2004 Act Changes to Hard Cases Support
The Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc) Act 2004 s 10 gives the Secretary of State the power to provide or arrange for the provision of accommodation to certain persons including failed asylum seekers. It also permits the continuation of the provision of accommodation to be made conditional upon the performance of or participation in community activities. This s 10(1) specifically provides for the Secretary of State to make regulations specifying the criteria to be used when determining whether provision or continuation of provision of accommodation should be made. Community activities are defined as 'activities that appear to the Secretary of State to be beneficial to the public or a section of the public.' The House of Lords and House of Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights warned the Government that this provision could be contrary to Article 4 of the ECHR on the prevention of slavery and forced labour.

