This briefing note was issued following the Home Secretary's Oral Statement on 1 September to aid reporting.
UK-France Treaty
- On 5 August, the UK-France Returns Agreement came into immediate effect following the signing of the treaty by the UK and French Interior Ministers.
- This treaty enables the return of small boat arrivals from the UK to France, with an equal number of individuals eligible to come to the UK through a new legal route.
- This is a pilot scheme which has the potential to undermine the business model of criminal gangs, while doing our bit to support genuine refugees. The more we prove the concept at the outset, the better we will be able to develop and grow it.
- Returns to France are expected later this month.
International Cooperation
- Thanks to agreements between Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau during their February visit to northern France, crucial new action is being taken to strengthen enforcement against small boats:
- The deployment of over 70 Compagnie de Marche specialist officers has been extended and will continue to mobilise to increase patrols along the French coast.
- Earlier this year, the UK and France agreed to reinforce the dual-powered intelligence unit stationed in Dunkirk to investigate and prosecute criminal gangs, enabling more effective investigations and faster convictions of people-smugglers.
- For the first time, new maritime arrangements will enable French authorities to intercept small boats in shallow waters off the French coast, preventing them from continuing their dangerous journey across the Channel. We expect to be starting in coming weeks.
- The government has also signed new agreements with Western Balkans countries and Germany to strengthen laws and intelligence sharing against people smuggling and signed various returns agreements with countries such as Iraq.
- We have signed an Anti-Smuggling Action Plan with other G7 nations, hosted over 40 countries from across the world at the Border Security Summit on Organised Immigration Crime in London and launched a new international communications campaign to debunk people smugglers’ lies.
- We are intensifying our collaboration with our European partners, including through the Calais Group of Interior Ministers, by exploring innovative measures to dismantle the business models of the criminal smuggling gangs and robustly deter these illegal journeys.
- The number of Vietnamese nationals arriving by small boat in January to June 2025 was less than half the number in the equivalent period of 2024. This is a testament to our close international relationship with Vietnam, which is enhancing intelligence sharing between law enforcement to disrupt criminal networks along the route. This, alongside our international deterrent campaign, is debunking lies and myths peddled by vile people smugglers.
- Secured agreement from Germany that it will change its laws making it a criminal offence to facilitate the smuggling of migrants to the UK and giving German prosecutors more tools to tackle the supply and storage of small boat equipment in warehouses.
Returns & Enforcement
- We have returned over 35,000 people with no right to be in the UK— including a 28% increase in returns of failed asylum seekers.
- Increased illegal working visits by 48% and arrests by 42%, with employers facing fines of up to £60,000 per illegal worker.
- Agreed a new partnership with Uber Eats, and Deliveroo, maximising information sharing opportunities to tackle illegal working abuse in the food delivery sector.
- Introduced new legislation to deport foreign criminals earlier and expanded the ‘Deport now, Appeal later’ scheme.
- Detention capacity is being expanded with 1,000 new beds at Campsfield and Haslar sites, with the first beds going live by the end of the year enabling increased removals.
National Crime Agency
- Along with the Border Security Command, the NCA are delivering rapid, intense and targeted multi-agency enforcement action to target UK-based OIC criminals. This includes an Immigration Enforcement led intensification operation to tackle illegal working within the gig economy.
- This summer, we announced a £100 million uplift in funding for border security, with 300 more personnel in the NCA focused on targeting crime gang members, using new state-of-the-art technology and equipment for the detection and disruption of trafficking gangs.
- The number of engines seized in Europe prior to facilitating illegal entry to the UK from July 2024 to 24 July 2025 is 71.
- The number of boats seized since July 2024 until 24 July 2025 is 116. During the financial year 2024/25, the NCA was involved in more than 190 arrests (both in the UK and overseas) for OIC-related offences and 347 disruptions of immigration crime networks - their highest level on record and a 40 per cent increase on the previous twelve months.
- We have increased the pace of social media post takedowns, with more than 8,000 being removed in 2024, a 40% increase on the previous year.
Legislation
- We have introduced the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, giving law enforcement counter-terror-style powers to disrupt smuggling gangs.
- This includes stronger powers to seize and search mobile phones and new offences against gangs conspiring to plan crossings and selling or handling small boat parts for use in the Channel.
