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1,710 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTopical QuestionsAll local authorities get an extra payment of £1,200 when someone in the supported estate ends up in their local authority, so I cannot quite understand that characterisation. If…17 Nov 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe hon. Gentleman and I have had this conversation about Stanwell before, and he has pressed the matter with characteristic vigour. I can say to him and his community that we…17 Nov 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe Minister for Policing and Crime recently met a delegation of Sikh colleagues to discuss that very important case. As for the hon. Gentleman’s broader point about Denmark, it…17 Nov 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingThe use of hotels to house asylum seekers is a disgrace. As Members on both sides of the House know, it is a practice that became widespread long before this Government entered…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingThat point about wraparound support is very important as well. The point of using these sites is that we are able to provide local amenities and vital services for that cohort…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingMy hon. Friend tempts me, as he has tempted me on multiple occasions—this time to give him details on the sequence. I know of his vigour in closing hotels in his community. As I…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingWe have to work within the parameters of the contracts that we inherited from the Conservatives, but I can give the hon. Gentleman the assurance that we have reduced that bill by…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingMy hon. Friend has made an important point about the effectiveness of these sites. We have engaged with the local authorities, the health services, the police services and the…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingThe right hon. Lady has alighted on an important point. There is, of course, an option open to the Government: if we want to close the hotels, we can simply pull the lever of…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingI can give that clear message to my hon. Friend’s constituents form the Dispatch Box. We will close every single asylum hotel, as we committed ourselves to doing at the time of…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingI am grateful for those questions, and recognise the anger that the hon. Gentleman has conveyed. I am sorry that he heard in the way he did, and of course I will have that meeting…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingI have studied that report closely. There have been more than a thousand lessons learned from the previous Government’s attempts to solve this issue. We are taking those in hand…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingMy hon. Friend will know that in the spending review, £500 million was set aside for working with local government to try to identify those exact sites that she is talking about…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingWhat an optimistic effort by the hon. Gentleman! He invites us to believe that he and his colleagues have worked out in 14 months how to fix a system that they broke over a period…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingAs I have set out, we have had significant discussions with local authorities. They challenge our assumptions, and they challenge scale and location, as is always the case.…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingMy hon. Friend raises the crucial part of the equation. Over the past year, we have made significant inroads in our efforts to disrupt organised crime and the people who use this…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingI recognise the spirit with which the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues speak, and I share their zeal. Indeed, I think we can demonstrate it through our actions to speed up…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingThe reality is that the unit cost per night is broadly similar. The point is that we have to reduce the number of people in that accommodation. That is how we get value for the…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingThe hon. Member has raised a number of important questions. Of course we want to work with the local authority to ensure that the public are giving the information and the…29 Oct 2025HANSARD Asylum Seekers: MOD HousingI would start by saying that I share the hon. Lady’s spirit on that, and I believe that the British public do too. Whether it is regarding Syrian refugees, Homes for Ukraine, the…29 Oct 2025