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Employment: code of practice |
| Restrictions on employment: code of practice. |
18. In the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, after section 8, insert-
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| "Code of practice. |
8A. - (1) The Secretary of State must issue a code of practice as to the measures which an employer is to be expected to take, or not to take, with a view to securing that, while avoiding the commission of an offence under section 8, he also avoids unlawful discrimination.
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(2) "Unlawful discrimination" means-
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(a) discrimination in contravention of section 4(1) of the Race Relations Act 1976 ("the 1976 Act"); or |
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(b) in relation to Northern Ireland, discrimination in contravention of Article 6(1) of the Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 ("the 1997 Order"). |
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(3) Before issuing the code, the Secretary of State must-
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(a) prepare and publish a draft of the proposed code; and |
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(b) consider any representations about it which are made to him. |
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(4) In preparing the draft, the Secretary of State must consult-
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(a) the Commission for Racial Equality; |
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(b) the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland; and |
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(c) such organisations and bodies (including organisations or associations of organisations representative of employers or of workers) as he considers appropriate. |
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(5) If the Secretary of State decides to proceed with the code, he must lay a draft of the code before both Houses of Parliament.
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(6) The draft code may contain modifications to the original proposals made in the light of representations to the Secretary of State.
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(7) After laying the draft code before Parliament, the Secretary of State may bring the code into operation by an order made by statutory instrument.
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(8) An order under subsection (7)-
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(a) shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament; |
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(b) may contain such transitional provisions or savings as appear to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient in connection with the code. |
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(9) A failure on the part of any person to observe a provision of the code does not of itself make him liable to any proceedings.
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(10) But the code is admissible in evidence-
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(a) in proceedings under the 1976 Act before an employment tribunal; |
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(b) in proceedings under the 1997 Order before an industrial tribunal. |
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(11) If any provision of the code appears to the tribunal to be relevant to any question arising in such proceedings, that provision is to be taken into account in determining the question.
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(12) The Secretary of State may from time to time revise the whole or any part of the code and issue the code as revised.
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(13) The provisions of this section also apply (with appropriate modifications) to any revision, or proposed revision, of the code."
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Monitoring entry clearance |
| Monitoring refusals of entry clearance. |
19. - (1) The Secretary of State must appoint a person to monitor, in such a manner as the Secretary of State may determine, refusals of entry clearance in cases where there is, as a result of section 50(5), no right of appeal.
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(2) But the Secretary of State may not appoint a member of his staff.
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(3) The monitor must make an annual report on the discharge of his functions to the Secretary of State.
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(4) The Secretary of State must lay a copy of any report made to him under subsection (3) before each House of Parliament.
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(5) The Secretary of State may pay to the monitor such fees and allowances as he may determine.
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(6) The Treasury's approval is required for any determination under subsection (5).
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Reporting suspicious marriages |
| Duty to report suspicious marriages. |
20. - (1) Subsection (3) applies if-
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(a) a superintendent registrar to whom a notice of marriage has been given under section 27 of the Marriage Act 1949, |
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(b) any other person who, under section 28(2) of that Act, has attested a declaration accompanying such a notice, |
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(c) a district registrar to whom a marriage notice or an approved certificate has been submitted under section 3 of the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977, or |
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(d) a registrar or deputy registrar to whom notice has been given under section 13 of the Marriages (Ireland) Act 1844 or section 4 of the Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act 1863, |
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has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the marriage will be a sham marriage.
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(2) Subsection (3) also applies if-
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(a) a marriage is solemnized in the presence of a registrar of marriages or, in relation to Scotland, an authorised registrar (within the meaning of the Act of 1977); and |
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(b) before, during or immediately after solemnization of the marriage, the registrar has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the marriage will be (or is) a sham marriage. |
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(3) The person concerned must report his suspicion to the Secretary of State-
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(a) in such form and manner, and |
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as may be prescribed by regulations
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(4) The regulations are to be made-
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(a) in relation to England and Wales, by the Registrar General for England and Wales with the approval of the Chancellor of the Exchequer; |
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(b) in relation to Scotland, by the Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages for Scotland with the approval of the Secretary of State; |
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(c) in relation to Northern Ireland, the Secretary of State. |
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(5) "Sham marriage" means a marriage (whether or not void)-
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(a) entered into between a person ("A") who is neither a British citizen nor a national of an EEA State other than the United Kingdom and another person (whether or not such a citizen or such a national); and |
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(b) entered into by A for the purpose of avoiding the effect of one or more provisions of United Kingdom immigration law or the immigration rules. |
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Facilities at ports |
| Provision of facilities for immigration control at ports. |
21. - (1) The person responsible for the management of a control port ("the manager") must provide the Secretary of State free of charge with such facilities at the port as the Secretary of State may direct as being reasonably necessary for, or in connection with, the operation of immigration control.
