summary of advocacy and campaigning initiatives, new research, government developments and useful resources from across the asylum, refugee and migration sector. Contact us if you’d like to discuss anything in this bulletin. |
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Lift the Ban Lift the Ban campaigners with lived experience of the ban met this week for an interactive session to co-create a moment of action for the campaign. We hope this will take the voices of people affected by the ban to decision makers in the New Year and be shared by thousands of supporters online. If you or your group would be interested in sharing ideas for and shaping the moment of action, it’s not too late to get involved, please do get in touch. Communities Not Camps A former resident of the Bibby Stockholm has said he ‘hopes he’ll recover’ after leaving the facility, alongside fellow residents as the barge is decommissioned. Meanwhile, it is reported that the Government may seek to expand the number of people placed in the camp at ex MDP Wethersfield from around 560 to 800 people, despite ongoing concerns about conditions there, and in particular the site’s impact on mental health. The National Audit Office has released its highly critical report into the Home Office’s expensive acquisition of the former Northeye training centre and prison in Bexhill-on-Sea. The site, acquired for £15.3 million in November 2023, was earmarked for use as a detention facility, despite being reviewed as “high risk” due to its condition including dangerous asbestos contamination. According to the Government website ‘no final decision’ has yet been made on its use. Fight the anti-refugee laws The UK Home Office is recruiting a new leader to fast-track deportations of asylum seekers who have exhausted their appeal rights, and visa overstayers. This role is central to the Labour government’s strategy to address the small boat arrivals and overhaul the asylum system. For more details, read the full article here. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is poised to finalise a deal with Balkan countries to combat smuggling operations that facilitate unauthorised entry into the UK. This agreement aims to tackle human trafficking networks by enhancing intelligence sharing and law enforcement collaboration with Balkan authorities, with hopes of reducing the flow of illicit migration routes. For more details, read the full article here. A new report has highlighted how the UK asylum system can retraumatise women who are fleeing sexual violence and seeking refuge. According to the findings, many women face inadequate support within the system, which lacks trauma-informed care and prolongs the asylum process. This environment can worsen their mental health struggles and reinforce their trauma, with advocates calling for an urgent reform of practices to ensure women are treated with greater compassion and understanding. For more details, read the full article here. ACTIONS Call for compassionate asylum policies!
Asylum poverty Free bus travel Oxfordshire County Council is to partner with frontline organisation Asylum Welcome and bus companies in Oxford to instigate a six month pilot scheme to enable free bus travel for people seeking asylum accommodated in the City of Oxford. Coverage here and here. Meanwhile, the London Assembly has agreed a motion calling on Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London to work with a range of partners, including the NHS and London Boroughs Coverage on ways to support public transport access for people seeking asylum, following campaigning by Citizens UK and others. Human Rights Day 2024 The British Institute of Human Rights are coordinating a joint civil society letter to political leaders for Human Rights Day on 10th December calling for confirmation of the UK’s commitment to its human rights obligations as well as everyday actions that support a culture of respect for human rights across the UK. You can read and sign the letter here. The deadline to sign is 5pm 27th November. |
Channel deaths (content warning) On 5 and 6 November four bodies were recovered off the coast of Calais and Kent police have also said the body of a man was recovered from the Channel, in the latest loss of lives in the Channel. Diego Garcia 64 people, including 16 children who were stranded in Diego Garcia in terrible conditions for three years will now be able to enter the UK, after the Government dropped its opposition to the group’s case. Coverage here. Move on process post 31st October The Home Office communicated this interim update on the move-on process: From 4th November with the introduction of eVisas we have amended practice temporarily to initiate the 28-day move on period from the point the asylum support discontinuation letter (ASDL) is issued to newly granted refugee. The asylum support discontinuation letter will not be issued until an individual has been issued their UKVI account details in order to access their eVisa, and the letter will also include a copy of these details. Individuals will also continue to be notified of this end of support date in a ‘notice to quit’ (NTQ) or ‘notice to vacate’ (NTV) letter from their accommodation provider. The NTQ/NTV should be issued around the same time as the ASDL but will always give at least 7 days’ notice as required by the Asylum Support Regulations 2000. This change will be implemented temporarily whilst consideration is being given to the proposal to support LAs and newly granted refugees during a period of increased decision making. E – Visas The Home Office issued the following update: To enable us to create UKVI accounts