MV “Empire Windrush”

Debate between Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne and Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Thursday 21st June 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

The noble Lord is, again, a marvellous example in our national life of what many of Caribbean descent have succeeded in doing in this country. I too had the great privilege of meeting the Windrush survivor—very few people who were on that boat are still alive, but he was very much alive and it was great to see him in Speaker’s House. The noble Lord will know that compensation is being made available for some of the issues that arose relating to Windrush, about which we have all been outraged. The Home Secretary has made it very clear that he is also looking at a hardship fund, in response to a point that the right honourable Member David Lammy raised in the other place.

[Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (Con)]

Would the Minister agree that, since the Windrush generation has made such a unique contribution to British life—I speak as someone who succeeded with the very first Windrush case approximately 10 years ago, which gave me some astonishment; when other cases followed I was amazed—and given their tremendous success, particularly with the hostility they faced at the very beginning, which I recall well, because they came from a different place, is it possible to use their skills and experience to broaden British tolerance? We are, after all, approximately the most tolerant nation on the globe, but given the very great variety of our nation we can always use more understanding of tolerance. This generation and its descendants are uniquely positioned. They faced hostility, overcame it and made huge contributions.

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right. There are many issues that we still have to deal with. We should not be too complacent. We have a great record on tolerance, but the Prime Minister has been very keen, for example, to proceed with the race disparity audit. We are considering responses on consultation to an integration Green Paper. But it is absolutely right that we celebrate the magnificent contribution of this community. Later on today I will be in Tilbury; tomorrow I will be in Lambeth. Activities are going on around the country to mark Windrush Day this week and certainly tomorrow on Windrush Day itself.

Humanitarian Aid: Tikrit

Debate between Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne and Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Tuesday 10th March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

I thank the right reverend Prelate for his kind comments. An interagency needs assessment has already started—it started yesterday—being led by the UN. Initial estimates suggest that up to 4,000 newly displaced families are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The United Nations, through Lise Grande, the co-ordinator for Iraq, has fast-tracked a strategic response plan, which is committed to $150 million-worth of aid. We are hoping for continued discussions in the fringes of the World Bank meeting in April, once there is a clearer assessment of what the needs are.

[Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (LD)]

Does the Minister agree that the security situation in Tikrit and the surrounding regions, getting close to Mosul, is one of outstanding difficulty in allowing either United Nations agencies or the international NGOs that DfID funds to work at all? I was in fact in that region last week, as the Minister may know. Will Her Majesty’s Government consider looking at the small, specialist agencies, some of which are Iraqi, that can and do work there? I chair one myself—the AMAR International Charitable Foundation. These agencies are there, they are on the ground; they are where the international agencies cannot go in safety and, therefore, do not allow their teams to go; and yet there is no access to international funding for these agencies. Does the Minister have any thoughts as to how this situation could be corrected?

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

I thank my noble friend for her efforts in Iraq, of which I was well aware. It is true to say that the UN is leading in terms of the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, and the small agencies are certainly a part of that. The security situation is very sensitive, but those working there—and I pay tribute to them—are well aware of the concerns. There is evidence that the aid that is being processed and going through to Iraq is reaching the people that it needs to reach.