UK Borders Bill

I am entirely at one with the intention behind the amendment. Indeed, one could argue that it would be in the Government’s interest if the amendment were accepted on Report because it would enable us to make a significant dent in the prison population. In a sense, I end up arguing against myself because I cannot accept the amendment for other reasons. In fact, the Border and Immigration Agency already often acts faster than the maximum three months after release that would be allowed under the amendment. At present, the Criminal Casework Directorate considers most new deportation cases eight months before the earliest date of release. That is the practice. It aims, wherever possible, to make the deportation order before the end of the sentence to ensure that the foreign national can be deported at the point at which the sentence ends. Under the Bill, the Secretary of State will, in most cases, make a deportation order within three months of the end of a foreign criminal’s sentence. The caveat is that this will not always be straightforward. Although the automatic deportation provisions will make deportation simpler and quicker, there is no guarantee that all the factors of individual cases will lend themselves to a timely resolution. If, for example, a foreign criminal has an outstanding asylum claim, we would wait for the case to be resolved before deciding whether to make a deportation order. This is because, if the claim were successful, he would be exempted from the automatic deportation provisions under the first exception. Although we hope that the case would normally be resolved within three months, there can be no guarantees, as case consideration, appeals and judicial review processes can take time. Due process must be seen through to give proper effect to people’s rights to challenge. Preventing a deportation order being made in such circumstances could lead to serious foreign criminals being allowed to remain in the UK. The amendment would risk creating a loophole, thereby letting foreign criminals who frustrate the system for long enough stay in the UK. For those reasons, we cannot accept the amendment, and I hope the noble Lord will feel able to withdraw it.