Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) Order 2013
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Lord Taylor of Holbeach
That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) Order 2013.
Relevant document: 15th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach)
My Lords, this is a draft amendment to the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Order 2011. The order concerns charging for visa, immigration and nationality services and it enables the UK Border Agency to specify applications, processes and services for which it intends to set a fee. I thank the noble Baroness for attending this debate, which is playing to a rather empty Room this evening. However, that does not belittle the importance of the measure, because specific fee levels will be set in separate legislation to be brought before this Committee in due course. For applications and services where we charge more than the administrative cost of delivery, the regulations are subject to the affirmative procedure. Noble Lords will have the opportunity to ask questions about the fees themselves in the debate which follows that second piece of statutory legislation.
In accordance with our legal powers, this amendment to the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Order 2011 sets out new applications and services for which we intend a fee to be paid in future, and clarifies the powers under which some existing fees are set. The amendment enables the UK Border Agency to simplify its current charging structure for optional premium services and to widen the scope to develop and offer new optional services in the future. For example, there are currently two fees specified within the regulations for each application type made in the UK, depending on whether a migrant makes a postal application or one at a public inquiry office. Instead, there will be a single application fee and a single additional uplift fee payable for optional premium services that an applicant may wish to take up, such as making their application in person or seeking an expedited consideration of their application. This means that about 30 fees will be removed from the regulations, thus simplifying the legislation as well as giving greater flexibility to how the services are provided.
We want to extend the premium services that we offer to sponsors, and this change will give us greater flexibility to tailor services to meet sponsors’ needs. Rather than specifying applications for a change in the status of a sponsor licence, we want to clarify these as requests for optional services. As a first step, we will then look to extend premium sponsorship to tier 4 sponsors, building on the premium offer already available to those in tiers 2 and 5.
We also want to take the opportunity to make several clarifications. First, we wish to put on an appropriate statutory footing the basis on which fees are charged for tests administered for the purposes of the Immigration Rules. In addition, we are adding a power to set fees for the process of enrolling biometric information. We consider defining this as a process rather than as an application better fits the terminology used in the legislation that deals with the enrolment of biometrics.
We continue to value the economic, cultural and social contribution made by legal migrants to the UK and seek to ensure that the fees for visa, immigration and nationality services demonstrate that the UK retains its position as an attractive destination to work, study or visit.
As I have said, this order provides the enabling powers to set fees and we will return to Parliament in due course to debate further regulations, under the affirmative procedure, specifying the fee levels that rely on the powers in Section 51 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 and additional powers in the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004, as amended by Section 20 of the UK Borders Act 2007.
Noble Lords would want to ensure that the immigration system is paid for in a fair and sustainable manner, balancing the contribution made by taxpayers and those who use and benefit most from the system. The amendment contained within this statutory instrument will ensure that we can continue to strike the right balance, and I commend it to the Grand Committee.
Baroness Smith of Basildon
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his very thorough and helpful explanation of the order. He need not worry; I have no fears of not playing to a full house. One thing I have learnt in my short time looking at immigration issues in your Lordships’ House is that these matters are always widely read afterwards. I am sometimes taken aback by the number of e-mails and the amount of correspondence that follows any legislation in your Lordships’ House relating to immigration. That is very helpful because it helps to inform our debates.
I do not disagree with the noble Lord’s comments. He is right when he talks about balancing the contribution between those who use the system and the taxpayer. I have a couple of questions about the order which perhaps he can help me with. First, looking at the policy background, the Minister made it clear that the key part of delivering the immigration system which the public expects is acquiring the necessary resources to fund delivery and improvements in the services we offer.
We are all aware, particularly from the reports of John Vine, about the backlog and the delays in the system and how urgently improvements are needed. The Minister may have heard a Mr Hearne on Radio 4 the other morning, who is about to celebrate—if that is the right word—his first wedding anniversary next month and yet his wife, having gone over the various hurdles that people should when seeking to make their home in this country, still has not had a final decision about whether they can live a normal married life together. I have had an e-mail today from a couple who were told that they would have to wait six months for a decision; they have now been told it will be another five months. It is those delays in the system that bring it into dispute. I do not blame entry clearance officers, the people making the decisions; I think it is a resources issue. If the Minister is able to say anything about when he thinks we are going to see some improvements in the length of time it is taking to make decisions and the ability to clear the backlog, that would be very helpful, given that it is specifically referred to in the Explanatory Notes.
