Skills, Vocational Training, and Further and Higher Education

Baroness Whitaker Excerpts

Thursday 3rd September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Whitaker (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the inclusive approach of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Coventry. I congratulate my noble friend Lady Morgan on instigating a vital debate, and my noble friend the Minister on policies that widen access to skills and training, but some will not reach these opportunities. Alan Milburn’s searing diagnosis notes that 50.8% of females and 41.3% of males characterised as “White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller” are NEET. He says that

“Black, African and Caribbean young people had the highest NEET rates of all ethnic groups included in large scale national surveys”,

but Gypsy, Roma and Irish Travellers are, in the National Institute of Economic and Social Research report,

“2.5 – 3 times more likely to be NEET”

than average. Their increase in NEET status is 210% for Irish Travellers and 155% for Roma. However, the population context, at 0.16% of 18 to 24 year-olds, is too small for large-scale surveys. My first plea to my noble friend the Minister is to include in government analyses specific research into this neglected minority, and disaggregate Gypsies, Irish Travellers and Roma students so that the experience of these very different communities is clearly seen.

Alan Milburn omits race prejudice, the cause of negative assumptions about motivation and ability. The EHRC reports that Gypsy, Roma and Traveller families experienced the highest level of prejudice of any minority ethnic group. Those who succeed in work often hide their heritage, thus also hiding useful role models. He is surely right that alienation from paths to qualifications and employment begins in school. Gypsy, Irish Traveller and Roma children—again, because their actual experience tends not to be identified—suffer different but widespread bullying and have a far higher dropout rate in all schools from that and other causes than any other minority ethnic group. Often, it is the provoked victim who is excluded, not the perpetrator, but there is no proper research. NGOs point to a lack of valuing of their cultures and history—the Council of Europe ranks the UK lowest in coverage of Roma experience and history in textbooks—lack of positive contact with parents, digital exclusion, especially during the Covid lockdown, and lack of support to get such children up to entry to skills training.

I recommend this month’s Friends, Families and Travellers report on educational inequalities for useful proposals. I declare an interest as its president. FFT’s pledge to get schools to report on progress to welcome their Gypsy, Traveller and Roma students works, as does a successful initiative for higher education institutions, which I was proud to launch in your Lordships’ House. Will my noble friend the Minister affirm her support? The gap is now in further education institutions, of particular importance for the acquisition of skills. How can my noble friend help here?

Without more practical attention, some marginalised families will continue to behave in a marginalised way and very many others will never get the chance they—and we all—could use well. Should we really allow this injustice to continue?

[Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Wilson of Sedgefield) (Lab)]

Before we move on to the next speaker, this is a very important debate and I am really enjoying listening to it, but we need to stick to the three-minute limit. We are going over only by several seconds, but those seconds add up, and we do need to hear from the Minister.

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Baroness Whitaker Excerpts

Committee stage
Monday 9th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Whitaker (Lab)]

My Lords, I am disappointed to be speaking again. The first time was 21 years ago. This time, I speak in support of Amendment 67, again in support of the noble Baronesses, Lady Finlay and Lady Walmsley, now joined by my noble friend Lady Lister and the noble Lord, Lord Hampton. As such telling arguments have just been made, I will simply emphasise again that, since 2004, when I first spoke, very many more countries have come to the conclusion that children are of equal worth to adults—a view, it seems, not shared by the noble Lord, Lord Jackson of Peterborough. It is even clearer that the legacy of physical punishment of children is more violence in society and worse mental health. As the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, said, there is no definition of “reasonable punishment”. Surely it is time to agree that physical punishment is the reverse of reasonable and get it out of our common understanding of discipline.

