Illegal Migration Bill: Asylum Seekers Marsha De Cordova
(Battersea) (Lab) 1. What assessment she has made of the potential
impact of the Illegal Migration Bill on the wellbeing of people
claiming asylum. The Secretary of State for the Home Department
(Suella Braverman) We must stop the misuse of our asylum system so
that we can focus our resources upon those who really need our
help, not those who can afford to pay people smugglers to transport
them from safe...Request free trial
Illegal Migration Bill: Asylum Seekers
(Battersea) (Lab)
1. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the
Illegal Migration Bill on the wellbeing of people claiming
asylum.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department ()
We must stop the misuse of our asylum system so that we can focus
our resources upon those who really need our help, not those who
can afford to pay people smugglers to transport them from safe
countries.
The Illegal Migration Bill is yet another example of the Tories
scapegoating asylum seekers to distract from their incompetence.
It will not be compatible with our legal obligations under the
Equality and Human Rights Commission and it will leave asylum
seekers, such as those from Iran, in limbo so that they will be
deemed permanently inadmissible to our asylum system. We need
more safe and legal routes now, not after the boat crossings have
stopped, as we know that the Bill will never achieve that. Why
will the Home Secretary not seek to provide safe and legal routes
for everybody now?
We always place a high priority on the wellbeing of asylum
seekers, which is why we are also committing to rolling out safe
and legal routes as part of our plan.
While I have the attention of the hon. Lady, may I take this
chance to invite her to apologise to the nation? She campaigned
in 2020 to stop the Government from deporting a serious foreign
criminal. Thanks to her efforts, together with those of 70 Labour
MPs, the Government were subsequently stopped from removing
Ernesto Elliott, who went on to murder in the UK. Mr Speaker,
will—
Mr Speaker
Order. The Home Secretary should know better. This is sub
judice.
The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire ()
He has been convicted—it is not sub judice.
Mr Speaker
He has appealed his sentence, and I do not need any lectures from
the Front Bench either. I look forward to an apology. Am I going
to get an apology?
indicated assent.
Mr Speaker
Thank you. Home Secretary, will you take the advice that I have
been given? I know you do not like it, but I am only working on
the facts of the case.
Well, I will still say that what Labour MPs have done is
outrageous, and I encourage them to apologise.
(Chelmsford) (Con)
Last week, the Italian Defence Minister made a direct link
between the rise in asylum seekers coming to Europe by small
boats and the activities of the Wagner Group in Africa. Given the
atrocious activities of the Wagner Group in Ukraine and
elsewhere, will the Home Secretary proscribe it?
We keep the list of proscribed organisations under review. We do
not routinely comment on security and intelligence matters, but
where a group meets a test of being a terrorism concern and where
it meets our legal criteria, then a group can be proscribed, if
it is necessary and proportionate to do so.
(York Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
What is more frightening than this toxic Bill that locks up the
most vulnerable people who walk this planet, imprisons innocent
children and pushes trafficked women back into the hands of their
perpetrators, is that this Tory Government are peddling their
divisive rhetoric because the Home Secretary has failed to govern
or to provide communities with the support they need. Before she
others the innocent, will she not admit that she is blaming the
destitute to mask her own failures?
The only people who have failed here are Labour and Opposition
Members who have failed to stand up for the British people and
failed to support our measures to stop the boats. All they want
is open borders and unlimited migration.
(North West Leicestershire)
(Ind)
The Government have identified 57 countries deemed safe for the
removal of asylum seekers, but there are no actual agreements in
place to facilitate that legally. Will my right hon. Friend
update the House on when those legal agreements will be in place?
They will be good for the welfare of the asylum seekers and very
good for the welfare of my constituents, because we can have our
hotels back.
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that this is about
enabling the Government to properly help the most genuine and
vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees who come to this country.
Currently, because of the influx of illegal migrants, and because
our modern slavery and asylum system has been overwhelmed thanks
to the efforts of the people smuggling gangs, we are unable to
help those genuine victims to whom we owe a clear duty.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Aberavon) (Lab)
The Government’s new asylum legislation is a sham that is set to
worsen the backlog, because they do not have the facilities to
detain tens of thousands of asylum seekers, or a returns
agreement in place with the EU to send back those deemed
inadmissible. For all her taxpayer funded photo ops this weekend,
the Home Secretary has seemingly failed to bung the Rwandan
Government enough money for them to increase the number of asylum
seekers they are ready to take this year. For a deterrent to be
effective, it has to be credible, yet these plans are just empty
threats. Will she tell us where she expects to detain the tens of
thousands of asylum seekers forecast to arrive this year, where
she expects to remove them to, when Rwanda clearly has no
intention of taking more than a very small proportion of those
who she expects to arrive this year, and when this Government
will get out of the way, so that Labour can deliver its
five-point plan to stop the boat crossings?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his approach to entertaining the
House today, but let us compare what the Labour party has done
over the last 10 days with what the Government have done.
In the last 10 days, the Prime Minister and I have secured a big
deal with the French to increase cross-channel co-operation. I
have presented and we have voted on measures to detain and
swiftly remove illegal migrants. This weekend, I met refugees who
have successfully been resettled in Rwanda and saw the
accommodation that people will be using.
What has the Labour party done? Well, the shadow Home Secretary
has been on Twitter. She is very good on Twitter. She has
tweeted, in the last 10 days, Labour’s paltry excuse for a plan.
Half of it is stuff we are already doing; the other half is its
plan for open borders and unlimited migration. What I suggest
Labour Members do is get off Twitter and get to Rwanda, and I
will show them how to stop the boats.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson.
(Glasgow Central)
(SNP)
Freedom from Torture has talked about the impact on torture
survivors of the anti-asylum Bill, calling it
“a betrayal of the commitments made following the Shaw
Review”.
