UK Borders Bill

My Lords, this has been a useful short debate. The noble Lord, Lord Roberts, has provided us with further thoughts on information provision by drawing on his personal experience and making a little promotion for Canada. We have all learnt something this afternoon. I certainly do not distance myself from the thought that this amendment is anything other than useful because it is always valuable to talk about these issues. I cannot accept the proposed new clause for a number of reasons, but cost is not the most significant of those so far as we are concerned. That is because much of what the noble Lord is talking about is already being done, as I tried to suggest to him before. The benefits of migration from the A8 states are commonly agreed between most political parties in the United Kingdom. There is no doubt that workers from those states are contributing greatly to the economy and in supporting public services. I am sure that we could all provide a suitable anecdote to support that contention. Figures showing the growth in the economy make it clear as well. I agree that it is important that new migrants—not just those from the A8 states, to pick up on the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Hylton—understand what their rights and responsibilities are in the United Kingdom. The Home Office provides extensive information to all potential migrants. For A8 migrants, this includes specific advice on our websites produced in English and in all the A8 languages. This information is also provided overseas through the Foreign Office at our embassies and consulates. That is more important than providing information for migrants as they disembark at Victoria coach station, because by the time they arrive there, it is almost too late. They need information in advance of coming to the United Kingdom. The European Union provides much by way of advice, and the EURES network provides detailed information and advertises jobs across Europe. It makes available a lot of the kind of information that I think the noble Lord, Lord Roberts, is seeking to place in the hands of migrants who are quite legitimately coming here to work. Further, we do not believe that it is appropriate to legislate for the reasons alluded to by the noble Baroness, Lady Hanham. It would be excessively centralised and overly prescriptive. However, it is important that other agencies assist in this field, and they do. Indeed, the noble Baroness made the point that because the different groups tend to cluster, information is best provided locally as well as being accessible centrally. Even if I were convinced that legislation is the way forward on this, I do not think that ports would be the best place to locate such information. People who take an active and positive decision to migrate investigate the opportunities before moving here. It is therefore much more important that the information is available before they come to the United Kingdom. For those reasons, I am not convinced by the arguments put forward by the noble Lord, Lord Roberts. It is in all our interests to ensure that those living here understand their rights and their obligations. However, the new clause does not really provide for that; it merely imposes what can fairly be described as a bureaucratic burden. To sum up, the noble Lord has moved the amendment in the best spirit, but much of this information is already in the public domain. The Home Office provides it here and it is made available at our consulates and embassies, as well as through other agencies. I understand that the TUC provides a very good information pack for those coming to the UK to work. So the information is there and it is accessible. No doubt we will continue to improve the quality of that information as this issue becomes more important and significant in ensuring that those who come here fully understand their rights and their obligations. I hope that the noble Lord will not feel too offended by our decision not to support the amendment and will dwell on the more positive observations that have been made during this short debate.