Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Illegal Migration Bill on the remit of the Independent Family Returns Panel.

We are not abolishing the Independent Family Returns Panel (IFRP). We are removing the duty to consult them in order to swiftly remove those families who fall for removal under the Illegal Migration Bill. However, we remain in open dialogue with the IFRP about the role they will have in the removal of those families with children who fall within the remit of the Bill. The IFRP will continue to play an important role in the removal of families with children who do not fall within the remit of the Illegal Migration Bill.