Probation Services: Prisoner Early Release Scheme

Lord Laming Excerpts

Thursday 14th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble and learned Lord for his question. I think that, on reflection, he will know that, had he been at this Dispatch Box after 4 July, he would have been introducing a similar scheme to the one that the Government have currently introduced, though perhaps without the exceptions that we have made on sexual offences, domestic violence offences and serious offences. A line has to be drawn, and the Government have done so. Our prime objective is to free up prison places while ensuring that there is probation support, as indicated by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester, to ensure that we protect individuals on their release. I hear what the noble and learned Lord says but he knows—and the smile on his face tells me he knows—that he would have introduced a very similar scheme in this place had he been the Minister.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, we are all familiar with the reasons for the early release scheme having to be established, but does the Minister agree that, if we are to reduce recidivism in this country, there needs to be a proper system in place for the planned discharge of prisoners—not for when they are discharged but for a long time before then—so that essential elements in their lives, such as accommodation and the like, can be established before the discharge takes place? Letting people go out from prison without those elements in place just encourages recidivism.

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

That is an extremely important point. The issues of housing, potential employment, family contact, a bank account or access to finance, and the establishment of benefits prior to release if the person is qualified for them, are key building blocks in preventing an individual reoffending. I will draw the noble Lord’s comments to the attention of the Minister for Probation, who I am deputising for today. I am sure he will find common cause in those objectives.

Small Boat Crossings

Lord Laming Excerpts

Wednesday 13th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

As the noble Lord said, we have to examine how people are coming to the United Kingdom and what is driving them to do that. As the noble Lord, Lord German, said, some of those people are transporting themselves because of the need for asylum, or because of poverty or persecution; some will be economic migrants. We need to send a signal by the way in which we deal with those individuals in the United Kingdom on arrival and how they are treated. The noble Lord will be pleased to know, I am sure, that since 5 July this year we have had 24 flights sending people back who have no right to be in the United Kingdom, most of whom are economic migrants. We sent 46 individuals to Vietnam, for example, on 24 July this year. In the long term, I hope that will send a signal about people who have a right to asylum and people who have no right to come to the United Kingdom.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, can the Minister bring the House up to date? In recent months, how many unaccompanied children have arrived in this country? Is he satisfied with the arrangements to protect them from abuse and exploitation?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I cannot give the noble Lord an exact figure today, but I will ensure that I write to him with an updated figure. We had this debate a couple of weeks back with a Member from the Liberal Democrat Benches. I included a figure then but I do not have a figure in front of me, so I will need to update that and give it to the noble Lord. As we did in the debate we had in this place two to three weeks ago, I will set out in that reply how we are seeking to protect children appropriately by ensuring that we deal with local authorities in Kent and elsewhere—and to find those missing children, of whom there are approximately still 90, who went missing under the previous Government’s regime.

Unaccompanied Migrant Children

Lord Laming Excerpts

Wednesday 30th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I am grateful to my noble friend. I remind him that the hotels were closed because of legal challenges to force the previous Government to close them. There were 472 episodes of children going missing, from 464 young people in practice. My noble friend mentioned 100 children. I can report to the House that 90 individuals are still missing, of whom seven have a claimed age of under 18. Through the good efforts of the police and local authorities, we have found 382 young people as of 26 September. The responsibility for finding those missing young people lies with police, and the Home Office will co-operate with them and local authorities accordingly. My noble friend mentioned an inquiry. I hear what he says, but the Home Office’s key focus is on continuing to work with the police to support efforts to locate missing individuals.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, unaccompanied children still come to this country. Does the Minister accept that those children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and serious neglect? That being so, can he assure the House that, whenever an unaccompanied child is discovered, they are immediately referred to the local authority for proper safeguarding and protection?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

That is the intention of the Home Office. The noble Lord will know that this Government, in our current incarnation and in previous incarnations between 1997 and 2010, have been very strong on enforcement, securing action against people who commit modern slavery and supporting action to avoid exploitation, and we will continue to do that. The local authority has primary responsibility, and we have a duty to ensure that we reduce the number of unaccompanied children but support local authorities in safeguarding them properly.

Care Worker Visa Regime

Lord Laming Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd April 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

I am afraid I cannot comment on the number of inspectors because I genuinely do not know the answer to how many there are, but I take the noble Baroness’s points. I reiterate that we will go after people who are abusing the visas and the individuals. We should remember that the employers also need to be supported to recruit staff from abroad in a way that meets the needs of those people. Skills for Care makes that point, and I completely agree.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, the work of care workers is extremely valued, particularly by those who are dependent on them for their daily living. This extends across the whole age range of the population, not only in residential establishments but in home care facilities. Underlying all this is one of the difficulties: although this care work is highly valued, it is a low-paid occupation. I hope the Government will give thought to a way in which we can improve the status of care workers and thereby their earning potential in this country.

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

I very much agree with the noble Lord that the care workers themselves need all our support and, indeed, our praise for the very important and necessary work they all do. Of course, care workers are not subject to the same salary cap as other workers, so applicants to the health and care visa are exempted from the new £38,700 salary threshold. They must be paid at least £23,200 per annum, so the system, as constructed, takes into account the relatively low-paid nature of this work.

