UK Borders Bill

I offer my very strongest support to the amendment proposed by the noble Lords, Lord Avebury and Lord Roberts of Llandudno. There is very little that I can add, given the eloquent and passionate presentation of the amendment, but I feel so strongly about it that I have to speak. I was present when the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, and many others, sought to persuade the Government on a previous Bill of the ill-advisedness of this measure. I thought that they had been successful, and I am deeply disappointed to see the measure being brought back again. The noble Lord, Lord Avebury, pointed out the failure of the pilot of Section 9 of the Act and how that demonstrated how harmful the provision can be. The Border and Immigration Agency’s intention to do more to ensure that families are made fully aware early, and throughout the process, that they will be unable to integrate and that steps will be taken to deport them if their asylum application is rejected, and the BIA’s strengthening of financial incentives—referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Avebury—in voluntary return packages, are welcome and well-advised measures. Families that fail in their application already experience the sanction of reduced benefit and denial of access to work. Pushing further than that only increases the risks of families vanishing, as they have done, or children possibly being taken into care. I am glad that Her Majesty’s Government have sought to increase the support for immigration officers, and I look forward to further information in due course from the Minister on how far that has progressed and on plans for future development. I welcome that. The power to make a family destitute is a remarkable one to vest in any individual’s hands. I wish that the people making those decisions were superhuman; but I fear that they may be as fallible as any one of us. I recall that 20 per cent of initial decisions on cases are rejected on appeal. Those people make mistakes. I urge the Minister—