Contributions
1,438 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationI will answer in my own way. The Conservative party allowed channel crossings to be industrialised. We are now facing a very sophisticated set of international supply chains that…20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationNo. The previous Government did not do that either, for safeguarding and public safety reasons, as the hon. Gentleman knows.20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationThe Conservative party allowed—20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationI agree that it is about doing the day job effectively and efficiently, and if it cannot be done effectively and efficiently, redesigning it so that it can be, rather than having…20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationI do not agree that allowing asylum seekers to work while their claim is being considered will not be a pull factor. The way to deal with this issue is to have a fast, fair and…20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationWe are prioritising getting the system up and running again so that we can have throughput in our asylum accommodation estate. The fact that the system had ground to a complete…20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationThat was quite a rant. It made certain assumptions that are completely untrue, including that the Rwanda scheme would have worked. We already know that it cost £700 million to…20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationI strongly agree with my hon. Friend: we inherited a system that was at a standstill. There was a backlog of 90,000 cases involving 116,000 people, and the law would not allow…20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationAs a senior member of the last few Administrations, the right hon. Gentleman will know that we inherited an asylum system that had been ground to a standstill by the previous…20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationThis Government inherited an asylum system under unprecedented strain, with many thousands stuck in a backlog without their asylum claims processed. The Home Secretary has taken…20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationI welcome any progress, but I also recognise the seasonality of arrivals. Unlike the last Government, I am not here to tell the House that there are any quick or easy solutions to…20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationWe certainly are having to get the system back up and running from a virtual standing start, as the hon. Gentleman rightly points out. That means that we have been able, as I…20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationI thank my hon. Friend for his observations. Clearly, we begin from the situation that we found when we came into office. In this case, the system was in chaos, with a Rwanda…20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationI am happy to check out the report, and I will write to my hon. Friend.20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationThere is a safeguarding and safety issue going in both directions. I see reports of asylum seeker service users being attacked and injured, as well as of attacks in the other…20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationI agree. Of course, the right hon. Member for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge (Sir Gavin Williamson) knows only too well that the same hotel was open from 21 November 2022 to 8…20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationI certainly do agree.20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationOur manifesto commitment was not to close all asylum hotels within four months of being elected.20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationYes, but it is tough and difficult, and to be successful, it requires international co-operation across borders operationally, politically and diplomatically, and we are doing…20 Nov 2024HANSARD Asylum Seekers: Hotel AccommodationWe are working on it, but, as the hon. Gentleman knows, we have inherited a huge mess with large backlogs that are not easy to clear.20 Nov 2024