Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Dublin III Regulation asylum process; what her proposals are for its reform and improvement; and if she will make a statement.

The Dublin Regulation is an important tool in our ability to manage asylum claims in the EU. The Government recognises that improvements can be made to the operation of the Regulation through simplification, greater flexibility and encouragement of maximum compliance. The underlying principles, however, such as claiming asylum in the first safe country, reuniting families where possible, prevention of secondary movement and assigning responsibility of a claim as soon as possible all remain sound.

We are cooperating fully with the European Commission’s review of the Dublin Regulation and will continue to make the case these long established principles should continue to be the basis for any future regulation.