Net Migration

Lord McFall of Alcluith Excerpts

Tuesday 25th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

When the noble Lord started asking that question, I thought he meant the population of the House of Lords until he said 6.1 million. He is absolutely right. This goes to the question from the noble Lord, Lord Mann; we need a system that provides for the skilled workers we need here but also the infrastructure to underpin some of that planning.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked, and we now move to the next Question.

Right-to-Work Checks for UK Nationals

Lord McFall of Alcluith Excerpts

Tuesday 18th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

My Lords, EU citizens who have applied to the EU settlement scheme should not be detained in Yarl’s Wood unless there is some exception such as, for example, criminality. In terms of people getting letters, I am sure the reminders are helpful; they are not intended to be hostile in nature.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked and we now move to the next question.

Police: Sarah Everard Vigils

Lord McFall of Alcluith Excerpts

Wednesday 17th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I cannot give my noble friend the exact number, but this review will give us a good idea of what lessons can be learned in what are of course very unusual times.

[The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.

Stop and Search

Lord McFall of Alcluith Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

The use of data is very important, and police collection of data is very important to interrogate why some of the trends that we see are happening. I would also say that, in many ways, it is more complex than just the data we have, and some of the social and economic factors in this have to be taken into account. It is very important that the collection of data is also scrutinised as we go forward.

[The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

The time allowed for this question has elapsed.

United Kingdom Resettlement Scheme

Lord McFall of Alcluith Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

The noble Earl is right to point out that we are dependent on local authority places and accommodation to bring forward resettlement. We are very grateful to local authorities, but we cannot go beyond their capacity. We will launch the new UK global resettlement scheme in March this year. We intended to launch it in March last year, but clearly the pandemic placed restrictions on this. Resettlement arrivals have been coming since December 2020. We have received regular calls for that commitment, and it will be forthcoming.

[The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, all supplementary questions have now been asked and we move to the next Question.

Fireworks: Damage

Lord McFall of Alcluith Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greaves]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to prevent damage being caused by fireworks set off other than at organised events.

[The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

I call the Minister, the noble Baroness, Lady Williams of Old Trafford.

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

Well, I am young Trafford, actually, compared to the noble Lord, Lord Lee of Trafford, but we often get the two mixed up. One is old and one is young.

The Government remain committed to promoting the safe and considerate use of fireworks through an effective legislative framework and through non-legislative measures. We launched a public awareness campaign this October with the aim of educating people on how to buy, use, store and dispose of fireworks safely and considerately, and ensuring that retailers know and understand their responsibilities when selling fireworks.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

The lockdown restrictions will certainly be reviewed on 2 December. I would love to see a New Year’s Eve firework display, but my noble friend the Leader of the House is not sure whether it will go ahead. Because the Government have to review some of the Covid measures on a regular basis, it is probably too early to say.

[The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.

Domestic Abuse

Lord McFall of Alcluith Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

My Lords, I hope that I have outlined some of the measures that we intend to put in place. The noble Baroness will recall, some time ago when we discussed this, I explained how we will support people through local authorities in their own homes who need to be kept safe for a short period of time through safe rooms, et cetera. However, the whole point of the provisions of the Domestic Abuse Bill is to deal with all the things that she outlines, including supporting women who have suffered abuse and their children, and establishing perpetrator programmes, which are so often overlooked but are at the heart of us tackling this awful crime.

[The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed. We now come to the fourth Oral Question.

Licensing: Closing Time

Lord McFall of Alcluith Excerpts

Tuesday 29th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.

Covid-19: Child Trafficking

Lord McFall of Alcluith Excerpts

Tuesday 29th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I wholeheartedly concur with the noble Baroness’s concerns—concerns that the Prime Minister also shares. She will recall that he opened the virtual hidden harms summit in order to drive action to tackle domestic abuse, child sexual exploitation and modern slavery, which, as she has said, often now can take place online.

[The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

I call the noble Lord, Lord McColl of Dulwich. No? I call the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss.

[Baroness Butler-Sloss (CB)]

My Lords, would the Government consider rolling out across the country child guardians for the benefit of the foreign children who have been trafficked here?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

The noble Lord may recall the NCA swoop of a few months ago that pulled in many illicit articles and items. You cannot look at child trafficking in isolation; it is part of a package of drugs, guns, trafficking and child sexual exploitation, and it can be tackled effectively only at an international level.

[The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

Is the noble Lord, Lord McColl of Dulwich, online? No. All supplementary questions have been asked and we will now move to the next Question.

Domestic Abuse

Lord McFall of Alcluith Excerpts

Wednesday 29th April 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

Again, I did not hear the noble Baroness very well, but I heard her better than the first time—

[The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

If the Minister would promise to write on that question, we will move on, to get everybody in.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)]

My Lords, I declare that I am chairing an inquiry into alcohol harms. When will the data on alcohol-fuelled domestic violence during lockdown be made available and collated with sales, given that over half of intimate partner and almost all family homicides in 2014-15 involved alcohol and that the latest research shows that alcohol-fuelled violence is disproportionately clustered in the lowest socioeconomic groups—the people living in particularly difficult situations?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The Government are doing several things. In terms of adults, the #YouAreNotAlone campaign that the Home Secretary released is certainly up and running; I do not know whether the right reverend Prelate has seen it. Adults can access that and there have been a number of online support services for children, so that they have a line into help and support. Going back to the point of the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, there is also support for children who are victims of sexual abuse online during lockdown.

[The Senior Deputy Speaker]

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top? No? We will move on to the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra.

[Lord Blencathra (Con)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for all the excellent work she has been doing to tackle this long-standing and difficult problem, which has been greatly exacerbated by the current quarantine situation. Just how prepared were the Government and police in identifying and dealing with domestic abuse and violence during this pandemic, and what measures did they put in place in preparation for it?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The Government, particularly the Home Office, are getting more and more evidence of financial abuse, particularly among older people. Economic abuse is now seen as a form of domestic abuse, so the noble Baroness is absolutely right. There is not only economic abuse of the elderly; as was raised with me in a Question last week, older people are more subject to scams.

[The Senior Deputy Speaker]

I have added a few minutes as a result of the connectivity and audio issues. We will go back to the noble Baroness, Lady Armstrong of Hill Top, if she is still here. No?

The time allowed for this Question has elapsed. The Virtual Proceedings will now adjourn until 1 pm for a Statement.