Ms Rosie Winterton (Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department; Doncaster Central, Labour)

I beg to move amendment No. 339, in page 60, leave out lines 14 to 16.

Mr Alan Hurst (Braintree, Labour)

With this it will be convenient to take new clause 18—Arrest by immigration officer.

Ms Rosie Winterton (Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department; Doncaster Central, Labour)

At present, the employment offence in section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 does not carry the power of arrest. To date, the only way in which it has been possible to make arrests has been to use the powers in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. However, those powers apply only to police constables, not to immigration officers. We therefore decided to add a separate power of arrest for the section 8 offence. Subsection (4) introduces a power of arrest without warrant for the employment offence.

On reflection, however, we decided that introducing a power of arrest without warrant was disproportionate to the offence, which is a summary offence with a maximum penalty of a £5,000 fine. Introducing such a power would not meet our policy objectives of improving business compliance or our ability to enforce the law rather than impose unreasonable penalties. We also want to ensure that employers are protected by incorporating the safeguard of judicial scrutiny prior to arrest.

The amendments remove the subsection that gives the power of arrest without warrant for the section 8 offence, and substitute a new clause that provides for an immigration officer to apply for, and a justice of the peace to grant, a warrant to arrest a person reasonably suspected of committing the offence. We do not envisage that the power will often be used. In most cases, we will be aware of the identity and whereabouts of the employer, and it will be possible to take action in relation to the section 8 offence without the need to make an arrest. However, it is important that the power exists for the rare cases in which the employer is likely to go to ground.

The clause also remedies an anomaly in relation to offences under section 24(1)(d) of the Immigration Act 1971 and the failure to comply with a requirement to attend or submit to a medical examination. There is a power under section 28B of the

Act to enter premises under a warrant in order to search for and arrest someone who is liable to be arrested for that offence. However, there is currently no free-standing power of arrest.

I hope that hon. Members will accept the amendment.

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 115, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.