Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to issue immigration rules on the weight immigration tribunals should put on baptism while in asylum accommodation in the UK when assessing an asylum claim on the grounds of religious conversion.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
No, however all asylum and human rights claims, including those based on religious conversion, are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations so that we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin. Assessments are made against the background of relevant case law and the latest available country of origin information. The credibility of a conversion to a particular faith needs to be established, and therefore a claimant’s personal experiences and journey to their new faith are explored in the round, including an assessment of what has happened in their country of origin and in the UK. Claims based on religious conversion do not guarantee a grant of refugee status. It is upon the claimant to establish that a religious conversion is genuine to the’ balance of probabilities’ standard of proof.Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 24 September (HL10412), whether they will place in the Library of the House (1) the stakeholders they have met to improve policy guidance on asylum claims based on religious conversions, and (2) the minutes of those meetings.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We engage with stakeholders, including faith leaders, to ensure asylum claims based on religious persecution, including those based on religious conversion, are well considered, that those in genuine need are supported, and that there are no loopholes to claiming asylum in this country. Our guidance for considering claims based on religious conversion is publicly available on GOV.UK and we do not consider it is appropriate to place detailed discussions with stakeholders in the Library of the House.
Detailed Home Office policy instructions are regularly reviewed and provide a framework for considering asylum claims. All caseworkers receive extensive training to consider claims objectively and impartially and receive mentoring support before interviewing claimants and making such decisions. Our processes are underpinned by a robust framework of safeguards and quality checks, ensuring that claims are properly considered, decisions are sound, fake claims are rooted out, and protection is granted to those who genuinely need it.
Every asylum claim admitted to the UK asylum system, including those based on religion or belief, and including those from claimants who were accommodated on the Bibby Stockholm, is determined on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. People may become refugees ‘sur place’ due to activities they engage in or beliefs they have come to hold since leaving their country. As with all asylum claims, claims involving sur place activity are carefully considered on a case-by-case basis. In some circumstances it is appropriate to revoke protection status where evidence emerges that status was obtained by deception; where protection is no longer needed; or where someone commits a serious crime, represents a threat to our national security or demonstrates extremist behaviour.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they investigated reports that asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm barge sought to convert to Christianity to avoid deportation; and if so, whether they will publish the findings of that investigation.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We engage with stakeholders, including faith leaders, to ensure asylum claims based on religious persecution, including those based on religious conversion, are well considered, that those in genuine need are supported, and that there are no loopholes to claiming asylum in this country. Our guidance for considering claims based on religious conversion is publicly available on GOV.UK and we do not consider it is appropriate to place detailed discussions with stakeholders in the Library of the House.
Detailed Home Office policy instructions are regularly reviewed and provide a framework for considering asylum claims. All caseworkers receive extensive training to consider claims objectively and impartially and receive mentoring support before interviewing claimants and making such decisions. Our processes are underpinned by a robust framework of safeguards and quality checks, ensuring that claims are properly considered, decisions are sound, fake claims are rooted out, and protection is granted to those who genuinely need it.
Every asylum claim admitted to the UK asylum system, including those based on religion or belief, and including those from claimants who were accommodated on the Bibby Stockholm, is determined on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. People may become refugees ‘sur place’ due to activities they engage in or beliefs they have come to hold since leaving their country. As with all asylum claims, claims involving sur place activity are carefully considered on a case-by-case basis. In some circumstances it is appropriate to revoke protection status where evidence emerges that status was obtained by deception; where protection is no longer needed; or where someone commits a serious crime, represents a threat to our national security or demonstrates extremist behaviour.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to amend the assessment of religious conversion as a basis for an asylum claim since March 2024.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We engage with stakeholders, including faith leaders, to ensure asylum claims based on religious persecution, including those based on religious conversion, are well considered, that those in genuine need are supported, and that there are no loopholes to claiming asylum in this country. Our guidance for considering claims based on religious conversion is publicly available on GOV.UK and we do not consider it is appropriate to place detailed discussions with stakeholders in the Library of the House.
Detailed Home Office policy instructions are regularly reviewed and provide a framework for considering asylum claims. All caseworkers receive extensive training to consider claims objectively and impartially and receive mentoring support before interviewing claimants and making such decisions. Our processes are underpinned by a robust framework of safeguards and quality checks, ensuring that claims are properly considered, decisions are sound, fake claims are rooted out, and protection is granted to those who genuinely need it.
