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Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

I shall resist the provocation to deal with Opposition Members' points by going through the details of every amendment, which would defeat the whole object of my attempting to deal quickly with this group. However, I want to take up the point of the hon. and learned Member for Harborough (Mr. Garnier) about new clause 3 and the substantive changes that it makes. I shall explain that alone, as the others are indeed minor technical and drafting amendments. Despite the annoyance expressed, I will not be provoked into going into all the details on this occasion. New clause 3 and Government amendments Nos. 18 to 40 and 61 to 64 contain minor drafting, technical and consequential changes to parts 4 and 5, which establish the offices of the commissioner for offender management and prisons and the Northern Ireland commissioner for prison complaints. They contain within them a few amendments that reflect a change of policy in respect of Scotland. Let me make it clear that these have been agreed with the Scottish Executive. In particular, the amendments extent the commissioner's remit for investigating deaths to immigration detention premises and immigration custody in Scotland, while safeguarding the roles of the Lord Advocate and procurator fiscal in relation to criminal investigations and the investigation of deaths. Given that the arrangements have been agreed with the Scottish Executive, we are not trying to do anything that would not be approved of in Scotland. The amendments will improve the coherence of the deaths remit—that awful phrase—that the new commissioner will have. That is the only substantive change made by any of the amendments in the group. I hope that, following my short explanation, Members will accept the amendments so that we can get on with discussing some of the other matters covered by amendments in other groups. Question put and agreed to. Clause read a Second time, and added to the Bill.