In May 2021, JUSTICE responded to the Home Office’s “New Plan for Immigration” consultation. The consultation proposed fundamental changes to the law and process of immigration, asylum and modern slavery matters, which will form the basis of a Sovereign Borders Bill later in the year.
Whilst we noted that such widespread reform would require substantial further consultation, the key themes of our response on the current information provided were as follows:
- There is a need for clarity on the evidence base for any reforms;
- We would caution against siloed-reform efforts, which can risk undermining progress already made/being made within existing reforms. There is a need for any new measures to be informed by evaluation of current reforms which are already in train;
- The needs of the most vulnerable should inform the design of processes, with a particular need to incorporate a trauma-informed approach into any reform
- Recognition that the constitutional importance of an independent judicial check on executive decision-making, both through appeal and judicial review, must be central to any reform.