Civil news: immigration contract changes after asylum reforms

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Changes are being made to the 2018 Standard Civil Contract effective from 1 July 2022 to allow providers to work with immigration and asylum rule changes.

Beachy Head lighthouse on south coast of England

Providers will be able to claim from 1 July for work on rebuttal documents challenging provisional temporary ‘group 2’ refugee decisions on permissions to stay.

We are making this possible through changes to the immigration and asylum specification in the 2018 Standard Civil Contract.

The changes follow consultations with your representative bodies. The work will be paid at hourly rates.

Why is this happening now?

The changes follow the recent passing of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, which introduced 2 groups of refugees:

group 1 refugees are usually granted permission to stay for 5 years after which they can apply for further leave
group 2 refugees are granted temporary permission to stay for 30 months

Where can I find out more?

Full details of the contract amendments can be found on the Standard Civil Contract 2018 page on GOV.UK.

Further information

Standard civil contract 2018 – for table of amendments and immigration and asylum category specific rules

Guidance for reporting controlled work and controlled work matters – for updated guidance on how to claim for work completed under the new clauses

Legal aid guidance – for practical guidance relating to advising immigration detainees in prisons

Published 30 June 2022

UK Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Girls’ Education visits Jordan

Special Envoy Helen Grant visited a variety of different UK funded education programmes and spoke to partners in Jordan, highlighting the UK’s efforts internationally to ensure all girls are able to access 12 years of quality education.

Helen Grant said:

Girls’ education is essential for alleviating poverty and helping economies to grow. In my visit to Jordan, I’ve been inspired by the talented and inspiring girls and young women I’ve met and all the work the UK is doing to support them to realise their potential through education.

The Special Envoy met the Minister of Education, international donor partners, and key education partners and stakeholders across the education sector in Jordan.

Helen Grant reiterated the importance of educating girls as “one of the most impactful development investments we can make” and repeatedly stressed the gains this has for society.

On World Refugee Day 2022, the Special Envoy visited Zaatari Refugee Camp to visit a school funded through the UK and multi-donor education programme: Accelerated Access Initiative. She also participated in a focus group with secondary school age refugee girls to understand the positive impact of education, as well as the challenges they face as vulnerable girls in continuing their education. She saw first-hand how support from the UK and the government of Jordan is helping all children in Jordan have access to quality education.

During a meeting with the Minister of Education, the Special Envoy highlighted the benefits of reform in the curriculum and teacher training, as well as safety to ensure girls are supported to stay in and succeed in education, and are provided with the right tools to transition to further education and employment opportunities.

The Special Envoy also visited Princess Alia Secondary School to meet with Jordanian students and teachers in a school participating in the British Council International School Awards (ISA). She also engaged with young Jordanian girls supported under the UK’s Newton-Khalidi fund to discuss their experiences working on STEM careers and engaged with both Jordanian and UK partners AstroJo as well as UCL.

At a meeting with the Queen Rania Foundation, Helen Grant welcomed a new partnership for a UK funded research project.

She said:

I’m pleased our new global education research programme, Education Research in Conflict and Protracted Crises (ERICC), in Jordan will help build evidence and best practice on what works in education in order to provide greater quality of education for all children in Jordan.

Concluding her visit, the Special Envoy said:

I’m pleased to see first-hand the impact of UK funding and partnership with the Ministry of Education to support boys and girls in Jordan with quality education. Since 2016, the UK has led the international community to support the landmark ‘Jordan Compact’ commitment made at the ‘Syria and the Region Conference’ to ensure all children regardless of their nationality will receive an education. The UK will continue to work tirelessly with the government of Jordan to ensure all children regardless of their nationality will receive a quality education.

Since 2016, the UK has provided around £49 million to the multi-donor ‘Special Account’ in the Ministry of Education to offset the burden of costs of Syrian refugees in the public education system. This support is known as the Accelerated Access Initiative (AAI) and also involves: Australia, Canada, EU, Germany, Norway and USAID although the coordination between all donors and MoE is led by the UK.