Every asylum claim admitted to the UK asylum system, including those based on religion or belief, and including those from claimants who were accommodated on the Bibby Stockholm, is determined on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. People may become refugees ‘sur place’ due to activities they engage in or beliefs they have come to hold since leaving their country. As with all asylum claims, claims involving sur place activity are carefully considered on a case-by-case basis. In some circumstances it is appropriate to revoke protection status where evidence emerges that status was obtained by deception; where protection is no longer needed; or where someone commits a serious crime, represents a threat to our national security or demonstrates extremist behaviour.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to prevent those who convert to Christianity following an unsuccessful asylum appeal from avoiding deportation on the grounds of a fear of persecution in their country of origin.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Every asylum claim admitted to the UK asylum system, including those based on religion or belief, is determined on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations so that we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin. This is regardless of where or how a person may have entered the UK, or how they might be accommodated while in the UK.
People may become refugees ‘sur place’ due to activities they engage in or beliefs they have come to hold since leaving their country. As with all asylum claims, claims involving sur place activity are carefully considered on a case-by-case basis. This is also the process for further submissions lodged on protection grounds by failed asylum seekers.
We engage with stakeholders, including faith leaders, to ensure asylum claims based on religious persecution, including those based on religious conversion, are well considered, that those in genuine need are supported, and that there are no loopholes to claiming asylum in this country.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to prevent asylum seekers who convert to Christianity while in asylum accommodation from claiming asylum on the grounds of a fear of persecution in their country of origin.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Every asylum claim admitted to the UK asylum system, including those based on religion or belief, is determined on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations so that we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin. This is regardless of where or how a person may have entered the UK, or how they might be accommodated while in the UK.
People may become refugees ‘sur place’ due to activities they engage in or beliefs they have come to hold since leaving their country. As with all asylum claims, claims involving sur place activity are carefully considered on a case-by-case basis. This is also the process for further submissions lodged on protection grounds by failed asylum seekers.
We engage with stakeholders, including faith leaders, to ensure asylum claims based on religious persecution, including those based on religious conversion, are well considered, that those in genuine need are supported, and that there are no loopholes to claiming asylum in this country.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to prevent those who convert to Christianity after arriving illegally in the UK from claiming asylum on the grounds of religious conversion.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Every asylum claim admitted to the UK asylum system, including those based on religion or belief, is determined on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations so that we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin. This is regardless of where or how a person may have entered the UK, or how they might be accommodated while in the UK.
People may become refugees ‘sur place’ due to activities they engage in or beliefs they have come to hold since leaving their country. As with all asylum claims, claims involving sur place activity are carefully considered on a case-by-case basis. This is also the process for further submissions lodged on protection grounds by failed asylum seekers.
We engage with stakeholders, including faith leaders, to ensure asylum claims based on religious persecution, including those based on religious conversion, are well considered, that those in genuine need are supported, and that there are no loopholes to claiming asylum in this country.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that charities have entered asylum hotel accommodation to baptise asylum seekers.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
As part of its assurance processes, the Home Office conducts regular inspections and monitoring of asylum accommodation sites to ensure compliance with contractual and safety standards, including security arrangements. Feedback from local authorities and service users is also considered to inform improvements.
The Asylum Accommodation and Support Contract (AASC) Requirements gives a detailed breakdown of all the services to be undertaken by our accommodation providers and to the standards we expect.
All asylum claims, including those based on religion conversion, are carefully assessed individually in accordance with our international obligations and in line with our published guidance.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the data on how many asylum claims have been granted on the basis of fear of persecution in their country of origin because of sexual orientation.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release on GOV.UK.
Data on the number of grants where sexual orientation forms part of the claim is published in table SOC_00. The latest data relates to 2023. In 2023, 2,133 claims were granted where sexual orientation formed part of the basis for the asylum claim. For further information on the data, see the notes pages of the tables.
Not all these individuals will necessarily have been granted protection on the basis of their sexual orientation. Similarly, other asylum seekers may be granted protection without referencing their sexual orientation in their claims and therefore would not be included in these figures.
Updated published data from 2023 onwards is currently unavailable due to ongoing work as immigration data transitions to a new case working system and it will be included in a future edition of the Immigration System Statistics Release.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what data they hold on the number of asylum seekers who are baptised while in asylum accommodation.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.