My Lords, I too thank the noble Baroness, Lady Boycott, for raising this debate and for her wise words at the beginning.

Covid-19 has brought into stark relief a number of things that we had taken for granted. One of them is food supply. It is extraordinary that our nation should...

My Lords, I too thank the noble Baroness, Lady Boycott, for raising this debate and for her wise words at the beginning.

Covid-19 has brought into stark relief a number of things that we had taken for granted. One of them is food supply. It is extraordinary that our nation should...

My Lords, I first visited Gibraltar by sea in September 1948 and have done so dozens of times since, and I know it well. I intend to speak only on the military significance of Gibraltar to the United Kingdom, the United States and NATO in this troubled and ever more...

My Lords, I first visited Gibraltar by sea in September 1948 and have done so dozens of times since, and I know it well. I intend to speak only on the military significance of Gibraltar to the United Kingdom, the United States and NATO in this troubled and ever more...

My Lords, I am afraid that the Government have been a complete shambles on this issue. They seem to have moved forward very slowly; they have been dragged into doing things. Now I believe that they are actually beginning to do things, but we are not telling the world that we are doing them. Does the Minister not agree that it is important that we make sure that our men and women around the world are supported by locally employed personnel? They will not do that unless they can see that they are going to be looked after.

My Lords, I am afraid that the Government have been a complete shambles on this issue. They seem to have moved forward very slowly; they have been dragged into doing things. Now I believe that they are actually beginning to do things, but we are not telling the world that we are doing them. Does the Minister not agree that it is important that we make sure that our men and women around the world are supported by locally employed personnel? They will not do that unless they can see that they are going to be looked after.

My Lords, why have the Government been so on the back foot over this issue? The numbers of people involved are minuscule compared with the immigration figures that we have to look at. Other countries are treating people who act as interpreters far better than we do, so I cannot understand why we are so on the back foot. Where is our generosity of spirit? This will affect us in future operations around the world. It is difficult to understand who in government is stopping this happening.

My Lords, why have the Government been so on the back foot over this issue? The numbers of people involved are minuscule compared with the immigration figures that we have to look at. Other countries are treating people who act as interpreters far better than we do, so I cannot understand why we are so on the back foot. Where is our generosity of spirit? This will affect us in future operations around the world. It is difficult to understand who in government is stopping this happening.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of European Union migrants known to be resident in the United Kingdom have registered on the Workers' Registration Scheme, broken down by region; and how the Government plan to advertise and promote this scheme to both European Union migrants and employers.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of European Union migrants known to be resident in the United Kingdom have registered on the Workers' Registration Scheme, broken down by region; and how the Government plan to advertise and promote this scheme to both European Union migrants and employers.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many workers without the right to work in the United Kingdom have been issued with clearance by the Security Industry Authority in each year since its inception.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many workers without the right to work in the United Kingdom have been issued with clearance by the Security Industry Authority in each year since its inception.

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord West of Spithead on 14 July (WA 203), how many skilled chefs were granted United Kingdom entry visas in each of the last eight quarters; and what were the results of the Migration Advisory Committee's review of whether...

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord West of Spithead on 14 July (WA 203), how many skilled chefs were granted United Kingdom entry visas in each of the last eight quarters; and what were the results of the Migration Advisory Committee's review of whether...

My honourable friend the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration (Phil Woolas) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. I am announcing today that, from 14 December 2009, employers wishing to recruit a migrant under tier 2 of the points-based system will first need to advertise to jobseekers in...

My honourable friend the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration (Phil Woolas) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. I am announcing today that, from 14 December 2009, employers wishing to recruit a migrant under tier 2 of the points-based system will first need to advertise to jobseekers in...

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Lord West of Spithead on 5 October (WA 485) and by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 17 July (WA 216), why the numbers of applications for accession worker cards, sector-based schemes and the seasonal agriculture workers scheme approved for...

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Lord West of Spithead on 5 October (WA 485) and by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 17 July (WA 216), why the numbers of applications for accession worker cards, sector-based schemes and the seasonal agriculture workers scheme approved for...

My honourable friend the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration (Phil Woolas) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement. I am today confirming that the restrictions on working in the United Kingdom currently applied to Bulgarian and Romanian nationals will continue until the end of 2011. I announced...

