Priti Patel to give evidence to Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee

The committee will discuss several topics with the Home Secretary, with a focus on the new plan for immigration which proposes new ways of treating asylum seekers, and a “streamlined process” for challenging migration decisions. Questions will also be asked on immigration detention and the conclusion of returns agreements.

Other topics will include police investigations and misogyny, culture in the Home Office and the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme. The committee will also be asking questions relating to current work on new technologies and the application of the law, and upcoming travel systems ETIAS and the EES.

Questions the committee is likely to ask the Home Secretary include:

• The Government has explained that the return of inadmissible asylum seekers is 'contingent on securing returns agreements' with safe third countries. Could you update us on your plans to secure return agreements?
• The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has stated that the new plan for immigration “threaten[s] to create a discriminatory two-tier asylum system”. How do you respond?
• How many asylum-seekers are you expecting to be accommodating or detaining in a typical year, and how much are you expecting that to cost? What arrangements will ensure that reception centres meet required standards?
• The Immigration Services Union (ISU) has described plans to turn around boats in the English Channel as unworkable. How do you respond?
• The Home Office is using advanced algorithmic technology extensively to facilitate its public duties, in particular in policing. What assurances can you give that key decisions are still genuinely made by humans, and therefore can be explained, justified and challenged?
• Can you provide an update on the inquiry into matters arising from the murder of Sarah Everard?In your Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, you committed to investing in “understanding ‘what works’ to prevent violence against women and girls”. What form does will that investment take?
• The Government has committed to developing a comprehensive integration programme to welcome resettled Afghan refugees. What will that programme entail?

The session will take place at 10:30am on Wednesday 27 October at and can be followed on Parliament TV.