Seven babies born to mothers in Home Office accommodation since
2020 have died, so it is no surprise that Women for Refugee Women
and the Royal College of Midwives have opposed the Home Office’s
plans. Scotland’s Children and Young People’s Commissioner has
warned that the plans to detain and remove children breach this
Government’s obligations under the UN convention on the rights of
the child. There is nothing about protecting asylum seekers’
welfare that the Bill will fix, so does the Home Secretary accept
the harm that she is causing?
We take very seriously our duties to everybody who is within our
care. Our measures will always, of course, ensure that proper
wellbeing and welfare provision is available to those who are
vulnerable, but let me say this: the hon. Lady has absolutely no
right to lecture this Government on how to support asylum seekers
when her own nation royally fails to take any or sufficient
numbers into Scotland.
That is simply not correct. The Bill is not about helping asylum
seekers; it is about banning asylum seekers. What does it say
about the Home Secretary’s morals that she believes that Rwanda
would be “a blessing” for asylum seekers, but when they come here
she calls them a swarm and an invasion?
The problem that the hon. Lady is labouring under is that in
opposing our plans, she sides with the people-smuggling gangs.
She actively encourages, in effect, co-operation with the evil
practice of exploitation of vulnerable people coming into this
country. Vote for our measures, stop the people-smuggling gangs
and stop the boats!
Asylum and Immigration Applications Backlog
(Livingston) (SNP)
2. What steps she is taking to tackle backlogs in (a) asylum and
(b) other immigration applications.
Dame (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
14. What recent progress her Department has made on reducing the
backlog of asylum applications.
The Minister for Immigration ()
The Prime Minister made a commitment on 13 December to clear the
legacy backlog of asylum applications over the course of this
year. I am pleased to report that we are on track to deliver
that. We have already doubled the number of caseworkers, and we
are on course to double the number again. We are streamlining
processes to reduce unnecessary paperwork while maintaining
robust standards. The productivity of caseworkers has more than
doubled since the start of the year.
My constituents Mr and Mrs Leeson have UK residency but are
American citizens. They live in my Livingston constituency and
are highly skilled, but they have had huge issues with getting
their niece Karissa, who they have guardianship over, a visa to
come to Scotland. A US court has ruled that they are her
guardians, but they are being told that they will have to wait
six months for an administrative review. Will the Minister meet
me to discuss the case? My constituent and her niece are
currently stuck in the US, and the family are being
separated.
I would be happy to look into the case that the hon. Lady raises.
With respect to visas, I would just say that the UK visa service
is now meeting or exceeding every one of its service standards,
so the Government are providing a good service generally, but I
would be happy to look into that case.
Dame
The Minister says that the Government are providing a good
service, but that is not my experience, either of asylum cases or
across the piece. There are so many cases of work visas, visitor
visas and so on being delayed for longer than I have seen in the
18 years I have served as an MP, which have included serving in
the Minister’s role. When will he get a grip? It is all very well
saying that he is dealing with asylum, but it is like
whack-a-mole: he puts effort into one area, and another area goes
badly wrong. When is he going to get a grip?
I prefer to trade in facts, and the fact is that in every single
one of the visa categories the UK visa service is at or exceeding
the service standard. It is true that we moved a number of people
away from work and visit visa duties to ensure that we met the
demands of the Homes for Ukraine scheme last year, but those
people are now back on the job and the service is performing
well. If the hon. Lady wants to give specific examples, I shall
be happy to look into them.
(Broadland) (Con)
The backlog of asylum seekers is increasing the need for
accommodation. We have just heard outrage expressed by the hon.
Member for Glasgow Central (). Can my right hon. Friend
update the House on the progress that the Scottish Government are
making on housing numbers of asylum seekers similar to the
numbers housed in the rest of the United Kingdom?
My hon. Friend is right to suggest that the outrage of the
Scottish National party is entirely confected. There are almost
no individuals in initial and contingency accommodation in
Scotland; in fact, there are fewer hotels in Scotland than there
are in Kensington. However, it is not just members of the SNP who
should hang their heads in shame, but Labour in Wales, because in
the whole of Wales there are only three hotels. There are more
hotels in Earl’s Court than there are in Labour Wales.
(Folkestone and Hythe)
(Con)
As my right hon. Friend knows, the sudden influx over, say, a
bank holiday weekend of thousands of migrants who have crossed
the channel in small boats causes substantial infrastructure
problems in Kent. If we are to stop this dangerous trafficking of
people across the channel, we must not only crack down on the
gangs but demonstrate that it is a futile practice which will not
lead to a shortcut into the asylum system in the UK.
My hon. Friend has cut to the nub of the question. We cannot
build ourselves out of this issue by creating more hotels or
large sites. The only sustainable answer is to break the people
smugglers’ model, and that is what the Illegal Migration Bill
sets out to do. We on this side of the House are on the side of
the British people, while those who vote against the Bill are on
the side of the people smugglers. It is only by stopping people
crossing the channel, by creating a genuine deterrent—for
instance, sending people to a safe third country such as
Rwanda—that we will achieve that.
Violence against Women and Girls: Charge Rates
(Oldham East and
Saddleworth) (Lab)
3. What steps her Department is taking to improve charge rates
for perpetrators of violence against women and girls.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department ( )
We are committed to holding perpetrators of violence against
women and girls to account, as has been demonstrated by the rape
review, the tackling violence against women and girls strategy
and the tackling domestic abuse plan, which includes violence
against men and boys. To improve the police response, the Home
Office is providing £6.65 million to develop the national
operating model for rape investigations through Operation
Soteria, and has funded domestic abuse training specifically for
investigators.
Disabled women are twice as likely to be victims of domestic
abuse as non-disabled women. I am currently dealing with the case
of a woman who has ended up in hospital as a result of abuse from
her partner. She has had no direct contact with the police, no
personal statement has been taken, and she feels completely let
down. I appreciate that thousands of women go through this, and I
also appreciate that Greater Manchester police are doing the very
best they can, but what is the Home Secretary doing to ensure
that these women have the necessary confidence and trust to feel
able to report such abuse to the police?
