Home Affairs Committee report mostly provides sensible solutions to
immigration problems - but will the Government act on them?
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Here's the IAS responses.
Garry draws our attention to the italicised list-item:
It is a long running gripe at uky and other places that the advice HO & etc give out is not reliable. Advocates have been calling for reform and accountability for HO & Ukvisas to start giving correct advice. The Commons committee has finally decided to act and are going to make them start giving decent advice over the phone....
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"We welcome the wide-ranging nature of this inquiry to which IAS gave
evidence and the resultant report" said Keith Best IAS Chief Executive.
"We agree with many of the recommendations and urge the Government to
act on them. We do not agree, however, that a regularisation (referred
to as an amnesty) for illegal workers when coupled with the firmer
immigration control that will come with E-borders would not be
appropriate or helpful in the current situation.
"We agree that:
- The Immigration Rules should be simplified
IND caseworkers and Home Office Presenting Officers should be
regulated to a similar standard to publicly funded advisers and
representatives
A meaningful representation on and review of a decision before refusal
and appeal would save time and money
Too much haste damages the quality of decisions
Removals should follow swiftly after decisions and not years after
persons have established themselves in the UK making the process
inequitable; bad cases of immigration abuse should be coupled with
banning perpetrators from the UK for a long time
We need better statistics
In many countries overseas applications could be dealt with by
regional offices or in the UK and that some appeals could be heard in
those countries so long as there is adequate representation. We endorse
fully the need for good-quality advice for visa applicants and are
pleased that the Committee recommends that the Government either
encourages UK-based advisers to operate overseas or establishes an agent
accreditation scheme for local immigration advisers.
"We share the concern that the points-based system will still need
subjective assessments and we feel that in such circumstances it is
essential to keep the right of appeal. Appeal rights should continue but
we accept that many issues could be resolved by way of effective review
before coming to appeal.
"We have urged many of these recommendations for years as a sensible way
forward and we are delighted that the Home Affairs Committee has now
endorsed so many of them."
