Sajid Javid: Action to tackle forced marriage
Tuesday 2nd October at the Conservative Party Conference the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid announced a suite of new measures to tackle forced marriage, including proposals to refuse spousal entry to the UK where there is evidence a marriage is forced.
Forced marriage is an appalling crime and has no place in modern Britain. That’s why we will continue to root out perpetrators and support the brave victims who come forward to report their experiences.
We will do this using a range of measures; consulting on preventing spouses of forced marriage victims from entering the country, working to strengthen the use of admissible evidence in the courts when forced marriage visas are refused and helping public service professionals identify and support victims. Forced marriage can also be brought about through coercive control, that’s why we will launch a communications campaign highlighting other forms of coercion.
·Consulting to include an explicit reference to forced marriage in the immigration rules to demonstrate that forced marriage is unacceptable in the UK. This will give us the means to refuse entry where there is evidence that the marriage is forced.
·Consulting on introducing a mandatory reporting duty for forced marriage to help us tackle this appalling crime. This will ensure that where a crime is committed it is reported to the police, leading to more perpetrators paying for their crimes.
·Working to ensure anonymous evidence of forced marriage can be admissible as closed evidence in the visa appeals process. Where someone is being forced to sponsor a spousal visa as part of a forced marriage we will always protect their anonymity. However, we want to ensure this evidence can be used to refuse a visa and that this refusal withstands an appeal in court.
·Consulting on refreshed multi-agency statutory guidance on forced marriage to help ensure professionals understand forced marriage. Professionals also need to understand risk factors, their responsibilities, and what action they can take to protect and support victims.
·Launching a communications campaign to raise awareness and understanding of forced marriage. The campaign will highlight the many ways people are forced to marry. This will be complemented by a series of roadshows for frontlines professionals to promote the use of forced marriage protection orders.
Sajid Javid, Home Secretary said:
“Forced marriage is an appalling crime that has no place in Britain, it is not compatible with British values and we will not tolerate it.”
“This range of measures will build on our work to protect those at risk of forced marriage, so everyone in Britain has the freedom to choose who they spend their lives with. Supporting victims will be at the very heart of these new proposals to give them confidence to speak out knowing the government is on their side.”
Javid: Putting British values at the heart of the immigration system
Today the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid has announced measures to place our collective British values at the heart of the immigration settlement process.
Those who choose to make Britain their home need to have a good understanding of British values and the English language. We will achieve this by firstly reforming the Life in the UK test by bringing British values to the fore, ensuring the test is more relevant to daily life and culture in the UK and secondly by raising the standard required for English language so everyone has the chance to participate in society.
·We will be bringing forward a public consultation on putting British Values at the heart of Life in the UK test and by amending the accompanying handbook. An understanding and appreciation of British values is vital to integration and playing a full part in national life. It is something all those who settle here should have. The current Life in the UK handbook gives only a brief account of British values. We will shortly bring forward a public consultation to help define what should feature in the handbook.
·Raising the language requirement for British citizenship We are raising the level of language proficiency expected for adults seeking to naturalise as British citizens. Language ability is a key skill which aids the effective integration of adults and their families into the UK and promotes positive outcomes. We want to see people who want to become citizens to make a commitment to their integration by investing in the skills they need to integrate as quickly as possible.
Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, said:
“Today I am setting out how we will put British values at the heart of our immigration system, so we can help people integrate and make the most of the opportunities the UK has to offer.”
“By strengthening the English language test and focusing on British values in our Life in the UK test we will make the criteria for settlement more useful and relevant to daily life.”