Asylum Claims

Lord Laming Excerpts

Monday 25th March 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

We debated that at some length last week and I will not go over the reasons again. I am afraid that I do not have those statistics.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, how many of these asylum seekers are children and what happens to them if their claims fail?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, there were 3,412 asylum applications from unaccompanied children in the year ending December 2023. That was 41% fewer than in 2022. They make up about 5% of total asylum applications. Of those, 2,446 were aged 16 or 17. Noble Lords will be aware that there are commitments in the Bill going through the House, and in the treaty, that unaccompanied asylum seekers will not be removed to Rwanda.

Violence Against Women and Girls

Lord Laming Excerpts

Monday 4th December 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, I do not think that was a question.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister will have seen the reports of unaccompanied migrant children being placed in hotels. Many of them have disappeared and the fear is that they are being sexually exploited. Why does the Children Act 1989 not apply to these children once they are in this country?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, this is an entirely separate subject, as noble Lords know. I accept the premise of the question, but I am going to come back to the noble Lord. There is another Question on this tomorrow where we can go into much more detail.

Certificate of Sponsorship: Foreign Health and Care Workers

Lord Laming Excerpts

Monday 13th November 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)]

The rules provide that care workers must be paid at least £20,960 per annum, not lower than £10.75 per hour based on a 37.5 hour working week. The Government do not tolerate illegal activity in the labour market. Any accusations of illegal employment practices will be thoroughly investigated, and it goes without saying that we strongly condemn the offering of health and care worker visas under false pretences.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, recently I had brief contact with a residential care home where it seemed that many of the front-line care staff were from the Philippines. It made me realise that these staff were a long way from home and unlikely to understand the safeguards in British employment law. Is the Minister satisfied that safeguards are in place for such staff?

[Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)]

Yes, I reassure the noble Lord that the Home Office works very closely with the Department of Health and Social Care on ensuring the safety and security of those who come to work here on visas and of those for whom they care.

Missing Asylum Seeking Unaccompanied Children

Lord Laming Excerpts

Monday 10th July 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)]

The noble Baroness would not expect me to comment on ongoing litigation. I can provide her with the statistics: there are presently 154 unaccompanied children who are currently missing. Of that 154, 100 have since turned 18, and 25 of the 154 currently missing were age-disputed individuals.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister will agree that these children are especially at risk, having come to a strange country and not understanding the language, of being easily picked up in cars and taken off, never to be seen again. Would the Minister be willing to explore the possibility of introducing stronger safeguards, so that we can be reassured that fewer of these children will be lost in the future?

[Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)]

I can reassure the noble Lord that we take the welfare of these vulnerable children extremely seriously. We have had no alternative but to temporarily use hotels to give children in this situation an immediate roof over their heads while local authority accommodation is found. I can confirm to the House that we have robust safeguarding procedures in place, to ensure that all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are accommodated and supported as safely as possible while we seek urgent placements with a local authority—and I might add that we are determined to stop the use of hotels as soon as possible.

Black and Minority-ethnic Children: Police Strip-searches

Lord Laming Excerpts

Monday 27th March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

I think that is right. The Government will have a role when the appropriate time arrives—when the reviews have delivered their various conclusions—to also suggest and recommend upgrading and updating that guidance.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, I am sure the Minister will agree that strip-searching would be humiliating for any of us. It is particularly humiliating for a child. The Minister has indicated that there are rules that govern strip-searching, but the rules have not been followed in many of these cases. Let us not wait for a review. The rules operate now, today, everywhere. It is the responsibility of the Home Office to ensure that these rules are complied with. Will the Minister take this away with a degree of urgency to make sure that these rules are applied now, everywhere?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

I will of course take that back to the department

Metropolitan Police: Misconduct

Lord Laming Excerpts

Wednesday 19th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

The noble Lord makes some sensible suggestions and I refer back to the review that I referenced in my Answer to the original Question. I will quote the Statement made by the Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire:

“The Government will work closely with key policing stakeholders to examine evidence of the effectiveness of the system to remove those who are not fit to serve the public. As well as examining the overall effectiveness of dismissal arrangements”,


he expects the review to consider

“the impact of the introduction of Legally Qualified Chairs to decide misconduct cases; whether decisions made by Misconduct Panels are consistent across all 43 forces in England and Wales; and whether forces are making effective use of their powers to dismiss officers on probation. This focused review will be launched shortly and will be conducted swiftly.”—[Official Report, Commons, 18/10/22; col. 22WS.]

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, the House will recognise that the noble Baroness, Lady Casey, has done an excellent job in producing such a challenging and far-seeing report. But does the Minister agree that that is only the first stage? The really big test is whether the report will be implemented—and implemented thoroughly. I have not spoken to the noble Baroness, Lady Casey, before I say this, but would the Minister be willing to consider ensuring that she remains involved to ensure that her recommendations are carried through?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

Obviously, I cannot commit to that, but I think the noble Lord makes some very sensible points. As I have said already in answering this Question, I am very encouraged by Sir Mark Rowley’s determined statement. Obviously, delivery is slightly different from making a statement, but he has certainly set out on the right road.