UK Borders Bill

When I was looking at the amendments, I felt more warmth than sympathy to this one than I did to the previous one. Members of the Committee have raised some important issues. Issues relating to processes surrounding appeals tribunals and so on are very important because we need to get the processes right. So I am grateful to noble Lords for tabling this amendment and for giving me the opportunity to explain a little of the Government’s thinking. As I understand the amendments, they would negate the purpose of Clause 19 by allowing new evidence on any matter to be submitted in any appeal under the points-based system—PBS—subject to the sole condition that the evidence must have been submitted no later than the notice of appeal. There is no reason why points-based system appellants should be able to do that. Under the PBS, they will be told, in clear terms, exactly what evidence they need to submit to qualify for points. It is therefore perfectly fair to expect them to submit that evidence with their applications and not later, as these amendments propose, which is part of the difficulty—the lateness at which evidence is allowed to be brought forward. If accepted, the amendments would move the points-based appeal system away from what we regard as its purpose, which is to allow the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal to decide whether the appellant’s application was correctly refused. Allowing new evidence would mean that the tribunal would be making its own decision on a different basis to the decision of the Border and Immigration Agency. In effect, the appeal process would be looking at a different case. It would not be reflecting on whether an error in judgment had been made when the case was first considered, which is the nature of the problem. Clause 19 contains enough safeguards to ensure that it is fair. For example, new evidence will be allowed in order to challenge an allegation by the Border and Immigration Agency that a piece of evidence is not genuine, or to refute a reason for refusal that is not based on the acquisition of points. On those issues, new evidence will be allowed. However, subject to those exceptions, the principle that new evidence will not be allowed in points-based system appeals is, in the Government’s view, correct. The amendments are not compatible with that, so, for those reasons, we cannot accept them. The noble Lord, Lord Avebury, referred to the Home Affairs Select Committee’s recommendation that we might consider introducing a minded-to-refuse stage into the application process. As we said in response to the Home Affairs Select Committee, we agree that there may well be some benefits to a minded-to-refuse procedure. However, we need to weigh them against the financial implications of adding another stage to the decision-making process. Our preference is to make changes that simplify the decision-making process. That is not just in the interests of the state but also those of the applicant, because over the many years that I have been dealing with this subject, a constant complaint has been the labyrinthine and complex nature of the process. I think we all agree on that. Over that time, we have been trying to make the process more transparent and simpler for those caught up in it. We are not currently convinced that the introduction of a minded-to-refuse process will aid simplification, which is another reason for not going along that route. The noble Lord, Lord Avebury, also posed a question about whether the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal has the power to exclude evidence through the procedure rules. That is correct, but the aim of the points-based system is to ensure that the criteria are so clear that there will be no need to put evidence in at the appeal stage. The noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, made the point that frequently there is not proper representation. We are trying to design a process where there is clarity, where the criteria are plain and simple and where what should be put in front of the appeal body at the appeal stage is obvious to all. Relying on the AIT’s powers to exclude late evidence does not go far enough in ensuring that applicants are clear that they need to submit all relevant evidence at the time that they make their application. [The Sitting was suspended for a Division in the House from 4.56 to 5.06 pm.]