[Baroness Longfield (Lab)]

My Lords, I, too, support the amendment and thank noble Lords for putting it forward. This is not a new debate: I called for this change in law many years ago, including when I was Children’s Commissioner for England. I have not changed my view. As we have heard, Sweden outlawed smacking in 1979, and I can remember when the last Labour Government faced the same calls those 20 years ago. We did, of course, banish corporal punishment in schools a long time ago. The moves in Scotland, in Wales and in Ireland over very recent years have all been about closing the loophole, because they all recognise that the defence of reasonable chastisement is outdated and wrong. I believe it is time for England to follow suit: making sure that children have equal protection from adults.

I think that we have moved on considerably in this country over recent years on the issue and that views have changed. It is no longer a particularly contentious issue, I do not think. Most parents no longer believe that hitting children is the right way to improve behaviour or to discipline children: it is much better to support and help parents to support their children with positive behaviour. We should not see this as either a complex or controversial issue or debate. It is not the nanny state or the Government interfering in how parents discipline their children. This amendment makes a sensible and long-overdue change that does no more than provide children with the same right as adults not to be the victims of assault.

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Baroness Whitaker Excerpts

2nd reading
Thursday 1st May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Whitaker (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan. Nevertheless, this Bill is wholeheartedly welcomed. It tackles issues which have been neglected for 14 years, as well as new ones such as the devastating drop in attendance following the pandemic. I will focus on the all-important provisions for children not in school, Clauses 30 to 35. I also briefly commend the further crackdown on unregistered schools, whose so-called teaching is damaging the fabric of our society.

While it is still of prime importance to make it easy for children to thrive in school—learning together, making friends and benefiting from pathways to further education and satisfying work—there is at present a significant number who do not get there. There are some parents who cope well with, or choose, home education and carry it out well. They will not be interfered with by the obligation to register their child.

But I strongly agree that many of the reasons why children drop out of school show that a managed system of home education is vital. Children may find school intolerable, but their parents may well not have the time or the capacity to teach them. Particularly among Gypsy, Traveller and Roma children, prejudice and discrimination play a large part in their attitude to school. I declare an interest as a holder of several positions among these communities’ organisations. Bullying is still widespread and, while some schools are welcoming, I have heard many examples of teachers who have not supported the bullied child. One said, “Drop the Traveller thing”, for instance. Sometimes when a child is bullied, they hit back—but they are the ones who are excluded. Suspensions of Gypsy, Traveller and Roma children are increasing—in the case of some groups over the last five years, from 21.26 per 10,000 to 33.71, with a comparable proportion among permanent exclusions. We all know that that often leads to county lines and all sorts of really sad behaviour. Then there is the demoralisation which comes from feeling unwanted and unvalued. Some schools encourage the parents to take their children out of school if they are not going to increase the school’s rate of exam passes.

It would be helpful if the Bill could also stimulate a more proactive response by local authorities. Instead of waiting for parents to request support and help, they should offer it. Parents in marginalised communities may not know help is available and may be reluctant to approach officials. This would also enable the local authority to find out the reasons behind the drop-out, which should be recorded and the aggregates analysed. Complementary to that, schools’ systems should contribute to increasing awareness of why children drop out of school; for instance, schools should seek and record the reasons. Racist incidents should be recorded and reported, as the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Derby referred to—a recommendation of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry which was never implemented.

While it is essential to keep records of the characteristics of children on the register, I am uneasy about their being kept after the child reaches maturity. It is for consideration whether the local authority should not then destroy any non-anonymised information.

Finally, as regards children who do not get regularly to school, I am also a bit uneasy about the increase in fines for non-attendance and the possible sentence of imprisonment. I remember that when I was a magistrate there were cases of extreme poverty among defaulting parents, whose children truanted for various reasons, rarely through parental neglect of their obligations, and whose deprivation would have been exacerbated if the often single parent were imprisoned.

But, in general, this Bill will go far to bring all our children into a future of value, opportunity and achievement.