for newly recognised refugees, we will require a phone number and email address which they can use again. They will use these details each time they need to access or share their immigration status online, unless they update it using the Update your UK Visas and Immigration account details: Update your UKVI account details – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) online service. We strongly encourage newly recognised refugees, who have not already done so, and all those awaiting a decision to provide their phone number and email address as soon as possible using the [email protected] inbox. If you are acting on behalf of an asylum seeker (and we do not have an up to date Letter of Authority) you should also use the inbox and attach a Letter of Authority to your email. Should we be unable to obtain a phone number and email address, newly granted refugees will initially be unable to sign into their UKVI account and access their eVisa. In order to obtain access, on receipt of their UKVI account details, they will need to report to us that they are unable to access their eVisa and provide a phone number and email address which they can use to sign into their UKVI account, by completing the form here: Report an error with your eVisa – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). |
NACCOM Annual Survey Report Our friends at NACCOM have released their Annual Survey findings revealing the depth of the homelessness crisis affecting people seeking asylum and broader Migrant communities. Read and share the report here, with coverage in the Guardian here. ILPA Report Launch ILPA have released a new report by Dr Jo Wilding on Legal Aid in Immigration representation showing 57% of main applicants (excluding dependents) claiming asylum or appealing a refusal in the First-tier Tribunal are now unable to access a legal aid representative. No reason for no recourse: why reform of NRPF conditions would be good for London and the UK This report, by the Centre of Social Policy Studies, finds a clear link between NRPF and poverty and makes a number of recommendations for reform of the system. Report launch- ‘The forgotten third: migrant workers’ views on improving conditions in England’s adult social care sector’ Work Rights Centre has launched a new report looking at the major barriers to sustainable and fair employment faced by care workers with a migrant background- including exploitation, fraud and abuse- and identifying the reforms urgently needed to address them. You can register to join the report launch on 14th November 3pm on zoom here and share their post on X here. Report Launch – the criminalisation of young people seeking asylum Asylum Aid, Migrants Law Project & Common Law CIC have released a new report on the criminalisation of young people trying to seek asylum in the UK. You can read the full report and the executive summary here |
Right to Remain: Detention and Beyond Detention Nottingham, 26 November Right to Remain are holding a workshop on Tuesday 26 November in Nottingham, from 2pm – 5pm, where there will be space for discussing detention and enforcement in communities. Registration here. E- Visa Webinar ACH are hosting a webinar on Thursday, 21st November to explain the E-Visa transition for people going through the process, it will explain how it will affect them, with guidance from an experienced immigration lawyer. The webinar is free for all and happening online, register here. E-Visa support guide Right to Remain has created a guide for people who are supporting those who need to apply for/transition to an E-Visa. Pixida Films screening of 6 short films on border-crossings A film collective navigating stories of migration through film, Pixida Films, are hosting a screening and panel discussion of 6 short films depicting stories of border-crossing, from Greece to the UK. The screening will be on 21st November at 8pm at Rich Mix Cinema in Bethnal Green, London. You can find more information and tickets here. Borders of Exclusion: The Power of Visual Counter-Narratives in Epistemic Knowledge On Thursday 28th November 11am-1pm, Women in Refugee Law (WiRL) and GenSeM are hosting a collaborative, interdisciplinary event which will critically examine gendered and racialized harm across various forms of displacement, with a spotlight on Australia’s extraterritorial asylum regime. The event will include a screening of the documentary ‘Solace’ and a panel discussion. It is a hybrid event so can be attended in-person (Arts C333, University of Sussex) or remotely online. You can find more info and register to attend here. No Other Land film screening in Tyneside From 15th November, Tyneside Cinema will be screening ‘No Other Land’, a critically acclaimed documentary by Basel Adra, a Palestinian activist, telling the story of his community’s occupation and his alliance with an Israeli journalist to fight back against the destruction of his village. More information, trailer and tickets here. Fragments of Home: refugee housing, humanitarian design and the politics of shelter On 19th November at 6.30-8pm, LSE is hosting an event with Dr Tom Scott-Smith, discussing his new book on refugee housing, including the political implications of methods employed and exploring how the principle of autonomy can offer a fruitful approach to sensitive and inclusive shelter for refugees. More information on how to attend or watch on Youtube here. Jobs:
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This short film where four people with experiences of living long term in a hotel in Scotland share how this has affected their mental health, and tips and advice for coping. |
