Calais: Child Refugees

Baroness Sharples Excerpts

Tuesday 13th December 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, if a child is in local authority care, they will be looked after as if they were one of our own. As I said, the cost of that local authority care will be met. Regarding the other funding the noble Baroness referred to, I cannot speak for further budgetary rounds, but it is certainly being committed to for the moment.

[Baroness Sharples (Con)]

Can my noble friend say whether all these children have family here, or are they looking to be adopted?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

Children who meet the criteria under the Dublin regulation will have family here. Those who have come here under Section 67 of the Immigration Act will not necessarily have family and so will be unaccompanied.

National Identity Cards

Baroness Sharples Excerpts

Wednesday 16th November 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, the noble Lord mentioned a number of areas in which there is fraud and counterfeiting. I am sure that in terms of identity cards, it is no different in trying to obtain them fraudulently.

[Baroness Sharples (Con)]

Is my noble friend aware that I twice asked this Question of different Governments many years ago and received exactly the same Answer as was received today?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I think that is probably because the Government have not changed their position on this subject.

Asylum Seekers

Baroness Sharples Excerpts

Tuesday 1st November 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The noble Baroness made a valid point the other day, as she does now. I take the opportunity to thank local authorities for their good will and their efforts to accommodate asylum-seeking children, many of whom have arrived in recent weeks. On funding, as part of the safeguarding strategy we have committed to regularly reviewing the funding for the support and care of unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children, working closely with the LGA and local authorities. We have increased funding from just over £34,500 to £41,000 a year for those aged up to 16. Those rates underpin the introduction of the national transfer scheme.

[Baroness Sharples (Con)]

How many languages are involved in the integration of refugees?

Calais: Refugee Children

Baroness Sharples Excerpts

Wednesday 7th September 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

As to whether I will go with the noble Baroness to Calais, I think that I might have to consult the department first. However, if it is allowable, I will certainly accompany her. I fully expect that the information I have been given on the number of reception centres is correct but I will double-check that and, if it is any different, I will let her know. There is some accommodation specifically for women and children at the Jules ferry centre and heated containers have been provided for up to 1,500 people. I also understand that alternative accommodation has been taken up by 5,000 people. However, I will look into the specific points that the noble Baroness makes about people not being able to get on to buses and having to queue at night.

[Baroness Sharples (Con)]

Will my noble friend tell the House whether there is concern that of pupils entering schools at the moment, 16% have English as a second language compared with only 6% a year ago?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

That is why the Government are providing £10 million to help these children learn English.

National Identity Cards

Baroness Sharples Excerpts

Tuesday 5th July 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Keen of Elie]

The Government certainly agree that the answer is not the introduction of identity cards.

[Baroness Sharples (Con)]

What is the estimated cost of identity cards?

[Lord Keen of Elie]

The estimated costs of following through on the original proposals, which began under consultation in 2003, were enacted in 2006 and implemented in 2009, were estimated in 2010 at just over £840 million.

Immigration Officers

Baroness Sharples Excerpts

Monday 4th July 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My noble friend raises two important points. On the first, the UK is committed as a member of the European Union until the decision is taken formally to invoke the appropriate articles, but in our future negotiations with our European partners and with the world in general it will be important that we look at the skills requirements of the nation to ensure that we fulfil them. On my noble friend’s second question, it would be remiss of me at this point to start changing immigration policy, but, as I always do, I have listened to him with interest and will take back his comments.

[Baroness Sharples (Con)]

Can my noble friend say what help can be given to British citizens living in Europe? I have a daughter and two grandchildren living in Spain; they have been there 22 years.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The advice is very clear. We remain members of the European Union and nothing changes. I know that this issue has come up in your Lordships’ House previously and I shall repeat an Answer to an Urgent Question on it later today. It is important to remember in the new world that we find ourselves in that Britain always has been, and will remain, a nation which is compassionate in welcoming people from around the world. Certainly, that will be the basis of any discussions with European partners and nations beyond Europe.

Syrian Refugees: Settlement in the UK

Baroness Sharples Excerpts

Monday 7th December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

I have two thoughts on that. First, of course, it is absolutely right that there needs to be downward pressure on the wrong sort of immigration into this country. We have got to get those numbers down, precisely so that we can also offer more generous support to the genuine refugees and asylum seekers. On the specific of students, whatever the change in the calculation of the numbers, it will make no change to the student policy. There is no cap on the number of students who can come here for genuine courses at genuine universities, and that will remain the case.

[Baroness Sharples (Con)]

How can we be sure that these people seeking refuge are indeed from Syria?

[Lord Bates]

Yes, my noble friend is absolutely right to point this out. That is one of the reasons why we want the investigations and checks to take place in the refugee camps in the region, under the auspices of the UNHCR, rather than encouraging people to make the perilous journey here and then try to establish whether their bona fides and credentials are as they say they are.

Fraud: Phone Scammers

Baroness Sharples Excerpts

Thursday 4th December 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

I apologise on behalf of the Government that the noble Lord has not received his cheque yet. It may be in the post, as they say. In terms of what the Government are doing on this very serious issue, which has received publicity in the run-up to Christmas, when some 75% of people will undertake online sales, it is very important that people think of their own security. In preparing for this Question, I was thinking that the system is very complex and difficult to remember—but it is incredible, the audacity of people ringing up and asking for PIN numbers. Amazingly, people actually do give them. Part of it is law enforcement, but another aspect is having a bit of common sense in dealing with our security.

[Baroness Sharples (Con)]

Would my noble friend agree that on television virtually every day there is a warning that you should never give out your PIN number or your account number?

[Lord Bates]

My noble friend is absolutely right. It is a fact that your bank, the Government and the police will never ask you to reveal your PIN number or your online password, and that message needs to get out to people.

EU: Migration

Baroness Sharples Excerpts

Wednesday 19th November 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

I do not accept the premise that we are alienating people. People recognise that there are legitimate concerns here; if proper transitional arrangements are put in place, that can aid relations between both countries, such as the ones that we have used in the case of Croatia, which will remain in place until 2019.

[Baroness Sharples (Con)]

My Lords, is it not the fact that the number of children coming into school with English as their second language has risen from 6% last year to 16% this year?

[Lord Bates]

My noble friend is absolutely right, and that is one reason why we have said that it is a condition of immigration that the English language must be an important part of that.

Children: Trafficking

Baroness Sharples Excerpts

Tuesday 27th July 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Neville-Jones]

I thank the noble Baroness for having given notice of her supplementary question and of the view she takes on the need for collaboration across government. We share that view. The previous Government issued extensive statutory guidance to local authorities and other interested parties—the latest guidance being Working Together, issued earlier this year—with precisely the aim of supporting closer working in areas such as finding suitable accommodation. We entirely agree that these children are extremely vulnerable and should get the best protection possible. I think it is true to say that CEOP is currently rolling out initiatives, the details of which I do not have, but I know that they are under way. At the national level, we are reviewing the operation of the national referral mechanisms—which I think my honourable friend the Minister with responsibility for immigration mentioned in the other place—with the aim of encouraging further co-operation among the agencies involved.

[Baroness Sharples]

How many children are involved in this terrible trade?

[Baroness Neville-Jones]

My Lords, this is one of those things where you cannot always be certain what you do not know. However, we believe that the figure for the last year was in the order of 325 children.