Clause
119
Support
Harry
Cohen:
I beg to move amendment No. 361, in
clause 119, page 80, line 22, after
‘person’s’, insert
‘long-term’.
The
Chairman:
With this it will be convenient to discuss the
following amendments:
No. 362, in
clause 119, page 80, line 23, after
‘essential’, insert
‘long-term’.
No.
359, in
clause 119, page 80, line 27, leave
out ‘may not’ and insert
‘must’.
No.
360, in
clause 119, page 80, line 28, leave
out from ‘cash’ to end of line
29.
No.
363, in
clause 122, page 82, line 21, leave
out subsection
(7).
Harry
Cohen:
The amendments are about the cash or vouchers
issue. It may come as a surprise to some of my colleagues, but at the
last count I was not in the top 20 when it came to rebelling in votes
in the House. However, I did rebel over vouchers, which threw a lot of
asylum seekers into destitution. I am concerned about that and I have a
track record in that
regard.
Some
of the amendments relate to essential living needs and accommodation.
If people are very likely to be specially designated for a long time,
they should have long-term assistance or their circumstances should be
dealt with on a long-term basis. Also, they should have cash rather
than
vouchers.
I
have had a number of representations, including from the Refugee
Council, which says that there is no allowance for such things as
clothing and shoe repairs and that there will be progressive poverty
under the proposals. It also
said:
“The
use of vouchers as a form of support for asylum seekers was ended
following considerable concerns about its stigmatising and
impoverishing impact. Currently it is only used for refused asylum
seekers in receipt of Section 4 (hard cases) support. Now it is
proposed to reintroduce the use of vouchers for a whole class of people
who have no prospect of this form of support coming to an
end.”
The
JCWI quotes from the refugee convention, which we are signed up to, and
mentions
“The
duty to assimilate
refugees”
and
that
“The
Contracting states shall so far as is possible facilitate the
assimilation and naturalisation of
refugees”.
It notes that
the convention says:
“The
contracting states shall accord to refugees lawfully staying in their
territory the same treatment with respect to public relief and
assistance as is accorded to their
nationals”.
I think that
vouchers fall foul of that. However, worst of all, they are
impoverishing. Vouchers carry about two-thirds of the value of income
support. If people use a voucher, they will get less value than if they
were spending cash. I ask the Government to think again on that
aspect.
Mr.
Coaker:
I know that my hon. Friend has real concerns, not
just about supporting people who may be designated under this
provision, but about the support that is made
available to people in all sorts of other circumstances. He will see,
under clause 119(3), the support that can be made available and under
subsection (4) he will see something in respect of vouchers, about
which he is concerned. However, to try to appease some of his concerns,
he will also know that we have inserted something into the Bill,
because of his concerns and those of others. I refer him to
clause 120(6), which specifically states:
“The
Secretary of State may by order repeal, modify or disapply (to any
extent) section
119(4).”
Although he is
concerned about certain elements in the Bill, there is explicitly a
provision for him to continue to argue his case for the need for those
to be changed through the order-making
power.
Harry
Cohen:
I appreciate that. I beg to ask leave to withdraw
the
amendment.
Amendment,
by leave,
withdrawn.
Clause
119 ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
Clause
120
Support:
supplemental
Question
proposed, That the clause stand part of the
Bill.
Mr.
Burrowes:
I should like to refer to the point made in
response to the amendment tabled by the hon. Member
for Leyton and Wanstead. Clause 120(6) is a Henry
VIII provision, allowing primary legislation to be amended by statutory
instrument. Will the Minister briefly respond to the concerns in this
regard? Obviously, as a matter of principle, use of this type of
provision should exceptional, rather than the norm. Would it not have
been more appropriate to consider in more depth whether there was a
need to have flexibility implicit in the Bill, rather than seeking to
use an order-making power to build in the flexibility that the Minister
mentioned with regard to alleviating his
concerns?
Mr.
Coaker:
We have tried to meet the concerns that some
people have that the Bill is unnecessarily
restrictive and does not do what it should on support. We have provided
for what we believe to be the right level of support at present, but we
thought it appropriate and proportionate to include the opportunity to
change that if necessary. That is why the provision is in the
Bill.
Question
put and agreed
to.
Clause
120 ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
Clause
121 ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
Clause
122
Interpretation:
general
Harry
Cohen:
I beg to move amendment No. 355, in clause 122,
page 82, line 9, at end insert ‘and [Appeals against
designation]’.
The
Chairman:
With this it will be convenient to discuss new
clause 59— Appeals against
designation—
‘(1) A
designated person may appeal against his
designation.
(2) The Secretary
of State must make regulations about appeals under this
section.
(3) Regulations under
this section are to be made by statutory instrument and are subject to
amendment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of
Parliament.’.
Harry
Cohen:
This is about appeals—there are none.
However, I think that, out of natural justice, there should be an
appeal if someone feels aggrieved because
they have been designated in this way. Also, the JCWI again makes the
point that there appears to be no route out of designated
status.
Mr.
