UK Borders Bill

I thank the Minister for that lengthy and helpful response. On the keeping of records, to which the Minister particularly referred, it appears from the chief inspector’s evidence that the problem is not that the management at the centre keeps the information on cumulative numbers but that the information is not made widely available. We do not get regular reports on population. The chief inspector regrets that the Immigration and Nationality Directorate website gives only a snapshot of the number of people detained at a particular moment. It was good to hear the Minister say that these statistics are being looked at. Again, things may have changed since the chief inspector gave her evidence at the beginning of last year. I also thank the Minister for his response to Amendment No. 64, which was helpful. I noted what he said about the comment made by my noble friend Lord Hylton, and I have some sympathy for what he said. Clearly, good practice is the most important thing, but statistics are also important. I am not surprised that he supported what my noble friend said because that supported his case and let him slightly off the hook, but I agree that it is a balance and that one needs both those things. The Minister knows very well my concern about the supervision of officers working with vulnerable individuals, particularly vulnerable families, so if he has an opportunity to visit Yarl’s Wood, perhaps he could look at how often staff receive individual or group supervision from a line manager of good quality. I am not aware of that being in place at Yarl’s Wood. Having said that, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Judd, for adding his name to my amendment and the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, for her support. I may return to the matter of statistics at the next stage.