The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Chancellor to fund an "ambitious, 10-year commitment" to resettle vulnerable refugees from conflict areas in his Budget next week, as new official figures show the number brought to the UK plummeted by 85% in 2020.

The Home Office's latest Immigration Statistics show that just 823 refugees were resettled in the UK in 2020 - compared to 5,612 in 2019 - after the Government suspended the UK's resettlement schemes in March and has not reopened them.

LD4SOS Council Member Dr Ruvi Ziegler wrote an article appraising the positive effects of the Human Rights Act on Seekers of International Protection, written for the Human Rights in Action Project. Ruvi's contribution will form part of a joint submission to the Independent Human Rights Act Review set up by the government to review the Human Rights Act which came into force just over 20 years ago and has 'brought home' the rights protected by the European Convention of Human Rights. The review is expected to report expected in July 2021.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for the ban on asylum seekers working to be lifted, as new Home Office figures reveal that 46,796 people have been waiting more than six months for a decision on their claim.

The latest Immigration Statistics, published this morning, show a backlog of 64,895 people with pending asylum claims at the end of 2020, an increase of 27% since 2019. 46,796 have been waiting more than six months for an initial decision from the Home Office, a 60% increase.

We believe that the coronavirus vaccine must be safely accessible to everyone, regardless of immigration status, ID or proof of address.

The Government has stated that everyone is able to access the coronavirus vaccine, but in practice, too many people are being asked for ID, are unable to register with a GP, and are afraid to access services because of longstanding and entrenched barriers to healthcare.