Inequality

Baroness Whitaker Excerpts

Thursday 3rd October 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I think the noble Baroness will know that I am not complacent at all. I take the point she makes about life expectancy. It is not just women; it is the population as a whole. Certainly, in Trafford, people’s life expectancy in its more affluent areas is something like nine years higher than for their neighbours in less affluent areas one mile away. This is due to a variety of reasons, as she will know, but it is not something that the Government are not concerned about. Of course prevention in many areas, such as smoking, is key to some of the outcomes for those people.

[Baroness Whitaker (Lab)]

My Lords, the report on Travellers and Roma was published some time ago. In the much-regretted absence of the noble Lord, Lord Bourne, from the Front Bench, which Minister is responsible for taking this forward and when will the Government’s detailed plan be published?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I was the Minister responsible way back when, but I think that role has now been taken by the noble Viscount, Lord Younger.

Immigration Detention

Baroness Whitaker Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd April 2019 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Whitaker]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to implement the recommendations of the report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Immigration Detention (HL Paper 278), published on 7 February, in particular those related to indefinite detention.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con)]

My Lords, we are carefully considering the recommendations made in the JCHR report alongside those in the recent Home Affairs Select Committee report, and will respond to both in due course. On indefinite detention specifically, the law simply does not allow this. However, we recognise the importance of these matters in informing how we can have a detention system that is fair, upholds our immigration policies and acts as a deterrent to those who might seek to frustrate those policies.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Whitaker (Lab)]

My Lords, I am almost heartened by the Minister’s response. However, is she aware that, of the over 2,200 people detained without any limit being given and without review, appeal or any consideration of vulnerability—some for over three years—some were released back into the community, after all that? This causes untold damage to family life and they had clearly been wrongly sentenced. The recommended limit of 28 days is surely long enough. Can HMG not undertake to implement at least that?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

In terms of review, we are now trialling immigration bail at two months rather than four, which we did previously. The overall picture is that 92% of people leave immigration detention within four months and 69% within 29 days. We have improved the system by not detaining people for longer than needed and fewer people are now spending time in detention than ever before.

Children: Covert Human Intelligence Sources

Baroness Whitaker Excerpts

Thursday 13th September 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I cannot answer the latter part of that question, but I will write to the noble Baroness. If a child is aged under 16, an appropriate adult—though not necessarily a guardian, because there may be conflict in that relationship—will be present in every case. Children aged between 16 and 18 are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

[Baroness Whitaker (Lab)]

My Lords, even with all the safeguards mentioned by the Minister, is this not still exploitation of children?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The noble Baroness asks a very pertinent question. This is not a comfortable or easy arrangement. She will know, of course, that it was brought in by the Labour Government in 2000. With the safeguards that are in place and the work that needs to be undertaken, all these things are taken into consideration.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting: Human Rights

Baroness Whitaker Excerpts

Tuesday 17th November 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Whitaker (Lab)]

Will the Government take the opportunity to make representations to the Government of Bangladesh about the assassination of humanists and others because they do not profess a religion?

[Baroness Verma]

The noble Baroness raises some important points. We have to make sure that no space is created where freedom of speech is not allowed. The UK Government raise this issue regularly as a matter of course. Wherever we can, we will make sure that all countries, including Bangladesh, that are closing the space for freedom of speech address these issues so that the Commonwealth meets its commitment to the Commonwealth charter.

Children and Families Bill

Baroness Whitaker Excerpts

Wednesday 30th October 2013 Grand Committee

[Baroness Walmsley (LD)]

My Lords, I have a few additional comments to make in support of Amendment 113, to which I have added my name. I reassure the noble Baroness, Lady Eaton, that in our amendment we do not seek a one-size-fits-all approach as far as local authorities are concerned. Of course we understand, and hope, that the provision made will vary from area to area, depending on the needs of the local population. We are simply looking for some commonality in the way the offer is expressed. The advantage would be that it would not just be helpful to parents in enabling them to choose between one local authority or another if they were able to move from one to another; there would be two other benefits.

