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Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2009

My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing these regulations, which have already been considered by a committee in the other place. The basis on which fees are set has been very honestly described as one where one applicant is overcharged in one category to subsidise someone in another category—a sort of Robin Hood system. The fees now being charged are relatively substantial, even though I note what the Minister said about taking account of the current situation. I am perfectly willing to accept the argument that to be in this country, at whatever cost, is good value for money. However, the desirability of that may be tested to destruction if the current economic disasters continue and this country becomes less of a magnet for the type of applicants for entry that we are considering today. It would be useful to know which of these fees are inflated to provide the subsidy and which ones are the recipients of the largesse. The Minister suggested that the student fees, even after above-average increases, which I believe has happened this year, are among those that are set below cost. Is that a correct interpretation of the situation? The Minister in the other place suggested that there was an additional element to all the fees to contribute towards the cost of administration. Presumably that is the cost to the UK Border Agency, but the £100 million that the Minister said was for enforcement—perhaps he can say whether that includes administration—seems a sizeable additional pot to raise. Is this based on a business case of a specific number of applicants? Is the total amount subsumed annually by the UK Border Agency on this aspect alone or, if it is in profit from this, can it vire to other cost bases? As the Minister knows, there has been considerable concern about the size of the increased fees for students coming to the UK to study. What consultation was carried out with Universities UK and the representative bodies regarding the impact that the increases might have on numbers applying to come? What response was made to that consultation and was the consultation formal or informal? I appreciate that the university fees for overseas students are considerable in themselves and the Minister may well say that the visa charge is only a small additional sum, but somewhere the camel’s back will be broken if both fees and visa charges continue to rise above expectations. What is the situation regarding the licensing of colleges and universities for sponsorship? Have they all now been included so that there is no difficulty for students who wish to apply for courses? What is the situation regarding sponsors for migrants in other categories? Have any concerns been raised that migrants who wish to come to this country to work are finding it difficult to find a licensed sponsor? How much is the fee for a "small sponsor"—presumably a small business? Regulations 23 and 24 refer to either £1,000 or £600 per sponsor, depending on the size or category, but they give no indication of how much the fees are for a small sponsor. In addition to the administration and other costs for the UK Border Agency, as the Minister has said, a contribution from the fees is made to the Migration Impacts Fund. How much is currently in that fund and who is it paid to? Presumably, some local authorities will benefit if they have costs over and above their local communities. Apart from them, what other bodies or persons are the beneficiaries? As with the biometric cards, these fee increases are obviously going to become an annual event, so this will not be the last time that this House is able to discuss them. However, I hope that, with the answers to some of my questions, we may be a little better advised.