Draft Immigration Act 2016 (Consequential Amendments) (Biometrics and Legal Aid) Regulations 2017

Robert Goodwill Excerpts

Tuesday 18th April 2017 General Committees

[The Chair]

I call the Minister on this auspicious day to move the motion.

[The Minister for Immigration (Mr Robert Goodwill)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Immigration Act 2016 (Consequential Amendments) (Biometrics and Legal Aid) Regulations 2017.

Thank you for that introduction, Mr Davies; this is indeed an auspicious day—the regulations will no doubt enter the annals of history as we discuss it. I would like to explain the scope of the statutory instrument to the Committee. In short, it makes consequential amendments to two acts: the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012—known as LASPO—and the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

The amendments are made in preparation for the commencement of the new immigration bail powers under schedule 10 to the Immigration Act 2016. The changes to LASPO are made in respect of access to legal aid for individuals liable to detention. The changes to the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 are made in respect of the collection of biometric information from some individuals in connection with the conditions of their immigration bail.

The broad context of the regulations is the commencement of schedule 10 to the Immigration Act 2016. The powers conferred by schedule 10 will create a new status of immigration bail to replace the complex legal framework that currently exists under the Immigration Act 1971 in respect of individuals liable to immigration detention. There are currently a total of six legal statuses relating to bail or release for individuals liable to detention. It might help the Committee if I list them: temporary admission or release, under paragraph 21 of schedule 2; bail, under paragraph 22 of schedule 2; bail pending appeal, under paragraph 29 of schedule 2; bail pending removal, under paragraph 34 of schedule 2; bail pending deportation, under paragraph 3 of schedule 3; and release on restrictions, under paragraphs 2(5) or 4 of schedule 3. As the Committee must conclude, the situation is unnecessarily complex.

Under schedule 10 to the 2016 Act, those six statuses will be simplified into a single status of immigration bail. The changes to primary legislation made by the statutory instrument are intended to harmonise the legal framework surrounding release from detention in the light of the broader changes that will commence with schedule 10. Accordingly, the regulations are being introduced now so that the commencement of schedule 10 can proceed smoothly. That is because the changes to primary legislation are unnecessary to enable the new bail regime to function.

The amendments to LASPO are being made to ensure that access to legal aid for immigration bail is neither narrowed nor widened following the introduction of the new immigration bail powers. I hope that that will reassure those who might have had concerns about restrictions in legal aid.

When schedule 10 is commenced, the provisions to which LASPO currently refers will be repealed. As a result, changes to LASPO are required in paragraphs 26 and 27 of schedule 1. To give some detail, paragraph 26 provides for a person who is temporarily admitted to the UK to be eligible for legal aid, and paragraph 27 provides for a person who has been released on restrictions to be eligible for legal aid. The statutory instrument amends both paragraphs to reflect the new legal framework.

We are also inserting a new paragraph 27A into the relevant part of LASPO. It represents not a change in substance but a necessary change to ensure that those who are currently eligible for legal aid remain so. It is worth noting that paragraph 25 of schedule 1 to LASPO does not need to be changed, as it relates to people who are being detained. Those in detention are already eligible for legal aid in respect of bail, and the move to the new immigration bail regime will not change that.

In respect of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, a minor change to biometrics powers must also be made, because the commencement of schedule 10 will change the reporting requirement applying to some on what will become immigration bail. Section 141 of the Act currently provides the power for an authorised person to take fingerprints from an individual in given circumstances. One of those circumstances concerns individuals who have been refused leave to enter but were instead temporarily admitted. The power is exercised if an immigration officer reasonably suspects that the individual might break the conditions of temporary admission relating to residence or reporting and must therefore have their fingerprints recorded. Section 141 currently refers only to conditions for reporting to the police or an immigration officer. However, the new powers under schedule 10 mean that immigration bail can be imposed subject to a condition requiring a person to report to the Secretary of State or any such other person as may be specified. The statutory instrument makes the necessary amendment to reflect those new provisions.

In summary, the consequential amendments made by the statutory instrument are necessary for the smooth and orderly commencement of schedule 10 to the Immigration Act 2016, as agreed by Parliament. They ensure that the new power of immigration bail will not adversely impact anyone and that there will be no difference in the treatment of individuals who fall under the new encompassing status of immigration bail and who would have fallen into one of the six discrete statuses that I outlined earlier related to bail from detention. Equally, it will ensure that biometrics are taken only from the same cohort of individuals as before, in circumstances as outlined in the legislation. I commend the statutory instrument to the Committee.

[The Chair]

I now call my illustrious neighbour, Carolyn Harris, to respond on behalf of the Opposition.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Goodwill]

I thank both Members who have made contributions today. Please allow me some time to respond to the issues raised.

