Citizenship Fees
My Lords, I am very pleased to speak at this time of day in favour of this amendment, which was so ably moved by the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, and supported by the noble Baroness, Lady Lister. I have spoken at earlier stages, so I do not need to detain the House for very long this evening. I have spoken not just on earlier stages of the Bill but over the years about the injustice of this extraordinary sum of money being charged in citizenship fees, especially in the case of children, as we have just heard. Like the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, I was struck by Sajid Javid’s remark about the huge cost of placing such a large amount of money on the right to become a British citizen—over £1,000.
I gave a witness statement to the High Court about what the intentions of the 1981 legislation actually were. I served in another place then and I spoke in the debates in the House of Commons at that time. The Government of the day—a Conservative Government—rightly wanted to ensure that every person in this country saw themselves as a British citizen and gave them routes to achieve that status. I think that the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister of the day would be horrified at the idea that we would try to make money out of this process and thereby exclude people who ought to become British citizens from being able to do so. I particularly draw the attention of the House to proposed new subsection (2)(c)(i), as inserted by Amendment 83, which deals with the costs of exercising the function.
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Whatever it costs the Home Office to administer, these fees will still be reclaimable. What will not be reclaimable is the excess which is being made in what some have described as a “nice little earner”. That cannot be appropriate—not in the case of citizenship. The largest group of people excluded by these fees are thousands of people born in the United Kingdom who have grown up and lived here all, or nearly all, of their lives. Some people in the group are living in the UK in their twenties and thirties, still excluded from the citizenship rights which have been theirs from at least the age of 10. The impact, in some instances, is passed on when their children are in turn born without citizenship and face the same exclusion by the same fees. Those people are entitled to citizenship by registration, but the fees have undoubtedly excluded them.
I like what the Government have said about the importance of citizenship. It has been alluded to by the noble Baroness, Lady Lister. It is something which I have cared about a great deal, as the noble Baroness, Lady Williams, knows. I have shared with her some of the work I did for over 20 years holding a chair in citizenship at one of the universities in Liverpool. I passionately believe that we must integrate people fully into our society. This includes everything from the teaching of language to the teaching of patriotism: the duty and belief that it is worth being a citizen of this country and upholding its values. All of us who were privileged to sit today in another place when President Zelensky addressed both Houses of Parliament really had it brought home to us how fortunate we are to live in a country like this with the rights, freedoms and liberties which we enjoy here. To adapt a phrase which was once used by an eminent citizen of the Roman Empire,
“we are citizens of no mean country”.
We are citizens of a great country, and others should be able, and entitled, to become so as well.
The Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens and Amnesty International UK have brought together an impressive coalition of support from the community and children’s and legal organisations for Amendment 83, the amendment of the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh.
The director of law reform at the Law Society of Scotland said:
“The Law Society of Scotland supports Amendment 83. It is important that registration fees do not present a barrier to people who want to be British citizens. We particularly support subsection (3) of the amendment which requires that no fee is to be charged for the registration of any child who is looked after by a local authority, or the registration of any person to correct a historical legislative unfairness.”
As we have heard, the Supreme Court has batted this one back to us and said that this is now a matter for Parliament to decide. This is our opportunity in this Bill. I will greatly regret if it is not passed this evening. However, I am certain that the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, alongside her new-found ally, the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, will recruit many more “terriers”—as she puts it—to the cause to ensure that we will continue chomping away at the ankles of the Minister until something is done to put this injustice right.
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Hong Kong BNO Scheme – Successful Extension to Young people
10.24pm
Amendment 76
Moved by
76: After Clause 78, insert the following new Clause—
“British National (Overseas) visas: eligibility
(1) Within two months of this Act being passed, the Secretary of State must amend the immigration rules to ensure that all persons meeting all the conditions set out in subsection (2) are eligible to apply for the British National (Overseas) visa.(2) The conditions in this subsection are that—(a) the person has at least one parent who is a British national (overseas),(b) the person was born on or after 1 July 1997,(c) the person is aged 18 or over on the date of application, and(d) the person is—(i) if applying to enter the United Kingdom, ordinarily resident in Hong Kong, or(ii) if applying for permission to remain, ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Isle of Man or Hong Kong.”
My Lords, it is a great pleasure to introduce Amendment 76, whose equivalent was moved in Committee but had its inception in the House of Commons. The amendment stands in my name and those of the noble Lord, Lord Patten of Barnes, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans and the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, so it is an all-party amendment. It affects BNO eligibility for visas for young people; that is, those who were born after 1997, whose parents qualify but they themselves do not. This was in many respects an omission from the original scheme. I declare my interests as a patron of Hong Kong Watch and as vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong.
