Tom Pursglove questioned on Rwanda asylum deal
The Home Affairs Committee holds a one-off session examining the Government’s asylum deal with Rwanda on Wednesday 11 May when it takes evidence from migration minister Tom Pursglove MP.
On 14 April, the Government announced the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) deal with Rwanda which included an agreement to send people who have arrived in the UK illegally to Rwanda to have their asylum claim processed. Claimants would not be allowed to return to the UK and would receive asylum support in Rwanda or return to their country of origin.
The Government argues that the agreement would “disrupt the business model of organised crime gangs, making them unable to fulfil their contract to smuggle people across borders and thereby preventing loss of life” while also supporting those in need of asylum. However, the legality and practicality of the measures have been called into question.
Likely areas of questioning
In this session, the Committee will examine the detail of the agreement and its likely impact on illegal migration to the UK and the country’s asylum obligations. It will investigate the practical arrangements for transferring people to Rwanda and ongoing oversight of operations. The Committee will also take the opportunity to question the minister on the progress in addressing issues with the asylum schemes for Afghanistan and Ukraine.