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Mr. Couchman: I should like to press the Opposition on the point that my hon. Friend the Minister made about new clause 1 during her brief intervention. It seems to me that a parallel has been drawn with licensed conveyancers. The conveyancing of property is a well-recognised part of the law and is undertaken by all solicitors. The process of conveyancing is well known: certain things must and must not be done. Therefore, we can set an industry standard.
I should like to know precisely what the hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw) has in mind when he suggests that agents should have some form of qualification. I am sure that all hon. Members would like to see the agency racket scotched once and for all: we could certainly do without those who are at present profiting from racketeering in that business.
Mr. Straw:
I do not think that we need to make heavy weather of the issue. Someone could be identified as being qualified through a mixture of accreditation and formal qualifications. I said in answer to the Minister that, as in the case of existing well-established charities which operate in London and elsewhere, it would be quite straightforward to introduce an accreditation system.If necessary, it could be organised by an outside body which would accredit those people. Perhaps some commercial organisations of good standing could accredit long-established practitioners. As to new entrants, I accept that there should be a qualification system which could be run by one of the well-known accrediting bodies.I shall anticipate the hon. Gentleman and raise the issue of money: it seems to me that such a scheme would have to be self-regulating because it is in the interests of those who are seeking accreditation.
4.15 pm
Mr. Couchman: The new clause mentions giving such advice for reward. Presumably, registered charities do not charge for their services. When those seeking my help in immigration cases approach my advice bureaux, frequently they are accompanied by a member of the local mosque or other religious organisation, who acts as their interpreter and advocate. What would be the position of such a person? One does not know whether money changes hands in those cases. Presumably, a small donation is made to the religious organisation. I have no way of knowing that. Would those people automatically find accreditation? They are certainly not experts.
Finally, I am worried by the automatic assumption that any practising lawyer should be considered an expert in these matters. On several occasions, I regaled the Committee with the case of an Albanian who, as a last resort, was advised to try to stay here by applying for political asylum. He had been advised by a Greek friend, but his solicitor accepted instructions and made the application. Although that application for asylum has now been withdrawn, it was manifestly bogus and it seemed to me that the solicitor should not have been prepared to take instructions that were obviously outside our laws on asylum. I would be interested to hear the view of the hon. Member for Blackburn on that point.
Mr. Vaz
: I shall not repeat what other Members have said, but I should like to raise three new points that are important to the new clause. I fully associate myself with the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw). As he has been in the House much longer than I have, he will know that, during the passage of every immigration Bill, Members have drawn attention to racketeering immigration advisers. We should have the opportunity to deal with the issue once and for all.
It should be remembered that the increase in immigration advisers in the past few years is a direct result of Government policy. The complicated legislation that has been introduced and the fact that the political atmosphere surrounding every immigration Bill has created fear has led many people to seek advice, and they are ripped off in the process. I cannot think of a single political asylum case that I have dealt with in the past nine years in which the person who comes to me has not consulted an immigration adviser. Frankly, such advisers usually cock the matter up, and nothing can be done to address the case properly.
People come to see Members of Parliament. We write to Ministers who write back, not to excuse the actions of the person who came to see us, but to blame the immigration adviser. That does not prevent Ministers from making catastrophic decisions in regard to our constituents.
I shall give the House one current example. Mr. Sumra and his wife Mrs. Kasan, who live in my constituency, have been in the country since 1991. They are waiting at their home for an immigration officer to call and remove them from the country. We have had lengthy correspondence with Ministers and the last letter I received was dated 26 October 1994. Mr. Sumra and his wife have four children and their last child was born three months ago. That child was born here and should be regarded as British; however, they are being told that they have to go. Their case became complicated because they initially consulted immigration advisers, who gave them the wrong advice and ensured that they made the wrong applications and, as a result, four years later, they are now at risk. We must resolve such terrible situations.
I refer the House to the role of Ministers in cases raised by hon. Members, because it is important to regulate the activities of immigration advisers. I have been writing to Ministers since I first entered the House, and I have always enjoyed a decent relationship with Immigration Ministers--despite the fact that they always say no when I write asking them to act beneficially on behalf of my
constituents. That was the case until I received a letter dated 8 February from the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, telling me of a change in the practice of informing Members of Parliament about the progress of immigration cases. Ministers are no longer obliged to inform us of the outcome of cases such as those that may have come to us via immigration advisers. Instead, a case goes to the immigration and nationality department, which informs the constituent. Then it is up to the constituent to inform the Member of Parliament.It is exactly at that point that constituents go to see immigration advisers.
I hold two surgeries once a fortnight. One cannot deal with immigration or deportation cases over a pager or mobile phone. At some stage, one must see the constituent, for example to discuss an urgent letter from the IND. If Ministers renege on their responsibility to the House, to inform hon. Members of the progress of cases, that will create even more serious considerations. More of our constituents will be forced to approach advisers and pay enormous amounts of money to obtain information that they ought to get free of charge from their Members of Parliament. It costs us nothing to write to the Minister for a response, whereas the public are charged £25 or more by an immigration adviser.
The case to which I referred came to me via an immigration consultant, three firms of solicitors, then a fourth firm of solicitors in Leicester, which was acting perfectly properly in urging me to telephone Castle Donington, which in turn urged me to contact the Minister's private office. When I did so, I could not talk to the hon. Gentleman because he was in the House.The complications are made worse by the Government's actions.
Mr. Max Madden (Bradford, West):
The change to which my hon. Friend referred was made about 12 months ago, when Ministers said that they would no longer undertake to inform hon. Members of the outcome of applications. Does my hon. Friend agree that a major safeguard against abuse would be the simple practice of the Home Office copying all correspondence not only to the applicant's representative but directly to the applicant? That would be the simplest way of overcoming the problems that we are discussing.
Mr. Vaz:
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The matter is further complicated for constituents who do not read or speak English. The Minister dealt recently with the case of a lady who arrived in this country four years ago and married a British citizen. The marriage broke down and the couple divorced. Subsequently, she fell in love with and married another British citizen, and they have a child aged six months. That lady still does not speak or read English, and the IND continues to communicate directly with her. We must make sure that the department acts in a consumer-friendly and proper way. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Blackburn is raising that matter with the Home Secretary on my behalf and that of other hon. Members.
There would be no need for immigration advisers if the IND were much more responsive to the needs of our constituents and was prepared to advise them on the law. People should be told the facts about changes in legislation. Instead, rather unhelpfully, when constituents ring up they are told by the IND to go to see a legal
adviser or, foolishly, they are referred to Members of Parliament like me, who then chastise them for so doing. The IND should give helpful advice and facts about the law to everyone who needs them.
I am worried about the number of former immigration officers who set up in practice as immigration counsellors and advisers. They obviously know what is happening in the Home Office because they used to work in it. They know the personnel there. I recently saw a huge advertisement in the tube--it is so big that it appears that my hon. Friends the Members for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Hutton) and for Blackburn have seen it too--which looked for all the world like an official notice from the immigration department. People would naturally think that it came from the IND--indeed, it even includes that name somewhere under the heading in italics.
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