UK Parliament / Open data

Nationality and Borders Bill

We too support the amendments we are debating. I suppose, in a sense, this clause is a rare section of the Bill, in that we welcome it but desire it to go much further, as has already been said. Amendment 94A is a probing amendment, but it is a very valid one, because, clearly, the Government have come to the view that the seven hours of support that will be available will be sufficient.

8.15 pm

We need to look at this provision—I have no doubt the Government will describe it as an act of generosity—against the other provisions in the Bill; for example, changes that limit access to appeals, that speed up the removal process and that penalise late submissions of relevant evidence. So I do not think we should get too carried away, and I am not suggesting that we have so far in this debate, by this provision of seven hours. As has been said, the kind of people this is directed at are those who will not necessarily know too much about the intricacies of the legal system, who may have information that has to be gathered that is quite complex and who need a lot of advice and support. We have to remember, of course, that it is against a background of legal aid services having been decimated since the passing of LASPO—I will leave it at that and not try to remember what it stands for—and there is, frankly, something of a postcode lottery in what is available.

As I say, we support the amendment and the purpose behind it, but our initial feeling is that seven hours is not enough time for a legal representative to take instructions from, advise and represent individuals who are often among the most vulnerable people in society. That, I think, is the cue for the Government, in their response, to indicate how they came to the conclusion that seven hours was sufficient, and how they would argue, even though it may be an equally arbitrary figure, that 20 hours is excessive. I await the Government’s response.

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
818 c1141 
Session
2021-22
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Subjects
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