My Lords, the first extraordinary thing to say about this statutory instrument is that the Secretary of State did not consider it necessary to consult anyone about it. The second is to make clear its effect and to contrast it with the Government’s often-repeated mantra, not just for leaving the EU but for the dead horse that is Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement, both of which the Government and those in favour of leaving the EU describe as “taking back control of our borders”. The only sense in which this instrument can be interpreted as taking back control of our borders is that the Government have decided by themselves to give up control of our borders without any influence from the EU.
The other contradiction between what the Government claim to be doing and are actually doing is that they say that they are going to create a level playing field for EU and non-EU citizens regarding entry to the UK. This instrument gives preferential treatment to EU citizens after we leave the EU. It grants automatic entry to the UK for EU and EEA citizens even after we leave the EU, with leave to remain for a period of three months. EU and EEA citizens do not even have to have a passport; they can travel on a national identity card. If they do have a passport, they can use the automatic e-gates at airports. In other words, they are as free to enter the UK as they were under freedom of movement. Can the Minister confirm this?
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The instrument says that a person given leave to enter under its rules may be examined by an immigration officer in the usual way to see whether there are grounds for cancelling leave. The Minister mentioned foreign-national criminals and those whose presence may not be conducive to the well-being of the UK. Can the Minister confirm the difference between the current ability of the UK to stop such individuals, including EU nationals, entering the UK under the freedom of movement rules, and our ability under the rules of this statutory instrument?
The instrument exempts those granted leave to enter from the Immigration (Health Charge) Order 2015. My understanding is that the charge is payable
only for a stay of six months or more. As this instrument grants leave for only three months, can the Minister explain why there needs to be an exemption?
The Explanatory Memorandum says that there will be no restriction on the activities that EU and EEA citizens can undertake, which means that they can work, study or visit while in the UK after we have left the European Union. Can the Minister confirm that non-EU, non-EEA citizens will not be given automatic entry to the UK with no restrictions on the activities they can undertake?
Can the Minister tell the House how long an EU or EEA citizen will have to spend outside the UK before they would be eligible to enter again for another three months, with no restrictions on the activities they undertake? For example, could a French citizen go to Calais for the weekend, then return for another three-month unrestricted stay in the United Kingdom?
The instrument has no impact assessment, as,
“no, or no significant, impact”,
on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen. Bearing in mind that EU and EEA citizens will effectively be allowed to live and work in the UK unrestricted, bar the occasional weekend outside the UK, without having to pay the immigration health charge, is the assertion that there will be no impact on the private, voluntary or public sector sustainable? In addition, if this instrument were not implemented, and EU and EEA citizens were not granted automatic entry, surely there would be a significant impact on the Border Force. Should the impact assessment not reflect this? Can the Minister explain how the Government intend to prevent EU and EEA nationals entering and remaining in the UK for more than three months, and how they intend to monitor and enforce this restriction?
Noble Lords should not misinterpret our position: we want free movement to continue. What I object to is the Government claiming to be taking back control of our borders, ending free movement and creating a level playing field for those entering the UK from EU and non-EU countries, when this instrument appears to do exactly the opposite. Saying “well, the difference is that now we are deciding to throw open our borders, not the EU”, is an interesting position to take. However, removing the cap on the number of skilled workers entering the UK, as the Government are suggesting in their year-long consultation on their future immigration policy, is at least consistent with this SI. We support the SI, but not the apparent hypocrisy of the Government.