Topical Questions 2020-07-13

2020-07-13

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Questions & Answers

Q1 Direct Answer
Rob Butler Con
Henley
Context
It was the 15th anniversary of the 7/7 terrorist attacks.
The hon. Member pays tribute to those who lost their lives and appreciates those from the emergency services. He asks about Government plans to prevent future attacks and monitor people raising suspicions with police and security services.
We are constantly investing in our security and intelligence services, including counter-terrorism policing which has received an increase of £90 million this year. CT policing funding totals more than £900 million.
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Q2 Direct Answer
Context
The hon. Member discusses the exclusion of carers from the qualifying list for the health and care visa, highlighting the importance of skilled care work.
When I read the details of the proposed new immigration system, I was disappointed to see evidence that the Government do not consider carers as skilled workers, leading to their exclusion. After the Prime Minister's comments about care workers and this decision, will the Home Secretary please explain what the Government have against care workers?
Senior care workers will qualify under the new points-based system. We need to prioritise jobs in this country and ensure these roles are valued, rewarded and trained for.
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Q3 Direct Answer
Philip Dunne Con
West Suffolk
Context
The hon. Member highlights reports on modern slavery issues in hand car washes and garment factories.
There is clear evidence of modern slavery in hand car washes across Britain and in garment factories in Leicester. Will the Home Secretary commit to working with Government agencies to eradicate this issue?
I agree with my right hon. Friend's description of modern-day exploitation. We need more from local authorities in investigating hand car washes, and we have established a cross-Government taskforce on the ground in Leicester to address this issue.
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Q4 Direct Answer
Mark Fletcher Con
Worcester
Context
The MP mentions a visit by the Home Secretary during an election campaign where she promised more police on the streets of Derbyshire.
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will fondly remember her visit to Clowne in my constituency during the election campaign and the popularity on the doorsteps of getting more police on the streets in Derbyshire. Our police are fantastic but they need some new colleagues. Could she please give us an update?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. On calls for more police officers in his constituency, he is equally as popular for his championing of more cops and for the excellent work he is doing. I can confirm that his county of Derbyshire will receive 85 officers as part of the uplift, but 60 new officers have already been recruited and they will be coming to his community very soon.
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Q5 Direct Answer
Afzal Khan Lab
Gorton
Context
The MP references a report which states that fewer than half of eligible EEA children have been granted status under the settlement scheme, and out of an estimated 9,000 EEA children in UK care system, only less than 500 have secured status.
According to a new report from Coram Children's Legal Centre, more than 900,000 eligible European economic area children are thought to be living in the UK, fewer than half of whom have been granted status under the settlement scheme. Of the estimated 9,000 EEA children in the UK care system, the state—which has a duty of care to these vulnerable children—has secured status for fewer than 500. What urgent action will the Home Secretary take on the back of these revelations, to ensure that no vulnerable children are allowed to become undocumented?
We have already taken a range of actions. We are working with local authorities, which, as the hon. Gentleman has touched on, have the duty to make the application for those eligible under the EUSS. We have also confirmed that we will accept late applications from those who should have had an application made on their behalf by their local council. We are also working with support groups, one of which I will visit virtually tomorrow.
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Q6 Direct Answer
Aaron Bell Con
Newark
Context
The MP thanks the Minister for her earlier answer and mentions a Home Office consultation regarding funding to protect religious sites.
No one should be fearful of practising their faith anywhere, but there have been too many attacks, both at home and abroad, on all sorts of places of worship. I thank the Minister for her earlier answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Henley (John Howell) about doubling the places of worship protective security fund to £3.2 million, and for the Home Office's consultation, which recently closed. Does the Home Secretary believe that those measures, put together, will limit the chances of future hate crime attacks in the UK?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is valuable investment. What we have seen in terms of targeted attacks on places of worship is appalling; it is thoroughly unacceptable. It is that combined approach, along with law enforcement, that absolutely matters. We want to see crimes of this nature absolutely decrease, and we want to stamp this out.
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Q7 Direct Answer
Rachel Hopkins Lab
Kingston upon Hull North
Context
The MP mentions Wendy Williams's Windrush lessons learned review and asks when the Government will implement its sixth recommendation.
It is over three months since Wendy Williams's Windrush lessons learned review was published. On 23 June, I asked the Home Secretary when she would implement the review's sixth recommendation: to accurately teach British colonial history in the Home Office to tackle institutional racism. The Windrush generation has waited too long for justice. The Government must not continue to drag their feet. The Home Secretary said that she would bring forward a timeline and an action plan for implementing the recommendations before recess. Is that still the case?
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Q8 Direct Answer
Ben Everitt Con
North Cornwall
