---

Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill

I am sure the noble Baroness means what she says, but, as my noble friend has said, it may be more difficult for her to carry out these undertakings in the case of the French authorities. We shall have to wait for the results of her inquiries, and I dare say that the Children’s Commissioner here will want to have a word with the children’s commissioner in France, if such a person exists, to see what arrangements for checking on those working in the juxtaposed ports of entry are in place over there. I want to go on to say that we understand that the people working for these private contractors are going to be individually authorised, and the noble Baroness has just said that those checks will be to a standard at least as high as that which applies in the public sector. She has also said that they will be properly trained, and she has enumerated the matters in which they would receive training. She pointed out that the care of children would be a priority in that training. Given that, I do not see why we need ““highly trained professionals””—her earlier words—concentrating on what they do best when, so far as her assurances are concerned, the individuals working for private contractors will be just as skilled as immigration officers.