Illegal Migration Bill
Debate between Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts and Lord Murray of Blidworth(1 year, 8 months ago)
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Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)
I agree that international co-operation is a vital part of the jigsaw; that is why we reached fresh agreements in December with the Governments of Albania and of France and why the Prime Minister is meeting President Macron on Friday. To that extent, I agree with the noble Lord. However, I do not agree that the United Kingdom cannot act unilaterally, because we need to stop people taking these risky journeys across the channel—one of the busiest and most dangerous sea lanes in the world. That requires special legislation to be passed by this Parliament, and this Bill satisfies that.
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Con)
My Lords, does my noble friend recall that, last year, we granted right of admission to 1.1 million people and gave right to remain to 504,000 people? Is it not unsurprising, given the scale of those numbers, that the British people are asking us to bear down on those who seek to jump the queue and arrive illegally?
Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)
I could not have put it better myself; I entirely agree with my noble friend.
Net Migration
Debate between Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts and Lord Murray of Blidworth(2 years ago)
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Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)
I reassure the noble Baroness that the Government have no plans to ban students.
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Con)
Could my noble friend explain why the Government have limited the number of medical school places to 7,500? This deprives several hundreds and maybe thousands of our young people the chance to pursue a medical career. In the last five years, we have recruited 50,000 doctors from overseas, some of whom have come from less-developed countries, which I at least regard as a shameful practice.
Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)
I note what my noble friend says, but the level of provision of medical training is a matter for the Department of Health and the Department for Education.