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Mr. Boateng: We will certainly have a look at that; it is our policy to keep these matters constantly under review. All the organisations that my hon. Friend mentioned recognise that it would not be wise to regulate door supervisors alone, ahead of the rest of the industry. I commend all those--local authorities, the private sector and the police--who have already set up more than 100 schemes that are about registering door supervisors, and involve effective police checks and training. Good work is being done in Bradford, Middlesbrough, York and
Liverpool. We want more of that work to be done, but, in the meantime, we will indeed keep the matter under review. There is an issue that needs to be addressed, and we are addressing it.Forged Passports
16. Mr. Gordon Prentice (Pendle): How many persons have been found in possession of forged United Kingdom passports in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [61105]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Mike O'Brien): The only comprehensive figures available relate to foreign nationals seeking entry to the United Kingdom who are detected in fraudulent possession of UK passports by the immigration service at our ports or airports. There were 584 such detections between 1 October 1997 and 30 September 1998.
Mr. Prentice: I thank the Minister for that reply. What about individuals already in this country who have access to forged UK passports? My hon. Friend must share my concern at the revelations in The Observer a week ago yesterday, which alleged that Mr. Abdullah Azad of the welfare centre in Manchester was making forged passports available to people who walked in through the door. That is appalling. The same article said that Mr. Azad was suggesting to people whose immigration status was in doubt that they should apply for asylum. Is it any wonder that legitimate applicants for asylum status are disconcerted by the fact that persons such as Azad can make the queues grow ever longer by encouraging people bogusly to apply for asylum status, to which they are not entitled?
Mr. O'Brien: My hon. Friend makes a good case for regulation of immigration advisers. The Home Affairs Committee recommended such a measure in 1992, as did the Labour party during the passage of Bills introduced by the previous Government. The Conservatives did not do so, but we shall regulate unscrupulous advisers. My hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr. Grant) has, for many years, held a list of approved advisers whom he can recommend to his constituents. Other MPs should consider their experience of advisers, and should give clear advice to their constituents about which corrupt or incompetent advisers they should avoid.
Dr. Julian Lewis (New Forest, East): Is the Minister aware of other recent press reports, which have detailed plans that the Government may offer an amnesty en masse to illegal immigrants? Will he comment on that, and confirm that, if any such amnesty is offered, it will not include anyone who is found to be in possession of forged documentation?
Mr. O'Brien: There will be no amnesty of people who have been refused asylum. The Conservatives left a backlog of cases: tens of thousands of asylum seekers, some of them genuine, had not been given a decision in six, seven, eight or 10 years. It was a shameful dereliction of duty. Now they complain when we are having to clean up their mess. If they had decided cases quickly, the mess would not have been created in the first place. We are
determined to restore integrity to our asylum system by tackling bogus applicants. We have taken the tough decision that the Conservatives ducked. They carp, we act. Where they failed, we shall succeed.Norwich Prison
17. Dr. Ian Gibson (Norwich, North): If he will make a statement on the deaths in custody in Norwich prison during the last year. [61106]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State forthe Home Department (Mr. George Howarth): Regrettably, there have been five self-inflicted deaths at Norwich prison during the past year. Inquests held in three cases resulted in verdicts of suicide, and two inquests are outstanding. Each death has been investigated thoroughly. A review of suicide awareness procedures was undertaken in May, which found no deficiencies in the procedures.
Dr. Gibson: I thank my hon. Friend for sharing my concern about the events in Norwich prison. Will he meet me and share some of the information that he has with me as soon as possible, so that I can see what has happened, because I have been denied information?
Police Disciplinary Regulations
18. Mr. Ivor Caplin (Hove): When he proposes to change police disciplinary regulations. [61108]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. Paul Boateng): As my right hon. Friend announced in March, new police discipline regulations will come into effect on 1 April 1999.
Mr. Caplin: I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Will he reassure the House that, under these new regulations, early retirement will not be a way of avoiding disciplinary regulations when they are required?
Mr. Boateng: Abuse of the discipline system through early retirement is to be deplored. The regulations will deal with that mischief. This is a long-overdue measure, which is widely supported in the police service.
Immigration Advisers and Solicitors
19. Mr. Neil Gerrard (Walthamstow): What representations he has received recently about improper practices by solicitors and immigration advisers. [61109]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Mike O'Brien): Many Members of Parliament have made representations to me about constituents whose immigration or asylum cases have been undermined by incompetent or unscrupulous advisers. The Government will introduce legislation to regulate advisers in the forthcoming immigration and asylum Bill.
Mr. Gerrard: I have drawn my hon. Friend's attention to a number of firms in my constituency that have been involved in very dubious practices.
When my hon. Friend introduces the legislation and provides for registration schemes, will he please include solicitors? There are far too many solicitors around who seem to think that knowing nothing about immigration law is no barrier to taking on cases and giving advice.
In setting fees, will my hon. Friend bear in mind the fact that there are small voluntary organisations that may be capable of giving good advice? May I ask him not to set fees at a level that would drive them out of business?
Mr. O'Brien:
My hon. Friend is right to point out that a number of reputable small organisations--and, indeed, law firms--operate in this sphere; but unscrupulous, incompetent, dishonest firms also operate. We need to introduce a system that regulates advisers.
I will pass on to my right hon. and noble Friend the Lord Chancellor, who is in charge of the legal profession, my hon. Friend's strong and properly expressed views on some solicitors whom he and I have encountered when dealing with constituency cases.
Mr. Roger Gale (North Thanet):
The Minister will know that, as a result of the practices of some solicitors and immigration advisers, the county of Kent is now playing host to a large number of economic migrants, who impose a burden on it. In the Queen's Speech, the Home Secretary indicated that that financial burden would be removed and that central Government would pay, but in earlier parliamentary answers he has suggested the payment would cover only board and lodging. That means that the burdens of health care, education, policing and social services will continue to fall on the county.
Will the Minister clarify the position? What are the Government prepared to pay for?
Mr. O'Brien:
We very much appreciate the work of Kent county council, and many councillors of all parties on that council. It has handled with skill and fortitude problems arising from the number of asylum seekers. I also praise the hon. Gentleman's constituents, and many others in Kent, for the way in which they have responded to the pressures on the area.
The hon. Gentleman is right: we intend to shift most of the burden of dealing with asylum seekers, in particular, on to Government, where it should have been in the first place. It fell on local authorities because of the way in which legislation was passed by the last Government. Support for asylum seekers will in future be dealt with by the central Government agency. There may well be other costs in relation to education; it is possible that they can be met by section 11 and other grants, but that will have to be discussed by the local authority and central Government.
I think that we shall be able to try to deal with many of the issues raised by the hon. Gentleman--issues that I consider to be genuine--during the next year.
Mr. David Winnick (Walsall, North):
Is my hon. Friend aware that a number of so-called immigration advice firms encourage unrealistic claims, at a high cost to clients? When it is clear that there is no way in which an appeal can be upheld by an adjudicator, the client is
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