UK Borders Bill

I had not envisaged that we would spend quite so long on this amendment as we have. We went through much of this debate in Committee last week. The arguments that were made then and those made today have varied very little. That is not to say that the sincerity, passion and genuineness of the arguments put by noble Lords on the Liberal Democrat and Cross Benches are not as well meant as they always are because they are always coming from the right place. We simply take a different approach on some of these matters—although not as regards our humanity—and to how hard cases that occur from time to time in the asylum process should be dealt with. Many arguments have been poured on us this afternoon as to why we should repeal Section 9, and I have heard most of them before. However, my mind has not shifted on this issue. I entirely understand the comments about the pilot and its success or otherwise. I confirm that it was conducted only in Leeds, London and Manchester, and that the numbers to which the noble Lord, Lord Hylton, referred are accurate. Obviously we have learnt a great deal from it. Noble Lords seek to extend their arguments about the pilot trialling of Section 9 across the whole range of decisions on judgments on asylum seekers and the process at large. I shall not deal with those arguments because they are broader and do not have too much bearing on the amendment, and it would not serve the Committee well if I simply repeated them. However, I assure the Committee that we will not use Section 9 lightly or indiscriminately. We do not think that it would be suitable for blanket use, but it is important that we retain an ability to withdraw support from families who are wilfully not co-operating in the process of return. We should remember this simple fact: the point at which we might apply Section 9 is the very point at which the persons who are affected by it have exhausted pretty much every avenue open to them to advance their case to stay in the United Kingdom. We are talking about hard cases at the end of the process. We may criticise that process, but it is rigorous and has been very well worked out. As I said, we are talking only about the hard cases where there is wilful non-co-operation. A judgment must be made by those who manage those cases. I also assure noble Lords that further guidance will be provided to case owners before Section 9 is used in any new case. It is also worth reminding your Lordships that Section 44 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act, as argued before in 2006, provides for the repeal of parts of Section 9 by order. If a future Government wish to exercise that option, they will be able to do so without recourse to further primary legislation. It is an important part of the process—a tool in the armoury, if you wish, although that analogy might not be the most attractive to all those involved in the debate. However, there may well be cases—I cannot say how many, although I do not think that it will be used in a blanket fashion—in which we must apply that section. Noble Lords made other points that were more relevant to the amendment, and I will try to respond to some of them. The noble Lords, Lord Avebury and Lord Roberts, talked about returning people to Zimbabwe. We are closely monitoring the position in Zimbabwe, and a key case is going through a tribunal. I assure noble Lords that there are currently absolutely no forced removals. Asylum support generally is available from the beginning to the end of the process for those who would otherwise be destitute.