Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they are making for the introduction of safe and legal routes for refugees and migrants, or for secure holding areas in North Africa, to prevent further deaths by drowning in the Mediterranean; and what assessment they have made of plans other governments are making.

We operate several resettlement schemes, working closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to provide safe and legal routes to the UK for refugees: Gateway, Mandate, the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme and the Vulnerable Children's Resettlement scheme.

We are under no obligation to consider asylum claims lodged outside UK territory and it is not appropriate to do so. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach - that is the fastest route to safety.

Those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK are able to sponsor their pre-flight family members to join them under the family reunion policy. This includes those granted humanitarian protection in the UK under one of our resettlement schemes.

The UK has played an important role in framing the global response to the challenges of large-scale movements of refugees and migrants. The UK co-hosted the London-Syria Conference, the Wilton Park Protracted Displacement Forum and helped to deliver the World Humanitarian Summit.