The UK could be left with a permanent backlog of asylum seekers as a result of new measures meant to tackle illegal immigration, a report claims.
The Illegal Migration Act prevents anyone arriving by irregular means, such as small boats, from claiming asylum, but the Institute for Public Policy Research says this could end up costing the UK £6.38 billion ($8.14 billion) a year in accommodation costs.
The new legislation is meant to be coupled with a plan to send migrants who arrive by boat to Rwanda to claim asylum there, which the government hopes will act as a deterrent.
The Rwanda plan has been ruled unlawful and the government has appealed to the Supreme Court to get approval so it can attempt to fulfil Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s promise to “stop the boats”, one of his five key pledges.
The IPPR said that “there is there is so far little evidence that the Rwanda plans or the government’s legislative efforts have made any real impact on arrivals”.
That will lead to what the left-of-centre think tank says will be a build-up of asylum seekers caught in “legal limbo”, who cannot be granted refugee status but must be housed because it is unlikely they can be removed.
To fulfil its pledge of clearing what is described as the "legacy backlog" of about 100,000 claims made before June 2022, the Home Office will need to process 12,400 a month, three times the current rate, even before it tackles the backlog.
100,000 migrants cross the Channel in five years - in pictures
“The end result will therefore be a growing ‘perma-backlog’ of people who are not formally within the asylum system, because their claims will be deemed inadmissible, but who are seeking refuge in the UK,” said the IPPR report.
Marley Morris, the report’s author who leads the think tank’s work on migration, said: “Frankly, even if the Rwanda case goes the government’s way, then it’ still going to be very difficult to make this act work because the window of success is so narrow for them.
“Not only does the court case go their way and have the system in place that removes people to Rwanda at scale and deters people, but at the moment we know people aren’t deterred because there’s thousands of people arriving.
“The idea that you can remove thousands of people each year to a country which is not used to dealing with these types of asylum claims on this scale is pretty far-fetched.
"Unless the government removes more people than come then inevitably there will be this backlog because they can’t process the claims.”
The IPPR calculates that in five years’ time, assuming there are low levels of removal, there will be 226,600 migrants in accommodation at an annual cost of £6.4bn to the UK taxpayer.
Currently, the government is looking to house migrants at disused military bases and on a barge to save on hotel costs.
“But it could end up costing more because under the current system, yes, you’ve got big costs but people are either removed or people are able to work, but under the current system they’re stuck,” said Mr Marley.
“But this could end up costing billions of pounds in accommodation costs with no end in sight.”
The IPPR also raised the prospect of asylum seekers disappearing off the radar to “enter the informal economy, given there is little incentive to stay visible to the Home Office if there is no prospect of their asylum claim being processed”.
“This could lead to a growing undocumented population and a high risk of irregular working, destitution, and exploitation.”
It comes amid reports smugglers running Channel crossings are sending groups of small boats to sea at the same time to make it more difficult for authorities to stop them all.
“The Illegal Migration Act will help to clear the asylum backlog by allowing us to detain and swiftly remove those who arrive here illegally," a Home Office representative said.
"While we operationalise the measures in the Act, we continue to remove those with no right to be here through existing powers.
“We are also on track to clear the ‘legacy’ backlog of asylum cases.
"It has been reduced by a nearly a third since the start of December and we have doubled the number of asylum decision-makers in post over the past two years.”
Freezer tips
- Always make sure food is completely cool before freezing.
- If you’re cooking in large batches, divide into either family-sized or individual portions to freeze.
- Ensure the food is well wrapped in foil or cling film. Even better, store in fully sealable, labelled containers or zip-lock freezer bags.
- The easiest and safest way to defrost items such as the stews and sauces mentioned is to do so in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
Naga
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
Company%20profile%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EElggo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20August%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Luma%20Makari%20and%20Mirna%20Mneimneh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Education%20technology%20%2F%20health%20technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Four%20employees%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie
Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)
Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wes%20Ball%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Owen%20Teague%2C%20Freya%20Allen%2C%20Kevin%20Durand%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Race card
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-2 Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 2,200m
6.30pm: Liwa Oaisi Group 2 (PA) Dh300,000 1,400m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m
The National selections: 5pm: Flit Al Maury, 5.30pm: Sadah, 6pm: RB Seqondtonone, 6.30pm: RB Money To Burn, 7pm: SS Jalmood, 7.30pm: Dalaalaat
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
