Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill

This is where I fall to pieces in terms of procedure, because, as the noble Lord, Lord Hylton, said, this amendment is connected with a group of amendments that we considered the other day. However, I shall address the point on detention, because the noble Lord was good enough before our deliberations began to indicate to officials that he wished to do so. On the other points, I tried to deal with the issue of a monthly visit by saying, when I wound up my remarks in the previous debate, that of course I would look at the alternative proposals that the noble Lord put forward, which were beyond the amendment. I am very happy to do that, but I am sure that the noble Lord will forgive me if I do not go over that ground now. On the specific issue of the rumour that the noble Lord was concerned about—that detention places had been given over to people whom we were trying to remove—that reflects current policy and the policy of the last three or four years. The priority and the primary focus of detention are for the purposes of removal. That also applies to the new asylum model under which most cases will be fast-tracked. Under law, we can detain for the purposes of removal or the purposes of ascertaining a person’s identity. In practice, the focus has always been on the former. I hope that I have given the noble Lord a clear explanation of the current position. That may make the noble Lord reflect on his amendment in a slightly different way—but it is the current position in policy, and I hope that for now it will satisfy him. On the question of the doctor certifying that detention will not harm the detainee, decisions on whether to detain take into account the physical and mental health of the detainee, and detainees have access to NHS care while in detention. I hope that that addresses the point. As we are debating things completely out of procedure, I may as well say now that I have learnt that the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, has said that he gave me a copy of the letter himself, so I must apologise to him through Hansard. I suspect that, as I have received lots of bits of paper, it will be found in my notes; I would not want anyone to think that he had not given it to me properly.