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2,215 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDDraft Strikes (Minimum Service Levels: Border Security) Regulations 2023We would not introduce the draft regulations if we believed that we were in contravention of our legal or international obligations. We do not believe that to be the case. It is…27 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal Migration: Small BoatsWhen my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and I set out our comprehensive plan this time last year, it had many facets, one of which—an extremely important component of…27 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal Migration: Small BoatsOnce again, we heard absolutely nothing from the Opposition about what they would actually do. The sad truth is that they have complete disdain for the British public. They do not…27 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal Migration: Small BoatsSo far this year, we have reduced the number of these dangerous, illegal and completely unnecessary crossings by more than a third compared with last year, despite increases of…27 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal Migration: Small BoatsAll of us across the House abhor the deaths of individuals in the channel, and we are working closely with the French authorities to investigate the circumstances of those…27 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal Migration: Small BoatsWe do not encourage anyone, whatever their circumstances, to come across illegally in a small boat. That is a criminal offence and it should not be encouraged. We have supported…27 Nov 2023HANSARDAsylum Seeker AccommodationFor the first time since the small boats crisis began, we are now closing asylum hotels, thanks to the good work done to reduce arrivals by more than a third; to the delivery of…27 Nov 2023HANSARDDraft Immigration (Age Assessments) Regulations 2023As I think I have said, the Age Estimation Science Advisory Committee recommended that there was no precise way to estimate an individual’s age, but it did conclude that taking…20 Nov 2023HANSARDDraft Immigration (Age Assessments) Regulations 2023My hon. Friend speaks with great experience and is absolutely right: this change will improve the overall evidential standard of decisions, and will be particularly useful to weed…20 Nov 2023HANSARDDraft Immigration (Age Assessments) Regulations 2023If I may make a little progress, I will come back to the hon. Gentleman. The statutory instrument specifies scientific methods for the age-assessment process, including magnetic…20 Nov 2023HANSARDDraft Immigration (Age Assessments) Regulations 2023We do believe that this change will make a material difference; otherwise, we would not proceed with it. We have taken a great deal of time since the passing of the Nationality…20 Nov 2023HANSARDDraft Immigration (Age Assessments) Regulations 2023I will make some progress. Age assessment is, as I have described and our brief debate has already suggested, a complex and difficult task. Many unaccompanied young people…20 Nov 2023HANSARDDraft Immigration (Age Assessments) Regulations 2023I will come to that in my wider remarks, but the first thing to say is that what we are proposing is not instead of the existing Merton process but in addition to it. That is an…20 Nov 2023HANSARDDraft Immigration (Age Assessments) Regulations 2023I do not have those figures. Having done this job for more than a year now, I have never come across any instances—20 Nov 2023HANSARDDraft Immigration (Age Assessments) Regulations 2023I am pleased to wind up this short debate. I will answer as many of the questions as possible. I will begin with the points made by the hon. Member for Glasgow South West. I…20 Nov 2023HANSARDDraft Immigration (Age Assessments) Regulations 2023I am not going to give way to the hon. Gentleman, although I was grateful for his well-informed remarks today and it was right that he made them, because this is an important…20 Nov 2023HANSARDDraft Immigration (Age Assessments) Regulations 2023As Members would expect, we have given thought to how we will operationalise the plan, and there are different ways in which one could do that. We have not yet set out a detailed…20 Nov 2023HANSARDDraft Immigration (Age Assessments) Regulations 2023I think I should probably—20 Nov 2023HANSARDDraft Immigration (Age Assessments) Regulations 2023I do agree that the methods are well rehearsed and have been used by other European countries, including ones that we would respect in the way they handle such issues. In fact,…20 Nov 2023HANSARDDraft Immigration (Age Assessments) Regulations 2023I will take one last intervention, but I do not want to delay the Committee, because we may be about to vote in the House.20 Nov 2023