The Asylum Support adjudicators had allowed appeals by the asylum failed seekers, and had awarded them support. The Secretary of State now appealed. The failed asylum seekers had been unable to leave the country and having been refused support were destitute.
Held: The decisions had been wrong. The decision fell to be made in stages. First, was he but no longer, an asylum seeker, and his claim for asylum was rejected. Secondly, was he destitute? Third, did he meet any of the conditions under regulation 3(2). Reg 3(2)(b) asked that the applicant be unable to leave the country ‘by reason of a physical impediment to travel or for some other medical reason’, and the limb is sub-divided by reference to the alternatives of ‘a physical impediment to travel’, or ‘some other medical reason’. The decision maker must take a two stage approach, asking first whether he was unable to leave, and then as to the reason. The words were to be given their ordinary meaning. ‘Unable’ means the same as ‘not able’ but is different from ‘impossible’: ‘To substitute an absolute test of impossibility in the literal sense of that word would be to put it too high. ‘
Judges:
Holman J
Citations:
[2006] EWHC 1248 (Admin), Times 11-Jul-2006
Links:
Statutes:
Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum-Seekers) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/930) 3
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Moore v Electoral Registration Officer for Borders ScSf 1980
(Sheriff Court of Lothian and Borders) The court considered the construction of the words ‘unable or likely to be unable to go in person to the polling station’, so as to qualify somebody to apply for a postal vote under the 1949 Act. This led to . .
Cited – Leeder v The Mayor, etc, of the Town of Ballarat East 1908
(Supreme Court of Victoria in Australia) The court considered the requirement of giving notice within a certain period of time to the municipality as a precondition of a person recovering damages from the municipality as a result of the state of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Immigration, Benefits, Housing
Updated: 14 November 2022; Ref: scu.242301