The
Committee consisted of the following
Members:
Chair:
Mr
Charles Walker
†
Baldwin,
Harriett (West Worcestershire)
(Con)
†
Brake,
Tom (Carshalton and Wallington)
(LD)
†
Burley,
Mr Aidan (Cannock Chase)
(Con)
†
Burns,
Conor (Bournemouth West)
(Con)
†
Cairns,
Alun (Vale of Glamorgan)
(Con)
Campbell,
Mr Ronnie (Blyth Valley)
(Lab)
†
Carmichael,
Neil (Stroud) (Con)
†
Cooper,
Rosie (West Lancashire)
(Lab)
†
Corbyn,
Jeremy (Islington North)
(Lab)
†
Crockart,
Mike (Edinburgh West)
(LD)
†
Green,
Damian (Minister for
Immigration)
McCrea,
Dr William (South Antrim)
(DUP)
†
Mahmood,
Shabana (Birmingham, Ladywood)
(Lab)
†
Rutley,
David (Macclesfield)
(Con)
†
Singh,
Mr Marsha (Bradford West)
(Lab)
Stringer,
Graham (Blackley and Broughton)
(Lab)
†
Tami,
Mark (Alyn and Deeside)
(Lab)
†
Wright,
Jeremy (Lord Commissioner of Her Majesty's
Treasury)
Mark Oxborough,
Committee Clerk
† attended
the Committee
Sixth
Delegated Legislation
Committee
Wednesday 10
November
2010
[Mr
Charles Walker
in the
Chair]
Draft
Immigration (Biometric Registration) (Amendment) Regulations
2010
2.30
pm
The
Minister for Immigration (Damian Green):
I beg to
move,
That
the Committee has considered the draft Immigration (Biometric
Registration) (Amendment) Regulations
2010.
This
is the first time that I have had the pleasure of serving under your
chairmanship, Mr Walker. I am sure that it will be a delight. Approval
of the regulations will mean that the UK Border Agency can continue the
roll-out of biometric resonance permits. The permits are useful in
combating illegal immigration and abuse of the immigration system. By
recording a foreign national’s fingerprints and photograph as
part of their application, we can check them against our existing
records before deciding whether to allow them to stay in the UK. This
allows us quickly and confidently to confirm their details or identify
those who try to conceal a poor immigration history, making for smarter
immigration decisions.
The process
also means that we can link a person’s details to the
application and establish a reliable link between the holder and the
document that we give them to evidence their right to be here. This in
turn makes it easier and more reliable for the UK Border Agency and
employers and public service providers to confirm a foreign
national’s immigration status and entitlements in the UK.
Issuing the permits enables the UK to comply with European law,
regulation EC 1030/2002, as amended by EC 380/2008. The legislation
prescribed uniform residence permits with upgraded security features
containing fingerprints and digital facial images to be issued to
non-European economic area nationals staying in member states for more
than six months by May 2012. Biometric residence permits enable us to
meet our obligations under EU law and ensure we are not a weak link in
Europe for immigration
abuse.
Under
the UK Borders Act 2007, the Secretary of State has powers to make
regulations that require foreign nationals subject to immigration
control to apply for a biometric residence permit. This will be the
fourth set of affirmative regulations rolling out the requirement to
more categories of immigration applicant. Since the permits first
rolled out on 25 November 2008, more than 300,000 have been issued.
Most have been to students extending under tier 4 of the points-based
system for migration and skilled workers under tier 2. The regulations
incorporate more working migrants by rolling out biometric residence
permits to those applying under tiers 1 and 5 of the points-based
system. Tier 1 is for highly skilled workers, investors, entrepreneurs
and
post-study work. Tier 5 covers certain types of sponsored temporary
workers, whose entry helps satisfy cultural, charitable, religious or
international
objectives.
With
such volumes of biometric residence permits in circulation, those who
are required to check them are increasingly familiar with them.
Feedback tells us that they have been well received by migrants,
employers and service providers as a secure and reliable way of
confirming identity, immigration status, right to work and entitlement
to access services while in the UK. We are committed to streamlining
documents that establish right to work in the UK to help employers and
business. We will also continue to review and improve document checking
services to provide further reassurance about whether an individual can
work legally in the
UK.
To
complete the roll-out to all active tiers of the points-based system,
we will now incorporate tiers 1 and 5. The first sub-tier in tier 1 is
for the most highly skilled workers who are granted free access to the
UK labour market so that they can look for work or self-employment
opportunities. The entrepreneurs sub-tier is for those investing in the
UK by setting up or taking over and being actively involved in the
running of one or more businesses. The investors sector is for high net
worth individuals making a substantial financial investment—at
least £1 million—to the UK. The fourth sub-tier is for
post-study work for the most able international graduates who have
studied here, enhancing the UK’s overall offer to international
students and providing a bridge to highly skilled or skilled
work.
We
believe these documents are proving to be a useful tool in tackling
illegal immigration and illegal working. We have a number of examples
where they have identified illegal immigrants seeking to exploit the
system. Employers have told us that they welcome the documents as a
secure and reliable means of confirming right to work. To date, the
roll-out has proceeded smoothly with the vast majority of successful
applicants receiving their permits within a few days of being notified
that their application was granted. Biometric enrolment provision has
been expanded to meet customer need, with 11 Home Office
biometric enrolment centres, where appointments can be secured online
or over the telephone, and 17 Crown post offices offering
enrolment where no appointment is necessary as a walk-in service is
provided.
