My Lords, it is perfectly obvious that those who have spoken already have demolished any thought that these changes are based on any evidence, or any critique of anything at all beyond the political philosophy that is driving them forward. I must first declare my interest, as laid out in the register: I am supported by the RAMP organisation.

What is clear from the addresses of the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, and my noble friend Lady Hamwee, supported by the noble Lord, Lord Kerr, is that there are no real answers to the questions that the proponents of this instrument have been asked in many places so far. We are quoting the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee very importantly in this debate, because it has taken the time to examine this legislation, which is quite a brickful. It always amazes me that we want to try to pass legislation by the negative procedure when it is so important to people’s lives in this country, and so dense and so deep.

The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee was quite clear. It said these changes had

“a lack of clarity about what the policy is designed to achieve”.

That is precisely what all the contributions so far have pointed out. It is quite clear to me, as I am sure it is to many in the House, that this is about dealing with a problem inside the Conservative Party—a particular branch of the Conservative Party—which is trying to be assuaged. As a result, we have a policy being implemented which the noble Lord, Lord Empey, described as blunt. It suffers because it does not have the impact assessment with it; it does not have any evidence to go behind it; it also has not taken the evidence that the Government could find from their own bodies and advisory committee.

Some 70% of the UK population do not earn £38,700. The Government are concerned about burdening the taxpayer, but everyone who has a spousal visa has no recourse to public funds. Can the Minister tell the House how granting a spousal visa will be a burden on the state, given that an individual on such a visa has no recourse to public funds—and, by the way, has probably already paid huge amounts in fees to get to that position. A quite extraordinary number of pounds have to be spent on those fees.

Then there is the fairness of these changes. They will obviously have a greater impact on lower average-income earners, as has already been described, but, crucially, they will have a disproportionate impact nationally and regionally. The new MIR is quite likely to remain below the average in London, because it probably matches London earnings, but it will certainly not be so across swathes of the United Kingdom where salaries are lower. Around 50% of UK employees earn less than the £29,000 threshold and 70% earn less than £38,700. So how do the Government explain the fairness in families in some regions of the United Kingdom being much more likely to be entitled to reunite than those in other areas—in fact, in the majority of the United Kingdom? How is this consistent with the Government’s levelling-up agenda?

The Migration Advisory Committee, in its 2020 report, said:

“We also think now would be an opportune time to reconsider the minimum income requirements associated with this route. The MAC are concerned that previous analysis may have given too much weight to the fiscal contribution of such migrants and insufficient attention to the benefits that accrue, to both the family and society, from the route”.

Noble Lords might have thought that the Migration Advisory Committee—the Government’s advisory committee—would have been consulted about these changes, but it was not and the policy goes against its advice, had it been asked. Perhaps it was not consulted because it would have given contrary advice. So I ask the Minister: why was the Government’s own advisory committee not consulted prior to this decision?

One of the most objectionable aspects of these changes is their impact on children. Undoubtedly, they will lead to an increase in the length of children’s separation from a parent before any visa is obtained. These children are often British children. There will also be a greater impact on women: 36% of employed women and 58% of men earned enough to meet the £29,000 threshold in 2022. For the £38,000 threshold, it was 21% of women and 39% of men, so clearly there is gender discrimination.

The reality is that British and settled mothers will be pushed into solo parenting, relying increasingly on the state for both childcare and income support until the partner arrives. These new requirements create single-parent families and impose a very high economic, social and emotional burden on all affected families. I think they breach a fundamental British value: of building and keeping families together, rather than forcing them apart. The overall effect of this policy shift makes it harder rather than easier for mixed-nationality families to integrate into society, which of course is the opposite effect to that intended by the rules that the Government set themselves. Both British citizens and settled residents are badly affected by these changes, with significant impacts on the mental health and well-being of British children. It is difficult to understand what this policy will do and what ends will result from it.

The sensible approach would be to adopt, for British and settled sponsors of overseas spouses and partners, family migration rules that promote family and foster integration, allowing migrants to rely on the income of the partner currently overseas—for example, through a UK job offer—allowing credible promises of third-party support in a wider range of cases, and allowing greater flexibility to combine sources of income and savings to meet the minimum income requirements. But, far from being sensible, this Government have chosen the route of promoting family break-up and division.

I have been in this House for only 14 years, but in that time I have never seen such an excoriating report from the committee of this House about the legislation before it. There are two reports, and I will quote just one sentence from each. The 20th report says:

“We have criticised the Home Office’s explanatory material with such frequency that we are concerned there may be a systemic or cultural issue that is preventing the Home Office from getting it right”.

After calling in the Minister and taking evidence from him, the committee’s second report—the 21st—said that the session with him

“did not remove our doubts about the appropriateness of the Home Office’s overall approach to policymaking, which too often appears to react to events, rather than proceeding from rigorous analysis and being supported by evidence”.

That is the view of the committee of the House, and I think it is the view of most Members of this House as well. That is why we so much oppose these changes. Frankly, they are cruel.