BRITAIN: People seeking asylum in Britain could be electronically tagged rather than locked up in detention centres, the Home Secretary, Mr David Blunkett, announced yesterday.
Within 18 months they could be fitted with a new generation of tag which uses satellite technology to pinpoint the wearer's exact location, he said.
The proposal might be cheaper than providing holding centres if ministers are convinced the tags cannot easily be removed.
Other measures in the Asylum and Immigration Bill, published yesterday, will reduce asylum- seekers' access to the appeals process more severely than previously thought. Not only will it cut the existing two-stage appeal process to one, applicants will be prevented from applying to the High Court for judicial reviews.
The Government will go ahead with controversial plans, outlined by the government in the Queen's Speech opening of parliament on Wednesday, to take into care children of asylum-seekers who refuse a free flight home.
Mr Blunkett said these families - amounting to just "a handful" - would be dealt with in the same way as any others who "put their children at risk".
The fact that the measure does not appear specifically in the primary legislation could reduce the risk of Labour backbenchers rebelling against the Bill.
The Bill came as new figures published yesterday claimed the Home Office had met Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair's pledge to halve asylum applications.
There were 4,225 applications in September, compared with 8,770 in October 2002, the benchmark month before Mr Blunkett's earlier tranche of asylum reforms came into force.
Applications rose 13 per cent to 11,955 in the three months from July to September, but were down from 22,030 year-on-year.
Including dependants such as spouses and children, the figure was 14,765, up 18 per cent.
The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, also announced details of plans to cut legal aid for asylum-seekers. They will only be able to claim five hours' help from solicitors and other accredited advisers, in a move expected to trim £30 million (€43.2m) from the £175 million (€252m) asylum legal aid budget. The Legal Services Commission will be able to approve additional funding in worthwhile cases, he said.
"If a case does require more than five hours because it takes time to get the legitimate story from a legitimate asylum-seeker and there is a prospect of success, then that time will be provided," he said.
"It will be targeted at those cases which need it."
Amnesty International's Ms Kate Allen said: "The cost of meeting Blair and Blunkett's asylum targets is being met by people fleeing torture, rape and murder in their home countries.
"To meet these targets and satisfy domestic political concerns, this government has made it much harder for people escaping oppression to apply for asylum.
"Visa requirements make it almost impossible to legally enter the UK from most refugee-producing countries. Appeal rights have already been reduced for some countries and today's Bill looks likely to cut them even further.
"Britain has a responsibility to offer protection to refugees. It is tragic that this is being eroded for short-term political gain."