Extract from urgent
question on Immigration Rules and Border Security
(Harrow East) (Con): People who want to work in our
care sector from other countries are welcome to do so where it is
appropriate. However, under the current model, many people are
paying thousands of pounds to agents to contact care home owners
in this country who, even if there are no vacancies, will allow
people to come here and send them off to work in supermarkets or
other areas. The pay then goes back to the agent—the individuals
do not even get the pay. Will the Minister take measures to
combat what is clearly a criminal conspiracy and prevent it from
happening? People who want to come and work here are being
exploited ruthlessly.
The Minister for Legal Migration and the Border (): Where we see abuse of our migration routes, we
will root that out and deal with it robustly. That is one of the
reasons the Care Quality Commission accreditation angle has been
such an important part of the package of measures we are taking
forward, ensuring that the roles people come here to fulfil are
credible, real jobs in these workplaces. We think it is right
that there is a better audit trail for those appointments, not
least for the very reason my hon. Friend highlights—to minimise
the risks of people being exploited, cheated and sold a fake
prospectus for what they are signing up to. That cannot be right.
It is right that we as a Government take a robust posture over
it.
Extracts from second
reading (Lords) of the Economic Activity of Public Bodies
(Overseas Matters) Bill
(Lab):...For 35 years a consumer
boycott was at the heart of anti-apartheid campaigns in Britain.
Hundreds of thousands of British people who never attended a
meeting or demonstration showed their opposition to apartheid by
refusing to buy goods from South Africa. I took part in action to
plaster “Danger: Product of Apartheid” stickers on South African
products in supermarkets
...
The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Baroness Neville- Rolfe)
(Con):...Now more than ever, the Government should be taking
steps to stop behaviour that could legitimise or even drive
anti-Semitism. This is what the Bill does. The BDS movement is
pernicious and has no place in our public institutions. That is
why the Bill has been widely supported by the Jewish community in
the UK. It has been endorsed by the Jewish Leadership Council and
the Board of Deputies of British Jews
The reasons for this were persuasively outlined by my noble
friend of Tredegar, citing some
telling examples from the UN, local government, supermarkets
and universities. I am very grateful to him for coming to make
the case against BDS, and doing it so clearly. Boycott and
divestment campaigns undermine community cohesion and can confuse
the Government’s foreign policy, so it is vital that we deal with
this issue as we promised in the 2019 manifesto...
