UK Parliament / Open data

Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill [HL]

I thank the noble Lord again for his response and helpful explanation, some of which is essential. Our words go into Hansard, so that people know what is going on. I do not think that I have come across such generality of legislation and terminology as there is in this Bill before. Maybe that is just my ignorance. When it refers to, "““any other official of the Secretary of State””," then it is helpful to have had the noble Lord’s explanation that that person has to be an appropriate person of an appropriate standing, because you could read into this Bill and these terminologies that the Secretary of State could say to anybody running down the corridor, ““Come here, we need you to do a little bit of this or that function””. That is taking it to absurdity, but within the word ““any”” you have literally anybody within the remit of the Secretary of State. It is important that we are clear that there is a hierarchy that the Secretary of State can lean on but that we are not just talking about anybody; these people have to be appropriately positioned and they have to have appropriate training and knowledge to fulfil the functions asked of them. I thank the Minister for that reply and I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment 6 withdrawn. Amendments 7 to 10 not moved. Clause 3 agreed. Clauses 4 and 5 agreed.

About this proceeding contribution

Reference

708 c241 

Session

2008-09

Chamber / Committee

House of Lords chamber
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