The original plan was launched on 31 January as a bespoke immigration route for BNO status holders and their family members. It was something that we could all welcome, reflecting our moral and historic commitment; and, indeed, it has been a great success, with over 100,000 applications made to date. However, some 18 to 24 year-olds were unable to access this route. as your Lordships know, this amendment would enable individuals born on or after 1 July 1997 who have at least one BNO parent to apply to the route. As I said, the amendment had its genesis in the House of Commons. I pay particular tribute to the right honourable Damian Green for the work that he put into it, but also to the support of Lady May and other notable members of the Conservative Party, as well as the support of the Commons from all Benches on all sides, so this is bipartisan, and bicameral as well.
I pay a special tribute to and thank the noble Baroness, Lady Williams, who has already been congratulated quite a lot today on her notable elevation to the Privy Council—perhaps because of what she did on this amendment. She and her noble friend Lord Sharpe have engaged very much with those who have signed this amendment. He has significant experience in Hong Kong, so this was close to his heart.
The noble Lord, Lord Patten of Barnes, made a very memorable speech in Committee, which was followed by many people in Hong Kong, let alone in this country, and it says an awful lot that someone who has held such high office in the past is willing to commit so strongly to this, to show that his affection and commitment to the people of Hong Kong remain completely unchanged. Like me, he continues to be concerned about those who will not qualify for this scheme, but that is not the point of the amendment. It is something that others must step up to the plate to do something about, but I hope especially that those living in other Commonwealth countries can follow the example that the British Government have set in issuing a Written Parliamentary Statement which was the upshot of conversations that we had in Committee; the Government said it
“intends to lay the changes to the Immigration Rules in September with the changes expected to go live in October”.
The Written Parliamentary Statement also details the welcome programme led by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Its tone and what it says at the end I particularly welcome:
“We look forward to welcoming applications from those individuals who wish to make the UK their home”.
The Government have taken a positive approach. They have engaged constructively, and this decision is worthy of this country and its special relationship with Hong Kong. It will allow young Hong Kongers who were not eligible for a BNO visa to avoid languishing in the asylum system, unable to work or study. This change of policy will allow these young people to settle more quickly and enrich British society.
I do not need to say very much more, other than to comment on one development in Hong Kong this week which underlines why life has become so difficult and dangerous for people such as Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and others to whom we referred in Committee. Paul Harris, the former chair of the Hong Kong Bar Association and a veteran human rights barrister, and a man of great standing, has had to leave Hong Kong after police questioned him. It marks another dark day for human rights and the rule of law in Hong Kong. His steadfast defence of Hong Kong’s beleaguered democracy and his opposition to the draconian national security law provoked the ire of the Chinese Communist Party and made him a marked man. For those young people who are also at risk for joining many of the protests and demonstrations, this scheme will literally be a lifeline. I hope that we will now use our standing to convince other countries to follow our example and do the same by extending these lifeboat provisions to enable settlement—other Commonwealth countries especially, such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, which already have significant communities of people drawn from Hong Kong.
I hope that I have been relatively brief, since the House has a lot of other business to accomplish. I beg to move Amendment 76.
10.30pm
I support the noble Lord, Lord Alton, and I will be even more brief. It may have been obvious that I have been able to contain my enthusiasm during much of the discussion of this Bill to within the bounds of public decorum, but on this occasion I want to say without any reservation how strongly I support what the Government have done.
We have a continuing moral responsibility to the people of Hong Kong. Hong Kong has been hit by a mendacious Government in Beijing—including Mr Putin’s best friend, we are now told—who have set about comprehensively and vindictively destroying the freedoms of a great and open society. It is particularly appropriate that we have recognised some of those who have been more affected, particularly with the charges that have been levelled at them in recent weeks around civil disobedience and freedom of speech. This amendment and the proposals of the Government will help those who have been most affected: the younger Hong Kongers who are the children of people already able to get a BNO passport but who unfortunately are in the group born after 1997. It is a very important amendment. I am delighted that the Government have accepted it and that they continue to assert our continuing moral responsibility for Hong Kong.
I expect, as the noble Lord, Lord Alton, said in our earlier debate, that the young people who come here will make a really significant contribution to this country. One day, I hope, they will be able to return to Hong Kong as a free society. That is not entirely in our hands, though the more we behave like a liberal democracy that believes in liberal democracy, the more likely it is to happen.
I am delighted that I am able on this occasion to say how much I support what the Government have done, and I look forward to doing so on many future occasions—there have not been quite enough in the past. Maybe that has been my fault or maybe the fault has lain elsewhere, but that is a subjective judgment. I thank the Government very much and hope they will continue to be as open-minded and gracious in the way they respond to good arguments.
