Homelessness: Rough Sleepers
Debate between Baroness Hussein-Ece and Baroness Hanham
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, useless data are useless; helpful data are helpful. Yes, we actually do collect figures about homelessness, which are important data. Otherwise, we would not know how many people there are or where they come from. We cannot start reconnecting people if we do not have the data to know where they should go or whether they need additional help. We do know the hotspots across the country for rough sleeping, and I am sure that the noble Lord would agree that that is a good use of information.
Baroness Hussein-Ece
My Lords, young people leaving care are still sadly overrepresented among rough sleepers. I saw two young boys the other day in the freezing cold slumped in a shop corner in the Holloway Road in Islington, looking totally destitute. Will the Minister tell us what is being done to try to tackle this problem, which has been going on for so many years?
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, the noble Baroness will know that for children under or between 14 and 18 there are very fast services to make sure that they are not left on the street. Centrepoint, Depaul UK and St Basils are particularly good at finding them, so anyone within that age group should not be on the street for more than a very short time. We know that there are problems for slightly older people—those between 18 and 25—who make up one in 10 of rough sleepers. Again my noble friend is correct: some of those, at least, are people who have left care. It is one of the important aspects with care now that we make sure that they do have a future and somewhere to go and do not end up on the streets of London.
Disability: Black and Minority-ethnic Disabled People
Debate between Baroness Hussein-Ece and Baroness Hanham
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, each local authority can decide what translation facilities it needs for its communities. Some require material to be published in their own language, but very many others just need to ensure that that material is available. It is, of course, necessary now for local authorities and health authorities to ensure that they have access to interpreting services as and when they need them.
Baroness Hussein-Ece
My Lords, I also welcome this very important report, which has shone a light on the desperate need of nearly 1 million people from black and ethnic-minority communities—a growing community. I want to press my noble friend the Minister a bit more. Given that demographics mean that this cohort of people is growing fast, will she consider developing a national race equality strategy, which would create a joint implementation plan for these two strategies, to be led by the Office for Disability Issues and the Government Equalities Office, to ensure that these people do not fall between the cracks and can access services?
Multiculturalism
Debate between Baroness Hussein-Ece and Baroness Hanham
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, “ism” or not, the word is in the vernacular one way or another. I do not think it matters whether it is an “ism”; it matters what we mean about trying to ensure that people are supported in their own cultures so that, by definition, they are made—not made, but supported—to integrate into this community. We are perhaps still, despite what has happened recently, one of the most tolerant societies. We have one of the largest numbers of nationalities living here and, however one defines it or whatever one says—multicultural or multiculturalism—we know what we mean and understand that what we mean is trying to provide a homogeneous community.
Public Disorder: Eviction from Social Housing
Debate between Baroness Hussein-Ece and Baroness Hanham(13 years, 2 months ago)
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Baroness Hanham
My Lords, I think there would be a general view among the public that those who abuse social tenancies by whatever they do should not expect to continue to enjoy the privilege of those tenancies. It is already the case that those who are subject to anti-social behaviour orders and commit crimes within their locality are subject to eviction. The consultation on this will be a discussion of whether to extend the current powers. The noble Lord asked about the circumstances of families and children. The people who do this will be intentionally homeless, but local authorities will have the same responsibilities as they have currently.
Baroness Hussein-Ece
Is my noble friend aware that only 8 per cent of people in England are council tenants? Does she think it is fair or just that council tenants accused—some have just been accused and not even convicted—of riot-related offences should be selectively punished? Is she also aware that if and when these families are evicted, they will have to live somewhere? Councils will have a duty to house them, which may cost more public money?
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, I think there is probably a difference between people who are paying for their own accommodation and those who are being cared for or given accommodation by local authorities at a subsidised rent. As I said in my previous answer, this is not a matter that can be dealt with at the moment because the law would have to be changed to enable people convicted of anti-social behaviour or a crime committed not within their local area to be evicted. We have seen some spectacularly dreadful sights in our country recently and it is only right that we should be able to consider whether there are other ways of dealing with this. That is what is being done.
English Language Learning
Debate between Baroness Hussein-Ece and Baroness Hanham
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, the thrust of the Question was about people learning English so that they could integrate into our country, not about whether the education system should ensure that we can speak languages elsewhere. I am conscious that throughout the House someone will speak anything from Mandarin to German to French; we would have a handful of interpreters if we asked for them.
Baroness Hussein-Ece
My Lords, I declare an interest as someone who learnt English as a second language at school. Can my noble friend comment on the impact these proposals will have on women and low-paid workers who will no longer be eligible for English classes? How does it sit with the constant call for people from ethnic minorities to integrate if they cannot access classes to learn English?
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, people not covered by the full ESOL subsidy will still be subsidised by 50 per cent for the course. I am sure that, where colleges of further education and training organisations identify people specifically able to go into work and learn in their communities, the other 50 per cent will be found. I appreciate that there are members of communities who have come to live in this country who find it difficult to access, but I am bound to say that there has always been that difficulty.
Anti-Semitism
Debate between Baroness Hussein-Ece and Baroness Hanham
Baroness Hanham
Yes, of course, I confirm our support for that. All education must now ensure that any sense of hatred, any antagonism to any religion, is ruled out.
Baroness Hussein-Ece
My Lords, I declare an interest as the lead commissioner on religion and relations for the Equality and Human Rights Commission. We all agree that it is completely abhorrent that anyone should be intimidated on the grounds of their race, colour, gender, sexuality or religion. That applies also to famous fashion designers. The trust report shows that there are spikes or rises in anti-Semitic incidents that are related to tensions in the Middle East. With current events in mind, will the Minister please set out what is being done to ensure that communities, particularly those of different faiths, are brought together to ensure that we promote the British tradition of tolerance and understanding?