Asylum Support (Prescribed Period) Bill [HL]

Lord German Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 13th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord German (LD)]

My Lords, I first declare my interest: I am supported by the RAMP Project.

There have been two metaphors used in this debate so very far, very helpfully. One was about terriers and the other was about Good King Wenceslas. I must say that the terrier ordeal that the people in the pack have put up with for this length of time has now come to some fruition, so I too thank the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, and the rest of the pack for all their work over the last decade in bringing this forward.

On Good King Wenceslas—which I have sung many times in this last week—one thing he had to do, apart from coming from the near mountains of Flintshire rather than Croydon, was send his page out to get fuel to keep warm. That in itself is a metaphor for what we are discussing today about people being able to find appropriate homes. So, if we are going to wish upon the Minister the Good King Wenceslas theme, perhaps he can pay attention to all that has been said in this Chamber so far.

I must add to the words of the noble Lord, Lord Griffiths of Burry Port, about our meeting last Monday. What he did not say was that he moved a resolution of the Migration Committee of the Council of Europe to support the permanent extension from 28 days to 56 days, and it received unanimous support. So now the whole weight of all the countries in the Council of Europe is now sitting on Good King Wenceslas’s shoulders to make sure that people can, metaphorically, keep warm.

Obviously, we are grateful that the Minister has introduced this temporary measure and has listened to all the voices. However, lying behind that, essentially, as many in this Chamber have discussed today, is getting all the ducks in a row—another metaphor—for all the things that need to take place during that 56-day period. I pray in aid what the Government sent out to local authorities on 2 December about this new 56-day process. There are three things I would like to ask the Minister about. First, in the box marked “Decision”, there are two boxes. One says that the outcome letter is sent out, basically, to end in 56 days. The second one says, “Notification received of e-visa account”. I presume that this means that on that very day, the e-visa account information is sent to the person who has had a successful status change. Because it is not actually in the same box, does that mean it could be sent out at some stage later?

That e-visa, or whatever the document is, is the key to triggering the issues of financial support, housing, UC and so on. In the context of the UC support, having dispensed with the previous Government’s employment scheme for refugees, can the Minister explain what is replacing it, particularly in respect of UC? UC is not just the money. There is also the employment support that it can provide. Will there be a separate form of support for people during that period?

All in all, we ought to be in a semi-celebratory Christmas mood. We look forward to the Government having their national integration strategy laid out before us in time, which will of course go well beyond June: as the right reverend Prelate said, the grace period will extend forever.