§ Lord Eltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the debate on asylum seekers on 1 March, whether they consider that an agency other than the police is needed to carry out, or to assist the Immigration and Natonality Department to carry out, the removal of asylum seekers whose applications have been refused. [HL1381]
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonNo. Immigration officers have been provided with new powers of arrest, search and seizure under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. We are currently piloting a scheme under which specially trained immigration officers are tracing and effecting the arrest of immigration offenders without the assistance of the police. This will deliver improved effectiveness and, while the Immigration Service will always need the co-operation of the police, will reduce our dependency on them. We intend to extend the scheme on completion of the pilot. Involving a third agency would nullify any such gains.