Secure the Border

2. The six-stage process

1. 01Registration: Record identity, arrival details and biometric information through a controlled government process.
2. 02Medical assessment: Identify urgent health needs, vulnerability, safeguarding risks and public-health requirements.
3. 03Security checks: Check identity, criminality and security information using lawful intelligence and data systems.
4. 04Secure accommodation: Maintain control while protecting safety, dignity, welfare and access to essential services.
5. 05A functioning asylum process: Provide access to information, representation and individual consideration.
6. 06A lawful determination: Grant protection where justified or pursue lawful removal after a rejected claim becomes final.

3. Why a functioning process matters

• Every arrival enters one controlled process with identity, health and security checks.
• Claims are decided on their individual facts rather than by assumption, nationality or political pressure.
• People who qualify for asylum enter an organised refugee settlement system.
• Rejected claims lead to lawful removal once rights, reviews and applicable obligations are exhausted.
• Secure accommodation must meet safety, welfare, medical and safeguarding standards.
• Adequate caseworkers, interpreters, legal capacity and tribunal resources are required to reduce avoidable delay.
• Clear rules, published performance data and accountable leadership are essential for public confidence.
• Detention, casework, safeguarding and removal activity require independent inspection and transparent review.

4. A citizen-led starting point

• No automatic prejudgment: Irregular arrival does not replace the need for an individual, lawful asylum decision.
• No open-ended detention: Powers, reviews, vulnerability rules and alternatives must be clearly defined and scrutinised.
• Evidence before scale: Arrival forecasts, processing times, estate capacity and workforce requirements must guide delivery.
• Publish the results: Decisions, delays, appeals, detention, removals, safeguarding and value for money should be reported openly.

5. Resourcing the system honestly

6. Costs and capacity that must be modelled

• Reception sites, biometrics, interpreters, medical teams, security checks and secure data systems.
• Suitable accommodation, staffing, healthcare, food, transport, safeguarding, maintenance and independent inspection.
• Trained caseworkers, country information, quality assurance, legal advice and timely initial decisions.
• Judicial capacity, legal aid, interpreters, evidence handling and effective appeal processes.
• Housing coordination, English-language support, integration, employment access and local-service funding for refugees.
• Travel documents, escorts, transport, safe-country agreements, monitoring and post-decision case management.

7. A staged delivery test

1. 01Lawfulness: Map every stage against domestic law, international obligations, individual rights and court oversight.
2. 02Capacity: Show the accommodation, casework, tribunal, settlement and removal capacity required at different arrival levels.
3. 03Workforce: Publish recruitment, training, retention and productivity plans for every agency involved.
4. 04Value for money: Compare costs, delays and outcomes with realistic alternatives before expanding infrastructure.

8. Questions for scrutiny

1. 01What registration, biometric and identity checks are necessary, proportionate and secure?
2. 02How quickly can medical and vulnerability assessments be completed without missing safeguarding risks?
3. 03Which security checks are operationally realistic, and how should unresolved identity concerns be managed?
4. 04When is secure accommodation justified, how often should detention be reviewed and what alternatives should be available?
5. 05What special rules are required for children, families, trafficking survivors, torture survivors and people with serious illness?
6. 06How many caseworkers, interpreters, lawyers and tribunal staff are required to deliver accurate decisions promptly?
7. 07How should decision quality be measured alongside speed, including appeal outcomes and identified errors?
8. 08What support should successful applicants receive through the refugee settlement system, and how should local services be funded?
9. 09Which countries can lawfully and safely receive people whose claims have been finally rejected?
10. 10What happens when removal is temporarily impossible despite a rejected claim?
11. 11What capital and annual operating costs sit behind each stage, and how do they relate to the £1–2 billion system-wide envelope?
12. 12Which performance data, inspection findings and contracts should be published for ongoing scrutiny?

9. Core purpose

10. The proposed direction