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
My Lords, I declare my position as the co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong. I am in the rare position of congratulating the Government very warmly and thanking them for listening to campaigners, including on their own Benches, in taking this step for the younger people of Hong Kong who have at least one BNO passport-holding parent. I also join the noble Lord, Lord Alton, in congratulating the Government on the welcome programme for the BNO passport holders coming here. The APPG heard from the noble Lord, Lord Greenhalgh, this week and we appreciated his enthusiastic words on that programme.
I will make one extra point. The all-party group held an inquiry into the treatment of young medics and humanitarian workers in Hong Kong during protests. Those young people had to have their voices disguised to testify to us. I remember one of them, who as he was talking to us on the Zoom call was glancing at the door, saying, “I don’t know if the police will come through that door at this moment.” I have no doubt that some of those young people speaking to us had parents who were BNO passport holders, but some of them did not, yet they were young people who had made similar contributions to that society. My simple question to the Government is: will they in future, as the noble Lord, Lord Alton said, work with Commonwealth countries to see that all of those young people who have made brave contributions to democracy and the rule of law in Hong Kong are able to find a route out if they need to?
My Lords, I will even more briefly strike a slightly different note. This proposal—I know it has virtually gone through—is very unwise. We have a scheme which already applies to rather more than 5 million people. That is surely enough, and we should leave it at that.
My Lords, I give the Liberal Democrats’ support for this amendment and pay tribute to the noble Lords, Lord Alton and Lord Patten of Barnes, for their repeated campaigns to support Hong Kong and in particular young Hong Kongers.
It is perhaps right that the noble Baroness, Lady Williams of Trafford, is on the Front Bench when, for once, we are saying, “Actually, you’ve got this right”. So often, we seem to give her such a hard time, although we say, “We think that she is probably with us but having to give the government line”. The fact that the Government have now acknowledged the importance of supporting young Hong Kongers is very welcome. Alongside the privy counsellorship, we are very keen to welcome that.
I am afraid that these Benches disagree with the noble Lord, Lord Green of Deddington—actually, this is the right thing to do. It is not about to open the floodgates to mass immigration, but it does give an opportunity for young Hong Kongers who feel the need to come here to do so.
I express our wholehearted support for the amendment and the extension of the BNO scheme to young Hong Kongers. I congratulate all noble Lords around this Chamber, from all parties and no party, who have campaigned on this issue. I thank the Government for their decision and the progress that has been made, which has led to agreement all around the House.
I thank noble Lords and pay particular tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Alton of Liverpool, who tirelessly campaigns on this and other issues. I thank him for his kind words, and I thank all noble Lords who have contributed to this short debate on Amendment 76.
We recognise that the BNO route is creating unfair outcomes for the families of BNO status holders, with some children able to access the route independently because they were old enough to be registered for BNO status, while their younger siblings, aged between 18 and 24, are unable to do so. That is why, on 24 February, the Government announced a change to the BNO route to enable individuals aged 18 or over who were born on or after 1 July 1997 and who have at least one BNO parent to apply to the route independently of their parents.
The policy change addresses the concerns raised by the noble Lord, Lord Alton, and other Members of both Houses. It will ensure that we are addressing potentially unfair outcomes for families of BNO status holders and ensure that the UK meets its ongoing commitment to BNO status holders.
In answer to the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, I say that there are of course other routes for those who are not eligible under this particular scheme. We intend to lay the changes to the Immigration Rules in September, and they are expected to take effect from October.
In the light of these assurances, I ask the noble Lord to withdraw the amendment.
My Lords, in the light of what the Minister has been able to say to the House, and of the debate and the excellent contributions from all who have spoken—including my noble friend Lord Green, with whom I have a good friendship but often disagree—I think that young Hong Kongers who come to this country will enrich our lives. I have seen for myself, in my own city of Liverpool, the great contribution that Hong Kong people have made over many generations. I know that these will be patriotic and loyal citizens, who will care for this country and enliven our society.
I beg leave to withdraw the amendment, and I am grateful to all who have spoken in tonight’s debate.
Amendment 76 withdrawn.
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Domestic Migrant Labour
My Lords, I join other noble Lords in supporting the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Bristol in moving Amendment 70A. Like the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, I had the opportunity of meeting some of the people from Kalayaan in Palace Yard earlier today. It reminded me of the meeting I had with the group in 2015 when we were discussing the modern slavery legislation and the immigration Bill. With my noble friend Lord Hylton, whom my noble friend Lord Sandwich referred to earlier, we moved amendments at this time. I went back and took the trouble to have a look at what was said during the course of that debate. Indeed, everything that the right reverend Prelate said in her prescient and eloquent remarks was contained both in the amendment before the House tonight and in the amendments that were moved in the legislation that we divided the House on back in 2015 and 2016.