We
are satisfied that the scheme complies with UK legislation on human
rights and discrimination. The Government are committed to using the
2007 Act to meet our EU legal obligations and will issue biometric
residence permits to non-EU migrants who are here for more than six
months. The 2007 Act specifically prevents regulations being made that
would require holders to carry their biometric residence permits at all
times. Therefore, no one should ever be stopped and asked to produce
this
document.
Biometric
information that has been collected must be destroyed if it is no
longer likely to be of use for the specified functions, such as for the
prevention or detection of an offence, or for functions under
immigration legislation. Biometric residence permits provide legitimate
migrants with convenient evidence of their immigration status and their
right to work, and facilitate access to services. When we intend to
introduce further categories of foreign nationals who are required to
apply for biometric residence permits, we will return to Parliament to
seek further approval.
I trust that
hon. Members on all sides of the Committee will support the
regulations.
2.36
pm
Shabana
Mahmood (Birmingham, Ladywood) (Lab):
It is a pleasure to
serve under your chairmanship, Mr Walker. I do not intend to
detain the Committee for long, particularly as this measure is a
continuation of the Labour Government’s
policy.
I
have a number of questions for the Minister. As we have heard, the
regulations continue the incremental roll-out of biometric residence
permits to move us closer to complying with EU legislation, the
deadline for which is May 2012. Are we on course to meet that deadline,
and what is the time scale for the further measures that are needed to
comply fully? What has been the reduction in illegal workers since the
BRP system was introduced? What are the Government’s plans for
rolling out the use of post offices for the purposes of enrolment? Is
the Minister confident that the stated operational costs will not
increase? What impact is the expected 25% cut to the UK Border Agency
budget expected to have on the roll-out of the BRP system, and how will
that impact be managed? Finally, does the Minister expect delays in the
processing of BRPs, given those budget cuts? Does he think that such
delays would impact negatively on the willingness of tier 1 migrants to
come to the
UK?
2.37
pm
Tom
Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD):
It is a pleasure
to serve under your chairmanship, Mr
Walker.
The
Minister rightly highlighted the problem of tier 1 visa holders who are
not working in tier 1 occupations. Has he thought about using the
process of people seeking further leave to stay in the UK as a checking
point to assess whether they are working in a tier 1
capacity?
2.38
pm
Damian
Green:
I am grateful for those questions, which raise
important issues that we must
address.
On
compliance with the EU target, we are on track to meet our obligations
under EU law by May 2012 for all those who have been granted entry or
leave to remain for more than six months. We are a long way through
that process. As the hon. Lady has rightly said, the previous
Government introduced the measures for tier 2, and we are rolling them
out to tiers 1 and 5. Tier 3 is being suspended so nobody is coming in
under that
tier.
The
hon. Lady asked about coverage. I have a long list of those who are
covered, but I will not detain the Committee unnecessarily. There is a
comprehensive list of those who were added in March 2009 and January
2010, and of the categories that I have outlined today.
The hon. Lady
asked about numbers. I can clarify that there are 300,000 permits in
circulation at present and we expect the measure to add some 80,000 a
year to that number. Clearly, however, the data are historical, so that
figure will depend on the many imponderables, such as the state of the
economy.
The hon. Lady
asked about the use of the Post Office. From summer 2011, we will
examine possibilities of extending enrolment via the Post Office or
another commercial partner. She will be aware of the welcome
announcement by the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation
and Skills, my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr
Davey) about having a more creative use of post offices in future. It
is that Department’s ambition to make the Post Office a
“front office for Government”—I think that that is
its phrase. We have obligations to ensure that we get the best deal for
the taxpayer in procedures such as this, but we will use the Post
Office as a commercial partner, and it will be one of those which will
compete for this business.
The hon. Lady
asked about the possibility that the necessary public spending cuts
will affect the system. I am happy to assure her that the
investment in the underlying infrastructure is complete. As part of the
general way in which we aim to implement more rigorous spending
controls inside the Border Agency, we are attempting to concentrate
cost as much as possible on Whitehall rather than on the frontline. In
particular, we are determined to maintain necessary capital spending on
those aspects of the system that provide us with greater efficiency,
which will be the case in this instance. I foresee no reason why,
therefore, that should cause any delays in roll-out.
My hon.
Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington asked about tier 1 and
possible delays. The application process does not delay applications,
but the biometric enrolment must take place before a case can be
concluded, so that we can check the applicant against our existing
databases and link the biographical details provided to their unique
biometric identifiers. He also asked about the effect the measure might
have on tier 1 in future. As he and the Committee will know, we are in
the throes— following our consultation on the work-based routes
and the implementation of the permanent limit from next April—of
looking at all the responses, and an announcement will be made in the
coming weeks. Tempting as it is to respond in detail to his question, I
am sure that he will understand why I cannot do so now. I hope that I
have addressed all the questions that have been raised.
Question
put and agreed
to.
2.43
pm
Committee
rose.