Contributions
1,459 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Sixth sitting)I am grateful to the hon. Members for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East and for Argyll and Bute for tabling new clauses 13, 36 and 37, which provide the Committee with…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Sixth sitting)I thank the hon. Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East for tabling new clause 12 and the hon. Member for Halifax for tabling new clause 42, both of which relate…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Sixth sitting)I think it is safe to say that the list will not be an exhaustive one. There will need to be an element of discretion as we cannot list every single possible situation that might…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Sixth sitting)It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Mr Stringer. These new clauses give us an important opportunity to consider the position of EEA citizens—those…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Fifth sitting)I am only too happy to do so and to put the Government’s thanks to him on the record. He provided an inspiration and a ministry that will be remembered for a very long time, and…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Fifth sitting)No, I have given way many times. As we heard in the evidence sessions, the simplistic argument saying that Scotland is different from England for political reasons ignores the…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Fifth sitting)We engage strongly with partners, particularly our high-compliance Scottish universities that are sponsors of tier 4 visas. We very much welcome the contributions they make, as…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Fifth sitting)I genuinely thank the hon. Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East for tabling this amendment. He always speaks with real passion, even when we disagree, as we did…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Fifth sitting)The first thing that our immigration policy will do is provide a points-based system on a global basis, based on RQF3 and on having a shortage occupation list. Businesses in…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Fifth sitting)My hon. Friend, as always, hits the nail straight on the head with his arguments. Yes, we had many demands for devolution of policy, but then the Scottish Government did not want…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Fifth sitting)Perhaps the point has been made, then, that this is not about having an immigration system based on a council area, but about having one for an area smaller than that of a…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Sixth sitting)My right hon. Friend hits the nail on the head, and that is particularly true in an era of modern computing, scanning and high-quality printers available at home. We used to rely…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Sixth sitting)Again, I appreciate the points that are being made, but a secure, easy-to-share digital status does what it says on the tin. More and more countries are heading towards that, and…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Sixth sitting)I have great respect for the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute, but I think people outside the House listening to the debate will wonder whether he has looked at today’s worrying…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Sixth sitting)Many people will be surprised to hear the hon. Gentleman suggest that one of the issues that the UK is facing at the moment is a shortage of labour. Sadly, we are seeing the…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Fifth sitting)I am grateful to the hon. Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East and his hon. Friends for tabling the amendment and new clause. Having said that, there was a…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Fifth sitting)We made it clear in the policy statement that we put out in February that we were not planning a remote areas pilot. Again, the thing that we must focus on is that many of the…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Fifth sitting)A lot would depend on the nature of the agreement. If it is part of a wider treaty, we may well see further legislation. However, our understanding is that if we can achieve…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Fifth sitting)To be clear, we will continue with our position of respecting devolution in areas of social security, hence the respect we have shown to the Scottish Government by consulting them…16 Jun 2020HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill (Fifth sitting)I thank hon. Members for their contributions. On the powers under clause 5, the Government have been given clear advice that they are necessary, particularly when we look at the…16 Jun 2020