UK Borders Bill

My Lords, I thank the Minister and the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, for welcoming me to my new brief. I can see that the Bill will test me at these late stages. I am glad that we have provided another opportunity for discussion of devolved matters. The noble Duke, the Duke of Montrose, the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, and the noble Baroness, Lady Carnegy, had an opportunity to open discussion on the fact that matters as important to the United Kingdom as immigration have been left, as I understood it from questions and responses, hanging in the air. I hope that those matters will be less in the air before the Bill completes its passage as a result of discussions that will take place. The Minister was stinging about the amendment. He was stinging not about the proposal, but about how it was being put forward. Everybody is probably beginning to wonder whether rather more is required for patrolling our borders than an immigration officer with the powers to summon a constable. If the Cabinet Secretary is undertaking a review, why are we proceeding along the route set out by the Bill when it is clear that another Bill is waiting in the wings to roar along behind when the Cabinet Secretary has discussed the matter and made his views known? It seems strange to be proceeding in two stages. We will welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s review and look forward to seeing what it contains, but we have laid down a marker during the two previous stages of the Bill and said that we do not believe that an immigration officer alone, with the power to call in a constable, is sufficient to deal with all the issues that we see as being problems. I accept that there are deficiencies in the amendment. I am afraid that we are not in the position to summon up 59 clauses and 49 schedules to deal with the matter and to delineate exactly how a border police force would work, but we are laying down a marker and saying that something like that will be necessary rather than the provisions in the Bill. I accept that the amendment is not entirely what is required. It sounds as though we will have much more discussion on the way in which the borders are patrolled and the powers and responsibilities of a border force. We will come back to the matter at some stage, but not today. I shall therefore withdraw my amendment in due course.