We think that the Dublin arrangements are the right way to provide consistency of approach across the whole EU in dealing with what some have described as asylum shopping and with people’s ability to choose the jurisdiction in which they claim asylum. The key element is that we achieve a stable Syria, so that the people in those camps can see a stable future in which they will be supported there. Our response in relation to humanitarian protection, including the £1.1 billion that the Government have committed, absolutely matters. It is not simply about direct humanitarian protection; it is about education, about giving people a sense of hope and purpose and about ending up with a stable Syria to which people will be able to return as soon as possible.
4.15 pm
New clause 2, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr Burrowes), who is not in his place, aims to increase the number of foreign national offenders we deport. However, our existing legislation already gives us the tools we need to achieve this, and there is no better illustration of that than the immigration statistics published last week, which showed that 5,591 foreign national offenders were removed from the UK in the last year.
The proposed change would mean that the Secretary of State would be required to sign a deportation order for a foreign criminal if they received a period of imprisonment of six months. It is already Government policy to consider for deportation those with custodial sentences of less than 12 months if they have caused serious harm. The Secretary of State also uses the
power to take deportation action in any case in which she considers that it would be conducive to the public good to do so. So the new clause, although perhaps motivated by the best of intentions, is unnecessary.
I recognise the intentions behind new clauses 10 and 12, but we do not judge them to be necessary or appropriate. New clause 10 seeks to make provision for criminal sanctions against those who are present or who entered the UK without legal authority, but there are already criminal sanctions and removal and deportation powers in place to deal with illegal migrants. Section 24 of the Immigration Act 1971 in particular sets out criminal sanctions for various types of unlawful migrant behaviour, including illegal entry and overstaying.