Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

I appreciate the strength of feeling on this issue, but I am bound to point out that this precise proposal was debated at length by the Chamber only three months ago as an amendment to the Third Reading of the UK Borders Bill, when the Chamber voted not to accept the amendment. I fear that all I can do is to rehearse precisely the arguments made by the Government on that occasion, which were debated and decided on by the House. Amendment No. 22A proposes an extension of the duty in Section 11 of the Children Act 2004 to the Border and Immigration Agency. Instead of extending the Section 11 duty, the UK Borders Act 2007 introduced a requirement for the Border and Immigration Agency to have regard to a code of practice designed to ensure that, in exercising its functions in the UK, the Border and Immigration Agency takes appropriate steps to ensure that children are safe from harm. The code of practice is currently being prepared and the intention is to begin a period of public consultation on the content of the code shortly. We will consult widely, both in drafting the code and the operational instructions flowing from it. As part of the development, we will work with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, the children’s commissioners, officials in the devolved Administrations, the Children’s Society, Barnardo’s and others who have expressed their willingness to work with us on the development of this code. While the code is not yet finalised for consultation I can outline in general terms what it will cover. As I said in reply to the previous amendment, our intention is to ensure that specific immigration procedures are properly responsive to the needs of children. As a minimum, these are—I repeat what I said earlier because it is directly relevant to the amendment—checking documents and confirming identity, checking the bona fides of accompanying adults and destination address, interviewing children, caring for children during enforcement activities, greater attention to the needs of children who are detained in immigration premises, caring for children during escort and transfer activities, applying child-specific standards to contractors and other commissioned services, and provisions about the need to be vigilant for trafficked children and for children who have gone missing. Where conditions defined in the code suggesting trafficking or other harm are met, a referral will be made to a body with statutory care responsibilities. In a similar way, if a child fails to meet an immigration appointment and appears to have gone missing, the Border and Immigration Agency will make a formal referral to a statutory body with relevant responsibilities. The UK Borders Act also created the role of chief inspector of the agency and its immigration functions, and the chief inspector will have an active role in reviewing the agency’s performance in relation to children. The Border and Immigration Agency is, furthermore, taking the necessary steps to ensure that staff realise how they safeguard children from harm and are more responsive to the needs of children in the work they are carrying out, while not overriding the purpose of that work. The code of practice to which I have referred is not and will not be a token document. It is a commitment on behalf of the Government and the agency to a culture change on children’s issues that those who have proposed the amendment wish to see. I know that will not satisfy noble Lords who have spoken, but the position of the Government has not in other respects changed in the past three months.