To ask Her Majesty's Government what internal guidance, if any, was issued by Departments to give effect to the policy of creating a hostile environment for illegal migrants in the United Kingdom; and what evidence formed the basis of that policy.
Answered on
3 May 2018
The term ‘hostile environment was first coined by Alan Johnson when he was Home Secretary. The current Home Secretary has made it clear that he will no longer be using this term.The Compliant Environment is not a new concept; successive Governments have brought forward policies to prevent the misuse of public services and benefits.
In developing Compliant Environment measures, we have worked in collaboration with other government departments and delivery partners. Guidance underpinning these policies has been issued, including for employers and landlords, and published on https://www.gov.uk/
We conduct impact assessments to fully consider policy objectives, intended effects and the Government’s intervention reasoning. Impact assessments were published for both the 2014 and 2016 Immigration Acts. They can be found at: the following links and attached for reference: