Category: Speeches

  • Paul Bristow – 2022 Parliamentary Question on the Great Northern Hotel in Peterborough

    Paul Bristow – 2022 Parliamentary Question on the Great Northern Hotel in Peterborough

    The parliamentary question asked by Paul Bristow, the Conservative MP for Peterborough, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Paul Bristow (Peterborough) (Con)

    Peterborough is a caring city that supports more asylum seekers than any other town or city in the east of England. In the past week, two hotels have been stood up to accommodate single men who have crossed the channel in small boats. One in particular, the Great Northern Hotel, is most inappropriate. Will the Minister outline the criteria by which the Home Office will award longer-term contracts for hotel accommodation? Will he listen to me, my local council, the local police, local health support services and local refugee charities about why the Great Northern Hotel in particular is so inappropriate?

    Robert Jenrick

    I know that, like many other Members on both sides of the House, my hon. Friend has been campaigning vociferously on this issue and is deeply concerned about it. We want to ensure that we can move as quickly as possible—as quickly as is legally possible—to a system whereby we apply sensible, common-sense criteria. That includes ensuring that prominent business hotels such as the Great Northern are not chosen to house asylum seekers, and that instead we choose hotels that provide decent, value-for-money accommodation in appropriate places.

  • Marco Longhi – 2022 Parliamentary Question about Asylum Seekers in Hotels

    Marco Longhi – 2022 Parliamentary Question about Asylum Seekers in Hotels

    The parliamentary question asked by Marco Longhi, the Conservative MP for Dudley North, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Marco Longhi (Dudley North) (Con)

    When our own citizens, never mind visitors, come to this country, they dutifully form a queue and present their passport at border control. Does the Minister agree that it makes a complete and utter mockery of our border control systems when people arrive illegally, thereby committing a crime, and are then put up in hotels across the country, where they are fed and watered and do not have to pay energy bills? My hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South (Andy Carter) spoke about cases going on for 400 days; I know of others that have gone on for years and years. When will we implement the Rwanda plan? When will we push back? When will we return people to France directly? Deterrence will be the main thing that stops them crossing in the first place.

    Robert Jenrick

    I totally agree. Deterrence must be the test to which we hold all aspects of our immigration policy. We will implement the Rwanda plan as soon as it has passed through the courts, and I think it will make a significant impact on deterring people from making this dangerous crossing.

  • Jonathan Edwards – 2022 Parliamentary Question on the Rwanda Plan for Asylum Seekers

    Jonathan Edwards – 2022 Parliamentary Question on the Rwanda Plan for Asylum Seekers

    The parliamentary question asked by Jonathan Edwards, the Independent MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (Ind)

    Diolch, Mr Speaker. Will the Minister inform the House whether the British Government have found an airline willing to facilitate their Rwanda policy? Privilege Style has joined Titan Airways and AirTanker in stating that it will not participate in deportation flights. Is it not the reality that commercial operators are turning their back on the Government’s immoral policy?

    Robert Jenrick

    I do not believe that the Rwanda policy is immoral. I do not think that there is anything ethical about allowing individuals to cross the channel illegally, risking their lives and those of their children. We want to create a system that is suffused with deterrents so that people do not make the crossing in the first place and so that if they want to claim asylum, they do so in the first safe country that they enter. France, of course, is a perfect choice.

  • Scott Benton – 2022 Parliamentary Question about Albanian Gangs and Crime

    Scott Benton – 2022 Parliamentary Question about Albanian Gangs and Crime

    The parliamentary question asked by Scott Benton, the Conservative MP for Blackpool South, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Scott Benton (Blackpool South) (Con)

    Senior police officers in my constituency tell me that the majority of the serious organised crime and the drugs trade in Blackpool is now orchestrated by Albanian gangs. Does the Minister recognise that some of those who cross in small boats and subsequently abscond when they arrive in this country are playing a part in fuelling a crime epidemic in towns such as Blackpool?

