Clause 42 - Procedure
Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill
6:30 pm
Tony McNulty (Minister of State (Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality), Home Office; Harrow East, Labour)
To be fair to the hon. Lady, the proposal is about specified forms and procedures for applications or claims. Fees are more readily considered in substance in clause 43. Clause 42 is in essence about not coming back to the House with a statutory instrument every time that IND wants to change something on a form. I take the hon. Gentleman’s points about the amendment, which I am happy to consider to see whether it can more readily be put into rules rather than being in statute.
There must be some sanction against non-compliance; reality must be impose4 in terms of inadvertent compliance but I am happy to consider whether it should be in the Bill or in regulation In substance, that means that we move away from the present ludicrous position in which every time there is a change to any substantive form available in this area it has to be made under statutory instruments. There is parliamentary scrutiny and parliamentary scrutiny, which is probably not terribly helpful, partly for the reasons that the hon. Gentleman suggested, and for a range of other reasons. I am happy to look at amendment No. 129, but I urge hon. Members to accept clause 42.