UK Borders Bill

I fear the Minister must feel very lonely in the Committee today. We all criticise. We all see the horror of much of what is going on. There are three amendments here that are intended to see an end to Section 9 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act. We are all agreed on that. Last year, or the year before, the Government gave tremendous support to the Make Poverty History campaign—and yet in our country we are not making poverty history; by forcing people into destitution, we are creating poverty. That is totally at variance with any aim of a civilised society or of a caring Government. Now, however, we might just be seeing a wee bit of light at the end of the tunnel. In a recent Written Statement, the Minister at the time, the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Scotland, put Section 9 more or less on hold, admitting that it was a failure. She said: "““In the form piloted, Section 9 did not significantly influence behaviour in favour of co-operating with removal, although there was some increase in the number of applications made for travel documents. This suggests that the Section 9 provision should not be seen as a universal tool to encourage departure in every case””.—[Official Report, 25/7/07; col. WS 50.]" The noble and learned Baroness goes on to say that she—or whoever is in charge now—will keep it, but it is not to be used on an indiscriminate basis. We had three pilot areas: West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and the eastern part of central London. In the past week or so, I am told, we have had the long-awaited evaluation report. Again, that report admits that the provision was a failure. The Government could take positive action to reduce destitution, and admit their own failure, by repealing Section 9 of the 2004 Act. Whichever amendment the Government accept—whether it be the amendment of the right reverend Prelate, the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Judd, or our own Liberal Democrat amendment—we are speaking with one voice to ensure that the Government do that. We all make mistakes—even Governments make mistakes—and it is time to back down on this section. I hope that when the Bill is finally enacted, that provision will have gone forever. I move among some of the homeless and rough sleepers and I have seen the destitution. When counts are taken, people go into hiding and we do not get a proper assessment of the problem. I invite the Minister to accompany me and others to see where the problem lies and what provision is made. Perhaps he has already done so, but it would be an eye-opener for him to see the state of total hopelessness that Section 9 can lead to. As the noble Lord, Lord Judd, said, we warmly endorse the right reverend Prelate’s amendment, as we do the noble Lord’s amendment. We will urge this provision in the Liberal Democrat amendment when we bring it forward at a later stage.