Another point I am unclear on, looking again at the helpful Explanatory Notes to the order, is that under the heading “Legislative Context”, in paragraph 4.1, the first bullet point says that the purpose of the instrument is,
“to allow the UK Border Agency to set fees for providing optional arrangements for processing immigration and nationality applications (currently the cost of such services is reflected in the relevant application fee)”.
If the cost of those services is currently reflected in the application fee, is the Minister proposing to reduce the current application fee and have a separate fee, or will there be an additional and separate fee? The fourth bullet point says that,
“currently such fees are treated as part of the application fee”.
This seems to mean that there is going to be an additional cost on something that is already included. I am not quite clear about what it means.
The third bullet point says that the purpose of the instrument is,
“to put arrangements for charging fees for tests administered by the UK Border Agency (or those acting on its behalf) for the purposes of the immigration rules on a statutory footing”.
Who are those who would act on behalf of the UK Border Agency? It is something that I should be aware of but perhaps the Minister can enlighten me. I am not clear which organisations or individuals would act on behalf of the UK Border Agency.
It is entirely reasonable that there should be charges. When we look at the level of the charges, that may be an issue to debate as well, but I appreciate that that is not before us today. If the Minister is able to clear up those points I would be very grateful.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, for raising these issues. She is quite right that in this area performance lies at the heart of everything. I am very grateful for the work being done by John Vine. He is driving improvements in the service by identifying points of weakness and the processes and individual cases about which the noble Baroness has communicated with me—and of which I was myself aware—in which there were delays in the consideration of someone’s personal position. Consideration has often been deferred, putting people in uncertainty.
The driver behind these changes is to make sure that the income that can be generated by fees is used to improve the service. This accounts for the pursuit of a premium service—which, I hasten to add, is not at the expense of the normal service but enables people for whom this is very important to have their cases dealt with in the most efficient way to suit their personal needs. It is exactly what we want to turn UKBA into: a consumer-oriented organisation that seeks to serve the people who wish to use its services.
I turn to the issues on which the noble Baroness questioned me. Most of the backlog in marriage cases was accounted for by people who had been refused by the normal process but were trying to circumvent the formal appeals process—the noble Baroness will know that there is an appeals process—by requesting an informal reconsideration. The 2,000 cases that were identified as requiring a decision have now been dealt with. The details of those who requested an informal reconsideration are being passed to Capita, who will contact them on behalf of the UK Border Agency as part of the work to ensure that those with no right to remain in the United Kingdom leave the country. If they refuse, I am afraid that their removal will have to be enforced.
Baroness Smith of Basildon
I appreciate and fully understand that. I was not suggesting that somebody who is not entitled to remain in this country should be able to do so. I am a little concerned about the Minister’s reference to circumventing the process. My understanding is that the process by which people were refused and then looked to have their case reconsidered was part of the system. They were not going against the rules, but acting within them.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
I accept that. That is why we were concerned about it and why John Vine was right to draw the attention of Parliament to the situation. We are very concerned to make sure that it does not continue. This statutory instrument is about trying to engage the involvement of the consumer in the payment of fees, to strengthen the service that can be provided by UKBA.
The noble Baroness asked which companies act on behalf of UKBA. Within the UK, the Post Office uses biometrics and provides a check-and-send service. Overseas, two commercial providers offer assistance with processing applications and premium services. I cannot provide the names of those organisations now, but I will drop a line to the noble Baroness. She also asked why the fee was not included as part of the application fee. That is because the UK Border Agency awarded the contract for the provision of the third-party biometric service to the Post Office. I hope she will understand that that is separate from the fee that is charged for the application.
Baroness Smith of Basildon
I am sorry; perhaps I was not quite clear. I understood why, at the third bullet point, it says,
“arrangements for charging fees for tests administered by … those acting on its behalf”.
My point is about it including the relevant application fees on the first one, whereas at the moment it says,
“the cost of such services is reflected in the relevant application fee”.
I am not sure why legislation is needed to have a charge if it is already included in the current application fee. It is the first bullet point.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
Yes, I agree with the noble Baroness. It might sound like a tautology but I am sure that it is relevant. I hope that the noble Baroness will excuse me if I do not explain the full details of that. I will certainly write to her about it.
The noble Baroness asked about the backlog of cases. The UKBA’s website would accept a reconsideration request if it was submitted before November 2012, when the question first arose. I hope that the noble Baroness is content with those responses. I have given an undertaking that I will write to her. I will do so, and put a copy in the Library. I commend the order to the Grand Committee.