My honourable friend the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration (Phil Woolas) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement. I am today confirming that the restrictions on working in the United Kingdom currently applied to Bulgarian and Romanian nationals will continue until the end of 2011. I announced...

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many applications for accession worker cards, registration certificates, sector-based schemes and seasonal agricultural workers schemes have been approved for (a) Bulgarians, and (b) Romanians, including family members, since those countries’ accessions to the European Union.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many applications for accession worker cards, registration certificates, sector-based schemes and seasonal agricultural workers schemes have been approved for (a) Bulgarians, and (b) Romanians, including family members, since those countries’ accessions to the European Union.

To ask Her Majesty's Government who operates the seasonal agricultural workers schemes and sector-based schemes involving Bulgarians and Romanians which deal with Northern Ireland employers; how much the operators are paid per annum; and how they are monitored.

To ask Her Majesty's Government who operates the seasonal agricultural workers schemes and sector-based schemes involving Bulgarians and Romanians which deal with Northern Ireland employers; how much the operators are paid per annum; and how they are monitored.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications for accession workers cards and registration certificates have been granted to (a) Bulgarians, and (b) Romanians, including family members, since those countries' accessions to the European Union.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications for accession workers cards and registration certificates have been granted to (a) Bulgarians, and (b) Romanians, including family members, since those countries' accessions to the European Union.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (a) Romanian, and (b) Bulgarian, nationals have registered as workers and entered the United Kingdom in each year since the accession of those countries to the European Union; how many of their family members have entered the United Kingdom; and how many are...

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (a) Romanian, and (b) Bulgarian, nationals have registered as workers and entered the United Kingdom in each year since the accession of those countries to the European Union; how many of their family members have entered the United Kingdom; and how many are...

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many non-United Kingdom nationals work in the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism in the Home Office.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many non-United Kingdom nationals work in the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism in the Home Office.

My Lords, as I understand it, unless the Box tells me I am wrong, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Application to Revenue and Customs) Order 2007 currently allows a person to be detained, following arrest, for a maximum of six hours in a non-designated office of HMRC. That...

My Lords, as I understand it, unless the Box tells me I am wrong, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Application to Revenue and Customs) Order 2007 currently allows a person to be detained, following arrest, for a maximum of six hours in a non-designated office of HMRC. That...

My Lords, there is confusion here. The three-hour limit is the power in Section 2 of the UK Borders Act 2007 for a designated immigration officer, but the six-hour limit comes in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, as I have stated. Clearly, there is confusion here which needs to...

My Lords, there is confusion here. The three-hour limit is the power in Section 2 of the UK Borders Act 2007 for a designated immigration officer, but the six-hour limit comes in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, as I have stated. Clearly, there is confusion here which needs to...

My Lords, that is quite a difficult question which I need to think about a little more carefully. Can I have a think about exactly what a "legitimate purpose" is, and get my lawyers to look at exactly what it is, before I make a statement here? I refuse to...

My Lords, that is quite a difficult question which I need to think about a little more carefully. Can I have a think about exactly what a "legitimate purpose" is, and get my lawyers to look at exactly what it is, before I make a statement here? I refuse to...

My Lords, absolutely. This would not apply to travel between, say, England, Scotland and Wales. As I am sure that the noble Lord is aware, however, we are coming up on the issue of the common travel area. The Republic of Ireland and ourselves are keen that we should have...

My Lords, absolutely. This would not apply to travel between, say, England, Scotland and Wales. As I am sure that the noble Lord is aware, however, we are coming up on the issue of the common travel area. The Republic of Ireland and ourselves are keen that we should have...

My Lords, this amendment would impact the UK Border Agency’s operational effectiveness, and I must resist it. The noble Baroness, Lady Hanham, asked whether police-type functions are envisaged by border force officers. The answer is yes. They will have powers of arrest, detention and other enforcement powers, as immigration HMRC...

My Lords, this amendment would impact the UK Border Agency’s operational effectiveness, and I must resist it. The noble Baroness, Lady Hanham, asked whether police-type functions are envisaged by border force officers. The answer is yes. They will have powers of arrest, detention and other enforcement powers, as immigration HMRC...