Draft Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Procedure) (Amendment) Rules 2023

Alison Thewliss Excerpts

Wednesday 1st March 2023 General Committees

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

Happy St David’s Day to all who are celebrating today.

I thank the Minister for setting out his reasoning. I am mainly concerned about a point in the explanatory memorandum, which says:

“No public consultation was undertaken on this instrument but the Home Office has consulted the SIAC Chairperson on the drafting of the amendments to the procedure rules.”

In that context, there has been no wider scrutiny of the statutory instrument. Quite late in the day, I received some information from the Immigration Law Practitioners Association, which believes the rules to be problematic because they do not do anything to secure an extension of the time to appeal for the pre-commencement deprivation orders; they introduce a non-adversarial fast-track paper process that was not stipulated in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022; and there is no provision for a special advocate to be appointed.

I would also query the part about determinations on paper. Proposed new section 25E states:

“The Commission must determine the application on paper without a hearing before the Commission.”

Does that give adequate scrutiny of such decisions on paper? I am not certain how that process will work in detail, so I would be grateful for a fuller explanation from the Minister.