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3,654 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDMigrants: Channel CrossingsOn the last question first, I will try to give the noble Baroness details. I am not sure that I will be able to obtain the figures, but I will certainly try. She made a point…08 Jan 2019HANSARDMigrants: Channel CrossingsMy Lords, I am not concerned that, when we leave the European Union on 29 March, we will in any way resile from our obligations to give refuge in this country to people who need…08 Jan 2019HANSARDMigrants: Channel CrossingsMy Lords, when noble Lords make this point, I am never quite sure whether they feel that asylum seekers should claim in the first safe country or that they should then go on to…08 Jan 2019HANSARDMigrants: Channel CrossingsI am coming to the noble Lord’s point about Dublin. We have resettlement schemes for people in the MENA region but, if we have a deal, Dublin III will apply during the transition…08 Jan 2019HANSARDMigrant CrossingsI refer the noble Lord to the humanitarian assistance that we are giving the people in the MENA region and our commitment to resettling 20,000 refugees before 2020. He may laugh,…07 Jan 2019HANSARDMigrant CrossingsThe answer is that I do not know but I know that we are working very closely with our French partners.07 Jan 2019HANSARDMigrant CrossingsI am sure that I cannot point to where the truth lies at this point at the Dispatch Box. First, do not believe everything that you read in the papers. The truth is that the UK is…07 Jan 2019HANSARDMigrant CrossingsThe Government are totally aware of the consequences of a small number of migrants coming across the channel in dinghies suddenly escalating into something much bigger, hence the…07 Jan 2019HANSARDMigrant CrossingsAlso, the safe and legal route to refuge is to seek asylum in the first country in which you arrive in Europe. That is the safest route. We do not want to encourage people to…07 Jan 2019HANSARDMigrant CrossingsPerhaps I will just bat that to the Foreign Office.07 Jan 2019HANSARDMigrant CrossingsI understand my noble friend’s point, but of course it was not so much the quantum of the number of people who arrived but the sudden upsurge of arrivals, and my right honourable…07 Jan 2019HANSARDMigration: International StudentsThe noble Lord might like to know that the number of student visas granted to students from India, a country he often asks me about, has increased by 33%, so there are certainly…07 Jan 2019HANSARDMigration: International StudentsWell, my Lords, to keep abreast of the international growth figures, I think we should measure our success by the number of students applying for visas and coming here to study.…07 Jan 2019HANSARDMigration: International StudentsMy Lords, the independent Office for National Statistics, which follows best international practice, produces the migration statistics. The Government do not seek to influence…07 Jan 2019HANSARDMigration: International StudentsTo answer that question, look at the number of Indian students who are not just applying for but succeeding in getting student visas. How others see us, in terms of how Indian…07 Jan 2019HANSARDMigrant CrossingsI want to assure my noble friend that this measure is not permanent. It is to deal with a sudden upsurge in the influx of people crossing the channel to come to this country. It…07 Jan 2019HANSARDMigrant CrossingsFrance is bound by the same European provisions as us and by the 1951 convention. France is a safe country, whatever the people choosing to make the journey from France to here…07 Jan 2019HANSARDMigrant CrossingsI thank my noble friend for his supportive words. Of course, we all recall what happened with Operation Sophia. We are working with the French because they feel exactly the same…07 Jan 2019HANSARDMigrant CrossingsI have to confess to the noble Lord that I do not know of this boat off the coast of Malta, but if he will indulge me, I will get him an answer in writing.07 Jan 2019HANSARDMigrant CrossingsWork is most certainly being done to understand the dynamics of what is going on. I know that talks are ongoing to try to resolve the situation.07 Jan 2019