Part of Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill - Committee (5th Day) – in the House of Lords at 5:30 pm on 8 September 2025.
Lord Hanson of Flint
The Minister of State, Home Department
5:30,
8 September 2025
We keep all matters under review. This will go at the pace that it goes at. We will be making further announcements in due course on how we will review Article 8 and the issues that will result accordingly.
The sentencing review is ongoing. We welcome recommendations to make it quicker and easier to deport foreign criminals. We have committed to returning foreign national offenders earlier by changing the point at which they can be deported under the early removal scheme from 18 months to 48 months, subject to serving a minimum of 30% of their custodial sentence. Also, the MoJ-Home Office joint operation is conducting further work on how we can deport foreign national prisoners serving less than three years as soon as possible after sentencing.
Finally, Amendment 139, which I have referred to several times already, seeks to amend the Illegal Migration Act by disapplying key immigration legislation from the Human Rights Act 1998. I regret that this would have no effect, as this Bill will repeal the provisions in that Act.
I have tried to answer the points that have been made by noble Lords. I suspect that we will return to some of these issues on Report. We certainly will if the noble Lords, Lord Cameron and Lord Jackson, re-table their amendments. In the meantime, I would welcome them withdrawing or not moving their amendments, and them considering what has been said.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.