UK Borders Bill

I welcome Lords amendment No. 19. I am glad that Ministers were eventually persuaded by what was a strong coalition of interests in another place. Not only my noble Friends and those of the hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green), but Cross-Bench Peers, right reverend Prelates and most reverend Primates, were involved in making the strong arguments that, where we have a clear commitment through the Children's Act 2004 and our international obligations to the welfare of children, there is no reason why that should not apply in the sphere of Government activity under discussion as much as in any other. That is not to undermine the executive actions of the Border and Immigration Agency, because that would be absurd, any more than it is to undermine any of the other activities of Government that we require it to commit to the welfare of the child through pre-existing legislation and our treaty obligations. There must be a reconciliation with the proper interests of children as being a specific and vulnerable case, which needs to be addressed in respect of how things are done in the name of the state when it has an application that impinges on children. That is what was argued for strongly. There was resistance to that view in another place. I recall that the Government won a Division by a majority of one on precisely this issue before they chose to incorporate the new clause in any case. That much is welcome, but I understand the arguments for amendment (a) made by the hon. Member for Ashford. Unless we have a clear view of the actions that are in breach of the code of conduct, neither we, nor, more importantly, those outside this House who have a genuine interest in the interests of the child, will be able to monitor the adequacy of the arrangements that have been put in place. What he suggests in amendment (a) seems sensible. I accept the point, made in an intervention, that the Children's Commissioner may not always be the most appropriate person to be notified, but he is an entirely appropriate mechanism for ensuring that whatever breaches occur are put on the official record and are then actionable by the appropriate authorities. If the hon. Gentleman presses his amendment to a Division, I shall advise my right hon. and hon. Friends to support him. I am less convinced by amendment (b), simply because I do not believe in delaying what ought to be in place ab initio in child protection. Although the argument is that a six months' delay will allow proper consultation with all the organisations concerned to ensure that things are done adequately, I would prefer the provision to be in place from the start of the implementation of this Bill, when enacted. If we treat Home Office Acts as being of a kind, it is possible that implementation of the Act may not, in any case, be for some time—indeed, the Act may well be repealed in whole or in part before it is ever implemented. That is how the Home Office manages its affairs. Let us take it on trust that it intends to implement this Bill and that once on the statute book, it will have a real effect.