Through AAI, government of Jordan with support from donors will continue in delivering this promise and providing quality public education to both Syrian and non-Syrian refugee boys and girls in formal and non-formal education. This includes: training new teachers, financing salaries for teachers and administrative staff, opening additional double shift schools, supporting blended learning, purchasing schoolbooks, providing tuition fees, and covering costs for operations and equipment in these schools.

To date, AAI has supported 190,000 refugee boys and girls access public education (95,000 girls and 1,092 children with disabilities).

UK Minister announces £95 million UK aid support for vulnerable Jordanians and refugees

Minister Milling reiterated the importance of the UK-Jordan strategic partnership and the UK’s commitment to sustaining our cooperation across diplomatic, development, economic and security files.

The Minister met Jordanian Foreign Minister, HE Ayman Safadi, to discuss the UK’s diplomatic partnership and our cooperation on a number of regional issues. The Minister expressed her appreciation for Jordan’s positive and constructive role as a force for peace in the region.

Minister Milling thanked Jordan for its generosity in hosting Syrian and other refugees from conflicts in the region.

The Minister visited Al Azraq refugee camp to see first-hand UK-funded humanitarian programmes in support of Syrian refugees and spoke to representatives from UN agencies and the Syrian Refugees Affairs Directorate.

She announced £30 million in new UK Aid programme funding to support learning recovery for 1.8 million host community and refugee children impacted by almost 2 years of continuous school closures. This includes support for 95,000 vulnerable girls and 1,500 children with disabilities to access education. This also underpins the UK’s commitment for every girl to receive 12 years of quality education.

The Minister saw a World Food Programme-contracted supermarket, where refugees can exchange food vouchers to buy food and met beneficiary households to hear directly about the situation in the camp, the challenges they face and their hopes for the future.

During her meeting with HE Dr Wajih Owais, Minister of Education, Minister Milling witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the British Council and the Ministry of Education in Jordan. This is the first of its kind which will bring UK expertise to support the quality of education in Jordan, through the enhancement of English language teaching nationwide to empower young Jordanians to reach their full potential.

At a joint signing ceremony with H.E Nasser Shraideh, Minister Of Planning And International Affairs, Minister Milling signed a new £65 million Social Protection programme as part of ongoing UK support to the government of Jordan to deliver on the National Social Protection Strategy. This aims to improve services and payments to the poorest and most vulnerable, helping Jordan recover from COVID-19.

Minister Milling said:

The UK is committed to providing humanitarian support to refugees in Jordan. We continue to fund cash assistance for refugees to meet their basic needs (including shelter and food), and the provision of protection services to children and people at risk. Jordan is showing huge generosity in hosting refugees and it is right that the international community continues to play its part in supporting Jordan.

During the visit, Minister Milling also met the Minister of Finance and welcomed Jordan’s commitment to taking forward vital economic reforms. The Minister commended the launch of the Economic Modernization Vision 2033, underlined the importance of gender-inclusive and sustainable growth and highlighted the UK’s commitment to continue follow through on the 2019 London Initiative to support economic growth and job creation in Jordan.

Minister Milling also met a group of inspiring Jordanian women active in political life, together with Minister of State for Legal Affairs and Head of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Women, HE Wafa Beni Mustafa. She discussed how to ensure inclusion and greater involvement of women in all aspects of the political process as well as in the economy – no society can reach its potential without the full participation of the female half of its population.

The Minister also congratulated Classic Fashion Apparel Industry, on concluding the first UK Export Finance backed deal in Jordan. She welcomed the initiative which will support the opening of a new apparel and textiles factory in Aqaba, creating thousands of jobs in Jordan.

Minister Milling concluded:

I was delighted to make my first visit to Jordan as Minister. Last year we celebrated 100 years of friendship between our countries and the UK is fully committed to sustaining and developing our unique strategic partnership into its second century.

