Clause 15 - Electronic monitoring
Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill
2:30 pm
Mr Neil Gerrard (Walthamstow, Labour)
I want to speak briefly on the points raised by the hon. Gentleman and how the powers in the clause may be used.
The clause uses slightly different phrases on residence and reporting, referring to where
''a residence restriction is imposed on an adult''
and where
''a reporting restriction could be imposed on an adult''.
The second provision seems wide. When someone is given temporary admission, the IS96 form issued to them will almost always include a requirement for that person to report to an immigration officer at a particular time and place. That is now common.
The question is how widely the power will be used and whether the intention is to use it, in some cases at least, as an alternative to detention. The Government's policy in recent years has been to increase the size of the detention estate, with the obvious implication that more people will be in detention, or do the Government envisage the restrictions being used in addition to detention? It will be interesting to hear the Minister's views on the extent to which and the cases in which the power will be used and the relationship between its use and detention.
There is also the question of age. Subsection (7) defines adult as
''an individual who appears to be at least 18 years old''.
It would help to have some clarity on that point and on how it is intended that the power will be used.
I echo the hon. Gentleman's comments about the criminal justice system. Like many of us, the Home Secretary has made it clear that he wants fewer people in prison in general and that we should be looking at alternatives to prison. With that in mind, I will be interested to hear whether the Minister views the power in the clause as an alternative or addition to detention.