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Baroness Carnegy of Lour: My Lords, with the leave of the House, and before the Minister sits down, I would suggest to him that the negative procedure is not adequate in this case. The discussion has been partly about membership and the chairman of the group. We do not know from the Bill anything about what the membership of the group will be under the regulations. Will the Minister look at the issue to see whether it should be decided by the affirmative resolution?
Lord Filkin: My Lords, perhaps the most straightforward answer is yes, we will look at the issue—but I would not want to raise hopes. We will want to assess whether or not it is appropriate. I shall do so and I shall write to the noble Baroness on that point.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that helpful response. It has fleshed out more clearly what the roles of the advisory groups and the monitor will be. I may wish to return at some stage with questions in regard to the levels of
checks that are to be carried out on the various grades of staff in the accommodation centres. I still have some concerns in that respect. I am grateful to the Minister for his indication that the second part of my Amendment No. 32 will be met and that the monitor will report on the effectiveness of the child protection policy operated by the accommodation centres. That is very good news. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
[Amendments Nos. 29 to 30 not moved.]
Clause 32 [The Monitor of Accommodation Centres]:
Earl Russell moved Amendment No. 31:
- Page 17, line 8, at end insert—
The noble Earl said: My Lords, in moving Amendment No. 31, which stands in my name and the names of my noble friends Lord Dholakia and Lord Greaves, I should declare a non-pecuniary interest. I am one of the patrons of the Association of Visitors of Immigrants in Detention, an organisation which does a great deal of good. I must confess to having participated in its activities rather less than I would have wished. For many years its annual general meeting has been held in the week of the Liberal Democrat Party conference. As a favour to me, the organisation decided this year to change the date—and found that it had picked the first day in Committee on this Bill. Naturally, it preferred me to be in this Chamber. However, I know enough to say that the organisation does a great deal of good, although in this world—whatever may be the case in the next—the peacemakers are not always blessed.
The effect of the amendment would be to take the powers in Clause 31(4) of the Bill—which allows members of the advisory groups to visit the centres and to visit any resident with his or her consent—and to make those powers a matter which can be a matter of report by the monitor. It is a small provision but it should be genuinely helpful.
Granted that the relationship between visitors, prison authorities and prisoners is essentially a channel of communication, it ought normally to be—and usually is—a peaceful, harmonious one, concerned with the prevention of conflict rather than its creation. But there always are exceptions. I remember one—drawn to the attention of the House by my noble friend Lord Avebury—where communications between the visitors and the governor broke down to such an extent that in due course it involved the attention of the Minister.
Such cases will always be rare. My hope is that the involvement of the monitor will make them even rarer. The monitor will be able to listen to both sides, to abide by the principles of natural justice and to reach a reasonable compromise, thus defusing trouble before it breaks out. That is why I hope that the amendment is uncontroversial. I hope that it may even commend itself to the Minister. I beg to move.
The Lord Bishop of Portsmouth: My Lords, I support the amendment. All the amendments that we are presently considering are in the interests of greater accountability and of involving as wide a section of the community as possible in observing and "critiquing" the life and work of accommodation centres. I am glad to offer my support.
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Earl for moving the amendment. It is helpful in the context of what we are attempting to achieve in the Bill. As he suggested, it would require the monitor of accommodation centres to consider in particular matters raised in reports by accommodation centre advisory groups. That in itself seems a sensible thing. It is what we should expect to happen.
The monitor is required to monitor the operation of Part 2 of the Bill. We have set out on the face of the Bill three aspects that he will need to consider in particular; namely, the quality and effectiveness of accommodation and other facilities provided, the nature and enforcement of conditions of residence and the treatment of residents. In considering these aspects, the monitor will be required to consult the Secretary of State and such other persons as he considers appropriate. We expect that requirement to be fairly widely drawn.
