Clause 29
Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill [Lords]
5:45 pm
Phil Woolas (Minister of State (also in the Home Office), Home Office; Oldham East and Saddleworth, Labour)
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman and to the hon. Member for Ashford. I acknowledge that it is a balanced argument. My judgment was that, because there was a specific function of detention within UKBA, the inspectorate that should look at that function should be the one that is familiar with detention rather than the institutional inspectorate, if I can put it that way. I will not persuade the hon. Gentleman on that point—I can tell that by his face—so I will answer the question.
As the hon. Gentleman knows, Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary, the Scottish inspectors and the Northern Ireland inspectors carry out inspections of HMRC systems and procedures, including those in relation to HMRC’s custody facilities. In the future, those facilities will be shared between HMRC and UKBA. Therefore, it is essential to adjust the inspection regime to allow for the continuation of suitable arrangements for oversight. Under the clause, the same estate takes power to make regulations to confer functions on Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary, the Scottish inspectors and the Northern Ireland inspectors. That will enable the inspection of all immigration and customs work carried out on our behalf by UKBA.
Those regulations will establish the framework for commissioning and carrying out the relevant inspections. For example, they will provide for a report of any inspection to be made and, subject to any exceptions required or committed by the regulations, to be published, as well as for payment to be made, of course, to the inspectors.
These measures are designed, as are the other provisions in the clause dealing with inspection, to allow the continuation of existing oversight arrangements, but those arrangements will be adapted to reflect the provisions of part 1 of the Bill. So they do not represent a significant extension of existing roles. To answer the hon. Gentleman’s specific question, the Bill also provides that inspections carried out in accordance with regulations made under the clause may not address matters that are the responsibility of the Comptroller and Auditor General under section 6 of the National Audit Act 1983 and for any inspection or part of an inspection that is carried out in Scotland to be—