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Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill [HL]

I entirely agree with the noble Lord, Lord Lea of Crondall, inasmuch as anything that helps people to integrate into our country from wherever they come is a good thing. We would all agree with that. Having said that, I would like to strongly support what my noble friend Baroness Hanham said in her introductory remarks. I just about restrain myself from wishing to return to the meat on the bone of the nonsense in terms of formal logic of anything that is compulsory, or semi-compulsory, or quasi-compulsory or opt-in being in any sense voluntary. I am sorry to use such an indelicate word as "nonsense" in your Lordships’ House—I know that it offends the ears of many of your Lordships—but I do recognise a nonsense, particularly a nonsense on stilts, when I see one. I would like to expand on one point that my noble friend Lady Hanham raised, which is the burden on voluntary charitable organisations, the third sector or call them what you will, at a time when many such organisations are suffering from a host of problems. Some have made unwise investments and have found their investment income, because of Icelandic adventures and so on, falling like a stone. Still more are seeing their charitable income falling. Understandably, some would say, because of the plight of the unemployed and others who feel that they are threatened by the prospect of unemployment, people may no longer be able to meet those standing orders that they have been giving so willingly. It is the hope of all us, however, that we will be able to continue to help voluntary organisations. We know that some voluntary organisations are laying off staff or failing to fulfil employment beyond a certain period under employment legislation. As my noble friend Lady Hanham said, should the Government have their way, a considerable burden will fall on voluntary organisations. I have a straightforward question for the Minister. It will cost money to these voluntary organisations and charities to carry out some of this monitoring. That goes without saying. Some people who may have been dragooned into volunteering may be disinclined to do it seriously. We see this with community service from time to time. Will each volunteer, whether wholehearted or semi-wholehearted, be carrying with them in the pursuit of citizenship a sum of money that will be a subvention to voluntary or charitable organisations—the third sector—to allow them to meet this burden that is suddenly going to be laid on them by statute without any recompense?