Immigration (Provision of Physical Data) (Amendment) Regulations 2005

rose to move, That the draft regulations laid before the House on 10 October be approved [5th Report from the Joint Committee]. The noble Lord said: My Lords, these amending regulations are made in exercise of the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by Section 126 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. Section 126 enables the Secretary of State, by the making of the regulations, to require that an immigration application be accompanied by specified information about an external characteristic, or to enable an authorised person to require an entrant to provide information of this kind. Three sets of regulations have already been made under this power. The Immigration (Provision of Physical Data) Regulations 2003—known as the 2003 regulations—provided that an entry clearance application made in Sri Lanka was required to be accompanied by a record of the applicant’s fingerprints. The Immigration (Provision of Physical Data) (Amendment) Regulations 2004—known as the 2004 regulations—extended that requirement to entry clearance applicants in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Tanzania and Uganda, and to those seeking leave to enter the UK who, upon doing so, present a 1951 refugee convention travel document issued by a country other than the United Kingdom. The Immigration (Provision of Physical Data) (Amendment) (No. 2) (Regulations) 2004 added Kenya and Rwanda to the list of countries affected by the regulations in order to supplement the efforts we were taking in east Africa to combat abuse of our immigration and asylum processes. The purpose of this statutory instrument is further to extend the power to collect fingerprint data from those applying for entry clearance to the UK to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Netherlands and Vietnam. It also amends the meaning of the term ““application”” so that a 1951 convention travel document holder, if he or she is fingerprinted when making an application for entry clearance in a country to which the fingerprinting regulations apply, will not be fingerprinted a second time upon arrival in the United Kingdom. Results are encouraging from the countries that are covered by the previous regulations. The information collected under the 2003 and 2004 regulations is proving effective in revealing applicants who have sought to conceal an adverse immigration history from the entry clearance officer by using a false identity. The Government remain convinced that the greater use of biometric technology will support efforts to prevent document and identity fraud. It will enable those who have an entitlement to enter the United Kingdom to do so without hindrance while preventing those who seek to circumvent our controls doing so. We are committed to biometric fingerprint collection in all countries by 2008. I appreciate concerns over proportionality and data protection, but consider that the safeguards built into the regime, established in the 2003 and 2004 regulations, are adequate to address any such concerns. These safeguards are designed to deal with the collection of data and their subsequent use. With regard to data collection, any applicant who is under 16 years of age will have their fingerprints taken only in the presence of a responsible adult who is over 18 years old and not employed by the United Kingdom Government. Turning to data usage, fingerprints collected in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Netherlands and Vietnam will be added to the immigrant and asylum fingerprint system database. That will allow for the identification of any visa applicant who subsequently makes either an asylum or immigration application in a different identity. This, in turn, will help establish the nationality of those who no longer have a basis on which to remain in the United Kingdom and so assist with securing their removal. In common with other fingerprints collected in respect of immigration and asylum applications, data will be shared with the police and other law enforcement agencies in the prevention or investigation of crime. All such exchanges will be in compliance with the relevant data protection provisions. In terms of data retention, Regulations 7 and 8 of the 2003 regulations require these records to be retained for a maximum of 10 years, after which period they are destroyed. Any entry clearance application which is not accompanied by the necessary fingerprint data may be treated as invalid. There may be exceptions, including applicants who, because of physical disability or injury, cannot provide a record of their fingerprints. However, it is anticipated that the majority of applications that are not accompanied by a record of fingerprints will be treated as invalid. As with all entry clearance applications, regardless of whether the regulations apply to them, if an application is incomplete it may be treated as invalid, and the applicant will enjoy no right of appeal. The system will be operated in a reasonable way, however, to limit the impact on applicants. I commend the regulations to your Lordships’ House. Moved, That the draft regulations laid before the House on 10 October be approved [5th Report from the Joint Committee].—(Lord Bassam of Brighton.)