Miss Dines
The confidence of any victim of abuse must be increased, and to
that end the Government are spending unprecedented amounts on
training not only new but existing police officers in how to deal
with victims. Disabled victims are no different from any other
victim, and they are entitled to the same number and quality of
responses. I should add that police guidance dictates that
officers will visit the scene of every reported instance of
domestic abuse, the only exception being when it is unsafe for
them to do so. The hon. Lady is right to raise this important
issue, which we take very seriously.
Kate Kniveton (Burton) (Con)
I welcome last week’s announcement by the Government which will
lead to tougher sentences for domestic abusers who kill their
partners or ex-partners. Can my hon. Friend confirm that this
Government will always do everything possible to protect
vulnerable women and girls and deliver justice to those who
attack or threaten them?
Miss Dines
This Government are made up of the party that believes in law and
order, and wherever we can, we will continue to review sentences.
Strictly speaking, this is a matter for the Ministry of Justice,
but I know that the Deputy Prime Minister, and also the Prime
Minister and the Home Secretary, are thoroughly committed to
reviewing this sort of offence.
Fraud Strategy
(Barrow and Furness) (Con)
4. When her Department plans to publish its fraud strategy.
The Minister for Security ()
The fraud strategy will be published very shortly, and it will
set out how the Government will work with industry to remove the
vulnerabilities that fraudsters exploit.
Over 70% of scams originate online, showing that tech and social
media companies are not only significant to enabling fraud but
key to preventing it. Given that tech and social media companies
are currently driving the problem, will my right hon. Friend
compel their sector to be part of the solution by going after
frauds and fraudsters on their own platforms, as well as upping
all our defences in the upcoming national fraud strategy?
I know that my hon. Friend is well versed in this subject. I read
the article that he and my hon. Friend the Member for Cheadle
() recently wrote. It is a very
good piece, which I recommend to the House. The article referred
to the increase in scam adverts on social media, and I agree with
him that social media companies must take greater responsibility
for the safety of their users online by stopping more of these
frauds at source. The Online Safety Bill is a welcome first step
towards that goal, but it is right that we continue to consider
what more can be done.
(Denton and Reddish)
(Lab)
Fraud now accounts for nearly half of all crimes, yet very few of
those crimes are investigated and only 0.1% of them go to court.
While it is welcome that we will eventually get this fraud
strategy, what more are the Government doing to ensure that the
police have the resources and expertise to tackle crimes of fraud
and that the criminal justice system speeds up so that many more
such cases get not only investigated but heard in court?
The hon. Member makes the case for me, and I am grateful to him
for doing so. The reality is that we are seeing an explosion of
fraud, not just in this country but around the world, and we have
to deal with it. That is why bringing together the intelligence
resources, the policing elements and the will is so important. I
was in Manchester on Thursday where I met the chief constable and
others who are doing so much to tackle fraud, not just connected
to the garment industry where I was on Cheetham Hill, but linked
to human trafficking and, sadly, to state threats and even
terrorist financing.
Illegal Migration Bill: Compatibility
(Motherwell and Wishaw)
(SNP)
5. What recent assessment she has made of the compatibility of
the Illegal Migration Bill with the refugee convention.
Ms Anum Qaisar (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
11. What recent assessment she has made of the compatibility of
the Illegal Migration Bill with the European convention on human
rights.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department ()
I refer the hon. Lady to the statement in my name that appears on
the front of the Bill. I would add that I am satisfied that the
provisions of the Bill are capable of being applied compatibly
with the human rights convention and compliant with our
international obligations, including the refugee convention.
Apparently the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees does
not agree with the Home Secretary. They have said that this
legislation amounts to an “asylum ban”, adding that it would be
a
“clear breach of the Refugee Convention”.
Does the Home Secretary not realise that the very nature of human
rights is that they are universal and that it is not for
Governments to pick and choose which rights apply to which groups
of people?
I refer the hon. Lady to article 31 of the refugee convention,
which makes it clear that there is not an absolute duty on states
to offer provision to asylum seekers, particularly if they have
come from a safe country. It is important to note that the Bill
applies to people who have come here illegally from a safe
country. It is important that we instil a framework that enables
us to detain and swiftly remove them so that we can stop the
boats and stop the people smuggling gangs.
Ms Qaisar
When introducing the Bill, the Home Secretary said that she
was
“confident that this Bill is compatible with international
law.”—[Official Report, 7 March 2023; Vol. 729, c. 152.]
She then immediately confirmed that she could not make a
declaration of compatibility under section 19 of the Human Rights
Act. That followed her previous comments that she thought that it
was less than 50% compatible. Can the Home Secretary please
confirm to the House today which of these three views she
holds?
I do not think the hon. Lady has quite got the point of the Human
Rights Act. Section 19(1)(b) is designed for exactly these
purposes. Although the Government believe our provisions are
capable of being compliant with the Human Rights Act and the
European convention on human rights, we are, none the less,
testing legal arguments and legal bases, and there is nothing
wrong with that. In fact, a previous Labour Administration also
introduced legislation carrying such a section 19(1)(b)
statement.
The SNP is all talk and no action. Although Scotland makes up 8%
of the UK population, only 1% of the UK’s asylum seekers are
housed in contingency accommodation in Scotland. It is very easy
for the SNP to make all the right noises, but it has taken zero
action to stop the boats.
(North East Bedfordshire)
(Con)
The 1951 convention and the 1967 protocol are fundamental
foundations of how humanity deals with refugees at times of
crisis, but there are questions to be asked about whether the
convention and the protocol remain robust enough, effective
enough and sufficient to meet the challenges of refugees in the
decades to come. Will my right hon. and learned Friend have the
courage, as Home Secretary of the United Kingdom, to lead
international discussions on this topic?
My hon. Friend makes an incredibly powerful point, and I agree
with his sentiment. The historic conventions to which we
subscribe are fundamentally challenged by modern travel and a
global migration crisis in which more than 100 million displaced
people are on the move today. It is right that western and
democratic nations, which take pride in our duty and track record
of offering refuge to vulnerable people, start a conversation to
ensure that we strike the right balance.
