Brexit: Customs and Border Staff

Debate between Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Monday 6th February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I thank the noble Lord. He is right about exit checks. They were reintroduced last year and will provide some very useful information, not least on immigration.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con)]

My Lords, can my noble friend tell me how many additional public employees are employed by the Government to answer questions from people who do not accept the result of the referendum?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The figures differ at various times. I can say to my noble friend—and I am sure he will agree with me—that we will be well equipped to deal with our borders when the time comes.

Brexit: Hate Crimes

Debate between Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Thursday 19th January 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The noble Baroness makes a very valid point in terms of the spike in hate crimes that we saw last year following the referendum on our membership of the EU. Some of the spikes in hate crime that we saw were quite unexpected, particularly as regards the Polish community. I know that the Home Secretary is today meeting consular staff from all the EU embassies. After the referendum last year and the spike in hate crime, we engaged very quickly with the ambassadors, and they now have a single point of contact. The noble Baroness is mouthing “media” to me across the Dispatch Box and I will get to that. The point she makes is very important: we all have a duty to behave in a responsible way. However, it is through society being not just tolerant but welcoming of the various communities who live in our country that we will make progress, and the media are part and parcel of that.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean]

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend on emphasising how important it is that we all behave in a responsible way. But can she think of a single precedent of when Ministers have been asked to answer a hypothetical Question in connection with a hypothetical outcome? Is it not extraordinary that it is in order to ask a Question of this nature?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

It is hypothetical but I hope I can reassure my noble friend that the Government are prepared and have learned the lessons from some of the events we have seen in the last year. Again, to go back to the noble Baroness’s Question, some of the language has been quite inflammatory, both in the media and from some members of the community following the EU referendum. I think that both as a society and as a Government, we are prepared, and we are engaged consistently and constantly with representatives of the various communities across the country.

Brexit: Immigration Policy

Debate between Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Wednesday 30th November 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

As I think I have said to the House before, we remain absolutely committed to attracting the brightest and best students to the UK. There is currently no cap on the number of international students who come to this country because they help make our education system one of the best in the world. We have a competitive post-study work offer for graduates seeking to undertake skilled work after their studies.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con)]

Does my noble friend agree that the biggest concern among the business community about our leaving the European Union is that Europeans who have come to this country should be able to remain and continue to work here? Would not the right response to Chancellor Merkel and Mr Tusk be that we do not negotiate with people’s lives in this country? Why can we not make it absolutely clear and end the uncertainty that those people will be allowed to remain here?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The Prime Minister has been very clear that she wants to protect the status of EU nationals already living here and that the only circumstance in which that would not be possible is if British citizens’ rights in EU member states were not protected in turn. She said today that it was right to give reassurances to both sets of citizens:

“I think the reaction that we have seen shows why it was absolutely right for us not to do what the Labour party wanted us to do, which was simply to give away the guarantee for rights of EU citizens here in the UK. As we have seen, that would have left UK citizens in Europe high and dry”.

Immigration

Debate between Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Monday 12th September 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, they are classified as students because when they come here they use our services and they generally come here for more than a year. That falls within the definition.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con)]

My Lords, can my noble friend explain? In her Answer to my noble friend Lord Leigh, she said that the discrepancy between national insurance numbers and the figures was because people were here on a short-stay basis. How does she know that?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, people may come here to work long term or short term. If they are here to work for, say, three months, which many people are, and then go home, they will not be counted in the long-term immigration figures.

Student Visas: Pilot Study

Debate between Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Wednesday 7th September 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, the scheme may be expanded following the pilot; that has not been decided yet. On population decline in Scotland, I would say to the noble Lord that in fact it is projected that the population of Scotland will increase by 3.1% by 2024.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con)]

My Lords, does my noble friend not agree that given that, despite having no tuition fees, Scottish universities have failed to perform as well as English universities in attracting students from poorer backgrounds, they should concentrate on British students from poorer backgrounds in order to catch up with England?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My noble friend makes a very good point. The uptake of places in English universities has increased for people from lower-income backgrounds, and the Scottish system might have something to learn from our excellent universities.

Planning: Retrospective Applications

Debate between Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Wednesday 15th June 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, we have had many debates on the subject of when secondary legislation should be used and its appropriateness. I hope that some of the pressure which this House, and indeed I, have brought to bear has ensured that we have had better information about secondary legislation. Certainly, where we have a framework Bill, that necessitates quite a lot of secondary legislation, but I think that the House has made its view very clear going forward in this Parliament.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con)]

My Lords, given that the Treasury’s own projections show that the population will increase by some 3 million over the next decade, mainly as a result of immigration, will not planning departments surely need considerably more resources to deal with the housing needs of that group?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

My noble friend makes a valid point. The whole point of the Housing and Planning Act is not only to get more houses built but to ensure that the planning system is more efficient to enable that.

Devolution: England

Debate between Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Wednesday 2nd December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean]

My Lords, could my noble friend explain the implications for public services in England and expenditure of the Smith commission proposals for a no-detriment principle?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My noble friend will not be surprised if I cannot answer that question.

Housing: London

Debate between Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Monday 26th October 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I hope that I did not give the impression of a shrug of the shoulder. If one were to walk around certain parts of London, one may well be forgiven for thinking that many of the houses—certainly in certain parts of central London—were bought but not lived in. In fact, I understand that that rate has gone down; about 2% of all housing in London is not lived in. However, affordable starter homes, particularly for those in the age group that has found it difficult to get on the housing ladder, are a very good way forward.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con)]

My Lords, could my noble friend take account of the question that was asked by the noble Lord, Lord Green, on the need for statistics to be published that give us an indication of the increased demand arising from immigration? Is this not something that the Government should tackle?

Civil Partners: Siblings

Debate between Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Wednesday 9th September 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The noble Lord is absolutely right—it is a far deeper commitment than just that of finance.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con)]

Would my noble friend not agree that my noble friend Lord Lexden makes an important point? Two siblings who have looked after each other, or a daughter who has looked after a mother in a family home, find that they do not enjoy the same benefits in terms of liability for inheritance tax. Surely, as a Government who are committed to fairness in society, that is something that needs to be addressed urgently.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I go back to the comments made by the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, that, previous to the Civil Partnership Act, same-sex couples did not have the rights that siblings have. The new inheritance tax laws are in fact extremely generous to siblings, with up to £1 million being passed tax free to siblings—and, indeed, children of an individual can also benefit to the tune of almost £500,000. Anyone who has an estate of over £500,000 or £1 million has well over the average estate in this country.

Local Government Funding

Debate between Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Wednesday 8th July 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I am certainly aware of how crucial some local government services are to local people, particularly in those demand-led services. As I said, public satisfaction with council services has remained or increased in the last few years.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con)]

Could my noble friend tell me how many local government senior officials and chief executives are paid more than the Prime Minister?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

There are quite a few, my Lords. If my noble friend has concerns about that, I share them.

UK: Number of Households

Debate between Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Monday 29th June 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I agree with the noble Baroness that we tend to look at things in rather a blanket way, that “head of household” suggests a certain person—namely, male—and that the reasons for immigration are many and varied. I am an immigrant myself: my family came here in the 1970s because my father got a job here. One reason may be to flee persecution. The noble Baroness is absolutely right.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con)]

My Lords, could the Minister answer my noble friend Lord Lamont’s question about whether GDP per capita is a more sensible measure of growth? In particular, what percentage of GDP growth is accounted for by immigration?