Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill [HL]

I am grateful to noble Lords who have supported these amendments. I am also encouraged by the Minister’s reply. In order to facilitate the decision-making of those of us who support these amendments, when the Government are tabling their amendments, could they either give sufficient time for us to see them and respond through amendments if they need improvement, or write to us and tell us the contents of the amendments in good time for us to respond before Report? Another point that was not made entirely clear to me concerns a case where the Border Agency has made a mistake, perhaps on the basis of misinformation. Someone could come as a skilled worker and then have their temporary leave curtailed because it is thought that they have not abided by the conditions. If they are then detained to be removed, but can prove that it was the agency’s mistake rather than anything they had done, they might have their leave reinstated: we understand that. However, under Clause 37, they would be required to begin their path to citizenship all over again, because of the insistence that the qualifying immigration status has to apply throughout the qualifying period. In that case, the period of detention would not count as qualifying status, even though it would have been no fault of the person himself, and would in fact have been the fault of an agent of the Government. The Minister did not really cover that part of it; would he also dress that anomaly in future amendments?