Clause 2
UK Borders Bill
12:30 pm
Paul Rowen (Shadow Minister, Transport; Rochdale, Liberal Democrat)
During the course of our debate on clause 1 and the amendment which I put forward on the PACE regulations, the Minister said that the use of the PACE regulations was perhaps not inappropriate because the powers that were being designated to immigration officers were not those of police officers.
The concern I have with this particular amendment is that it does just that. As the hon. Member for Ashford has said, we are considerably widening the powers of detention for immigration officers. That might be appropriate in the context of the wider debate, which we may have, on a UK border force. Given that the Minister and the Government have set their face against that, however, what we are in danger of here is legislative creep in the sense that we are giving an officer new powers and then we are broadening the powers and the framework in which those powers can be used.
My view is that it would be far preferable if immigration officers were subject to the PACE regulations to allow them to receive the full gamut of training required to undertake those powers and to be aware of the effects of what they are seeking to enforce. At the moment, an immigration and nationality officer is just that. The training they have received is primarily to do with immigration and nationality.