Welcome to the weekly Free Motion publication!
I’m away this week, so if something large has occurred since Thursday, that’s why it isn’t in right here.
The latest tribunal statistics are out and it continues to be unhealthy information for a authorities which would love to cease listening to the phrases “asylum backlog”. Final week somebody tried to inform me that the answer was extra judges (I say “tried” as a result of they rapidly stopped when seeing the look on my face). Judicial useful resource must be used successfully, and until and till we’ve got a correctly funded and functioning authorized support system, judges are going to be spending an terrible lot of their time serving to appellants in particular person. Attorneys help the system to work extra effectively and sooner, and so my argument stays that’s the extra smart place to direct sources (I additionally haven’t any drawback with each simply to be clear, however extra judges with out extra legal professionals is just a waste of sources in my view).
Lots of these circumstances are going to start out heading for the Higher Tribunal in some unspecified time in the future, anecdotally evidently this may increasingly have already began. Issues are solely going to get significantly messier until some severe funding in made in authorized support, and rapidly. The federal government has given itself a timetable that is speedy in some respects, however there actually isn’t even that a lot time to waste in the event that they need to get a deal with on this example earlier than it will get much more uncontrolled.
In different information, the Impartial Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has prolonged the deadline for the call for evidence for the inspection of Residence Workplace administration of contact with migrants who’re with out go away to enter or stay. The brand new deadline is 21 October 2024 and suggestions on reporting in addition to points with receipt of Residence Workplace letters (and the related penalties of non-receipt, for instance withdrawal of asylum claims) might be of explicit significance, so anybody with related proof ought to reply.
On Free Motion final week, we had a very helpful write up by Nick O’Loughnan and Barry O’Leary taking a look at what may be executed to attempt to make sure that folks making use of to come back to the UK based mostly on a identical intercourse relationship are kept safe when applying in countries the place it’s unsafe to be in such a relationship.
Joanna Hunt and a few her employment regulation colleagues have taken a take a look at the potential equal pay implications of the new skilled worker salary thresholds. The newest podcast can be out, the place Barry and I check out all issues September, together with an in depth abstract of the newest assertion of modifications.
On the coaching entrance, we’ve got simply added one other of my advanced workshops on change of conditions applications, these are small interactive courses that are likely to promote out rapidly. We have now additionally added extra OISC live training sessions for 2025 and people are additionally already filling up.
For every part else on the weblog and elsewhere, learn on.
Cheers, Sonia
What we’re studying
New report: Can asylum processing be fast and fair? – Colin’s Substack, 2 October
Record number of homeless families living in temporary accommodation – Impartial, 3 October
UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius – BBC Information, 3 October
Revealed: Anti-immigrant laws leave 1,000s unable to claim asylum – openDemocracy, 2 October
My family has waited five years for an asylum decision. Here’s how it strips your dignity – Massive Challenge, 28 September
McDonald’s and supermarkets failed to spot slavery – BBC Information, 30 September
Oldest asylum claim is nearly 17 years old, Home Office records show – Impartial, 2 October
A college that offers teenage refugees a comprehensive education – The Guardian, 30 September