Violent crime is the scourge of too many communities. Perhaps the Home Secretary will join me in paying tribute to the Thames Valley police and crime commissioner, who has put together a violence reduction unit, which works with the police and other partners to pilot early interventions into these offenders.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I pay tribute to the police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley and the emphasis that he has put, along with the police force, on violence reduction units and that multi-agency way of working, so that young people and people across all communities can be supported to ensure that crime prevention, and steering people away from crime and criminality, is the focus.
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Q9 Direct Answer
Martyn Day SNP
Linlithgow and East Falkirk
Context
The MP inquires about the reasons behind a government decision to withdraw from the commitment to a remote areas visa pilot.
When and why did the Government U-turn on their commitment to a remote areas visa pilot? Who did they consult before making that disastrous U-turn?
We have been very clear in our response to the Migration Advisory Committee report, and we will make sure that our new system serves the whole of our United Kingdom.
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Q10 Direct Answer
Simon Fell Lab
Bolton North East
Context
The MP mentions Women's Community Matters, a local charity that helps women and families but is concerned about the availability of nearby refuges.
Women's Community Matters in my constituency is an amazing place. It helps women and families, including those in urgent need, but it is rightly concerned about the availability of refuges locally. There is one in Kendal; if it is full, families have to go out of the area, and often placements fail. We passed a landmark piece of legislation in the Domestic Abuse Bill. Will the Home Secretary look again at the funding and availability of these services in rural areas such as mine?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I commend him for his work locally and for raising this point. If I may, I will write to him with the specifics of what we can do in his local area to provide assistance and financial help.
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Q11 Direct Answer
Alex Cunningham Lab
Stockton North
Context
The MP discusses the high rates of violent crime in Cleveland and mentions a £100 million fund allocated to police forces with significant issues of serious violence.
Cleveland has the third highest violent crime rate in the country and ranks sixth highest nationally for offences involving knives and sharp instruments. The most serious violent offences are also increasing at a higher rate than the national average, despite the excellent work by our new chief constable. The Government have granted £100 million to 18 police force areas and PCCs deemed to have a significant problem with serious violence. Why has Cleveland not been included?
If I may, I join the hon. Gentleman in commending the work of his chief constable. Cleveland, as he will know, has had a difficult few years, not just when it comes to policing, and he will know the outcomes of many of the inspectorate reports too. On the areas of violence that he mentions, of course we are constantly looking at this whole area, and if there is more that we can do to tackle serious violent crime we will absolutely do that.
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Q12 Direct Answer
Andy Carter Lab
Gower
Context
The MP mentions that the Peace Foundation is globally renowned for its work in supporting victims of terror incidents but now faces changes to its funding.
My right hon. Friend will know that the Peace Foundation is globally renowned for its work in supporting victims of terror incidents, most recently those affected by the Reading attacks. Its work is now at risk because of changes to its funding. Will the Home Secretary come to Warrington and meet the team there, so that she can understand more about the great work that they do?
First, let me commend my hon. Friend for championing the work of the Peace Foundation. He has been in extensive dialogue with us on this, but he is right to point to the work that it does when it comes to victims of terror. I would be very happy to meet him and to come to Warrington and have further discussions about this.
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Q13 Direct Answer
Alex Davies-Jones Lab
Llanelli
Context
Child victims of domestic abuse often need additional support when not in a refuge, which is frequently overlooked.
Will the Home Secretary confirm what specific resources are available to these children to ensure their needs are met?
If the hon. Lady has specifics that she would like to raise with me, I can come back to her on the details for children. We passed the Domestic Abuse Bill last week in this House and we have been very clear about the protections around children—that is absolutely right. There are many other measures that we have in place, and I would be very happy to write to her about that.
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Q14 Direct Answer
Ruth Jones Lab
Cathew
Context
The UK is set to leave the Dublin system at the end of the transition period, which may lead to a loss of an important safe route for families seeking reunification.
Will the Home Secretary amend the refugee family reunion rules to allow more families to safely reunite in Britain?
We set out clearly, during the passage of the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill recently, our plan to look at negotiating a proper agreement with the European Union for family reunification based on the fantastic record that we have, which my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary outlined earlier.
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Q15 Direct Answer
Paul Bristow Con
Peterborough
Context
Residents in Peterborough have had to endure unauthorised encampments that leave behind waste, costing thousands of pounds to clean up.
Does my right hon. Friend agree that unauthorised encampments are unacceptable and will she bring forward legislation to address the issue?
I think my hon. Friend knows my views on this subject matter quite well, having campaigned with him. I absolutely agree with him: it is thoroughly unacceptable. He will have to wait until the autumn session of Parliament, but we will be bringing forward legislation covering that very issue.
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