Asylum (First List of Safe Countries) (Amendment) Order 2006

My Lords, I shall deal first with the Asylum (First List of Safe Countries) (Amendment) Order. We indeed welcome the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union. We are concerned to ensure that asylum claims are dealt with as speedily and accurately as possible. I am grateful to the Minister for setting out the procedure for so doing. It is certainly not in the interests of the state or the individual if deportation is a lengthy process. However, that does not mean that these orders are uncontentious. First, I address the issues raised by the Asylum (First List of Safe Countries) (Amendment) Order. As the Minister said, Bulgaria and Romania will join the EU on 1 January next. It is axiomatic that they should therefore be expected to be safe countries alongside existing members of the European Union. Their membership should surely not have been agreed had that not been the case. By passing this order, the House is accepting that it is right that any third country national who has made an asylum or human rights claim in the United Kingdom may be removed to Bulgaria or Romania if that is appropriate under the provisions of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004. All European Union member states and states in the European Economic Area are on that list. The Minister will, however, be aware of the concerns that have been widely expressed about the lack of readiness of the judicial system in Bulgaria. The latest EU preparedness report, Key findings ofthe monitoring report on Bulgaria’s preparedness forEU accession, 26 September 2006, highlighted the fact that: "““The main remaining challenges for Bulgaria are: removing ambiguities concerning the independence of the judiciary and the accountability of the judicial system by amending the Constitution; certain elements of the functioning of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC); the efficiency of the monitoring mechanism of the new Penal Procedure Code; the adoption and implementation of a new Judicial System Act and a new Civil Procedure Code; the limited capacity of the administrative anti-corruption departments in the SJC and in the Prosecution services””." What is the Government’s view on that assessment? What representations have they made to the Bulgarian Government while they were preparing to bring this order before the House? What guarantees have they obtained that the defects identified will be remedied? What is the timetable for that action? In the case of Romania, the Government will be aware that the monitoring report on that country’s preparedness for EU accession stated: "““Romania now needs to ensure a more consistent interpretation and application of the law””." What representations have been made to Romania in advance of bringing forward this order, and what response have they received? Furthermore, there are widespread concerns about the treatment in both countries of the Roma community. What guarantees have the Government sought and obtained to ensure that the countries will no longer tolerate discrimination and racist behaviour to the Roma community? On the immigration and worker authorisation regulations, we welcome the new limits that the Government say that they will place on Bulgarian and Romanian workers entering the United Kingdom. This is a vital area of policy that will affect the economy, public services and community relations, yet several important questions remain to be answered. Our experience of the Government’s mishandling of the admission of workers from the A8 countries makes us very cautious when judging whetherthe restrictions brought forward today by the Government will be adequate. Prior to the accession of the A8, the Government indicated that they expected around 15,000 migrant workers to arrive in the United Kingdom. The UK was one of only three countries not to place restrictions on the granting of work permits. It is estimated that in the 18 months following the accession, 447,000 people arrived in the United Kingdom. This figure rises to nearly 600,000 when self-employed people such as builders and plumbers are included. What is the Government’s estimate now of the number who will come from the A2 countries to seek work here in the first two years? What estimates have they made of the number who will ultimately settle and bring their families and dependants to the UK? What estimates have been made of the number who will seek self-employment in the United Kingdom? What will be the proof required that their employment is genuinely self-employment and that they are not simply employees posing as contractors? The Minister referred to the need to make sure that such workers do not evade the law and the regulations. I note that those who come here to work in low-skilled jobs in agriculture and food processing will have their right to work limited to six months. Does that mean in total in their working lifetime, or are they able to return to Bulgaria or Romania at the end of that period for a matter of days, obtain a further accession worker card, return to the United Kingdom and start another period of six months’ exemption? That would clearly be unacceptable. I suggest that the position is not made clear by the drafting of paragraph (9)(3) of Article 3 of the order. I would be very grateful if the Minister could put the position clearly on the record today. We do not oppose the making of the order but we enter severe reservations about the ability of the Government to make the system work effectively. We will judge whether the restrictions have a desirable practical effect once they have operated for a time. We must keep a close scrutiny of this very important matter.