This House of Lords Library briefing has been produced in preparation for the second reading of the Immigration Control (Gross Human Rights Abuses) Bill [HL] (HL Bill 17 of 2017–19) on Friday, 15 December 2017, a private member’s bill introduced by Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws (Labour).
Immigration Control (Gross Human Rights Abuses) Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (135 KB , PDF)
The Bill would enable the refusal of entry or leave to remain in the UK to a non-UK or non-EEA national who is “known to be, or to have been, involved in gross human rights abuses”. The Bill defines conduct constituting a gross human rights abuse as that in which “the three conditions referred to in section 241A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (gross human rights abuse or violation) are met”. Section 241A of the Proceeds of Crime Act was the result of an amendment to the Criminal Finances Act 2017. This amendment was referred to as the ‘Magnitsky Amendment’, after the Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky who died in a Moscow prison in 2009. He had uncovered an alleged $230 million (US dollar) theft from the state budget by Russian tax officials. There has subsequently been a number of questions in Parliament from MPs of various parties asking the Government what action it was taking to impose not only the freezing of property and assets of alleged perpetrators in light of the Magnitsky case, but reforms to the immigration rules.
Immigration Control (Gross Human Rights Abuses) Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (135 KB , PDF)
The Asylum Support (Prescribed Period) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour). It was introduced in the House of Lords on 6 September 2024 and is due to have its second reading on 13 December 2024.
![Asylum Support (Prescribed Period) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 25 of 2024–25](https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Housing-568x426.png)
Imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentences were indeterminate sentences given to serious offenders who posed a significant risk of serious harm to the public. Although it is over a decade since they were abolished, more than 2,000 people are still in prison serving an IPP sentence. The Labour government has said it would not conduct a resentencing exercise but has said it would continue its efforts in supporting those in custody to reduce their risk and move towards a safe and sustainable release.
An estimated 2.3 million people aged 16 years and over experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2024. Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs has raised concerns about inconsistent support for victims and survivors and has called for urgent reform. The government has recently announced several policies aimed at enhancing this support, including a pilot of ‘domestic abuse protection notices’ and ‘domestic abuse protection orders’.