Heath:
I rise to support the hon. Gentleman. It seems to
me, reading this element of part 11, that not only is there no appeal
against designation but there is no potential challenge to any part of
the process, which is all dealt with by Executive action, including any
conditions that may be applied as part of that process. At no stage,
other than by recourse to the Human Rights Act 1998 or, presumably,
judicial review of a decision taken by the Secretary of State or an
immigration officer, is there any capacity for any challenge to be made
to anything that he has done to a person who is designated as having
special immigration status. Of course, there is the very real
assumption that in the absence of any form of legal aid provision,
there is no capacity—unless the person has particularly deep
pockets from elsewhere, which is unlikely in this context—to
mount a judicial review application or an application under the Human
Rights Act in any case. The hon. Gentleman’s point about the
lack of an appeal is very serious, but I would go wider and say that it
is not simply the issue of designation that is relevant, but the other
factors encompassed in this part of the
Bill.
Mr.
Burrowes:
I wish to follow on from those remarks, rather
than repeat them. They are valuable in relation to the lack of appeal.
I ask the Minister to consider whether by not having an appeal
mechanism, we may have built a delay into the process when the only
option left to an applicant is to go to the European Court of Human
Rights or seek judicial review. Would it not be appropriate to have an
appeal mechanism at least to allow any challenge to proceed
expeditiously and
appropriately?
Mr.
Coaker:
I am sorry to disappoint hon. Members, but the
Government’s view is that someone who fulfils those criteria
should expect to be deported. If that is not possible for ECHR reasons,
we should not be obliged, as we currently are, to grant them leave
under the Immigration Acts. In many cases, judicial review is open to
them, and those people would have legal aid available to them. I am
sorry to disappoint hon. Members, but we feel that it is appropriate in
the circumstances.
Harry
Cohen:
I beg to ask leave to withdraw the
amendment.
Amendment,
by leave,
withdrawn.
Clause
122 ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
Clause
123
Orders
and
Regulations
Maria
Eagle:
I beg to move amendment No. 366, in
clause 123, page 83, line 2, at
end insert—
‘(
) an order under section (Northern Ireland
Commissioner for Prison Complaints: eligible complaints:
general)(4),
( ) an order under section
(Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: power to modify
certain provisions)(1), (3) or
(5),
( ) an
order under section (Northern Ireland Commissioner
for Prison Complaints: power to confer new
functions),’.
The
Chairman:
With this it will be convenient to discuss the
following: Government amendments Nos. 367 to
369.
Government
new clause 61—Appointment etc. of Northern Ireland
Commissioner for Prison
Complaints.
Government
new clause 62—Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: eligible complaints:
general.
Government
new clause 63—Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: eligible complaints: specific requirements applicable to
all
complaints.
Government
new clause 64—Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: treatment of
complaints.
Government
new clause 65—Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: report on the outcome of an
investigation.
Government
new clause 66—Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: recommendations by
Commissioner.
Government
new clause 67—Northern Ireland Commissioner
for Prison Complaints: investigation of
deaths.
Government
new clause 68—Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: reports on the outcome of a death
investigation.
Government
new clause 69—Northern Ireland Commissioner
for Prison Complaints: investigations requested by the Secretary of
State.
Government
new clause 70—Northern Ireland
Commissioner for Prison Complaints: reports on the
outcome of an investigation under section (Northern Ireland
Commissioner for Prison Complaints: investigations requested by the
Secretary of
State).
Government
new clause 71—Northern Ireland Commissioner
for Prison Complaints: powers of Commissioner to obtain information
etc..
Government
new clause 72—Northern Ireland Commissioner
for Prison Complaints: exceptions etc. to Commissioner’s powers
under section (Powers of Commissioner to obtain
information).
Government
new clause 73—Northern Ireland Commissioner
for Prison Complaints: obstruction and
contempt.
Government
new clause 74—Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: legal and other
representation.
Government
new clause 75—Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: disclosure of information
etc..
Government
new clause 76—Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: disclosure prejudicial to national security or contrary to
public
interest.
Government
new clause 77—Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: offence of wrongful disclosure.
Government new
clause 78—Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: notification of matters of potential concern to the police
or other
authorities.
Government
new clause 79—Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: power to pay
expenses.
Government
new clause 80—Transitional provision: the Prisoner Ombudsman
for Northern
Ireland.
Government
new clause 81—Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints:
interpretation.
Government
new clause 82—Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: power to modify certain
provisions.
Government
new clause 83—Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: power to confer new
functions.
Government
new schedule 6—The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints.
Government
new schedule 7—The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: complaints’
remit.
Government
new schedule 8—The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: deaths
remit.
Government
new schedule 9—The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: controlling authorities.
Maria
Eagle:
It is great to be back on my feet
again, Mr. O’Hara, and I am going to be succinct. The
purpose of these measures is to make a similar provision for Northern
Ireland to the measures in part 4. Hon. Members will recall
that part 4 of the Bill puts prisons and probations ombudsman on a
statutory footing. The effect of the measures will be to place the
office of the prisoner ombudsman for Northern Ireland on a statutory
footing on very similar terms to those that we have discussed. The
office holder will be known as the Northern Ireland commissioner for
prisoner complaints, and his main function will be to deal with
eligible complaints from prisoners, investigate deaths in custody and
carry out other investigations at the request of the Secretary of
State. The amendments make broadly similar provisions to those
discussed, although there are some minor differences which I would be
happy to deal with in detail if hon. Members are
interested.
Amendment
agreed
to.
Clause
123
, as amended,
ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
Further
consideration adjourned.—[Mr.
Khan.]
Adjourned
accordingly at two minutes to Ten o’clock till Thursday 29
November at Nine
o’clock.
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