Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill

I lend my support to the noble Earl, Lord Listowel. Those of us who listen carefully to him during proceedings in the House of Lords are aware of his great concern on issues affecting children. The noble Baroness piloted the Children Act, and I know of her concern about matters relating to children. I am deeply touched by the brief that has been provided by the Refugee Children’s Consortium. My noble friend Lord Avebury mentioned the present situation of the Education Minister and the publicity that has been generated in relation to the wrongful employment of staff. Despite the report and the investigation after the Soham murders, we still find that, despite all the action we take, such people are filtering through. What worries me is that here we delegate powers to other contractors. Traumatised people, who enter this country, many of them at a young age and who may be victims of rape—you do not know—are subjected to those sorts of searches. To an extent we have control over immigration officers, but do we genuinely have control over private contractors, particular when they perform such tasks not only in the United Kingdom but also at posts abroad? I think that we need to exercise great care to ensure that such people do not filter through within the system. So, what are the safeguards? My advice to the Minister on this matter is that it would be wise at this stage to seek the opinion of the Children’s Commissioner—to say to him that this is the problem and then to seek his advice. But we need the tightest possible safeguards regarding children and to ensure that we do not find ourselves in the same situation as the Education Department. So I intend to support the noble Earl.