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Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill

My Lords, I speak to Amendment No. 9, which is in my name and grouped with these amendments. The Government’s plan to abolish appeals in non-family cases was in the general election manifesto. It did not exactly shout out that students would have their appeal rights removed. I suspect that the implication of the text of the manifesto was not crystal clear to the public, but I accept that the provisions in this Bill accurately apply the commitment in the manifesto. As such, therefore, I have from the beginning acknowledged that the Salisbury convention means that I should not, and I would not, do anything to undermine the operation of the provisions of Clause 4. Debates in Grand Committee showed that there was opposition on all sides of the House to the Government’s plans to abolish appeals for those who apply out of country for visas to come here to work and study. I expressed my concern both on Second Reading and in Grand Committee about that abolition of a right of appeal and its replacement by a system of administrative review. In Grand Committee, the Minister offered to take time to explain to noble Lords how the Government expected the new administrative review procedures to work and, in particular, how they would try to remove subjectivity from the decision-making process of the entry clearance officer. I believe that the Minister has met that commitment with good will and energy. I am grateful to the Minister for arranging to meet my honourable friend Damien Green and myself last week, so that IND officials could make a presentation of how they hope the new points system may work. The noble Lord, Lord Avebury, has just referred to that PowerPoint presentation. I was impressed by their optimism and determination to establish a system that is both fair and accessible, and one that should try to remove from the equation that subjectivity in decision-making. I do not question their professionalism and dedication—far from it—but there are significant questions that remain to be answered. What is the timetable for the roll-out of the application of the various tiers of the points system? What is the number of staff that will be involved in the retraining of entry clearance officers and when will that training be completed? Will staff be trained on a country-by-country basis or on the basis of point of application? What are the plans for monitoring the quality of the initial decisions? If somebody objects to the results of that initial review and requests a review, how long might they have to wait for the outcome? What information will be given to them as to the reason for upholding or overturning the original decision? How will the Government raise awareness of the new system among small employers, who will not have access to the advice systems that may be put in place by affected/effective organisations such as UUK? Here I add my appreciation to UUK for all the hard work that it has done in briefing noble Lords on all the issues throughout the Bill process so far. How will a proxy accreditation scheme for small business work? The Government say that there will be a carrot-and-stick approach to the points rating of employers. How will they determine the initial rating of employers? What information will be used and how reliable will it be? How will the new system deal with complex cases and high-risk areas such as poor track records or new sponsors? Those questions could go on for ever—it is tempting to do so—but I think that I have put there more than my baker’s dozen which I had originally intended. I realise that the results of the consultation will be published soon, as the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, said; one hopes it will be within the next month. It is vital that this House should consider the results of that consultation before Third Reading. It would therefore be helpful if the Minister could say whether she agrees that it would be best if the House had that opportunity. I have reflected carefully on the work carried out by the Government on the new system of administrative review. It is important for everyone that it should work well. It is also important for Parliament to have the guarantee that it will have the opportunity to hold the Government to account for the operation of the administrative review system. It is in that spirit that I have tabled Amendment No. 9, which I hope will be seen as a constructive move forward. The amendment requires the Secretary of State to lay a report before Parliament within three years of Clause 4 being put into effect, a report that would have to set out the details of what system of administrative review has been set up and how effective it is, taking into account the number of cases and the number of applications for further review after the initial decision. As ever, I am not wedded to the drafting of that amendment, but it is offered in a constructive spirit.