(Newcastle-under-Lyme)
(Con)
I am a strong supporter of the Illegal Migration Bill, on the
grounds that it is the only practical solution to stop the wicked
people-smuggling trade across the channel. Does the Home
Secretary agree not only that those who compare this Government’s
policies to those of 1930s Germany are appallingly ill-informed,
but that it represents a grotesque slander against the victims
and survivors of the holocaust?
Many people have commented on this. All I will say is that people
who resort to such analogies have already lost the argument.
Police Funding Formula
(South West Bedfordshire)
(Con)
6. What recent progress her Department has made on reviewing the
police funding formula.
The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire ()
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important topic. The
Government are committed to reviewing the police funding formula,
in which there are some unfairnesses. The police funding formula
is historical and somewhat out of date, and we intend to consult
on it in the near future.
Will the new funding formula be crime based, rather than just
population based? Will it be implemented immediately for the
winners, to stop the gross unfairness of the current formula to
forces such as Bedfordshire?
The intended consultation will cover topics such as the demand
drivers of crime and how we should take account of the different
costs of providing a police service in different parts of the
country. In the meantime, Bedfordshire’s excellent police and
crime commissioner, , is working incredibly
hard to spend his budget effectively and to drive down crime in
Bedfordshire.
(Huddersfield)
(Lab/Co-op)
Is the Minister aware that many police forces are struggling to
obtain good forensic science facilities? Is he further aware that
the Westminster commission on forensic science, with which I am
involved, is deeply concerned about the instability of forensic
science in our country?
Forensic science is critically important, as the hon. Gentleman
says. The Home Office is continually discussing forensic science
provision with our colleagues in the policing family to make sure
there is adequate provision. We are always looking at the funding
arrangements and the range of providers, so I can assure him that
this topic is the subject of continual scrutiny.
Antisocial Behaviour
(Crewe and Nantwich)
(Con)
7. What steps her Department is taking to reduce antisocial
behaviour.
(Stoke-on-Trent South)
(Con)
10. What steps her Department is taking to reduce antisocial
behaviour.
(Jarrow) (Lab)
16. What steps her Department is taking to help tackle antisocial
behaviour.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department ()
We are committed to tackling antisocial behaviour and to
recruiting 20,000 additional police officers, which will take us
to our highest number ever. We expanded the safer streets fund to
include the tackling of antisocial behaviour as one of its
primary aims, and last year we published the ASB principles to
establish a strong and effective partnership response to
antisocial behaviour.
Dr Mullan
One challenge we have in Crewe and Nantwich on antisocial
behaviour is groups of people at bus stops, on high streets and
in other public spaces drinking alcohol all day long. That puts
off families and elderly people, in particular, from making use
of those public spaces. In theory, public spaces protection
orders should work, but they can be burdensome to get into place.
May we meet to discuss how we might make it easier for them to be
enacted, in order to reduce that kind of behaviour in towns and
cities?
My hon. Friend is right to focus on the blight that antisocial
behaviour causes to communities. He mentions existing powers that
the police have. We are keen to ensure that those are streamlined
and improved so that they are more effective. I am pleased that
his local force of Cheshire has more police officers on the
beat—316 in the force. Following my visit, I was pleased to meet
his outstanding local chief constable last month.
We have seen significant antisocial behaviour and crime issues in
Longton town centre. With Staffordshire police and the city
council, we have been working up plans to improve CCTV and to
gate up a number of alleyways. However, we need additional
funding to deliver that, so will my right hon. and learned Friend
update us on when the next round of the safer streets fund will
open for bids?
I am pleased that those in my hon. Friend’s constituency are
starting to draw up plans for the next round of the safer streets
fund. He will know what a difference safer streets has made to
Stoke-on-Trent, with neighbourhood crime down by 26% since 2010.
I cannot give him a precise date on the next round, but I can
assure him that we hope to be able to say something more about
safer streets in the near future.
Government austerity measures led to Northumbria police losing
more than 1,100 police officers and to a huge increase in
antisocial behaviour in my constituency, with thefts in local
shops in East Boldon and Hebburn, and off-road motorbikes in
Wardley and Boldon. The incident levels are so high that this
week I am having a specific surgery with the police and crime
commissioner in Wardley. When will Ministers allow recruitment to
vacant policing posts, invest in our communities and tackle
antisocial behaviour?
I am pleased that Northumbria’s police and crime commissioner has
received just under £3.9 million from the Government through
safer streets to date. That has included £3.5 million in the
current round to fund projects such as community engagement,
target hardening and guardianship interventions. Those are
measures where Government funding targeted in local communities,
in response to input from local leaders, is making a difference
to safety in our communities.
(North Shropshire) (LD)
I recently attended an open meeting in Oswestry in my
constituency, where residents expressed concern about escalating
antisocial behaviour in the town centre. The police and crime
commissioner was there, but I am afraid to say that he was a
little dismissive. Will the Home Secretary assure me that when
the new police officers materialise, they will be properly
allocated to market towns in rural places such as North
Shropshire, so that the antisocial behaviour is dealt with
effectively?
It is thanks to this Government’s commitment to increasing the
number of police officers that we will have many more resources
on the frontline in forces throughout the country to tackle
antisocial behaviour. I only wish that the hon. Lady would get
behind our plans.
Mr Speaker
I all the shadow Minister.
(Croydon Central) (Lab)
I see from the weekend papers that the Conservatives are about to
introduce an antisocial behaviour strategy. After 13 years of
doing nothing, of dismissing antisocial behaviour as low level
and unimportant, apparently the strategy will include Labour’s
plan to tackle fly-tipping, Labour’s plan to tackle graffiti and
Labour’s plan for community payback. May I ask the Home Secretary
which other Labour policies she is going to adopt? Would she like
me to arrange a full briefing from the Labour party?
Mr Speaker
This is going to get tedious in the run-up to the local
elections.
It really is, isn’t it, Mr Speaker? May I point out that
Labour-run Croydon Council has just cut the graffiti cleaning
team? Will the hon. Lady just give us some advice on how that has
worked?
