Illegal Migration Bill: evidence on Senedd legislative consent

The Bevan Foundation has submitted evidence to Senedd Committees on the issue of legislative consent for the Illegal Migration Bill.

The Bevan Foundation was recently invited to give evidence to the Equality and Social Justice Committee and the Children, Young People, and Education Committee as they consider the Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Illegal Immigration Bill, laid by the Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt MS, on 31 March 2023. In our response, we made the following key points:

• The Illegal Immigration Bill runs counter to the vision of Wales as a Nation of Sanctuary.
• The Bill makes provisions in the devolved area of social care in Wales.
• The Bill introduces powers that conflict with local authority duties under the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014.
• The Bill is incompatible with the international obligations of the UK, and of Wales as a devolved government, under the European Convention on Human Rights (EHCR), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings.
• The Bill contravenes the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011 and runs counter to the Child First, Migrant Second approach that underpins the delivery of support to asylum seeking children in Wales.

It is the Bevan Foundation’s view that the Illegal Migration Bill makes provision within the devolved competence of the Senedd and the Foundation urges both Committees to recommend that the Senedd refuses legislative consent.

The Bevan Foundation also contributed to a joint briefing for Committees, together with The Children’s Legal Centre Wales and The Children’s Society. Both documents are available on the Senedd website. The Legislative Consent Memorandum will be debated in Plenary on 20 June 2023.

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