    Robert Jenrick

    The evidence presented to us by security services such as the National Crime Agency shows a significant and concerning link between Albanian migrants coming to the UK and criminality. My hon. Friend and others have raised the issues with me anecdotally. We screen all migrants when they arrive illegally at Dover, and we have counter-terrorism officers and others there to ensure that we catch as many individuals as possible, but I am afraid that there is a serious problem. That is why we need to take the most robust action possible on economic migrants from Albania and remove them as swiftly as possible.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2022 Parliamentary Question on the Joint Co-ordination Centre with France

    Rehman Chishti – 2022 Parliamentary Question on the Joint Co-ordination Centre with France

    The parliamentary question asked by Rehman Chishti, the Conservative MP for Gillingham and Rainham, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)

    On addressing the illegal crossings, the Minister said that the new initiative would cost about £72 million. In 2019, when I was on the Select Committee on Home Affairs, we were told that the joint co-ordination centre with France would help to address individuals illegally crossing. Did that system work? How much did it cost? How will the new system work? My constituents in Kent are at the forefront of the illegal crossings. The Government consistently tell us that they will take tough, firm, decisive action, but instead the numbers have increased. How will the new system work better than the previous system?

    Robert Jenrick

    I do not want to overstate the value of the agreement, but it is an important step forward and might presage further agreements with France in the months and years to come. It contains at least two important steps. First, there will be a 40% increase in French personnel on the beaches of northern France intercepting crafts about to enter the water and making arrests. French officers on the beaches currently intercept about 40% of craft, so increasing personnel by 40% will lead to a significant improvement. Secondly, the joint centre that we will establish with our French counterparts will ensure that the very sophisticated intelligence that the British security services are now drawing up on what is happening in northern France can be delivered to their counterparts in real time.

  • Rachael Maskell – 2022 Parliamentary Question about Asylum Seekers in York

    Rachael Maskell – 2022 Parliamentary Question about Asylum Seekers in York

    The parliamentary question asked by Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)

    York wants to do all it can to support people seeking asylum, but as a result of providing initial accommodation as opposed to contingency accommodation, it is not receiving the funding that it vitally needs. When will the Government provide parity in the funding that local authorities need to support people who are seeking asylum? When will the Government bring forward a homes for refugees scheme so we can ensure that people are settled in our community and are getting the support they need from families?

    Robert Jenrick

    I will happily speak to the hon. Lady separately about the specific concerns of City of York Council. The hotel accommodation is fully funded by the Home Office, but I appreciate that there are knock-on costs for local authorities. I met London Councils earlier today; if not for this urgent question, I would have been meeting representatives of councils across the country to hear their concerns and see how we can improve the situation.

  • John Stevenson – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Placing Asylum Seekers in Hotels

    John Stevenson – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Placing Asylum Seekers in Hotels

    The parliamentary question asked by John Stevenson, the Conservative MP for Carlisle, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    John Stevenson (Carlisle) (Con)

    We all agree that putting asylum seekers in hotels is not really a great policy, so we need to process their applications as quickly as possible. Is it possible for each hotel to be given a timeframe for the processing of applications? That would give confidence to the local community that the hotel will be returned to its normal activity sooner rather than later. It might also incentivise Home Office staff to improve their productivity.

    Robert Jenrick

    I will take that suggestion back to the Home Office. Our objective is to ensure that we process claims as quickly as possible; a great deal of work is now going on in the Home Office to achieve that and to bring productivity back to where it should always have been, frankly. We want to bring use of the hotels to a close as quickly as possible. We have already set out some of the steps we will take to achieve that, such as considering larger sites and dispersing individuals in local authority accommodation and the private rented sector elsewhere in the country. The real task, however, is to prevent people from crossing the channel in the first place. We cannot build our way out of the issue; we have to reduce the numbers making the crossings.

  • Andy Carter – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Dealing with Asylum Backlogs

    Andy Carter – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Dealing with Asylum Backlogs

    The parliamentary question asked by Andy Carter, the Conservative MP for Warrington South, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Andy Carter (Warrington South) (Con)

    According to Home Office figures, the 116 asylum seekers who arrived in Warrington last week can expect to spend about 400 days waiting for their cases to be dealt with. What steps is my right hon. Friend taking to speed up the process so that those who do not meet the test for asylum can be returned to the safe countries from which they came?