In addressing the amendment, we need to consider what matters might be incorporated in reports made by the advisory groups. We want the advisory groups to visit the centres and listen to the complaints of residents, and to ensure that those complaints are properly addressed. We feel that the advisory groups' reports will, by their very nature, focus on the ways in which individuals feel they are being treated within the centres, on whether any concerns have been acted upon, and on whether residents feel able to express any concerns or know how to do so. They will help us to understand how the residents are affected by the conditions of their residence and whether they feel that the facilities available meet their needs and are open to them. I imagine that they will in particular express views about how usefully their time is occupied and any concerns that they might have about the quality of their accommodation.
So given that the monitor will be looking at these issues as part of his remit, I think it would be impossible for him to ignore the matters that will undoubtedly be raised in any reports from the advisory groups. For that reason, I do not see that the amendment would add to what is already envisaged.
I also emphasise that the monitor will consult such other persons as he considers appropriate. As I said, we should expect that remit to be fairly widely drawn.
It may well be that the point made by the noble Earl in his amendment could be better and more accurately reflected in the terms of reference or the "job description" of the monitor. That would be where it would be better placed, rather than on the face of the Bill. If the noble Earl would see that as a welcome step, we should actively consider it. We believe these matters to be very important.
In overall terms, we will pay close attention to reports made by both the monitor and the advisory groups. We believe that the existence of these groups will be invaluable and that it will play an important part in establishing an independent view of how the accommodation centres are working. They will, of course, help to form part of the overall evaluation of the trial and during its course enable us to pick up on the areas that are working well. They will help us to learn from the successes and enable us to tackle those areas where the centres are not as effective. I hope that with those assurances, which are genuine ones, the noble Earl will feel able to withdraw his amendment.
Earl Russell: My Lords, I thank the Minister warmly for that reply. He makes a serious case for arguing that the objective of the amendment can be achieved without placing it on the face of the Bill. I am also aware of the points that the noble Lord, Lord Renton, has often made about the danger of cluttering up the face of the Bill with too much detail. Those are serious points. As I think that the Minister is right, and as I am certain that he makes the offers in good faith, I shall beg leave to withdraw the amendment. I hope that we are both right.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns moved Amendment No. 33:
The noble Baroness said: My Lords, during our debates on accommodation centres yesterday, I made it clear that I do not believe that the Government have set about establishing them in a manner which will prove to be fair and effective both to those who are seeking asylum here and to those who live in the local communities near the large accommodation centres.
The Government inserted the new clauses into the Bill in Committee which established the monitoring system for accommodation centres and, of course, we support it. But my reason for tabling this amendment is to point out that the duties of the monitor as set out in Clause 32 are concerned solely with the internal operation of the accommodation centres. One vital element of accountability is missing so far, and the amendment attempts to fill that gap.
I believe that the Secretary of State should be required to make an annual report to Parliament to give the details of the measures that he has taken to establish the accommodation centres, whatever model they might be. This would mean that he would have to explain the steps he had taken to discover what kind of
The second part of my amendment places a duty on the Government to carry out an impact assessment showing the effect that an accommodation centre, once built, has had on the local availability of medical, social and transport services. It also requires an assessment of the impact of the centre on the ecology of the area.
Such a provision is vital in ensuring that the Government take all proper factors into account when building centres after the initial three have been launched. We were originally told that that would be in 2003, but rumours are that it will be in 2004—the Minister himself referred to the fact that the date had drifted.
The fact remains that, wherever such centres are built, they will have a significant impact. At present, we do not know whether that will be just as much for the good as for anything else. We have to look at the positive aspect too. It is right that, over time, Parliament should have the opportunity clearly to hold the Government to account on where accommodation centres are sited. I beg to move.
"( ) the matters raised in reports made under section 31(4),"
4 p.m.
After Clause 32, insert the following new clause—
"ACCOMMODATION CENTRES: ANNUAL REPORT BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE
(1) The Secretary of State shall make an annual report to Parliament detailing the measures taken to establish Accommodation Centres.
(2) The report shall include an impact assessment of each Accommodation Centre upon the locality in which it is sited taking into account its effect upon the local availability of medical, social, and transport services and upon the ecology of the area."
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