High Court requests Home Office to restore benefits to Asylum Seekers

Section 55 - the courts - round 2 - another partial victory!

Mr Justice Collins, has called on the government to restore the payment of state benefits to asylum seekers until he passes judgement, on the hearings of the last two days, which he is expected to hand down on Monday 17th February.

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Legal update - Section 55 cases.

The hearing in R (J, M, F, D, B, Q) CO/150/2003 finished yesterday Tuesday 11th February 2003. Mr. Justice Collins, reserved judgment and intends to give it on Wednesday 19th February 2003. The Court of Appeal has already indicated that any appeal will be heard beginning on 3rd March 2003.

Justice Collins, announced that there had been about 175 injunctions (re-section 55) granted as of Monday morning.

At the end of the hearing Collins J was asked by Keir Starmer QC (for the Claimants) whether he could give an indication of how the Home Office should deal with section 55 cases pending his judgment.

Collins J said: "In my view the mere fact that an asylum-seeker did not claim asylum at port is not sufficient to justify a negative decision under section 55. Nor is mere reliance on an agent enough to justify a negative decision.

If the Home Office follows only the questions on the pro forma interview and the claimant said that he or she passed through immigration control at the airport, the Home Office will not have enough information to counter the inference that the asylum-seeker relied upon the agent's advice.

In cases like these it would be wrong to refuse interim relief.

In lorry cases, the present pro forma enquiries are insufficient to justify a negative section 55 decision.

I cannot order that the Home Office should, but I hope that, pending my judgment, a decision is taken in principle to adopt a liberal approach to section 55 in the interim, based on the knowledge that otherwise the inevitable result is additional applications to the duty judge. The Home Office could, instead of refusing under section 55, give a 'minded to refuse' letter. This would enable them to defer a final decision until after the judgment and provide support in the interim."

At the request of Neil Garnham QC (for the Home Office) Collins J added that he did not think that providing accommodation in those circumstances would strengthen the arguments of those assisted to have that support continued if any judgment were later reversed.

As previously announced:

* Home Office accepts that 'section 55 does not prevent provision of asylum support between the making of the asylum claim and the making of the section 55 decision'

* Home Office accepts that a person who entered in a lorry may well have reasonable grounds for not claiming at port of entry and may well be unable to provide much detail about the lorry, the journey or their arrival.

Simon Cox
Doughty Street Chambers
Counsel for J, M and F

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Source for this page: Simon Cox

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