My noble friend Lord Kerr got it absolutely right, as often he does, when he said that this is about bringing the position back to the pre-2012 status. The noble Baroness, Lady Lister, referred to the request of Kalayaan that that should be one of issues on the table during the discussions that will be held, I presume with the noble Lord, Lord Sharpe, when they meet tomorrow at the Home Office. Like the noble Baroness, I would be grateful if we could have a bit more elucidation about what is going to be on the agenda for that discussion. Given that there is going to be new legislation not that far up the track, it would be wonderful if we could be assured that this will be on the agenda for proper consideration then and that what the right reverend Prelate has said to us tonight will be one of the things that will be considered.
8.15pm
Kalayaan says:
“Ultimately, Kalayaan, workers themselves and the anti-trafficking sector remain firm that the restoration of the terms of the original overseas domestic workers visa is the best way to protect workers.”
I entirely agree. I look back at those debates we had in 2015 and 2016—even, indeed, as far back as 2009, when the Home Affairs Select Committee, quoting Kalayaan, said in its inquiry into trafficking that the visa issue was
“the single most important issue in preventing the forced labour and trafficking of such workers.”
The noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, referred to what Mr Ewins said, and we spent a lot of time talking about Mr Ewins’s report in those earlier debates. I will not the repeat the quotation that the noble Baroness gave, other than to add a sentence from Ewins’s review, which was to recommend that
“all overseas domestic workers be granted the right to change employer … and apply for annual extensions, provided they are in work as domestic workers in a private home.”
I hope that the right reverend Prelate’s amendment is accepted by the Government tonight, but if they are unable to do that they should at least give the right reverend Prelate the assurance that this will be considered in whatever pre-legislative scrutiny takes place of proposals to go into the new legislation. I cannot help thinking—it is a thought that the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, and other noble Lords, expressed earlier today—that the cart has gone before the horse; how much better it would have been if Part 5 was not in this Bill at all but we had dealt with this when that new legislation came forward.
National Referral Mechanism For Victims of Modern Slavery And Human Trafficking
My Lords, I refer to my interests in the register as a trustee of the Arise Foundation, a charity that works for victims of modern slavery and against human trafficking. It is a great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, and to endorse everything he said about this group of amendments. As he said, in my name are Amendments 67 and 68, and I have signed Amendment 70, in the name of the noble Lord, Lord McColl. I should say at the outset that my noble friend Lady Prashar is unwell, and we all wish her a speedy recovery to her usual place. I thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans for also being a signatory to these amendments.
Before I turn specifically to the amendments, I endorse what the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, said in congratulating the noble Baroness, Lady Williams, on her elevation to the Privy Council; the whole House would agree with him. Also, what an extraordinary backdrop to today’s debate and to this Bill it was for us all to have been privileged to sit in the Gallery and listen to President Zelensky. The UNHCR suggests that as many as 3 million people will be displaced and become refugees, joining the 82 million people who are displaced or are refugees worldwide at this time. What a backdrop to our consideration of how we can deal with people in a civilised and humane way, but also our consideration of the fundamental and root causes of this massive displacement of people, which we so regularly fail to address.
The points made so well by the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, about the national referral mechanism and the way we treat children are especially close to my heart. Without wishing to repeat either the points I made in Committee or anything said by the noble Lord, I will try to summarise the arguments relatively briefly.
The NRM is a vital mechanism for the recovery and safety of survivors of modern slavery. Since its introduction, with the work of successive Governments, including the introduction of the vitally important Modern Slavery Act by a past Conservative Government, as we have heard—described by the noble Lord as “flagship” policy—the UK has become a global leader in countering the evils of trafficking and modern slavery. It will be a lasting legacy to the right honourable Theresa May, who pioneered this when she was Home Secretary, with support from all quarters: it was bipartisan and bicameral legislation.
Many of us sitting on these Benches participated in those proceedings and helped to improve that legislation, which was not driven through in a pell-mell rush but given proper consideration with pre-legislative scrutiny at every stage. People were engaged and involved in these sensitive and complex issues. That contrasts somewhat with the speed with which we are driving forward quite a lot of legislation at the moment. It reminds me of the old saying: legislate at speed and repent at leisure. I feel that we may well end up doing that.