Although I cannot give a precise date for the commencement of the new bail provisions in schedule 10, I can assure Members that progress is being made, as this statutory instrument demonstrates. I expect the new immigration bail to be implemented shortly, although the forthcoming general election might delay that further.

Let me point out that immigration detention is entirely different from the detention of criminals in the prison estate. The people who may be foreign national offenders in immigration detention are no longer criminals; they are detained solely for the purpose of removal. Indeed, detainees can be put into detention only in very limited circumstances; there is a presumption against detention.

However, I would point out that last year 5,810 foreign national offenders were removed from this country, and I would make it clear to constituents up and down the country, including in Scotland, that if those people were in the UK, many of them may well have gone on to perpetrate crimes, and in some cases quite horrendous crimes—rape, murder and organised crime. The removal of those people is very good news for constituents.

[Anne McLaughlin]

I thank the Minister for taking an intervention. Every time we discuss this, I have to make it clear that I am not suggesting that the streets of the United Kingdom should be overrun with people who are likely to commit those terrible offences, regardless of where they come from. We are talking about people who are detained for longer than the prison term they were given, and whether or not they should be allowed to have the same judicial oversight after four months of detention. I ask the Minister to please stop implying that anybody here wants the country to be overrun with criminals who are going to cause harm to our constituents, because that is not what we want.

[Mr Goodwill]

Since 2010 we have removed around 30,000 foreign national offenders from this country. That is something that our people expect us to do, and I will be proud to stand on that record in the general election campaign. Indeed, Home Secretaries in the previous Administration were forced to resign because people were being released from prison without being considered for detention. I believe that we have a system that works very well, and we maintain all the legal safeguards that need to be in place. We have a very effective voluntary return scheme, so people who have not got legal status here can be helped with their air ticket or given other help if they volunteer to go early. We have an adults at risk policy and we constantly keep these matters under review.

The hon. Member for Swansea East mentioned legal aid. I repeat on the record that there will be no change on policy and no change to those who are eligible. The SNP spokesperson talked about having a time limit on detention. In my view, that would create a perverse incentive to delay the process and would make the system less effective and less operable. Let me give an example of some of the legal processes we have to undertake. In any given year about 18,000 judicial reviews are brought forward, of which fewer than 100 are successful. There is no shortage of access through the various tribunals and appeals processes, and there is judicial review for people who need it.

I was concerned that the hon. Member for Glasgow North East seemed to justify shoplifting—I am sure she will correct me if I am wrong—as something that is perfectly acceptable if the person is hungry. We have a process: if someone has no legal status here and cannot work, they should present themselves and we will work with them to return them to their country of origin.

[Anne McLaughlin]

I am not sure where to start. I will try to keep it brief. No, I was not saying that shoplifting is okay, and I think the Minister knows fine well that I was not saying that. I was saying that the Minister has used the excuse that people pose a risk to people out there if we do not detain them beyond their prison sentences. He was suggesting that they are dangerous people. If somebody shoplifts because they have no income and no way of feeding themselves, it is not right, it is against the law and it is a criminal act—I say on the record, please do not do it—but it is not the same thing as attacking somebody violently or raping somebody. The Minister puts those things in the same category. Those people do not pose a dangerous threat to members of the public.

[Mr Goodwill]

I am pleased to have given the hon. Lady the opportunity to put the record straight—I was possibly being a bit mischievous when I suggested that she was making that point. People who commit crimes here and have no status here need to leave the United Kingdom. If they do not do so voluntarily with the help we give them, in many cases immigration detention and the processes we have in place are needed.

The hon. Member for Swansea East talked about informing people that the bail changes in the 2016 Act will be coming into force on 30 April. The bail provisions in the Act are not coming into force on 30 April. I am happy to bring them forward shortly, but the election will lead to a short delay. We are working closely with the Ministry of Justice and the Courts and Tribunal Service. I have confirmed that there will be no changes. This measure does not change policy; it is a technical instrument to ensure that the three instruments interact correctly. The hon. Lady also raised the issue of advice to immigration detainees in prison. We are producing a comprehensive information pack to be given to prisoners setting out how to apply for bail and the appropriate forms to be used.

On the adults at risk policy, which I touched on briefly, I strongly disagree with the hon. Member for Glasgow North East. Concern for vulnerable detainees is at the heart of our decision making, and we expect our policy to lead to a reduction in the detention of vulnerable persons.

I hope I have addressed the points that were raised. This measure makes consequential amendments to the LASPO 2012 legislation and the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The amendments to those two pieces of primary legislation are central to facilitating the smooth and orderly commencement of the new immigration bail provisions under schedule 10 to the 2016 Act. I commend them to the House.

Question put and agreed to.