UK Borders Bill

As I explained, they have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. They are drafts and are there for comment. No doubt there will be further comments on them, and we will need to publish revisions and publicly place them in the Library. I am happy to try and furnish the noble Lord, and other noble Lords, with copies if we can do that. I question how helpful they would be to us today, but I am happy to try to make copies as available as possible. I have tried to explain why we consider that statutory application of the PACE codes of practice to the detention-at-port provisions is neither necessary nor appropriate. Noble Lords will know that PACE codes are currently under review. Much of the Government’s ambition in this area is to reduce the administrative burden on police and simplify procedures. Similarly, we do not want to impose any greater burden on immigration officers than necessary—a point which the noble Viscount, Lord Bridgeman, alluded to. None the less, we recognise that certain aspects of those provisions may fall within the spirit of the codes, and accordingly we will seek to reflect certain key safeguards contained within PACE codes A, C and G within the final standard operating procedures. Such safeguards will include requirements to use the power fairly and responsibly, with respect for people being searched and without unlawful discrimination; to provide a clear demonstration of the reason why a designated immigration officer thinks that a person may be liable to arrest; to inform the detainee of the reason for detention and advise that they may be searched to determine whether they are carrying anything that may be used to assist escape or cause injury; to have a designated immigration officer make a record of the detention; to provide detainees with rights such as notification of an interested person of the whereabouts of the detainee, information about how to obtain legal advice and access to telephones; to provide minimum standards of accommodation and hygiene and catering facilities; and to establish a comprehensive system to record all events which may then be open to scrutiny by independent inspectors. We intend that the oversight arrangements to monitor the use of powers in Clause 2 will be similar to those currently in existence for the similar powers of detention for immigration purposes. These arrangements cover processes such as the administrative arrangements for authorisations and review by senior officers. They also cover redress, including transparent and accountable complaints procedures as communicated to passengers at ports, in our formal correspondence and contained on our website. Additionally, they cover conditions of detention, such as oversight by independent monitoring boards, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, and Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons.