Scottish Government Debate: Illegal Migration Bill - UK Legislation

Emma Roddick S6M-09710 That the Parliament agrees that the UK Government’s Illegal Migration Bill will negatively affect all those seeking asylum in the UK; notes that clauses 23 and 27 of the Bill together will amend the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, by placing a restriction on the powers of the Scottish Ministers and removing the entitlement for victims of human trafficking and exploitation to access Scottish Government-funded support services if they have arrived in the UK through irregular means after 7 March 2023; further notes that the Bill’s provisions are likely to impact on the ability to support potential victims of human trafficking and, therefore, will impact on the delivery of the Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy and efforts to eliminate human trafficking, as victims may actively avoid identification and associated risks of removal from the UK, and acknowledges that the Scottish Government has not been permitted to lodge a Legislative Consent Memorandum on the UK Government’s Illegal Migration Bill in the Scottish Parliament.