Tower Hamlets And The Secretary Of State For The Environment

EDM number 2079 in 1992-93, proposed by Graham Allen on 25/05/1993.

That this House condemns the decision of the Department of the Environment to withdraw its petition to appeal in the case R. v Secretary of State for the Environment ex parte Tower Hamlets; notes that the implications of this decision, which gives local authority housing departments a duty to check on immigration status and to inform the immigration authorities of any suspect irregularities, will primarily dicriminate against immigrants and ethnic minorities in the UK; deplores the fact that local authority housing officials will be given powers beyond their competence, expertise and resources; and believes this decision will inevitably lead to racial discrimination and injustice whereby many families will be wrongly denied their rights to housing and their immigration status questioned; and consequently calls upon the Secretary of State for the Environment to recognised his decision and challenge Tower Hamlets' claim that housing officials have the ability to determine an individual's immigration status in connection with their application for local authority housing, a responsibility which should remain with the immigration authorities alone.

This motion has been signed by a total of 36 MPs.