Nationality and Borders Bill

Lord Bishop of London Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 5th January 2022 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Bishop of London]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the many noble Lords in this House who bring such expertise to our deliberations and compassion to our scrutiny of this Bill. I wish to focus my remarks particularly on Part 5 of the Bill, on modern-day slavery. It has been said that the Modern Slavery Act was a pioneering piece of legislation. I would agree with that, but there is so much more work for us to do to confront this blight on our communities. Addressing modern-day slavery is close to the Church of England’s heart. Through the Clewer Initiative and other programmes, we have worked to raise awareness and to support survivors. This is a matter in which civil society, law enforcement and government share a joint responsibility to act.

Several aspects of the Bill are welcome additions in the fight against modern-day slavery. I welcome the renewed commitment to support victims of physical and mental health and social being, and I welcome the leave to remain route for confirmed victims. However, I share the concerns of the noble Lord, Lord McColl, over whether this really goes far enough. There are other aspects that also seem troubling. We have heard from many noble Lords of concerns over inadmissibility and the proposed two-tier system for refugees. We must not lose sight of how this connects to modern-day slavery and exploitation. As my noble friend the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham and the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, highlighted, the more there is a lack of safe and legal routes, the more criminal gangs fill the vacuum to bring the desperate people here. Indeed, the harder we make it to arrive with ever more militarised and securitised approaches, the more the only available options are via sophisticated criminal gangs and support from alternative, illegal sources.

The Government have made it clear that they believe the existing modern slavery provisions are open to abuse and are being used to prevent people being removed from the country. I do not doubt their sincerity in this regard, but we must be cautious that in seeking to counter abuse we do not sacrifice the real victims. To do so would be to fail the promise and progress made by the Modern Slavery Act. This was a point that we explored during the passage of the Domestic Abuse Bill last year, and my noble friend the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester and I will be looking again at the support and protections for migrant survivors of abuse at future stages of this Bill.

As regards victims of modern slavery, I hope that the Government will be prepared to discuss the impact of proposals on changes to the “reasonable grounds” criteria. I have heard the concerns of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner and others that this will have a negative impact on the many genuine survivors, and I will seek assurances from the Government on how that can be avoided. In addition to my remarks, the Lords Spiritual will want to pick up areas that affect children and young people who fall through the cracks of the Bill.

Modern slavers thrive on exploiting destitution and fear among asylum seekers and migrants. They capitalise on gaps in government provision and enmesh the vulnerable in their enterprises. I share the fear expressed by other noble Lords, including the noble Lords, Lord McColl, Lord Alton and Lord Rosser, that, contrary to the intention of the Bill, there is much that might exacerbate modern slavery, not reduce it. I hope that, as this Bill proceeds, we might find ways of improving our commitment and support to victims of modern slavery.

Nationality and Borders Bill

Lord Bishop of London Excerpts

Lords Hansard - Part 2 & Report stage
Wednesday 2nd March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

My Lords, Amendment 58A, in my name and those of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London, the noble Lord, Lord Paddick, and the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, would require the Secretary of State to prohibit the automatic sharing of the personal data of a victim of or witness to crime for immigration purposes.

This is a familiar issue to the House. It was a key issue raised in the Domestic Abuse Bill, when your Lordships voted to provide safe reporting for migrant victims of domestic abuse. In this Bill, this issue has been raised in particular due to the offence of arriving into the UK proposed in Clause 39.

The question I asked in Committee was: if a person is trafficked into the UK, is it the first duty of the police to recognise them as a victim of trafficking or as a criminal under Clause 39? I welcome that your Lordships’ House has just voted to remove the offence in question under Clause 39, but the issue of safe reporting continues to be of great concern.

A lack of safe reporting is damaging for victims, public safety and law enforcement because it prevents us tracking down and prosecuting dangerous people. This is not just the belief of Members of this House, it was the conclusion of the 2018 super-complaint. For victims of modern slavery, a mistrust of authority is a huge problem in encouraging people to come forward and identify themselves as a victim. What is practically being done to build that trust?

Rather than full safe reporting, the Government have opted for an immigration enforcement victims protocol, which they state will prevent enforcement action against victims while criminal investigations and proceedings are ongoing, and while the victim is being supported.

Organisations working on the ground with victims have raised that the protocol will not make victims feel safe to report offences, so it fails that first hurdle. Can the Minister address these concerns? In Committee, the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, asked the Government to check whether it remains the case that one in two victims does not report crimes to the police for fear of disbelief and deportation. Does the Minister agree with that? What assessment have the Government made of the scale of the problem?

Safe reporting is a very real problem, which the amendment in my name seeks to address. I beg to move.

[The Lord Bishop of London]

My Lords, I have added my name to Amendment 58A. I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, for introducing this new amendment. In Committee, I tabled an amendment looking to create a data firewall for survivors of domestic abuse. This amendment, however, is helpful in that it is broader in its scope and gets to the critical underlying principle: namely, that victims and witnesses of crime should not need to fear coming forward on account of their migration status. I and my colleagues on this Bench, including the right reverend Prelates the Bishops of Gloucester and Bristol, have highlighted these concerns, notably during the passage of the Domestic Abuse Bill.