Asylum Seekers: Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity

Debate between Lord Murray of Blidworth and Lord Lexden

Wednesday 25th October 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)]

I am grateful to the noble Lord for giving me sight of his Question in advance. I can assure noble Lords that the cornerstone of the asylum consideration process remains the requirement to establish a well-founded fear of persecution for a reason set out in Article 1A(2) of the 1951 refugee convention and enshrined in last year’s Nationality and Borders Act. There has been no downgrading of the threshold. We do not return asylum seekers to their home countries if their sexuality or gender would place them at risk of future serious harm or persecution. This is of course the principle derived from the case of HJ (Iran), which we discussed during the passage of the Illegal Migration Bill. Nor would we relocate someone to a safe third country if there was a real risk of their suffering serious and irreversible harm if they were removed from the United Kingdom.

[Lord Lexden (Con)]

My Lords, is it not the case that many LGBT people seeking asylum do not have access to legal advice to help them prepare for interviews in which they must explain convincingly why they fear persecution in their own countries? Has the Home Office made any assessment of the impact that speeding up asylum processing will have on those who lack legal advice as they prepare for their interviews?

[Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)]

Legal advice is certainly an issue we are aware of, and assistance is provided to those making applications. It may be of note to my noble friend that the number of LGB claims in 2022 almost doubled—an 89% increase compared to 2021. Thus, in 2022, 2% of asylum claims in the United Kingdom—1,334 claims—included sexual orientation as part of the basis for the claim. There do not appear to have been any issues concerning representation, given the increase in the number of such claims.

Passports: Strike Action and Voter ID

Debate between Lord Murray of Blidworth and Lord Lexden

Monday 20th March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)]

I can certainly indicate that careful consideration is given to these issues. As always, we will consider all the recommendations and advice given to this House, including from my noble friend.

[Lord Lexden (Con)]

My Lords, should we remind ourselves that photographic evidence has been required at polling stations in Northern Ireland for many years and that the system there has worked extremely well?

[Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)]

I thank my noble friend, who is of course correct that paper identification has been required at polling stations in Northern Ireland since it was introduced in 1985, and photo identification since 2003, when it was introduced by the last Labour Government. It has proven to be highly effective at stopping fraud and preventing the crime of stealing someone’s vote.

Children Seeking Asylum: Safeguarding

Debate between Lord Murray of Blidworth and Lord Lexden

Monday 23rd January 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)]

I can assure the noble Lord that, as I have already said, the safeguarding and welfare of these children are among the department’s top priorities.

[Lord Lexden (Con)]

How frequently are checks made on the hotels, and by whom?

[Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)]

As I hope I have made clear, responsibility for the inspection of the hotels rests with the borders inspectorate. The hotels have been inspected in the past year. It is appreciated that hotel accommodation is a temporary means of accommodating children. As I hope I have made clear, we try to make those stays as short as possible and ensure that the accommodation is of the highest quality possible.

Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda

Debate between Lord Murray of Blidworth and Lord Lexden

Tuesday 20th December 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Lab)]

I was going to ask specifically about unaccompanied children, but I thank the Minister.

[Lord Lexden (Con)]

What is the total amount that the Government have spent so far in legal fees in attempting to implement this policy? What is the record of the Rwandan Government in protecting, upholding and safeguarding the rights of LGBT people?

[Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)]

I am afraid that I cannot answer the noble Lord’s question because the litigation is ongoing. One of the issues that will be canvassed on 16 January is costs. I assure my noble friend that we will be seeking costs against those parties who have lost in respect of their challenges to the Government.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Lexden (Con)]

I do not normally have any difficulty in making myself heard, and I did indeed put that second question.

[Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)]

I am very grateful to the noble Lord, whom I hope will forgive me. I must have been focusing so intently on his question about costs that I did not hear this. My apologies. The court considered all the allegations made by the UNHCR and the parties in the litigation concerning the safety of Rwanda and concluded that the Secretary of State was correct that Rwanda was a safe country, including for LGBT people.