First, it would deter a local authority from publishing a weak offer, because it would be very obvious that it was a weak offer. The “very little indeed”, as expressed by the noble Baroness, Lady Howarth, would jump off the pages if there were some commonality in the way that offer was expressed. Secondly, it would help policymakers because this is a very new system. Undoubtedly the Government will wish to monitor how it is going and assess where it is going well and where it is going badly, and whether the regulations need to be tightened up at some point in the future. It would be very much easier to do that if there were a common way in which the local offer could be expressed; otherwise, I can see civil servants spending months digging into all the different local offers, expressed in different ways, in order to dig out that information.

[Baroness Whitaker (Lab)]

My Lords, briefly, I would like to record my support for all these amendments, for all the reasons given. It seems to me that the very welcome reforms of the local offer remain quite insubstantial if there are no minimum standards and if there is insufficient transparency and no inspection. I recall the Minister’s letter to those of us who spoke at Second Reading on this point. He said:

“Regulations and the SEN Code of Practice will provide a common framework for local offers”.

I am worried that a common framework is really not specific enough. The draft SEN guidance is silent on the real monitoring of inspections. Without a power in the Act to achieve these, I should like to ask the Minister how the regulations are going to do the job which we have all been asking for. What is going to be in them?

[Baroness Morris of Yardley (Lab)]

My Lords, I also support the gist of the amendments but I take the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Eaton. I knew that local authorities would have genuine concerns. However, I really want to support the points made by the noble Baroness, Lady Howarth, because I thought that that was a good way forward.

My instinct is that there needs to be some monitoring or inspection, or some notion of a common format or minimum standards. I say that because, looking back, I find it difficult to think of a new service being introduced that has not had that infrastructure under it, at least to begin with. I am concerned about just plonking it out there in the system with no monitoring, no inspection and no minimum standards. I am not saying that local authorities will deliberately set out not to provide the service, but I think that the noble Baroness, Lady Eaton, would have to admit that in the present circumstances, when local authorities have really tough spending decisions to make, those who have no legal or regulatory protection might end up being at the end of the list when it comes to the decisions that local authorities take on expenditure. Therefore, the amendments would offer that protection.

With this new system, I think that the whole Bill could fall if parents did not quickly have confidence in the offer. That is my concern. This service is central and new. It is a new idea, and it has to retain the confidence of the people who use it. I think that there is an added complication, as has already been mentioned, that these are busy people who are already fighting other bits of the system. It is also not something that affects every citizen. This is a small and particular group of people. It has not got the voice of the nation behind it. It is not like “all our schools”, “all our universities” or “all our elderly care people”, it is a very small group of people who will have to fight the good fight. So my starting point is that I am not entirely confident that there is enough in the system at the moment to guarantee that it will grow into a strong part of special educational needs protection.

Children and Families Bill

Baroness Whitaker Excerpts

Monday 28th October 2013 Grand Committee

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)]

My Lords, our Amendment 73 is in this group, and it has the same intent as that of the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, and the amendment from the noble Baroness, Lady Greengross. We have just gone about it in a slightly different way. The issue is one of what should be classified as special educational provision. As the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, quite rightly pointed out, this is important because, by its nature, this determines what issues parents can take to appeal, and we should make that classification as broad as we possibly can.

We have debated before in Grand Committee how broad a definition we are going to apply to special educational needs, and that we believe that a whole tranche of disabled children are not classified and included in that. This issue touches on that somewhat as well. As we said at the time, it is important to get a standard classification of special educational needs and disability included throughout the Bill. We have not tabled amendments to this clause to take that on board; however, earlier clauses ought to clarify it more clearly.

Clause 21(5) sets out that healthcare provision and social care provision can be classified as special educational needs if they are,

“made wholly or mainly for the purposes of … education or training”.

However, according to many in the sector, backed up by the legal advice that we have received, there is a concern that the new definition of the phrase “wholly or mainly” sets a higher threshold than that which exists. We have heard from, among others, David Wolfe QC, the adviser mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham. That is why our amendment would remove “wholly or mainly” from the clause.