    Robert Jenrick

    My hon. Friend raises an important point. Productivity in the Home Office fell very sharply during the covid period and has yet to recover in its entirety. That is wrong and we need to change it. We need to ensure that caseworkers review and decide on cases at least at the same speed as they did a couple of years ago. A pilot in Leeds on how to do that has more than doubled the productivity of caseworkers. We want to get that still higher and roll it out across the country. The Home Secretary and I will say more shortly.

  • Jonathan Gullis – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Stoke and the Asylum Dispersal Scheme

    Jonathan Gullis – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Stoke and the Asylum Dispersal Scheme

    The parliamentary question asked by Jonathan Gullis, the Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)

    Stoke-on-Trent, decades ago, voluntarily entered the asylum dispersal scheme, but enough is enough. We have done our bit for this country to protect some of the vulnerable people and illegal economic migrants who come here through safe countries such as France. I am sick to the back teeth of hotels being used in our great city and being dumped on by Serco because we voluntarily entered that scheme. The local authority is against it, as are the police and all three Stoke MPs, and for good reason. Islamic extremists such as Hizb ut-Tahrir are operating around the corner from the hotel. The far right is looking to recruit in our city. There is public anger and outrage about local services being depleted while services elsewhere are reinforced. When will the Minister tell Serco that Stoke-on-Trent has done its bit and to use it no more? If he will not, why not?

    Robert Jenrick

    We have taken further steps during my short tenure in the Department, and while my right hon. and learned Friend has been Home Secretary, to provide a fairer distribution of migrants across the country. The Home Secretary ensured that there was the mandatory dispersal of children, so that all local authorities can play a part in ensuring that children are in safe accommodation, whether that means in children’s homes or with state or private foster carers. We are also attempting to procure accommodation in a much broader range of local authorities. Historically, the issue centred on cities, including Stoke-on-Trent. We are now seeking to procure accommodation more broadly in smaller cities, towns and, in some cases, rural areas. That means, I am afraid, that as long as numbers are so high, more parts of the country will experience this issue, but it will ensure greater fairness in how we tackle it as a country.

  • Joanna Cherry – 2022 Parliamentary Question on “The Crossing” Television Programme

    Joanna Cherry – 2022 Parliamentary Question on “The Crossing” Television Programme

    The parliamentary question asked by Joanna Cherry, the SNP MP for Edinburgh South West, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Joanna Cherry (Edinburgh South West) (SNP)

    As we heard, on 24 November last year at least 27 people drowned while attempting to cross the channel in a dinghy, including a little girl. Five are missing and only two survived. A documentary called “The Crossing” that was shown on ITV on Monday night presented evidence that the tragedy happened in UK waters, notwithstanding multiple distress calls from the people in the dinghy while the French and UK coastguards passed the buck over many crucial hours. I understand that solicitors acting for the families of some of the deceased and one of the survivors passed evidence to that effect to the British Government in March this year. The normal political response to loss of life on that scale would be the prompt announcement of an independent public inquiry. Will the Minister tell me what it is about the people who drowned that means that no independent public inquiry has been announced into the circumstances of their drowning?

    Robert Jenrick

    The events of a year ago were very shocking and deeply tragic, and my sympathies go out to the individuals’ families and friends. As a result of that incident, I assure the hon. and learned Member that very significant further steps have been taken by British authorities to enable those crossing the channel in dangerous crafts to be helped ashore in the UK. We are at the point where, I think, 98% of boats that attempt the crossing and pass the median line are helped ashore by Border Force, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution or the Royal Navy. I pay tribute to those British authorities; I have met them and they do that difficult work superbly. We will not be able to secure the passage of everyone who chooses to get in an unsafe dinghy at the behest of people traffickers and cross the channel. The best advice is, “Do not make that dangerous passage. It is illegal and extremely perilous.” That is key: we should not encourage people to make that crossing in the first place. We cannot assure safe passage to everyone.