Contributions
2,215 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDAsylum Applications: BacklogWe provide funding for every asylum seeker who is in a local authority’s care of about £3,500, and we work closely with local authorities through the mandatory dispersal system to…06 Feb 2023HANSARDAsylum Applications: BacklogWe have committed to clearing the backlog of asylum applications over this year and to introducing a faster, more productive system. Since making that commitment at the end of…06 Feb 2023HANSARDRefugees: AccommodationIf the hon. Lady has specific allegations, will she please bring them to me and I will be happy to investigate them? The answer to this issue, in Scotland as across the country,…06 Feb 2023HANSARDRefugees: AccommodationThe Home Office is reviewing a range of options and having exploratory conversations with a number of local authorities. If the local authority, Sefton Council, does not wish to…06 Feb 2023HANSARDRefugees: AccommodationI am not aware of that site, but I am very happy to look into it and revert to the right hon. Gentleman. The mandatory dispersal model we are pursuing is one of agreement with…06 Feb 2023HANSARDRefugees: AccommodationThe Home Secretary and I are as frustrated as my hon. Friend that too many people are staying in hotels, costing too much money to the taxpayers of this country. We want to ensure…06 Feb 2023HANSARDRefugees: AccommodationThe hon. Gentleman is right to celebrate the good work that we have done in this country to support people who came here from Ukraine. That has been the largest humanitarian visa…06 Feb 2023HANSARDRefugees: AccommodationOur first duty is to break the business model of the people-smuggling gangs, stop the boats and reduce the number of those coming to this country illegally. Alongside that, we are…06 Feb 2023HANSARDImmigration Fees for Healthcare WorkersThe hon. Lady makes a valid point. Of course, we want to retain as many NHS professionals as possible, whether they grew up in the UK or have come subsequently from overseas.…30 Jan 2023HANSARDImmigration Fees for Healthcare WorkersI am happy to give way, but I should then draw my remarks to a close.30 Jan 2023HANSARDImmigration Fees for Healthcare WorkersIt was for that reason that we took the decision to apply a 50% discount to the initial visa fee, taking into account the broader benefits for the public sector and the taxpayer…30 Jan 2023HANSARDImmigration Fees for Healthcare WorkersAlthough I appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s point, I do think it is an important to clarify that no one listening to or reading this debate should feel that they will need to leave…30 Jan 2023HANSARDImmigration Fees for Healthcare WorkersI will come to that point in a moment, because I would like to answer it directly. We have given it careful thought and responded to it in recent years. The petition rightly notes…30 Jan 2023HANSARDImmigration Fees for Healthcare WorkersThe hon. Gentleman makes an emotive point, but the reality is that we must fund our immigration and borders system somehow. We can either do that through general taxation, the…30 Jan 2023HANSARDImmigration Fees for Healthcare WorkersI would be more than happy to say something on that now in answer to both the hon. Member and the hon. Member for Delyn (Rob Roberts). As I understand it, the Home Office is…30 Jan 2023HANSARDImmigration Fees for Healthcare WorkersI am grateful to the hon. Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi), who opened the debate with a characteristically constructive tone, and to the Petitions Committee for sponsoring the…30 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenUnder-18s do receive access to education. Clearly, that is best provided when they are able to be in a local authority setting, which is why we want to get young people out of the…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenThe hon. Lady may know the recent history of this issue, which is that previously young people were primarily placed in Kent and it took legal responsibility. The numbers arriving…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenThose are the hon. Gentleman’s words, not mine. We want to distinguish between people who come to this country fearing persecution or fleeing war or human rights abuses, and those…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenTo clarify, I did not say that we expect the local authorities that host these hotels to provide such services. I said that while individuals are in bridging hotels, there may be…24 Jan 2023