Contributions
1,321 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Twelfth sitting)We share the same goal, which is identifying victims. Unfortunately, every single trafficking organisation that has got in touch with us has said that putting these hard and fast…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Twelfth sitting)The shadow Minister has raised lots of sensible questions. I have one other brief question for the Minister, on new clause 28. He may not be able to answer it today, but I would…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Twelfth sitting)As I said in my intervention on the Minister, the decision has to be based on whether there is a reasonable prospect of imminent removal, and included in that is the question of…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Eleventh sitting)I take a small crumb of comfort from the fact that the Minister does seem to be evidencing some discomfort about how the clause is drafted. He is trying to reassure us by saying…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Eleventh sitting)On the question of legality, Government amendment 82 is pretty extraordinary, because it seems to remove a restriction on the power of the Secretary of State so that she is…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Twelfth sitting)I am still not sure that the Minister has addressed a fundamental point here. The worry is that if somebody genuinely is a victim of trafficking—I hate even having to describe…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Eleventh sitting)Has the Minister done an analysis of whether there are already criminal offences that cover the scenarios he has just outlined?28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Eleventh sitting)The Minister has slightly skirted over the most fundamental point in all this, which is that lots of refugees who come to seek asylum in this country will be criminalised by the…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Eleventh sitting)The Minister is at his most reassuring when he tells us, basically, “Don’t worry; we are not really going to apply the full provisions of the clause.” The key point is that none…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Eleventh sitting)I wish briefly to associate myself with everything the shadow Minister just said; he covered pretty much all the ground that I would have covered. This ridiculous clause tramples…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Eleventh sitting)Thank you very much indeed, Sir Roger. I will speak in support of amendment 188 and against the clause. To respond to what the Minister said, and to build on one of my…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Twelfth sitting)I am confused. I cannot see the benefit of late disclosure if the conclusive grounds process is ongoing. What does the amendment incentivise?28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Twelfth sitting)The Minister did seem to accept that all those factors can be taken into account already if they are relevant to the question of whether the person is going to be removed in a…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Twelfth sitting)Clause 46 brings us on to part 4 of the Bill, which relates to modern slavery. I will make a few general points in this debate, which will save me from having to repeat them in…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Twelfth sitting)We will go away and study what the Minister has said. I am still confused about the interaction between the two processes. The amendment was designed to seek an explanation, and I…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Twelfth sitting)I beg to move amendment 170, in clause 46, page 41, line 41, leave out “, before the specified date,”. This amendment would remove the hard deadline for compliance for persons who…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Twelfth sitting)I beg to move amendment 174, in clause 47, page 42, line 23, leave out “or on behalf of”. This amendment would exclude statements made on behalf of a slavery or trafficking…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Twelfth sitting)I am grateful to the Minister for his response, which I will go away and consider. In the meantime, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Twelfth sitting)I will be brief, given what I said in support of the amendment. All the anti-trafficking organisations that got in touch with us—60 or so—said that this clause could cause huge…28 Oct 2021HANSARDNationality and Borders Bill (Twelfth sitting)The Minister referred to abusing the process but he has not said much about what evidence there is for this problem. What is the scale of it? Much like statelessness, perhaps he…28 Oct 2021