The NRM, like so many things, is not perfect, but I, along with many across the House, I am sure, would draw parallels between the NRM and the succour it offers to vulnerable people and the campaigns in another age, of people such as William Wilberforce. Both are drawn from a strength of will and compassion that makes our country unique, and we should not squander that. Although I do not believe that any of us here today would wish to diminish the achievements of all those who sat here in both Houses and strived to support some of the most vulnerable, we have to look at the practical application of what it is that we are being invited to do. Clause 59 will do that—it will diminish what we have set our hands to. With this clause, we would close the door for many to the safety of the NRM. The clause will, in effect, raise the bar that these people must meet to obtain a positive reasonable grounds decision and the safety and support of the national referral mechanism, leaving them with a stark choice between returning to their chains or etching out some half-existence.
6.00pm
The House may ask why this is being debated at all. The Government believe that the NRM is being taken advantage of and that the threshold needs to be strengthened to prevent this. I am sure we will hear that argument from the Front Bench again, and the claim that the rise in the number of individuals—the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, referred to this earlier—some of whom are in detention or on remand, entering the NRM is a sure sign of an issue, and that the only explanation must be that criminals are somehow exploiting the national referral mechanism to prevent their deportation.
I asked the Minister when I last spoke here on this matter, in Committee, to share the Government’s evidence with this House. I must say I have seen very little to support their argument. To argue, as they do, that the reason for an increase in referrals to the NRM must be a discrepancy reflects a leap of logic that is terrifying given the impact it would have on so many already traumatised individuals. While by the Government’s own statistics there has been a rise of about 11% in the prevalence of NRM referrals for people detained for immigration offences, like the noble Lord, I deplore the fact that we have lumped together in the same Bill immigration issues and these much more sensitive questions around human trafficking and modern slavery. There does not seem to be a clear correlation with criminality to me.
Indeed, the Government themselves, in their 2019 annual report, highlighted key communication campaigns to raise awareness of slavery and support referrals, as well as their progress
“to simplify and speed up referrals of potential victims of modern slavery for government support”.
Could these points raised in the annual report be reasons for the 11% rise, rather than a mark of rising abuse of the system? The evidence for this seems to increase when you consider that the vast majority of those who get a positive reasonable grounds decision go on to receive a positive conclusive grounds decision.
In their new plan for immigration, the Government made it clear that they believe that the threshold for a reasonable grounds decision is too low, but we are yet to see the evidence of this. Only this morning, the Salvation Army, which has been a principal adviser to the Government on these questions—as referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Coaker—said to me that, according to the most recent set of NRM statistics published by the Home Office, in the last quarter of 2021 89% of reasonable grounds decisions and 94% of conclusive grounds decisions were positive. This begs the question, once again, of why the Government feel the need to change the threshold. Their own data makes it overwhelmingly clear that concerns around individuals abusing the system are absolutely unfounded.
Many of those on the ground supporting vulnerable people every day, such as the Salvation Army, believe it is already harder today to get a positive decision than it was even a year ago. Moreover, many were already concerned that the NRM underrepresented the true number of victims, even without the threshold being raised. Increasing the threshold further would place too high an evidence burden on victims prior to them receiving specialist advice and support. This will block victims from accessing trafficking support. This will include child victims, as we have heard, and those who were children at the time of being exploited. This should not be undertaken unless we can prove beyond doubt that there has been a rise in criminality linked to false referrals to the NRM. Without that certainty, we risk only harming some of the most vulnerable in our society and reneging on our responsibility to support all who suffer.
Sadly, it seems clear to me that the Government’s case is informed by neither the evidence nor the experience of people who the NRM is designed to save. The UK has committed itself to fighting the exploitative practices of slavery where it has influence. Essential to this commitment is the notion that all who suffer under the hands of traffickers and slavers are entitled to safety and support. That is why I have laid Amendments 67 and 68 before your Lordships’ House.
To avoid a Division this evening, I simply ask for a commitment from the Government to engage and consult with the anti-trafficking sector in the coming months on the statutory guidance linked to this Bill. If the Government are prepared to do that, that would go at least some way to meeting some of the arguments I have advanced.
My name is also on the amendment to be moved later by the noble Lord, Lord McColl. It’s proposal is the right thing to do and it makes policy sense; I spelled out my reasons in Committee. Let me just remind the House what the anti-slavery commissioner has said:
“There is a powerful moral argument for granting leave for those whom the state has concluded are victims of trafficking or slavery but there is also a practical one. Without such leave survivors, who are not claiming asylum or who have not been granted EU settled status, are not entitled to accommodation and have limited access to benefits—they will either be unable to leave safe houses or left destitute on the streets.”
We can put victims on the road to recovery with Amendment 70, and I shall be supporting the noble Lord if he decides to divide the House on that matter.
In saying those words, I commend to the House Amendments 67 and 68.