The initial draft of the Bill did not include a requirement for educational provision to be wholly or mainly for educational purposes. It stated that anything provided by the health authority was health provision and that anything provided by social care was, similarly, social care provision and therefore not enforceable or appealable to the tribunal. The new wording was introduced as a result of opposition to the initial draft but we still do not feel that it deals with this problem. I think the Minister will be aware that there is considerable concern about this issue, particularly around therapies such as those for speech and language, which may be classed simply as health service provision under this clause and therefore, apart from anything else, not appealable.

In addition, we have also received the following legal advice:

“Following case law dating back to 1989 the general position has been that any provision which is directly related to an educational need can be classified as educational or medical and it is for the tribunal to decide. Guidance has been given that speech and language therapy will normally be considered educational because of its importance in communication, whereas other therapies such as occupational therapy vary according to the type of difficulty the child has and how far the therapy relates to an educational objective. Tribunals have consistently held that where a provision has a beneficial educational aspect, and is directly related to the child’s educational needs, it can be described as educational provision and specified in the statement. This aspect needs to be set out in the current bill if parents’ rights are not to be eroded. The current wording set a higher bar and reduces the rights of the child and parent”.

This issue was raised briefly in the Commons by the Conservative MP Robert Buckland. At the time, the Minister there replied that,

“the clause maintains the existing right of appeal to the tribunal for special educational provision so that parents will not lose their current protections”.—[Official Report, Commons, Children and Families Bill Committee, 19/3/13; col. 372.]

However, this is not what the experts are telling us, so it would be extremely helpful if the Minister could clarify this and work with us to find alternative wording which would ensure that we are not raising the bar and eroding parents’ rights. In his letter to us following Second Reading the noble Lord, Lord Nash, wrote that,

“the Government recognises the concerns and is looking for ways to address them”.

I would be really grateful if he could tell us how far he has got in looking at ways to address these concerns, and whether he would now be prepared to find an alternative form of wording to address this issue.

[Baroness Whitaker (Lab)]

My Lords, I support my noble friend’s amendment very warmly. I think that the wording of the Bill must be changed because, although I understand that the Government consider that they can rely on case law to establish the primacy of the education purpose, their own draft SEN code suggests that more firmness is needed. I quote:

“Health or social care provision made wholly or mainly for the purposes of education or training must be treated as special education provision”.

Noble Lords might say that that is all we are asking, but the fact that they have to put “must” in the code suggests to me that there is an element of doubt. I suggest that certainty is what is required in the law, and the code simply amplifies the law.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Walmsley (LD)]

My Lords, I strongly support the amendments of my noble friend Lady Brinton, and would have added my name if I could have been sure of being here today to speak to them. However, here I am, very strongly supporting them.

Many thousands of children fall into the category of “severely bullied” but are invisible, for two reasons. One is that often the bullying takes place outside school, on the internet. The school does not see it happening. Unless school staff look carefully at the attendance record, or the parent is sufficiently distraught to bring it to the school’s attention, the school may not notice what is going on. The other unfortunate aspect is that often these children are quite shy; they take themselves off, rather than put up with it. They become visible to the rest of us only when they attempt suicide, or actually succeed. Then they land on the front page of the local or national newspaper. That is a tragedy.

When the school becomes aware of this problem, it often suggests to the parent that they educate the child at home. This is not the answer. Many parents are not capable, either professionally or economically, and cannot take the time off work to educate the child at home. They need specialist, professional help. Nor is it an answer to send the children to PRUs, for the reason my noble friend Lady Brinton has mentioned. Indeed, I would say it is cruel to expect these children to attend a PRU with a group of children of whom they are often frightened. They are square pegs in round holes in PRUs, because they are often children of great ability, and the provision offered in PRUs will not address their problem and allow them to achieve their academic potential.

