UK Borders Bill

I was thinking that perhaps it would be better for constructive debate if noble Lords spoke to their amendments first, but I am happy to speak to the government amendment now. I am most grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, for the constructive spirit in which she moved her amendment and her general encouragement to the Committee to adopt the Government’s amendment this evening, if only so that it can be further examined and perhaps amended at a later stage in the Bill. That is entirely fair and quite proper. I have recognised for some while that this is an important debate. The Government are committed to doing what we reasonably and practically can to address the issues of concern that have stimulated this series of amendments and debate. My noble friend Lady Scotland made plain at Second Reading that we remain committed to ensuring that the Border and Immigration Agency treats children with whom it comes into contact entirely fairly and properly. The key question is whether that can be achieved only through the imposition of a broad, statutory duty to safeguard and promote their welfare. In looking at Section 11, we were informed in no small part by the longstanding and close interest of noble Lords, as was clearly demonstrated at Second Reading. The outcome of that consideration, as I am sure is plain to the Committee, has been matched by the amendment that we have put before your Lordships this evening, which would place the Border and Immigration Agency’s responsibilities towards children on a statutory footing. Amendment No. 37 represents a far more positive response and achieves what we would all, I believe, want for children with whom the Border and Immigration Agency has some contact. The duty will not give the Border and Immigration Agency any new functions, nor does it override its existing functions, but it will offer a much more robust assurance that the way it treats children in carrying out its functions is appropriate. Before I explain how our amendment will help us to keep children safe from harm while they are in the UK, it is important to set out what role the Border and Immigration Agency has towards children. First, by managing the UK borders effectively and reducing illegal migration, we help to keep children in the UK safe from harm. We must be realistic about what the Border and Immigration Agency can achieve. The Agency’s contact with children is often very brief and the opportunities to identify risks within that timeframe are limited. With 200 million movements in and out of the country in 2006, the task is immense. Alongside placing our responsibility on a statutory footing, we are developing a framework, the principles of which my honourable friend Liam Byrne announced on 25 June. This framework will cement our links with the agenda set out in the Every Child Matters programme. It will also be tailored to the child protection frameworks of the devolved Administrations. We must also not forget that, more widely, the Children Acts already provide protection for all children in the UK, and that we should not seek to give the Border and Immigration Agency responsibilities which already and properly belong to other agencies. Rather, we need a provision which accurately reflects the nature of the agency’s role, and that is what our amendment provides. We must also be aware that the Border and Immigration Agency performs this function across the UK, so we need a provision which can apply to its functions throughout the UK—the point that the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, picked up. Our amendment, unlike Section 11 were it to be extended to immigration matters, applies universally. The code will be much more than a general high-level duty. It will set out in some detail the steps that Border and Immigration Agency staff must consider. My noble friend Lady Scotland placed in the House Library last week a paper outlining the proposed content of the code. The content will be based on three fundamental steps that immigration staff will take. First, to identify signs that a child may be at risk from harm, the code will spell out what these signs are, as indeed some instructions and guidance which the agency has already do.