Clause 21 - Person subject to United Kingdom
Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill
3:45 pm
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham, Conservative)
Amendment No. 139, which stands in my name and those of my hon. Friends, should say ''by himself or a member of his family'', but the amendment paper reads
''by himself of a member of his family''.
I hope that the misprint is corrected.
The amendment simply probes to discover further and better particulars from the Minister. It is wholly inappropriate that a person should be required to leave accommodation as a result of the actions of others, over whom no control has been exercised, in a form of absolute vicarious liability. What does she mean by ''someone else''? She is nodding furiously. I am sure that when the time comes, she will be able to fill us in.
It seems to be a wholly unreasonable proposition that the clause should be drafted so widely and so inappropriately. To dwell on the point, if someone in a centre with a group of friends had a party that got out of hand and broke the terms and conditions, it would be quite inequitable for that individual disproportionately to suffer punishment from which there was no escape and for something that they may not have been responsible for in the first place. As we know, all legislation is gender blind, although the wording implies a man. However, we must consider the position of women who may be in such centres and what might happen in circumstances over which a woman has no control whatever.
It is not unreasonable to propose a substitution and to say that a member of the family is someone over whom an individual may be expected to have some control. Therefore, we would substitute the words
''by himself or a member of his family''
in the hope of some recognition of the fact that the drafting is inappropriate in such conditions. I hope that the Minister, after all her furious nodding and smiling, agrees with me and either accepts my proposal or makes one of her own that would tighten up that area and not leave such a gaping, inequitable provision in the Bill.