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Immigration

The Government are evidently in some difficulties over this instrument, and the problems arise essentially from a lack of consultation. Their basic case—that there should be penalties that discourage people from staying here illegally—is a sound one, but the problem, as so often in this policy area, is a lack of sensitivity and an unwillingness to listen. There were the first signs of flexibility in the debate on this issue in another place when the Government spokesman in the House of Lords, Lord Bassam, made a welcome concession by, effectively, delaying the implementation of the changes before the House until October, so that those who are here illegally have the chance to leave the country without falling foul of these rules. He said:"““It is normally the practice that we would go through fairly rigorous consultation arrangements, but it is not always possible to consult everyone who might have an interest””.—[Official Report, House of Lords, 17 March 2008; Vol. 700, c. 97.]" Does the Minister agree that it might have been better to consult organisations such as the Immigration Law Practitioners Association and the Immigration Advisory Service, and other bodies, such as the Refugee Children's Consortium and Universities UK, which might well have had constructive and helpful suggestions to make? As far as I can see, he consulted absolutely nobody, which, in this context, seems a little foolish. I accept that the Government have to strike a balance. They are rightly charged with securing our borders and preventing abuse of our immigration system while ensuring that the system is fair to individuals. We are all aware that occasionally those two objectives sit uncomfortably with each other, but when concerns were raised in another place about those who have made mistakes on their application—the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne) has also made the point—Lord Bassam said:"““The Government believe that the points-based system will provide an adequate remedy for migrants who have made mistakes in their application””.—[Official Report, House of Lords, 23 October 2007; Vol. 695, c. 996.]" I hope that the Minister can tell us whether he is satisfied that adequate remedies are in place, because there seem to be some powerful arguments that they are not in place. The hon. Member for Eastleigh made a number of points, and I, too, wish to deal with a range of questions that the Minister needs to answer. I wish to start with what is clearly both the most sensitive issue and the one on which the Government's case is weakest: the treatment of children. The whole House will agree that the issue of children in our immigration system needs to be handled carefully, and the Minister will know that those most involved with children's rights in this area have considerable concerns as to how the changes will impact on children. It is clear that children in the immigration system cannot be accountable or wholly responsible for their own application and that, in some cases, they are legally in the care of a responsible adult. I hope that the Minister will tell the House what will happen if a child's application contains false documents or statements made not by them, but by others. Will the Government treat that as deception? Will they bar such children from entering the UK even after they have become an adult?