Clause 23 - Documents produced or found
Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill
11:00 am
Andy Burnham (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Leigh, Labour)
I understand the point, but how useful would that document be, given that it is a photocopy? Furthermore, it would not be especially difficult to forge. What practical use would it be for people’s everyday business?
One must look at another scenario. It may not always be practical to issue the person with a copy of the document. Although I do not disagree with the general thrust of the argument, no one wants to burden people unfairly in going about their daily business. That is not our intention. It is not right to legislate for the two or three occasions on which a passport may go missing. We are ensuring that we give people who are doing an important job on behalf of us all the ability to go about their business in a simple way.
I recognise, however, that we should put systems in place which ensure that, where documents are retained, they are safeguarded and proper account of them is kept. There have been instances in which that has not happened. I accept the point, but I am afraid that I do not concede to go so far as to require all documents to be photocopied.
The hon. Member for Woking (Mr. Malins) asked in what circumstances a passport may be needed in an immigration appeal. The passport or travel document is often relevant to an immigration appeal—for example, in cases in which the nationality of the individual who is appealing is disputed or in which passport stamps are relevant evidence to the claim that is being made. The document is also potential proof of that individual’s identity.
More broadly speaking, immigration service staff retain passports to ensure that, where an appellant loses his or her appeal, he or she can be removed. The hon. Gentleman will be familiar with the National Audit Office report on removals. He will know that the need to ensure that people are properly documented can be a frustrating factor in operating an effective removals system. I hope he accepts that the need for proper documentation is an important element of our system.
It is important to stress that the ARC card that is issued to all asylum seekers is meant to fulfil the functions that have been mentioned—that is, the ability to go about one’s daily business and the ability to prove one’s identity. The ARC card is a biometric identity card. I do not know whether hon. Members have seen one, but they are a proof of identity that is not currently available to other citizens.
The hon. Gentleman asked about out-of-country appeals. Depending on the outcome of an appeal, the documents would be held until grant of appeal or removal/departure. That is the case in law at present. The Bill does not substantially change the present system; it simply rationalises the process that is in place. As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Mr. Gerrard), I cannot believe that there could be many—if any—circumstances in which travel documents would be retained when a removal had been effected or in which a voluntary return had been made.
It would always be right to enable the individual to receive his or her documents. The hon. Member for Woking asked when people would be given back their documents. That would happen at the point of removal, when the individual has boarded the aircraft to leave the UK. That would be the right time to release the documents. These are points of operation for the immigration service and not for primary legislation. The overall principle is that we should return people’s travel documents to them. As he rightly said, it is not a light thing to take someone’s documents away from them. We should return them when they are no longer of any reasonable use to the immigration service.
The clause is important, particularly in respect of the foundations it lays for biometric passports and visas, which will enhance the documents and give their owners more confidence that their travel documents cannot be abused or used fraudulently by those who take those documents from them. It is an assurance for the Government and for the individual travelling member of the public. It will help us to tackle document fraud and identity theft, combat illegal immigration and organised crime, and be a deterrent to those who try to enter the country illegally.