Virtual schools can be an answer, but not the whole answer. These children need therapeutic and restorative help from well trained people. That is why my noble friend has suggested that what is needed is temporary special educational needs provision. As to the cost, yes, the sort of provision these children need is expensive, but it lasts for only a short period. If it is done well, many of these children go back into a mainstream school—perhaps a different one—after a relatively short time, during which their confidence has been built up and their mental health problems have been addressed.

If this does not happen, it is not the school that pays but the state that pays later. These children’s potential has not been realised; they do not have the qualifications that they could have; they do not have the well paid jobs that they could have, so do not pay so much tax; and there may be ongoing mental health problems that have to be addressed later in life by the health service. Although the school saves money by not paying for this provision in the short term, the public purse does pay—and, of course, the person who pays most is the child themselves. We have a duty to give these children back their education and indeed their lives. Provision is available, and it could be expanded if only a more sensible approach were taken to ensuring that the funding became available for these children. It is not a lot to ask and, compared to many children who need special needs provision for the whole of their school life—which of course very often they deserve—these children require it for only a very short period. What they need is very special provision from people who really understand what they have gone through and what needs to be put into place to enable them to face an ordinary education again.

[Baroness Whitaker]

My Lords, the amendments in this group are particularly important, with respect to one group of children in particular. I declare an interest as chair of the Department for Education’s stakeholder group on the education of Gypsy, Traveller and Roma children. These are the children, particularly Irish Traveller and Gypsy children, who between primary and secondary school experience a 20% drop in attendance; one-fifth of children drop out. From the material that I have seen, a very large part of this is due to bullying, although there are also cases when the parents are so mistrustful of education and unwilling to expose their children to the violence that they experience that they are complicit. Whatever the reason, there is a gap in these children’s education. They are a small number of children so they do not always appear in the aggregates, but if you compare them to the population of Gypsy and Traveller children, the numbers are huger than for any other ethnic group in our country. That is why these amendments are of vital importance.

The noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, mentioned alternative education. I place on record that I cannot speak to the fourth group of amendments in the name of the noble Countess, Lady Mar, the noble Lord, Lord Patel, and others, about suitable alternative education, which in a way is parallel to the group that I ought to be discussing now. That, too, has a particular relevance not only to drop-out children but to children of Traveller parents. I hope that in some way my support for those can be recorded, even though I shall have to be chairing another meeting then.

[The Earl of Listowel]

My Lords, very briefly, having visited a Red Balloon school, having had the privilege of being invited to visit one and speak to some of the pupils, I should like to reinforce what has been said by other Members of the Committee today, particularly the concerns about whether pupil referral units—I have been to those as well—would be an appropriate environment for many of these young people.

I would also like to bring to the Committee’s attention the latest research from Professor Jackson, the academic who had a very important role in highlighting the deficits in educational outcomes for looked-after children. The latest research has been into children with complex needs across Europe and in this country. She has found that in other countries these children find that their school is a refuge for them; it is a place where they feel safe so that, no matter how disturbed their family is, at least their school is a refuge. She looks particularly at Denmark but also at several other continental countries, and she draws a stark contrast with the experience of children in England, who do not find a refuge in their school. That is very concerning. It is also relevant to this particular group of vulnerable young people whom we are discussing now. Finally, I thank the Minister who was so kind as to meet me when I had concerns about this issue. I am grateful for his close consideration of this matter.

Queen’s Speech

Baroness Whitaker Excerpts

Wednesday 15th May 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Whitaker]

My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, for his trailer for my remarks, and for his support.

The gracious Speech promises to,

“ensure the security, good governance and development of the Overseas Territories”.—[Official Report, 8/4/13; col. 3.]

This is sorely needed for the Chagos Islands, the inhabitants of which were exiled from their homeland by the British Government in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I am indebted to our former high commissioner to Mauritius, Mr David Snoxell, for his advice.

