A/HRC/41/54/Add.4
evaluation of the first phase of the operation of the right to rent scheme in the West Midlands,
referenced in the report, found no evidence of systematic discrimination; a further
programme of evaluation is planned following the roll-out of the scheme to England. The
Government has provided clear guidance to these groups on how to establish the lawful status
of persons undergoing checks, including the documents which may be accepted and the
Home Office support services available. The Home Office is in the process of simplifying
and modernising these checking systems through the development and delivery of on-line
services.
65.
The report states that the Government’s underlying immigration enforcement strategy
relies on private citizens undertaking frontline enforcement work which is not precise. The
Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement Directorate is responsible for enforcement action
against those who commit immigration offences in the UK; measures to regulate access to
work, benefits and services complement this by encouraging compliance with immigration
laws and reducing the range of individuals against whom direct immigration enforcement
action needs to be undertaken by the Home Office.
66.
The Government has acknowledged the errors made in the treatment of members of
the Windrush generation and has taken immediate steps to put matters right, through
establishing a taskforce to assist individuals to secure status and the documents they need to
evidence it and by launching a compensation scheme for those wrongly affected by those
affected by policies designed to tackle illegal immigration. In addition, the Government has
made a £500,000 annual Windrush Day Grant available for charities, communities and local
authorities to bid into. The aims of the scheme are to celebrate, commemorate and educate
about the Windrush generation, their descendants, and their contribution to national life.
Activities will focus on 22 June, the anniversary of the disembarking of MV Empire
Windrush at Tilbury Docks in 1948. Planning is also underway for the creation of a
permanent tribute to the Windrush Generation, with the creation of the Windrush
Commemoration Committee announced in June 2018.
67.
Paragraph 54 – Regarding the ‘Go Home or fast arrest campaign’ - A pilot operation
took place between 22 July and 22 August 2013 in six London Boroughs to test whether
different communications could encourage increases in voluntary departures. The proactive
communications phase ceased on 22 August 2013. It included a number of communications
techniques, such as mobile billboards on Ad-vans highlighting the risk of arrest, postcards in
shop windows, adverts in newspapers and magazines, leaflets and posters advertising
immigration surgeries in faith/charity group buildings. The campaign was not targeted at
particular racial or ethnic groups and was about encouraging people who have broken the law
to leave the country voluntarily.
68.
Immigration Enforcement’s evaluation of the operation identified that the most
efficient use of communications expenditure was on the adverts, leaflets and posters that
advertised immigration surgeries in faith and charity groups, rather than the Ad-vans or other
forms of advertising used in the operation. The Home Secretary announced to the House of
Commons in October 2013, that the use of the Ad-vans was too blunt an instrument to be
effective across a nationwide campaign and that the scheme would not be rolled out further.
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) investigated complaints about the advert and
published a judgement on 9 October 2013. The ASA dismissed complaints regarding the
pilot being racist, finding that the claim ‘go home or face arrest’ would be interpreted as a
message regarding the immigration status of those in the country illegally, which was not
related to their race or ethnicity and was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence or
distress.
69.
Para 55: Government also have a number of existing polices to combat discrimination
and unfair practices within the Private Rented Sector (PRS) which include:
• Ending ‘No Department for Social Security’ adverts
• How to Guides – helping landlords and tenants know the law and their rights
• Rogue landlord database – taking the worst landlords out of the Private Rented Sector
(PRS)
• Selective licensing – allowing local authorities to target local problems
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