UK Borders Bill

The noble Lord, Lord Hylton—or it might have been the noble Lord, Lord Avebury—asked about data protection. Under Clause 47(2)(h), the chief inspector of the Border and Immigration Agency must also report on the provision of information. I think that that covers the point. I should say to the noble Lord, Lord Judd, that the Government have put in place many very positive pieces of legislation to tackle discrimination. I take personal pride in having worked with the noble Lord, Lord Dholakia, and putting in place legislation, in 2000 or 2001, that tackled indirect discrimination. The inadvertent discrimination to which the noble Lord refers is probably covered by that legislation. I certainly hope that it is, although that is not to say that there is no discrimination from time to time because it has been legislated against. It certainly is not our intention that that should be the case. No doubt that is an issue on which the chief inspector will wish to focus some attention, not least because complaints have to be looked at. The noble Lord asks again whether the existence of a BID means that black and ethnic minorities will be subject to de facto racial profiling. No, these provisions are about ensuring that individuals produce a reliable, secure document, as I have explained on many occasions in the course of our discussions, so that they can establish their immigration status. In the illegal-working context, the Secretary of State will issue a code to assist employers to conduct document checks so that there is a proper verification process, without recourse to any form of unlawful discrimination where public officials require the document. They, as I have already said, are subject to race relations legislation and it would not be lawful to require a BID to be produced based on appearance. That is clear and relates precisely to what I said at the outset.