Clause 28 - Freight information: police powers
Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill
12:45 pm
Tony McNulty (Minister of State (Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality), Home Office; Harrow East, Labour)
As I suggested in my previous contribution, the amendment was tabled because of the interruption that the general election caused. We were unable to conduct external consultation on the provisions, as the hon. Member for Woking said in debate on clause 27.
We have since held detailed discussions with the industry. It raised concerns that owners or agents or ships or aircrafts were, in the main, unlikely to be able to comply fully with the clause as drafted, because they either do not hold or do not have access to detailed information on the consignments that they carry.
I remind hon. Members that this refers to freight. Although carriers may hold relevant information on how goods are being transported, other parties involved in the freight supply chain, such as the importer or exporter or their agents, would be best placed to provide information on the consignments. Amendments Nos. 108, 109, 110 and 111 simply reflect those concerns on the face of the Bill.