Appendix
S.I. 2017/1241
Immigration Act 2016 (Commencement No. 7 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2017
1.In a letter dated 10 January 2018, the Committee requested the Home Office to submit a memorandum on the following point:
Are the references to 20 November 2017 in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Schedule correct? If so, explain the intended effect of those provisions. If not, what should the date be?
2.The Home Office acknowledges that the date in the Schedule is incorrect, and is grateful to the Committee for drawing attention to this matter. The date, in each place that it appears, should read 15th January 2018, and thereby be consistent with both Regulation 2 and with text of the Explanatory Note.
3.Following receipt of the Committee’s letter on the evening of Wednesday 10 January, we checked the regulations in question. On checking, it became apparent that the regulations required correction. We made enquiries early the following day as to the appropriate mechanism to effect the necessary change. Subsequently we drafted a very short set of regulations to amend the defective regulations. This was made later that day and published the following day as the Immigration Act 2016 (Commencement No. 7 and Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations 2018.
4.Importantly, the necessary change was made before the date on which the transitional provisions were intended to have effect, and before the date on which the provisions to which they relate were commenced. This means that the change did not alter retrospectively the effect of the transitional provisions in an unexpected way or otherwise have any practical consequences.
5.This was a genuine error which occurred in the context of drafting, at considerable pace, three alternative versions of the regulations. Swift corrective action was taken and there have been no lasting adverse consequences for the Home Office or others. The Home Office are considering how to ensure drafting processes within the Home Office can be revised to minimise the risk of errors of this kind emerging in the future.
Home Office
16 January 2018
24 January 2018