Comment from The Northern Echo; Asylum needs a fair approach

While we must examine the full details when they are published before passing final judgement, the outline of the proposed reforms given by the Home Secretary yesterday appear to represent a balanced and reasoned approach to the issue.

Balance is important. Britain must never turn its back on those fleeing injustice, tyranny and oppression. But, at the same time, our nation must not be seen as a 'soft touch' to those intent of abusing the haven we provide for foreign nationals.

It is obvious the present system is inefficient. There is a logjam which detains genuine asylum seekers for too long, and provides sustenance for bogus applicants for too long.

We are pleased to see the Home Secretary acknowledge these inadequacies and propose to tackle them by providing extra resources to accelerate the process of application and assessment.

Crucial in achieving this is the creation of new reception centres from where genuine refugees can be fast-tracked into society and others can be given short shrift and fast-tracked into repatriation.

But the Government will find it difficult to find sites on which to build the centres. To assist in the integration of asylum seekers in our communities, the centres need to be within, or near, residential areas. But not everyone will be happy to have them built in their neighbourhood.

Opposition to these sites could well halt Mr Blunkett's reforms in their tracks.

There will be no regrets, however, about the scrapping of the voucher system.

The issue of vouchers to asylum seekers automatically identifies their status, and exposes them to racist attacks and persecution.

Vouchers take away people's dignity, and have no place in a free and democratic society which claims to offer shelter for those who need it. We must hope that their replacement by 'smart cards' will not simply provide an alternative means of imposing alienation and indignity.