Human Rights Committee publish second report on UK Immigration Bill

Date: 3rd March 2014
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms

The UK Parliament Human Rights Committee published its second report of legislative scrutiny of the Immigration Bill on 3rd March 2014.

The Immigration Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 10th October 2013 and had its Second Reading on 22nd October 2013. The Bill then passed to the House of Lords where it had its Second Reading on 10th February. Its Committee stage is due to start on 3rd March 2014.

The Human Rights Committee published its first Report on the Bill on 18th December 2013, before Remaining stages in the Commons.

• Download the Human Rights Committee first report here.

The Human Rights Committee's second report focuses on the new Government clause added to the Bill at Report stage in the Commons concerning the deprivation of UK citizenship, as this is a significant new matter in the Bill which engages substantively with a number of human rights and which was not dealt with in its first Report. They also return to some of the issues set out in the first Report.

The Human Rights Committee has recommended the following in its second report on the Immigration Bill:

• An amendment to the Bill which requires the Secretary of State to take into account the best interests of any child affected when deciding whether to make a deprivation order under the new power;
• that the Bill be amended to remove any scope for doubt about the effect of the Bill on the s. 55 children duty, by requiring the best interests of the child to be taken into account as a primary consideration.

Download the Human Rights Committee second report on the UK Immigration Bill here.

Although immigration and asylum are reserved to the UK Parliament, housing and health are devolved issues and these are both covered within the Bill. The Scottish National Party has committed to attempt to exclude Scotland from these provisions within the Bill because they have not sought the consent of the Scottish Parliament on what are devolved areas of responsibility.