Resource

Today's King's Speech confirmed what we feared: another Immigration and Asylum Bill, another year of policies that will make life harder for the people who need protection the most. 

Over the past decade, the UK has introduced new immigration or asylum legislation almost every year. Yet people seeking safety are still left waiting years for asylum decisions, forced into poverty while they wait, and too often falling through the gaps of a failing system. These fundamental problems remain unresolved, but once again, the response is more legislation and a focus on ‘deterrence’ rather than meaningful protection and support. 

This Bill will introduce a ‘new asylum model’ that will cause significant harm. It will make refugee status temporary, stripping away the security that survivors of torture and trafficking desperately need to begin rebuilding their lives.  It will deny traumatised refugees who are unable to work the stability and family reunion they need to recover.  

The Bill will also create a new independent appeals body to replace a tribunal system which, despite its problems, plays a crucial role in identifying and correcting Home Office errors. Currently, 66% of asylum decisions are overturned on appeal, which is a clear indication of how often the Home Office gets it wrong. The proposal to fast-track those appeals and replace experienced judges with non-lawyers does not fix these failures; it conceals them. For survivors of torture and trafficking, the consequences can be devastating - it can mean return to a country where they faced persecution or extreme violence 

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, of which the UK is a signatory, protects the right to respect for private and family life. This is critically important for refugees and other survivors we support as it allows them to be with their families. The right to family life is already balanced against public interest considerations, including immigration control and safety. Existing law already gives courts the power to weigh these factors carefully. Yet, this Bill seeks to further erode key human rights protections.  

For too long, successive governments have prioritised immigration enforcement over an effective response to human trafficking and modern slavery. This Bill doubles down on that approach by perpetuating the false narrative that people are misuse modern slavery protections to avoid removal from the UK, and threatening to penalise survivors for not disclosing their experiences sooner.  

At the Helen Bamber Foundation, we understand why survivors disclose their trafficking experiences ‘late’. We see it every day. It is not dishonesty or manipulation - it is trauma and the need to feel safe. One of our clients disclosed labour exploitation for the first time a decade after it happened, while in the safety of a trusted community group. Under the approach this government is pursuing, that delay could be held against him. 

We will continue to challenge these proposals at every stage. Survivors of torture, trafficking, and extreme human cruelty need a system built on compassion and fairness. The Bill announced in today’s Kings Speech is yet another step away from the evidence-based and survivor-centred approach required to ensure that people receive the support and protection they need.