Member

There is an argument about getting the balance right. From my experience as Immigration Minister, I know it is important that Ministers who remain accountable to this House have the discretion to take into account all the facts. If I have read the amendment correctly, it is about wanting to rule that out. The Minister has previously made it clear that the fact that children have come to this country illegally will not become a determining factor in most cases, but I want the Government to have the power to take that into account with all the other facts. For example, if there were other facts about a person’s conduct then coming to the country illegally might be relevant and I might want the Minister to take that into account. I want those decisions to be made by the Minister—the more these things are prescribed in law, the more we hand decisions over to judges instead of those who are democratically accountable.