British Citizenship (Northern Ireland) Bill

Shailesh Vara Excerpts

Committee stage
Wednesday 17th April 2024 Public Bill Committees

[The Minister for Legal Migration and the Border (Tom Pursglove)]

It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I start by congratulating my friend, the right hon. Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson), on his efforts in stewarding the Bill to this stage. I also congratulate him on his recent appointment to the Privy Council, and on the responsibilities he has assumed as the head of his party. We wish him well in that regard. As was said by the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson), he has campaigned tenaciously and constructively for these changes, working with colleagues from Northern Ireland in both Houses to make the arguments.

As a fellow child of the 1980s, I recognise that these measures were being campaigned for just before the birth of the right hon. Member for Belfast East. As a child of 1988, it is fair to say that the campaign was going on a few years prior to my birth, which puts into perspective the way in which Members in this House and the other place—and campaigners more generally—have been making the argument to have a more inclusive approach to citizenship. I thank them for their efforts to shine a light on the issue, and for being so persistent in helping us to get to this point. I am delighted to be the Minister responding to this debate, and to be able to commit the Government to taking the Bill forward with complete backing.

As I said on Second Reading, the Bill reflects the unique position that Irish nationals hold with regards to the United Kingdom. I am confident that the Bill, with these amendments, will make a real difference to those Irish nationals who also wish to be British citizens, with a bespoke registration route in place.

We have debated in a number of proceedings related to the Bill the arguments behind the amendments, so I do not intend to re-rehearse those now. However, I believe that they help the Bill to be more inclusive and ensure that it is even fairer in its ambitions than it was when the right hon. Member for Belfast East drafted the original iteration Bill with the Clerks. Ultimately, the amendments will mean that the Bill applies to all eligible Irish nationals resident in any part of the UK. It is not just confined to those born at a certain time in Ireland, and resident in Northern Ireland. That is right and fair. British citizenship is about ties to the whole of the UK, not just one of its constituent parts.

The specific issue of fees, which has come up previously, is something that is under active consideration as part of a wider piece of work. It is being carried out in the usual way when it comes to fee setting for borders and migrations services. There have been some strong representations that have helped to inform my thinking on that, from both the shadow Front Bench and from the right hon. Gentleman. I hear those strong arguments and the Government will come forward as soon as we are able to and give certainty around the fee provisions related to the Bill.

There are regulations, and the way in which such matters are handled goes through a standard process that we in this House are well accustomed to. I am happy to continue the conversations about the issue of the fee externally to this debate and the passage of the Bill, because it is important we hear those arguments and make appropriate decisions. That is the spirit in which we are taking the Bill forward, with good solid cross-party support. I thank hon. and right hon. Members from across the House for their support.

[Shailesh Vara (North West Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

I congratulate the right hon. Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) on introducing the Bill, which I think is long overdue. Does the Minister agree that, given that the Bill is tidying up something that should have been done a long time ago, it is important that he looks carefully at the fee structure? No doubt the Treasury will have its own view; we all know that it will be less flexible. I urge the Minister to fight hard in the corner of this long overdue legislation, and look carefully at the review of fees.

[Tom Pursglove]

My right hon. Friend has got to the essence of how I am approaching the specific question around fee setting. He makes some very eloquent arguments about the spirit in which the Bill has been introduced about and the spirit in which it will proceed through the House, which I hope will be reflected in the other place. As I have said, I am very cognisant of these arguments. My right hon. Friend touches on a very important point in saying that this is a very long-standing campaign. People feel very passionately about this change. It is a common-sense change. I think we need to reflect on those factors when making the decision about fees which, as I have said, is being carried out as part of the wider way in which we review fees and charges and the way in which that is done.