Illegal Migration Bill
(Glasgow South West)
(SNP)
8. What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of
the Illegal Migration Bill on levels of (a) modern slavery and
(b) sex trafficking.
The Minister for Immigration ()
Let me be clear: the UK Government are committed to tackling the
heinous crime of modern slavery and to supporting victims. We
continue to invest in the police to support them to improve the
support they offer victims, and to drive up prosecutions. A total
of £16.5 million has been provided by the Home Office since 2016,
including £1.4 million last year for the modern slavery and
organised crime unit.
(Glasgow South West)
(SNP)
First, my thoughts and prayers are with my constituents the
Gentle family, who lost their son Gordon during the Iraq war. We
should remember all those military families who lost loved ones
during that conflict.
Is the Salvation Army correct when it points out that detaining
trafficking victims as they arrive and then removing them will
simply deliver vulnerable people back into the hands of the
criminal gangs that exploited them in the first place, and that
that does nothing to break the cycle of exploitation but only
further fuels the profits of these criminal gangs?
No, the hon. Gentleman is wrong. The Illegal Migration Bill makes
it clear that we want to break the cycle of the human
traffickers. We will do that by carefully considering cases and
returning those people who can be returned to their home country,
where it is safe to do so. In cases such as Albania, we have
worked closely with the Government to put in place the procedures
necessary to ensure that those people are carefully looked after
and not at risk of re-trafficking. If that is not the case, they
will be taken to a safe third country such as Rwanda where, once
again, their needs will be looked after.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Birmingham, Yardley)
(Lab)
Just to correct the Minister, it was not the hon. Member for
Glasgow South West () who made that criticism,
but the Salvation Army, which the Home Office employs as its main
contractor on trafficking.
I asked the Prime Minister this, and I got no answer, so I am
trying again. When I worked on a Home Office contract, I met many
women and children who had been brought here illegally to be
repeatedly raped as sex slaves. The Prime Minister tweeted that
such victims would be denied access to support from our modern
slavery system—a tweet that will be an absolute delight to
traffickers. How will we help to prevent a woman who is brought
here illegally from being repeatedly raped if she is denied
access to our modern slavery system?
The hon. Lady and I agree that we want to do everything we can to
support the victims of human trafficking, but we disagree on how
we do that. She is content for people to be brought across the
channel in small boats at the behest of human traffickers. We
want to break that cycle once and for all, and we believe that
that is the fair and the moral thing to do. Today, a majority of
the cases being considered for modern slavery are people who are
coming into the country—for example, on small boats. We are
seeing flagrant abuse, which is making it impossible for us to
deal appropriately with the genuine victims, to the point that
71% of foreign national offenders in the detained estate, whom we
are trying to remove from the country, are claiming to be modern
slaves. That is wrong, and we are going to stop it.
Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre
(Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
(Alba)
9. Whether she has had recent discussions with the Scottish
Government on the operation of the Dungavel House immigration
removal centre.
The Minister for Immigration ()
There is regular contact between Dungavel House immigration
removal centre and relevant local stakeholders, as necessary, on
issues relating to the day-to-day running of the centre. Although
immigration is not a devolved matter, we will keep the Scottish
Government informed should there be any significant changes.
I share my constituents’ shock at the distasteful photoshoot of
the Home Secretary outside the transportation camp in Rwanda.
Will she set out the following in regards to Dungavel? How will
this whole process work? How many refugees at Dungavel House are
earmarked for transportation to Rwanda? How many are children or
pregnant women? If the Home Secretary cannot give us those
numbers now, I am happy to receive a letter later.
Well, I share the disappointment at those who peddle
misinformation of any kind. However, with respect to Dungavel
House, it is an immigration removal centre and it is used
routinely to detain, prior to removal, foreign national offenders
and those who have entered our country illegally and whom we are
seeking to remove. The hon. Gentleman and I may disagree on this
issue. We on the Government side of the House want to remove
foreign national offenders. We do not want them to remain in the
UK. We also do not want to close detention centres. The right
hon. and learned Member for Holborn and St Pancras () campaigned to be Leader of
the Opposition on a pledge to close detention centres, but we
want to get dangerous offenders such as murderers and rapists out
of this country.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(Rutland and Melton)
(Con)
12. What steps her Department is taking to close facilities used
by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the UK.
The Minister for Security ()
As I outlined in my statement to the House on 20 February, we are
taking increasing steps to address the threat from Iran—but, I
should make clear, not to address the welcome we extend towards
the Iranian people. Today of all days, we should say, “Nowruz
etan Pyrouz.”
There are three—if not seven—cut-outs of the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps operating here in the UK, silencing
critics of the ayatollah, inciting hate, celebrating terrorists
and recruiting for a terrorist state. The Government know that
this House wants the IRGC proscribed, but in the immediate term,
will they please protect us from transnational repression by
shutting down these cut-outs of the Iranian state? I also ask the
Home Secretary or the Security Minister to meet Vahid Beheshti,
who is on day 26 of a hunger strike outside the Foreign Office
because he wants the IRGC proscribed. I am seriously concerned
about his health, and it would help if the Government were to
meet him.
I would be very happy to meet him and, indeed, anybody else who
takes the threat of the IRGC in this country as seriously as we
do. We have had this work ongoing for a number of months now, and
my hon. Friend will be aware that asking for actions to be taken
means we must be legally compliant with the responses. That is
where we are getting to; we are increasingly at the point where
we are taking more and more action against the IRGC. So may I
say, in the words of Omar Khayyam, in his poem for new year:
“No words about last winter can bring cheer;
don’t speak of yesterday—rejoice today.”?
(Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Minister very much for that. The Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps is involved in all sorts of unspeakable
activities in Iran—abuse of people, persecution of Christians and
other ethnic minorities, and attacks on women—but here in the
United Kingdom it is also involved in subversive activities
through the buildings it has. I think that everybody in this
House wants to see it proscribed, so can the Minister give us
some indication of when that will happen?