- The Bill criminalises the creation of online material promoting illegal immigration activity, including small boat crossings.
- And foreign nationals who commit sex offences will be excluded from asylum protections under the Refugee Convention in the UK.
- Further information can be found at this factsheet: Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill 2025: factsheets - GOV.UK
Asylum System Reforms
- The asylum system we inherited was not fit for purpose, with appeals in the system for over a year on average.
- We are overhauling asylum appeals with the most significant reforms in decades, to bring an end to these unacceptable delays and restore public confidence.
- We have surged the number of initial decisions made, which is now sustained at least 31,000 people receiving initial decisions per quarter – far higher than typical levels over the last two decades.
- The government is reforming asylum support and accommodation, reducing reliance on hotels and increasing use of alternative sites. Measures include;
- The new Failure to Travel sanction, ensuring penalties for those who refuse to move to their designated dispersal accommodation.
- From today, the government with reintroduce the normal 28-day Move On period for all single adults in receipt of a positive asylum decision.
- To address appeal backlogs, a new independent appeals body will be established with statutory powers to prioritise cases from those in asylum accommodation and foreign national offenders.
- In the immediate term, we are maximising capacity in the First Tier Tribunal by increasing sitting days and requiring appeal decisions within weeks not years, so we can clear the backlog, speed up returns, and cut costs.
- The new legal requirement for a 24-week timeframe for asylum appeals by those receiving asylum accommodation support and appeals by foreign offenders will reduce these delays, and the new independent appeals body will eradicate them completely.
- The system for family migration has become overly complex, developing increasingly around court decisions and case law, including court interpretations of Article 8 of the Human Rights Act.
- An overly high proportion of family-related immigration cases are now decided on the basis that they are “exceptional” to the normal rules, rather than being in line with the rules set down by Parliament, and that undermines control and confidence.
- That is why we are reviewing the application of Article 8 in the immigration and asylum system - and we will bring forward new reforms to family rules so that it is Parliament, rather than ad hoc court decisions, that determines the way that the right to family life is applied. The Home Secretary has also asked for a number of specific cases to be examined in relation to Article 3.
Asylum Accommodation
- The Government inherited an asylum system under exceptional strain with tens of thousands stuck in a backlog, claims not being processed and disastrous contracts that were wasting millions in taxpayer money.
- The Home Office is exploring a variety of short-, medium- and longer-term options, in collaboration with other government departments - supporting the commitment to end the use of hotels whilst delivering a more sustainable, flexible system.
- Decisions on potential options such as former student accommodation and government-owned properties will be made on a site-by-site basis, and we will continue to work closely with local authorities and in compliance with all rules and regulations.
- From over 400 asylum hotels open in summer 2023, costing almost £9 million a day, there are now less than 210, and we want them all closed for good by the end of this Parliament.
- The number of asylum seekers in hotels fell by almost 6,000 in the first three months of 2025 – down 15% from December.
- The cost of hotels was £5.77m per day in 2024/25, down from £8.3m per day in 2023/24.
- We are clear this is not a good use of public money, and we remain fully committed to ending the use of hotels as asylum accommodation completely and as soon as possible.
- By restoring grip on the system and speeding up decision making, we will end the use of hotels and are forecast to save the taxpayer £1 billion per year by 2028-29 compared with 2025-26.
Refugee Family Reunion
- Existing applications already in the system will continue to be processed in the normal way. The pause does not affect refugees' existing rights or those who have already been granted reunion visas.
- In May 2025, the Government set out its plans to reform the framework for family migration in the Immigration White Paper. This included setting out a new family policy on refugees seeking to bring family members to the UK.
- 6 years ago, refugees who applied to bring family to the UK did so on average close to 18 months after they were granted protection. However, those applications now come in on average within a month, with some councils finding that more than a quarter of their family homelessness applications are linked to refugee family reunion.
- Denmark and Switzerland don’t allow those granted humanitarian status to apply to bring their family over for two years after protection has been granted.
- The Home Secretary has announced the temporary suspension of refugee family reunion, while work to reform the route in the long term is undertaken.
- Refugees will be able to make applications under the normal Family Migration route.
- We remain committed to supporting refugee families while managing the impact on local communities and services. We are working with local authorities who face unprecedented demand for temporary accommodation.