Treatment of Claimants Section 10 : Failed asylum seekers: accommodation
45.Section 10 amends section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (as amended by section 49 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002) which gives the Secretary of State power to provide, or arrange for the provision of accommodation to certain categories of person including failed asylum seekers. The amendments make provision for the criteria to be used in determining when accommodation should be provided to be set out in regulations (until now, the criteria have been set out in the Secretary of State’s policy bulletins). The amendments also permit the continuation of the provision of accommodation to be made conditional upon the performance of or participation in community activities.
46.Subsection (1) adds subsections (5), (6), (7), (8) and (9) to section 4 of the 1999 Act. The new subsection (5) provides for the Secretary of State to make regulations specifying the criteria to be used when determining whether or not the Secretary of State should provide, or continue to provide, accommodation to a person under section 4.
47.Under new subsection (6) of section 4 the regulations may provide for the continuation of the provision of accommodation to be conditional upon the performance of or participation in community activities or to be subject to other conditions.
48.New subsections (7)-(9) of section 4 set out further details on the arrangements in relation to community activities.
49.Subsection (2) provides that the regulations made pursuant to new subsection 5 of section 4 will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure,
50.Subsections (3) to (5) amend section 103 of the 1999 Act so as to provide for a right of appeal to the Asylum Support Adjudicator from decisions of the Secretary of State not to provide accommodation to a person or not to continue to provide accommodation to a person under section 4 of the 1999 Act. Section 103 of the 1999 Act has been amended by section 53 of the 2002 Act but that provision has not yet been brought into force. Subsection (3) deals with the position before section 53 comes into force; subsection (4) deals with the position after it comes into force.
51.Subsection (7) makes clear that the regulations to be made under section 4(5)(b) of the 1999 Act will apply equally to those persons receiving support at the time the regulations come into force as those receiving support after the regulations come into force.