Immigration Bill 2015-16: Briefing for Lords Stages

This House of Lords Library briefing provides an overview of the Immigration Bill’s main provisions and a summary of the Bill’s report stage and third reading in the House of Commons.

The Immigration Bill seeks to implement a number of the Conservative Party’s manifesto commitments on immigration, including the introduction of a requirement for all customer-facing public sector workers to speak fluent English and the new offences of working illegally. The Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 17 September 2015 and had its second reading on 13 October 2015, and passed by 323 votes to 274.

Four amendments by opposition parties were divided on during the Bill’s report stage. These were on the issues of illegal working; the extension of right to rent; the Bill’s changes to the availability of local authority support to migrants; and the Bill’s changes to the appeals process. None were successful. The Government made a number of technical amendments to the Bill and added new clauses on the transfer of unaccompanied migrant children between local authorities. The Immigration Bill passed third reading in the House of Commons by 307 votes to 245.

The Bill’s second reading in the House of Lords is scheduled for 22 December 2015.

Further details can be found in the Explanatory Notes to the Immigration Bill. Readers may also be interested in the following publications by the House of Commons Library for earlier stages of the Bill:

• House of Commons Library, Immigration Bill [Bill 74 of 2015–16], 6 October 2015
• House of Commons Library, Immigration Bill: Committee Stage Report, 27 November 2015