§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
On what grounds an application for bail will be determined under the arrangements proposed in paragraph 12.8 of the White Paper Fairer, Faster and Firmer—A Modern Approach to Immigration and Asylum (Cm 4018); whether there will be any appeal against refusal of bail; whether magistrates or the Immigration Appeals Adjudicator as the case may be will have the power to demand sureties at the initial hearing; and whether in doing so they will be required to limit the sureties to an amount the applicant could reasonably be expected to pay. [HL3341]
§ Lord Williams of MostynApplications for bail under the arrangements proposed in paragraph 12.8 of the White Paper will be considered under the same criteria as are used to consider bail applications from immigration detainees at present. The overriding consideration is whether the person is likely to comply voluntarily with any restriction imposed upon him, including any arrangements for removal.
The major difference in the proposed new arrangements is that bail hearings will be arranged automatically at approximately seven days from the initial detention and again 28 days later. There will be no right of appeal against refusal of bail. But, in addition to these automatic reviews, the existing rights of someone who is detained to apply for bail will remain substantially unaltered. The magistrate or adjudicator hearing the application will have the power to set the conditions of bail and decide whether and at what level any recognizance or security should be, having regard to all the circumstances.