The hon. Gentleman knows very well, sadly, that we cannot discuss
individual proscriptions, so I will not go down that route.
However, he has been a voice for freedom of religion and belief
in this country and around the world for many years. He will be
aware of the brutality not only against women and the LGBT
community in Iran, but against people of faith, Baha’i, Jews and
Christians, who have seen their lives destroyed by an
extraordinarily brutal regime. This Thursday is the beginning of
Ramadan, and I am sure everybody in this House wishes every
Muslim in our community Ramadan kareem and the blessings of the
season. The reality is that this is a time for communities to
come together, yet in Tehran it is time for the regime to ignore
the Islamic faith and to tear people apart.
Knife Crime
(Salford and Eccles)
(Lab)
13. What steps her Department is taking to tackle knife
crime.
The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire ()
Tackling knife crime is a priority. That is why, since 2019, we
have not only spent £340 million on diverting young people into
alternative activity via the violence reduction units, but had
targeted Grip hotspot policing in areas where knife crime is
particularly prevalent. That has led to a 19% reduction over the
last three years in hospital admissions with a bladed weapon
injury, and since 2010, according to the crime survey for England
and Wales, violence is down by 38%.
Last year knife crime in Salford fell, thanks to the extensive
work with young people by the Salford community safety
partnership and Greater Manchester police operations to remove
weapons from circulation. Sadly, since January this year there
has been a spate of serious knife crime incidents that have
destroyed lives and distressed the community. We need urgent
Government support to implement a wider proactive reduction
strategy. Will the Minister commit to ringfencing dedicated
funding today for knife crime reduction initiatives and for
lifesaving bleed kit roll-outs across Salford?
That is a very fair question. We are already directing ringfenced
money towards Greater Manchester and other areas via the Grip
hotspot funding, which we are going to at least maintain and
possibly increase next year, and the violence reduction units,
which try to get young people on to a better path. I am visiting
Greater Manchester a week today and look forward to discussing
those initiatives and more with Chief Constable Stephen Watson,
who I must say is doing a very good job, and others in
Manchester.
(North Wiltshire) (Con)
Deterrence through tough sentencing must play an important part
in dealing with the scourge of knife crime, such as that
committed against my constituent Ellie Gould some years ago. I
very much welcome Ms Wade’s report, which came out on Friday,
about sentencing in murder cases involving knives, but I am
disappointed that the Government have so far accepted only three
of the 17 recommendations. Will the Minister speak to his
colleagues at the Ministry of Justice to ensure that all 17 of
the recommendations are implemented?
I know that my hon. Friend has been a tireless campaigner on this
topic over many years following the appalling murder of his
constituent. Yes, I will raise the issues that he mentions with
colleagues in the Ministry of Justice, who I am sure will be
extremely receptive.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Bradford West) (Lab)
This week, the five young men who murdered a 17-year-old boy from
Poplar using knives were pictured for the first time. Those young
men were sentenced to a total of 93 years in prison. Although
sentencing is a form of justice, the reality is that this
Government have lost their grip on preventing such violent
crimes. Time and again, they have failed to act until it is too
late—sticking-plaster politics at the heart of power. When will
the Secretary of State show some leadership and lay out a proper
plan for crime prevention?
As I set out to the hon. Member for South Shields (Mrs
Lewell-Buck), the Government have spent £340 million in the last
three years directly to tackle knife crime, and, contrary to the
hon. Lady’s question, that is yielding results. Hospital
admissions for injuries caused by knives have dropped by 19% in
the last four years, and violent offences, as measured by the
crime survey—the only statistically approved measure of
crime—have come down by 38% since the last Labour Government left
office.
Topical Questions
(Southend West) (Con)
T1. . If she will make a statement on her departmental
responsibilities.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department ()
Like the public, I want common-sense policing focused on keeping
people safe and driving down crime. The disproportionate
recording of non-crime hate incidents must not be used to inhibit
free speech. We must be very careful about what is kept on an
individual’s record. That balance has not always been struck, so
I introduced a new code of practice on non-crime hate incidents
and the recording and retention of personal data. It introduces
new safeguards so that personal data may be included in an NCHI
record only if the event is clearly motivated by an intentional
hostility and where there is a real risk of significant harm to a
group or an individual. Those changes are endorsed by outstanding
police leaders such as Stephen Watson, the chief constable of
Greater Manchester police, and I hope that the whole House will
get behind the draft code.
Last summer, teenagers abused hundreds of canisters of nitrous
oxide along Southend seafront. Today, firefighters have reported
cutting people out of vehicles because of nitrous oxide abuse
behind the wheel. Given the severe effects of such abuse, will my
right hon. Friend consider taking tougher action to restrict the
sale, possession and abuse of nitrous oxide in the UK?
I know that my hon. Friend has been a powerful advocate on this
subject, as well as on the issue of dangerous weapons, and I pay
tribute to her for her brilliant work. The Psychoactive
Substances Act 2016 provides police with the powers to clamp down
on the supply of nitrous oxide for non-legitimate use, but she is
right, and I am clear, that the use and proliferation of nitrous
oxide is unacceptable, and we will announce new measures
soon.
Mr Speaker
We come now to the shadow Home Secretary.
(Normanton, Pontefract and
Castleford) (Lab)
We welcome the Home Secretary back from her expensive interior
design tour.
The review will be published
tomorrow and is expected to be damning, with far-reaching
findings. The Home Secretary has known about failures on
standards and vetting in policing for a long time, so why has she
repeatedly refused to bring in mandatory vetting standards and
automatic suspension for officers under investigation for
domestic abuse and sexual assault?
I regret the tone that the shadow Home Secretary adopts when it
comes to Rwanda. I encourage her to ditch her outdated and
ignorant views on our friends in Rwanda.
When it comes to the Casey report, which I have read, it is clear
that there have been failings within the Met. That is why the
commissioner is right to accept those past failings, and that is
why he has my total backing in moving forward to turn around
performance and standards in the Met, so that every citizen in
London has total confidence in those who wear the badge.
