Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-09-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with (a) Germany, (b) Sweden and (c) other European countries on best practice for the management of the system for relocating refugees.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The UK has not opted in to any of the EU relocation proposals. The Government remains of the view that relocation of asylum seekers between Member States risks creating unintended consequences or perverse incentives for people to put their lives into the hands of traffickers in order to get to an EU Member State.

However, we continue to work closely with EU partners on addressing all aspects of the migration crisis. We are supporting the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement and border hotspots, including through the deployment of UK officials to support Frontex and European Asylum Support Office missions in Greece and Italy. We also continue to work with other EU Member States to improve the operation of the Dublin Regulation, in particular the provisions on family reunification.