Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill [Lords]

Yes, I can. Let me explain. This is a very important matter for many of our constituents. Amendment 23 seeks to deal with those who arrived here on the highly skilled migrant programme. I explained in Committee that the Government would of course honour obligations under the judgments to allow HSMP migrants covered by the judgments of the court to apply for indefinite leave to remain. We do not accept that HSMP migrants have a legitimate expectation to be able to apply for citizenship as amendment 23 suggests, but I hope that after I have explained our proposed package of transitional arrangements, the hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green) will accept that they are fair and will not press the amendment to a vote. I am happy to accept that some provision in the Bill is desirable to provide sufficient clarity and assurance in relation to any transitional provisions. That is the point on which the hon. Gentleman pushed me. Other matters are set out better and in more detail in the commencement order giving effect to part 2. Government amendment 17 requires the commencement order giving effect to the earned citizenship provisions in the Bill to set out transitional arrangements for certain groups. We have made clear in legislation that people who apply for citizenship before the earned citizenship provisions are commenced will be treated under the current system—that is, they will not be subject to the earned citizenship provisions. We have also made it clear that people who already have indefinite leave to remain when the earned citizenship provisions commence, and people who apply for ILR before the provisions commence and whose application is successful, will be eligible to apply for citizenship under the current system, provided that they apply within two years of commencement. That deals with the point made by the hon. Gentleman in Committee. For the avoidance of doubt, let me reassure the House that although Government amendment 17 does not specifically make provision for migrants with a pending application for ILR submitted but not decided before the rules are changed following commencement, those people will have their ILR applications considered under the existing rules. The law requires that. As I have said, the Bill is not the appropriate place to set out transitional arrangements for applications for ILR, and I am making this statement on the record in order to provide clarity. I believe that, taken together, the Government amendment and the statement I have just made about how we will treat applications for ILR meet the intention behind new clause 7(b). On that basis, I hope that I have satisfied the House that the transitional arrangements are fair. Finally, there is the issue of continuous employment. I gave assurances to the Committee that sensible arrangements could be made. I said that if people lost their jobs through no fault of their own, they would be given reasonable opportunities—commensurate with employment law, as agreed in the Employment Acts—that would provide the flexibility that they sought. I hope that I have answered hon. Members' questions and that I have made the proposed amendments that I undertook to make in Committee. My hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow asked me to confirm the situation regarding the commencement order. The amendment prevents us from doing anything more restrictive in the commencement order regarding those individuals whom it covers. It does not prevent us from extending the protection by making further transitionals for other groups. I hope that that satisfies him.