The problem is that the Home Secretary’s response is too little
and too late. We should all back the commissioner to take
urgently needed action in the Met, but confidence in the Met has
dropped sharply and confidence has also dropped nationally. The
system for national standards that the Home Secretary presides
over is far too weak, with no proper regulations or requirements
and no proper intervention when things go wrong. Neighbourhood
policing, which sustains confidence, is being hollowed out. That
is damaging for communities and for the vital work that the
police do. Will she now commit to urgent legislation and a full
overhaul on standards? The proud British tradition of policing by
consent is in peril unless the Government act urgently.
I am proud of this Government’s track record on reducing crime
and increasing the number of police officers. Since 2010, violent
crime is down, robbery is down, neighbourhood crime is down and
burglary is down. When the right hon. Lady talks about the Met,
what I would gently say is that London has a Labour Mayor—as well
as a Labour police and crime commissioner—who has failed to hold
the Met to account properly. I am afraid I must encourage her to
speak to her Labour colleague and ask him to do a better job of
holding the Met to account.
Mr Speaker
Order. I say to both sides that topical questions are for Back
Benchers. If people want to ask a longer question, they should be
called earlier and not wait for topicals.
(North Norfolk) (Con)
T2. As a host to Ukrainian refugees, I have been able to
witness at first hand the difficulty and hardship when someone is
separated from their family. My constituent Hazel Randall hosts a
24-year-old, Katya, who wanted to help her family reunite briefly
in the UK, but they were faced with a £100 per person visa fee
and a 200-mile round trip to the application centre to be able to
travel to the UK. Will my right hon. Friend consider temporarily
waiving tourist visa fees for Ukrainians wanting to visit their
families?
The Minister for Immigration ()
Last week marked the first anniversary of the launch of the Homes
for Ukraine scheme, which my hon. Friend took part in, and it is
a powerful rejoinder to anyone who says that the UK is anything
other than generous and compassionate to those in need. I have
listened to his remarks, and I have had a conversation with His
Excellency the Ukrainian ambassador in that regard. We have taken
an important step in the past month by reopening our visa centre
at our embassy in Kyiv, so that Ukrainian nationals can begin
those processes in their home territory, rather than having to
leave and go to Warsaw.
(Bury South) (Lab)
T3. Reports in today’s edition of The Times about the extreme
activities of those promoted by the Islamic Centre of England, a
UK-registered charity funded by the Iranian authorities and under
the direction of the UK representative of the Iranian supreme
leader, are just the latest evidence of the threat that Iran
poses in the UK. The Security Minister has already told the House
about the very real threat that Iran has made to UK-based
individuals, including the Jewish community. Does the Minister
agree that it is finally the time to proscribe the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps?
The Minister for Security ()
The hon. Member will well know that the work we have been doing
against the Iranian threat in the United Kingdom has not
diminished—in fact, it has increased in recent months. He is
right to talk about cultural centres. Sadly, the Islamic Centre
of England is not alone. Indeed, the work of the IRGC is not
limited to those Iranian proxy organisations. We have to ensure
that we have the resources and the attitude, and that is exactly
what this Government are pulling together and exactly what we are
deploying against this vile threat that has taken over a country
and is now threatening ours.
(Northampton South) (Con)
T5. What guidance is the Department planning to issue on
policing the provisions of the Public Order Bill, especially
relating to preventing people from being arrested in a public
place for what they are thinking about or for silent prayer?
My hon. Friend knows my position on that issue. He also knows
about the guidance we have issued on the policing of non-crime
hate incidents. He will note from the announcement recently that
we are encouraging the police to strike a better balance, so that
freedom of speech is more protected in their efforts to keep the
public safe. The College of Policing and the National Police
Chiefs’ Council will be working on new guidance to reflect the
new offences in the Public Order Bill, but I reassure him that we
are doing everything to ensure that the sensitive balance is
struck, so that freedom of speech is protected while safeguarding
the public.
(Motherwell and Wishaw)
(SNP)
T4. The Refugee Council estimates that if 65,000 people
crossed the channel this year, it would cost £219 million to
detain them for 28 days, or £1.4 billion to detain them for six
months. Are figures such as those the reason for the Home
Secretary’s refusing to share the economic impact assessment of
the Illegal Migration Bill with the House?
The hon. Lady makes a powerful case for deterrence, which is
exactly what the Illegal Migration Bill does. It will deter
people from crossing the channel and break the model of the
people smugglers.
(Gainsborough) (Con)
T7. Tomorrow is the 80th anniversary of the formation of
the Dambusters 617 squadron at RAF Scampton. Will the Home
Secretary have a conversation with her Minister for Immigration
about the meeting I had this morning with him, West Lindsey
District Council and Scampton Holdings, in which the Minister was
told in terms that if the Home Secretary goes ahead with her plan
for 1,500 migrants to be placed there, it will scupper the
long-term retention of the runway and the £300 million-worth of
investment by Scampton Holdings?
I had a helpful and constructive meeting with my right hon.
Friend and his constituents. No decision has been made with
respect to RAF Scampton, and we will consider all of the things
that were said in that meeting extremely carefully as we come to
a final decision.
Mr Speaker
I call Neale Hanvey—not here.
(Bury North) (Con)
In 2021, only about 10% of rape allegations were referred by the
police to the Crown Prosecution Service. The figure is even lower
when we take into account other sexual offending. Has my hon.
Friend ever received a satisfactory explanation from the police
for such a lamentably poor referral rate?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department ( )
My hon. Friend is right to raise this really important issue. The
nub of the issue is that historically police officers have not
developed a new way of dealing with rape in a modern, digital
world, among other things. I am pleased to say that the
Government are investing extra money in education in this field.
For example, the Government are supporting the National Police
Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing to design and pilot a
new rape and other sexual offences investigative skills
development programme for police officers, to make sure they know
how to deal with victims. Chief Constable Crew, down in Avon and
Somerset, is doing similar work.
