Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make his policy that witnesses giving evidence at hearings of the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) should do so under oath.

As an issue of tribunal procedure, giving evidence under oath would be a matter for judicial consideration. Rule 14(3) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) already provides that the tribunal may require evidence to be given under oath.

Additionally, a witness statement, the equivalent of the oral evidence which the witness would, if called, give in evidence must always include a statement by the intended witness in their own language that they believe the facts in it are true.