Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill [HL]

My Lords, I should declare two interests in any Bill with this title. First, as my noble friend Lord Sandwich has already said, he I and my noble friend Lady Mar had the privilege of being commissioners on the Independent Asylum Commission which, last year, completed the most comprehensive review of the asylum system ever undertaken. We were gratified that the UK Border Agency responded publicly and, on the whole, positively to our reports because their recommendations were designed to make positive improvements in a system that has been subjected to so much criticism from so many quarters over so many years. Secondly, on behalf of Medical Justice and the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns, I forwarded, last July, a dossier to the Home Secretary containing details of 48 alleged assaults on asylum seekers by security guards. Subsequently she appointed Dame Nuala O’Loan to investigate these allegations, which is still ongoing. In my foreword to the dossier I wrote that, "““if even one of the cases is substantiated, that amounts to something of a preventable national disgrace””." With that background I suspect that I was not alone in being pleased to receive on 14 July the Government’s consultation document on a draft—partial—immigration and citizenship Bill which was intended to consolidate and simplify nearly four decades of immigration Acts. I noted that the Government intended to add further measures when the Bill was eventually published. Many noble Lords have already confirmed that I was not alone in being disappointed when I saw the content of the Bill now before the House because so much that was telegraphed in both draft and intention is missing. When I questioned the Minister about that, he said that this was merely an interim Bill, designed to sweep up the measures it contains in advance of a simplification Bill to be published later in the year. My disappointment is that, although some aspects of the asylum system are better than they were, there is still a great deal to be done to make it fit for purpose. The Government cannot claim not to know what is urgently required, because they have been told in detail for many years in countless reports from inspectors, the Complaints Commissioner and numerous interested bodies, including the Independent Asylum Commission. Other noble Lords have spoken about what is in the Bill, but I make no excuse for concentrating on what is not in it, because some of that was signposted in the partial draft. I begin by introducing another word alongside the word ““hospitality””, introduced by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Lincoln. It is unfortunate that people view asylum as a negative term. They associate it with mental illness, oppressive and disordered institutions, criminality, terrorism, benefit fraud and ““bogus”” foreigners. By contrast, ““sanctuary”” is viewed as a positive word, describing a safe, secure place in which someone can take refuge and access to which can be gained only through a fair and transparent system. On sanctuary, the commission felt that there were four separate questions that a satisfactory system needed to answer. I should like to say a brief word about each. How do we maintain public confidence in sanctuary? How do we decide who needs sanctuary? How do we treat people seeking sanctuary? What happens when we refuse people sanctuary? At present, public confidence in the system is low; that is not helped by media publicity, remarks about it made by John Reid when he was Home Secretary and frequent exposure of inefficiencies and worse. As the right reverend Prelate reminded us, it is unfortunate that the whole system is choked at present by more than 500,000 people whose presence in the country has not yet been regularised. Many of them have been here for many years and have families and businesses. A Citizens for Sanctuary campaign proposes an amnesty for those who satisfy certain conditions, such as length of stay. It is disappointing that there is no provision in the Bill to resolve the issue. The system is also distorted by the tipping point introduced by Mr Blair, requiring more people to be refused than granted entry in any one year. That has given rise to what the commission called the culture of disbelief, which appears to colour too much of the process. Refusal to listen to those who have suffered torture, for example, cannot be acceptable in any civilised society. The treatment of some of those seeking sanctuary is something of which we should be ashamed. The recent report by the London Detainee Support Group, to which the noble Baroness, Lady Quin, referred, reveals the disgraceful hidden practice of indefinite detention. During the past 20 months, the group has supported 188 people who have been detained for more than a year, 46 who had been detained for more than two years and nine for more than three years—none has been charged with any offence. Contrast that with the fate of the proposal that suspected terrorists should be detained for a mere 42 days when that was brought before this House. Urgent remedial action on current procedures is also needed for those whose applications are refused. Other noble Lords have spoken about those who cannot be deported for safety reasons and the unattractive assertion that enforced destitution following removal of the right to work and access to healthcare and the benefit system is justified on the ground that applications are entirely voluntary and voluntary return to the country of origin should be accepted as the logical outcome of failure. I never thought that I would see Red Cross food parcels handed out in 2008 in Manchester to destitute asylum seekers who had been denied the opportunity to earn their means of survival. Again, there is no acceptance of the need to rectify that in the Bill by measures such as revokable rights. The commission proposed five key attributes of a fair, transparent and humane asylum system, which I believe should be at the heart of a proper Bill, when it eventually appears. People fleeing persecution should be able to find sanctuary in safe countries such as the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom should have an effective system to control our borders that lets people seeking sanctuary in, as well as keeping irregular migrants out. The United Kingdom should have a fair and effective decision-making body that takes pride in giving sanctuary to those who need it and denying it to those who do not. People seeking sanctuary should be treated fairly and humanely, have access to essential support and public services and should make a contribution to the United Kingdom if they are able. Finally, once a decision has been made, the United Kingdom should act swiftly, efficiently and in a controlled way either to assist integration or to effect a swift and sustainable return for those who have had a fair hearing and have been refused sanctuary. Although I knowledge that the bare bones of that are in place, much long-needed improvement is being delayed further by introducing yet another part-Bill. I welcome phrases such as, "““having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children who are in the United Kingdom””," but I note that there is no direction as to how that is to be achieved. The Bill is silent on the plight of families. In sum, the Bill fails to tackle far too many known problems. Let us hope that the next one really is of substance.