.951
British Nationality
[LORDS]
Lord Belstead: My Lords, that is perfectly true. I agree entirely with my noble friend. But the reason for the discretion in Clause 3 is because the whole purpose of the Bill is to ensure that those who are continuing to transmit their citizenship shall retain links with the home country. That is the reason why the basis of the entitlement is set out absolutely clearly in Clause 3. So far as Crown servants are concerned, that is a different matter; and if for no other reason, because we know that Crown servants posted abroad will always return to live at home.
Several noble Lords: No!
Lord Belstead: Perhaps I may go on now, my Lords; I have answered the noble Lord and we can pick this up in Committee. May I now go on to the citizenship of the British dependent territories. I reject entirely any suggestion that it is one of the aims of the Bill to put people from the dependencies at a distance from the United Kingdom. I thought the noble Lord, Lord Brockway, spoke as though the people of Hong Kong and the Falkland Islands were to be British overseas citizens. The Government have departed in this respect from the Green Paper of the previous Government, which would have given everyone connected with the dependencies British overseas citizenship. Instead, the special position of the dependencies is recognised in this Bill by the proposal to give them their own distinctive citizenship.
In reply to my noble friend Lady Vickers, the intention is that the passports for the dependencies would have "British Passport" and the name of the dependency on the cover, and Citizen of the British dependent territories and the name of the dependency inside. I emphasise that the territories would remain the British dependent territories, and I repeat that there is no question of any change in their constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom, or, so far as Gibraltar is concerned, in her membership of the European Community under Article 227(4) of the Treaty of Rome.
The Government recognise the desire of some of the dependencies to have British citizenship but, if that were done for one dependency, it would be difficult to explain it logically, despite the very special links which some of their inhabitants have with the United Kingdom. I say that, bearing in mind that the advice given in his speech by my noble friend Lord Home of the Hirsel was that in creating a citizenship of the British depen- dent territories, it really had to be a citizenship for all the territories and not for each individually, which could then be picked apart individually. I would only add, on what I know is a difficult and controversial subject, that we believe that the addition of Clause 4 to the Bill goes a long way to recognise the entitlement of the British dependent territories when their citizens are settled here and the right of those who serve the Crown in the British dependent territories to registration in special circumstances.
If I may, my Lords, at this hour I will just answer two or three questions. I really do not think that there is any possibility of beginning to answer all the ques- tions which your Lordships have asked, but to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Elwyn-Jones, to the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, and to the right reverend Prelate
Bill
95%
the Bishop of Truro, I would just say that so far as the absence of rights of appeal and the discretion given to the Home Secretary are concerned, I thought that per- haps the two noble Lords, and the noble Lord, Lord Gifford, did scant justice to those provisions of the Bill which confer entitlements to registration. Where there are such entitlements, it is already the practice for the Home Secretary to give reasons for refusal and application can be made in the courts for the refusal to be reviewed. It is only when the decision is at the Secretary of State's discretion that he is relieved from the need to give reasons, although even then reasons are given whenever possible.
At the start of the debate I sought to explain to your Lordships why naturalisation has never been the subject of appeal, and I remind the House that the. Green Paper made the point that the issues concerned in these naturalisation matters are not easily justiciable. The noble Lord, Lord Elystan-Morgan, asked me whether there would be a new Immigration Act. My answer to that is that the Government at present have no plans to replace the 1971 Act. However, we have said that we will look again at the Immigration Rules in the light of this Bill, and particular points will be looked at in the light of that consideration. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, suggested that British overseas citizens would have to apply for naturalisa- tion. This is not so. They would be entitled under Clause 4 to registration as of right after five years of ordinary residence here. The noble Lord's remarks about the disadvantages of naturalisation do not, therefore, apply to British overseas citizens.
Both the noble Lord, Lord Chitnis, and the noble Lord Hunt, spoke about the special voucher system. The only thing I would like to say here is that the Bill does not in any way elongate the length of time that somebody has to wait, coming in under the special voucher scheme, before they can have citizenship. It is true that there is a difference of view, particularly between that put forward by the noble Lord, Lord Chitnis, and the Government, about taking all those į who would be elibigle for special vouchers at once. The Government have said, and I say it again this evening, that we keep under constant review the working of the special voucher scheme; but for the moment we keep to the quota which is at present in existence.
►
The House will have before it two Motions which will be put to the House, as I understand, after the Motion for Second Reading, if your Lordships approve it. Both those Motions share a common objective, which is to delay this particular Bill. I find it strange that noble Lords of the previous Government can counsel delay on a matter which they considered with very great care only two years before they left office; and they made perfectly clear in their Green Paper that our existing citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies no longer identifies those who have the right to enter and live in this country, with all the uncertainty which flows from that for good race relations.
The noble Lord, Lord Foot, called for an objective study of the Bill in your Lordships' House and a will- ingness to be shown on behalf of the Government to listen. My right honourable friend the Home Sec- retary has shown just that willingness in another place,
7
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.