It is not as if anyone now thinks this exile was an example of good governance. On 23 April 2009 the then shadow Foreign Minister, Keith Simpson, said:

“There is no doubt that there is a moral imperative”,

and that,

“I suspect … the all-party view”,

is that,

“the rights of the Chagossian people should be recognised, and that there should at the very least be a timetable for the return of those people at least to the outer islands”.—[Official Report, Commons, 23/4/09; col. 176WH.]

In a letter to a member of the public on 23 March 2010 the shortly to be Foreign Secretary William Hague said:

“I can assure you that if elected to serve as the next British government we will work to ensure a fair settlement of this long-standing dispute”.

I will briefly remind noble Lords of how this tragic fate overtook the Chagossians. In 1965 our Government detached the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in order to form a separate British Indian Ocean Territory, in defiance of four UN resolutions. They reclassified the inhabitants as contract workers, made the largest, most southerly, island, Diego Garcia, available to the United States for use as a military base, and gradually removed the Chagossians from all the islands, eventually depositing them in Mauritius and the Seychelles during 1971 to 1973. Some came to Britain from 2001.

Now, fewer than 700 of the original islanders remain. The United States base on Diego Garcia is 140 miles away from the outer islands, to which some would like to return. When the Government of the United States were asked by our Foreign Office publicly to affirm, as was reported in a WikiLeaks cable from the United States embassy in London, that they required the whole of the British Indian Ocean Territory for defence purposes, they did not do so. The State Department has indicated informally to a member of the Chagos Islands (British Indian Ocean Territory) All-Party Parliamentary Group, of which I also am a member, that if asked it will review the security implications of a limited return. Our Law Lords described official letters that claimed that there was a defence risk as “fanciful” and “highly imaginative”.

In 2014 the agreement with the United States will come up for renewal. I suggest that this gives an excellent opportunity for exploring whether a small number of Chagossian people could return to the outer islands. It would seem to have no security or defence implications for the base on Diego Garcia. I am assured that many will not want to return, but all want their right to do so restored, and some will want only to visit their homeland and come away.

Would this be a burden to the British taxpayer? The Foreign Office set up a feasibility study in 2001, which claimed that resettlement was not feasible and anyway was very expensive. The infeasibility argument has been discredited by one of its own consultants and by others, most recently in a report by Professor Paul Kench of Auckland University. As for the cost, it would be idle to pretend that justice would not carry some. However, the United Kingdom would not have to bear the whole burden of restoring the tiny infrastructure. The European Union high representative has confirmed to Charles Tannock MEP that funds are available. The UNDP may have capacity and it would surely be right for the United States, Mauritius and the Commonwealth to do their bit.

What of the marine protected area, with its full no-take ban on fishing—except, as it happens, around the waters of Diego Garcia, where recreational fishing can be practised—which was hastily declared by David Miliband, as Foreign Secretary, just before the last election? It is unlike most other MPAs, for instance around the Galapagos Islands, where the people who live there help to maintain it.

There is worldwide support for a marine protected area that takes account of the interests of the Chagossians and Mauritius. However, it should have been properly conceived, with a defined role for inhabitants. As it stands, there is only one vessel to patrol the ban over 640,000 square kilometres, and I have seen photographs of very recent substantial illegal fishing operating within the MPA.

The MPA was proclaimed without taking account of the views of the Chagossians, who applied for judicial review in the high court, or of Mauritius, which has brought a case under the Permanent Court of Arbitration for breach of the Convention on the Law of the Sea. There is much work to be done to make the MPA what it ought to be so that everyone can wholeheartedly support it.

In the time available I have simply tried to pinpoint the chief aspects of a manifest and agreed injustice of a fundamental kind. This hardly matches the human rights standards of the Commonwealth charter, which we signed only last March. However, it is very good news that the Foreign Secretary has shown indications of a positive attitude to righting these wrongs in his statement following the end of the human rights case in Strasbourg, and that he is reviewing the policy on resettlement. I hope that the Minister can say how the Government will now proceed and when Parliament will be consulted about the review of that policy.