Wakefield and Rothwell MP Simon Lightwood has welcomed the Government's proposed reforms to the asylum and immigration system.

The Labour MP said the measures, set out in the Immigration and Asylum Bill introduced to Parliament this week, are intended to create a "fairer" asylum system and tackle illegal migration.

The Government said the legislation includes plans for capped safe and legal routes for refugees, reforms to human rights legislation, the closure of more asylum hotels and the creation of a new Independent Immigration Appeals Authority to speed up immigration decisions and the removal of failed asylum seekers and foreign national offenders.

According to the Government, new safe and legal routes are expected to open for applications in the autumn and will be based on Canada's community sponsorship model, similar to the UK's Homes for Ukraine scheme.

placeholder image — The Springs, Wakefield city centre

The Government also said it had reduced asylum accommodation costs by £1 billion and recently announced the closure of more asylum hotels.

It plans to make greater use of former Ministry of Defence sites to accommodate asylum seekers.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "Britain has always offered sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution.

"But this system only survives if the public trusts that it is fair, controlled, and not open to abuse.

"My goal is simple – to ensure we have an asylum system not just today, but for generations to come."

Mr Lightwood said residents regularly raise immigration with him.

He said: "Every week I speak to residents who are concerned about immigration and want our system to be fairer and more secure.

"Too often, the system is too slow, too open to abuse and too expensive. We have already made huge strides to improve it, but these measures will go even further.

"I look forward to supporting these new laws in the House of Commons."

Mr Lightwood’s office said nearly 70,000 people who did not have the right to be in the country, including 10,000 foreign national offenders, had been removed since Labour entered office two years ago.

Last week, it was announced that a further 20 asylum hotels had closed.