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(2) Before giving such a direction, the Secretary of State must consult such persons likely to be affected by it as he considers appropriate.
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(3) If the Secretary of State gives such a direction, he must send a copy of it to the person appearing to him to be the manager.
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(4) If the manager persistently fails to comply with the direction (or part of it), the Secretary of State may-
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(a) in the case of a control port which is not a port of entry, revoke any approval in relation to the port given under paragraph 26(1) of Schedule 2 to the 1971 Act; |
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(b) in the case of a control port which is a port of entry, by order revoke its designation as a port of entry. |
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(5) A direction under this section is enforceable, on the application of the Secretary of State-
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(a) by injunction granted by a county court; or |
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(b) in Scotland, by an order under section 45 of the Court of Session Act 1988. |
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(6) "Control port" means a port in which a control area is designated under paragraph 26(3) of Schedule 2 to the 1971 Act.
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(7) "Facilities" means accommodation, facilities, equipment and services of a class or description specified in an order made by the Secretary of State.
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Offences |
| Deception. |
22. In the 1971 Act, after section 24, insert-
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| "Deception. |
24A. - (1) A person who is not a British citizen is guilty of an offence if, by means which include deception by him-
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(a) he obtains or seeks to obtain leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom; or |
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(b) he secures or seeks to secure the avoidance, postponement or revocation of enforcement action against him. |
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(2) "Enforcement action", in relation to a person, means-
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(a) the giving of directions for his removal from the United Kingdom ("directions") under Schedule 2 to this Act or section 8 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; |
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(b) the making of a deportation order against him under section 5 of this Act; or |
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(c) his removal from the United Kingdom in consequence of directions or a deportation order. |
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(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable-
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(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both; or |
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(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine, or to both. |
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(4) The extended time limit for prosecutions which is provided for by section 28 applies to an offence under this section."
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| Facilitation of entry. |
23. - (1) Section 25 of the 1971 Act (assisting illegal entry) is amended as follows.
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(2) In subsection (1), for "seven" substitute "ten".
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(3) For subsection (1A) substitute-
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"(1A) Nothing in subsection (1)(b) applies to anything done in relation to a person who-
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(a) has been detained under paragraph 16 of Schedule 2 to this Act; |
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(b) has been granted temporary admission under paragraph 21 of that Schedule. |
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(1B) Nothing in subsection (1)(b) applies to anything done by a person otherwise than for gain.
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(1C) Nothing in subsection (1)(b) applies to anything done to assist an asylum claimant by a person in the course of his employment by a bona fide organisation, if the purposes of that organisation include assistance to persons in the position of the asylum claimant.
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(1D) "Asylum claimant" means a person who intends to make a claim that it would be contrary to the United Kingdom's obligations under the Refugee Convention or the Human Rights Convention for him to be removed from, or required to leave, the United Kingdom.
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(1E) "Refugee Convention" and "Human Rights Convention" have the meaning given in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999."
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(4) In subsection (5), for "Subsection (1)(a)" substitute "Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1)".
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| False statements etc. |
24. - (1) Section 26 of the 1971 Act (general offences in connection with administration of the Act) is amended as follows.
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(2) In subsection (1)(c), for "this Act" substitute "a relevant enactment".
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(3) After subsection (2), insert-
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"(3) "Relevant enactment" means-
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(b) the Immigration Act 1988; |
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(c) the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 (apart from section 4 or 5); or |
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(d) the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (apart from Part VI)." |
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