(Glasgow North West)
(SNP)
In my constituency, I have employers who are struggling to
recruit staff living next door to asylum seekers who are not
allowed to work. Last week’s Budget talked about boosting
employment. Does the Home Secretary agree that lifting the ban on
work for asylum seekers would help to boost employment?
We do not agree with that: we do not want to see any further pull
factors to the UK. We want to see deterrence suffused throughout
our approach, and one element of that is ensuring that those who
come illegally are detained and then removed from the
country.
(Preseli Pembrokeshire)
(Con)
I was encouraged by the answers that my right hon. Friend the
Security Minister gave earlier in relation to Iran, and the
evidence put forward by my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and
Melton (), as well as the report in
The Times this morning that has been referred to. Does the
Security Minister therefore agree that that reflects a deliberate
attempt by the Iranian regime to use whatever foothold available
in our national life to spread conspiracy theories, extremism and
radicalisation?
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. What we have seen from
the Iranian regime, sadly, is that overlap of crime, state
threats and the use of terrorism to threaten the British people
and our allies around the world. This Government will absolutely
not allow those to flourish, and will stand extremely firmly
against any such threats in this country.
(Kingston upon Hull North)
(Lab)
Indecent exposure and non-contact sexual offending can be gateway
offences to very much more serious offending against women and
girls, as in the cases of Libby Squire in Hull and of Wayne
Couzens, as we heard in his sentencing last week. When are the
Government going to act on these early warning signs?
Miss Dines
This is a really important issue, and I am grateful that the
right hon. Lady has raised it. We all know from new academic
research that indecent exposure can lead to far more serious
crimes, and it is now the time that the police chiefs and also
the College of Policing take it more seriously. Again, with the
extra money that we are spending in this field, with education
and allowing police officers to know what they are dealing with,
I expect a lot more progress to be made in this area.
(Walsall North) (Con)
We have seen a number of murders recently in Walsall as a result
of knife crime, but we have seen no sign of the Labour police and
crime commissioner. Does the Minister agree that it is important
that the police and crime commissioner visits all part of the
west midlands, rather than simply staying in Birmingham?
The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire ()
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Police and crime
commissioners, particularly the one in the west midlands, should
visit all parts of their patch. I was also rather concerned to
hear that the Labour PCC in the west midlands is formulating
plans to close up to 20 police stations, despite having received
a 10% increase in funding over recent years, which I think is
pretty shocking.
(Inverclyde) (SNP)
On the back of last week’s Budget, I made a speech about
industrial hemp. The industry is telling me that it can create
105,000 jobs and pay £1 billion in tax if it is allowed to
grow—pun intended. I will be writing to the Minister to explain
this in detail, but it would be really helpful if I could sit
down with the relevant Minister and industry representatives so
they can make their case.
Mr Speaker
Who wants it?
Mr Speaker, I will take this question. The hon. Member and I have
had a number of discussions on this topic. We are always happy to
engage, discuss points of detail and hear industry
representations, so if he would like to meet face to face to
discuss it further, I would be very happy to do that.
(Rother Valley)
(Con)
It was great news in the Budget last week that Dinnington High
Street got £12 million for regeneration, knocking down the burnt
out building and opening up the marketplace. What we need now is
a police station to combat antisocial behaviour. Will the
Minister support my campaign to reopen the police station on
Dinnington High Street, which will clamp down on antisocial
behaviour, and use some of the underspend in the Labour police
and crime commissioner’s budget to do that?
I think my hon. Friend has formulated an excellent plan. I notice
that South Yorkshire next year is getting an extra £10.7 million
in funding, and the idea he suggests sounds like a good way of
spending some of that.
(Coventry North West)
(Lab)
Today I heard harrowing testimonies from the Turkish community in
Coventry North West who have lost family members in the tragic
earthquake. They would like to be reunited with the family
members they have left, hopefully via a family visa scheme, so
what steps is the Home Office taking to provide support to those
affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria?
Our sympathies go to all those affected by the tragic events in
Turkey. The UK Government are doing a number of things, including
sending specialists to help with those who have been trapped in
the wreckage. We have a range of visa options, including family
reunion and visit visas, so that those people who have strong
family ties to the United Kingdom can come here.
(Twickenham) (LD)
Last week, I raised with the Foreign Secretary that, for the past
15 months, I have been trying to bring to safety five British
children in hiding in Kabul after their British father was blown
up by the Taliban. They are too young to travel alone, but the
Home Office will not grant their Afghan mother a visa, unless she
passes an English test. However, she is not allowed to access
education in Afghanistan. The Foreign Office tells me it is a
Home Office issue. The Home Office is not responding to my
correspondence, so will the Minister grant me a meeting to
discuss this case?
I would be happy to look into the case. I would just say that
over 25,000 individuals have been brought safely to the United
Kingdom since Operation Pitting and that is something we should
all be proud of.
(Lewisham East) (Lab)
Children are regularly detained in police cells for long periods
and for too long without an appropriate adult being present,
despite that being both a requirement and an essential safeguard
for children. Will the Minister confirm today that, when police
powers and procedures data is published later this year, it will
include the number of minutes taken for an appropriate adult to
arrive and the duration of time present—and if not this year,
when?
The hon. Lady is raising a very important question. The case of
Child Q is of course on our minds as we consider this. Some
revisions are being made to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act
1984 code of practice—it is code C—that are relevant in this
area. In relation to the reporting question she asks, I can
certainly undertake to look into that.
(Wakefield)
(Lab/Co-op)
Far-right Islamophobic Danish politician Rasmus Paludan has said
he is going to travel from Denmark to Wakefield for the sole
purpose of burning a Koran in a public place. Mr Paludan was
previously jailed in Denmark for his hateful and racist
statements. He is a dangerous man who should not be allowed into
this country. Can the Home Secretary assure me and my community
that the Government are taking action to prevent this?
I inform the House that Mr Paludan has been added to the warnings
index. Therefore, his travel to the United Kingdom would not be
conducive to the public good, and he will not be allowed
access.
Mr Speaker
That completes questions.
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