I expressed my gratitude for the Kingdom’s extraordinary and generous role in supporting refugees from regional conflicts and announced 2 major new UK-funded programmes totalling £95 million, designed to support both vulnerable Jordanians and refugees.

I was also delighted to meet Jordanian ministerial counterparts to discuss our diplomatic cooperation on regional issues and the UK’s support for Jordan’s crucial economic and political modernisation programmes.

Inspection Report Published: An inspection of the immigration system as it relates to the Higher Education sector

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This inspection examined how the immigration system serves the needs of the higher education sector, rather than focusing narrowly on the operational functions within the Home Office.

Publishing the report, David Neal said:

I welcome the publication of this report, which looks at how the immigration system relates to the Higher Education sector. To facilitate the movement of international students and staff, the higher education sector is reliant on the Home Office for an efficient and effective immigration system.

The inspection found that the Home Office was performing well overall and has developed good levels of engagement with representative bodies and higher education institutions. Collaborative working and consultation with external stakeholders has fed into the development of new routes, Simplification of the Immigration Rules and changes to associated guidance.

However, the Home Office should look to review the services provided by the Premium Customer Service Teams. Currently there is a disconnect between what the Home Office envisaged the service offer to be and what the higher education sector expected from that offer. This could be resolved through engagement between both parties to draw up a collaborative and agreed set of service expectations.

Also, compliance requirements were considered by stakeholders to be overly burdensome. The Home Office should reassess whether their current expectations are proportionate with the risks posed by international students.

I made three recommendations in this report. I am pleased that the Home Office accepted all of these recommendations in full and that work is already underway to tackle the issues raised.

Published 30 June 2022

Inspection Report Published: A re-inspection of Napier Barracks March 2022

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This re-inspection reviewed the improvements the Home Office had made to the management and operation of Napier Barracks following the ICIBI/HMIP inspection of February 2021.

Publishing the report, David Neal said:

I welcome the publication of this report on the ICIBI’s second inspection of Napier Barracks. This re-inspection examined the improvements to which the Home Office committed in its response to the report on the first inspection (with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons) of Napier Barracks and Penally Camp in February 2021.

The re-inspection found that the management and oversight of Napier have improved, with strong working relationships in place between the Home Office, the provider, and its subcontractors. The more positive atmosphere at the site reflects the work undertaken to improve the facilities and activities, and the introduction of a 90-day maximum duration of stay which gives residents more certainty over the time they will spend at Napier. There was also evidence of increased engagement with non-governmental organisations and community groups, all of which contribute to the positive mental and physical wellbeing of residents. This engagement is not expensive – it is largely a matter of coordination which harnesses the goodwill of the local community. The effect undoubtedly contributes to a better atmosphere in the camp and introduces humanity and kindness into what can otherwise be a dispiriting waiting game.

I was disappointed that work had not been undertaken to improve the poor condition of the shared dormitories, with those accommodated there reporting a lack of privacy, unacceptable noise levels, and disruption to sleep. I am concerned that a timescale has not been set for the completion of any improvements despite Home Office plans to increase the number of residents accommodated on the site.

This inspection observed conditions at Napier Barracks that should have been in place over a year ago. The agility of the Home Office to respond to a dynamic situation, with staff with the appropriate level of skills and experience to ensure that contractors are delivering what they are paid to deliver, is key to the welfare of residents.

I am still looking for evidence that the Home Office has introduced a template for the standing up of future sites that incorporates the lessons learned from Napier. Considering the numbers of people involved and the amount of money being spent, there should be a ‘playbook’ that captures lessons learned and best practice from tactical experience on the ground and recommendations made to improve the service. The lack of Home Office engagement with the local community prior to the establishment of an accommodation centre at Linton-on-Ouse suggests that it still has some way to go.

I made 4 recommendations in this report. The Home Office has accepted 3 of them and partially accepted 1. I am pleased that work is already under way to implement them.

Published 30 June 2022