Immigration (Biometric Registration) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2009

My Lords, it is tempting to say that, if there is a Starred Question, why would I spoil the theatre of the Chamber by answering it now? I will be contradicted if I get it wrong, but I will launch into it. The problem referred to may indeed be part of the gestation for the Starred Question—that there is more difficulty around people who come to the United Kingdom for a short period with visas under the new regime. By including sport personalities and others, we seek to overcome that. I suspect that there will still be some problems for people with short-term requirements who come on short-term visas, but there has always been a problem in relation to people in the business sector who may have an engagement in London or Manchester at very short notice. We do not seek to do anything different; we certainly do not intend to make things more difficult for them. I suspect that the question has been raised on several occasions and that my Home Office colleagues are sympathetic to finding a solution to it. The regulations do not make life more difficult in any way; I hope that they would ease the situation somewhat. If that is an inadequate answer, I will ensure that I get another answer to the noble Lord in quick time—before the beginning of next week.