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Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2008

I confess that that was due to my lack of legible writing. I also omitted another charge to which I shall respond first because it is easier; namely, whether the Government would seek to take any credit for the fact that the new system comes in at a time when there is a falling roll of people seeking to join. It is beyond belief that the Government would ever take credit for anything for which they are not fully responsible, but I am assured that if they ever seek to do so, the noble Lord and his colleagues on other Benches will be the first to remind the Government that the credit is not necessarily due to them. When the PBS fees regulations were drafted in April, a decision was taken to include a fee exemption for entry clearance applicants for workers who were nationals of countries that had ratified the 1961 Council of Europe Social Charter. The fee exemption was included to ensure compliance with our obligations under international law and a consistent approach towards in-country and out-of-country applicants, as similar exemptions already apply to leave-to-remain applicants. However, the 1961 Social Charter requires us to abolish or reduce fees for workers. We are therefore offering a 10 per cent reduction in fees for workers in compliance with our international obligations, while ensuring that those who benefit from the immigration system contribute to the cost. We also wish to discourage spurious applications. Applications from workers from countries that have ratified the 1996 revised Social Charter will pay the standard fee, because, as I said, the UK has not ratified that charter and is not bound by it.