Brexit: Immigration Policy

Lord Tomlinson Excerpts

Wednesday 30th November 2016 Lords Chamber

[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”.

[Lord Tomlinson (Lab)]

My Lords, will the Minister now reply to the very pertinent question asked by my noble friend Lord Reid, which she did not answer? He invited her to draw a clear distinction of understanding between freedom of movement of persons and freedom of movement of labour. On which of the two principles is the government policy currently based?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I thought I had explained it quite clearly.

Calais: Child Refugees

Lord Tomlinson Excerpts

Monday 24th October 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I assure the right reverend Prelate that at no time has our support to the French authorities been less than exemplary. The challenge has been that in providing that support we are reliant on French law and how the French do things. However, the support process and the co-operation, which have been two-sided, have been very good in the last few days and weeks.

[Lord Tomlinson (Lab)]

My Lords, have the Government yet made up their mind about the fate of these children when they reach 18? When I asked that question before, the Minister was very unclear about whether any decision had yet been made.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The noble Lord will know that each child and each circumstance is different and that the type of protection that a child needs is different in each case. When a child reaches 18, he or she then becomes an adult and, just as would be the case in this country, different assessments are made of the status of that child. Obviously, if he or she came from another country, they would then enter the asylum process, as would any other adult.

Immigration

Lord Tomlinson Excerpts

Monday 12th September 2016 Lords Chamber

[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.

[Lord Tomlinson (Lab)]

Is it now government policy once again to reduce the net migration figure to tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands? If that is the policy, as I gather it was from listening to Amber Rudd on the “Andrew Marr Show” yesterday, will she give us any compelling reason why we should believe that promise any more than the promise made by Mr Cameron?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I can give that assurance. As my right honourable friend the Home Secretary made clear, it will take time and we are quite clear about that.

Refugees: Unaccompanied Children

Lord Tomlinson Excerpts

Tuesday 10th May 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Keen of Elie]

I thank the noble Lord. What he says complements the Government’s efforts to develop community sponsorship schemes for children arriving in this country.

[Lord Tomlinson (Lab)]

Could the Minister give a clear and unequivocal statement that the children who are coming into this country will have no pressure or requirement placed on them at 18 to leave these shores?

[Lord Keen of Elie]

I can give no such assurance. The position of these children when they reach the age of 18 will be assessed and their right to remain will be determined by reference to the country from which they arrived and also by reference to whether it is fair, reasonable and safe for them to return.

Investor Visas: Money Laundering

Lord Tomlinson Excerpts

Monday 9th May 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Keen of Elie]

The Government have no plans to abolish the tier 1 route.

[Lord Tomlinson (Lab)]

Could the Minister remind Members of the House who have short memories who was in government with the Conservatives at the time we are talking about?

[Lord Keen of Elie]

Well, in fact the relevant tier 1 form of application goes back to 1994.

Crime: Religiously Motivated Crime

Lord Tomlinson Excerpts

Thursday 21st April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I totally agree with the noble and learned Lord’s sentiments.

[Lord Tomlinson (Lab)]

My Lords, does the noble Lord agree that the Prime Minister in the House of Commons yesterday was getting dangerously close to encouraging race hatred by making allegations against Mr Sadiq Khan, the Labour candidate for Mayor of London, concerning his association with somebody who had been visiting Tooting to work for the Conservative Party and recruit members to it?

Migration

Lord Tomlinson Excerpts

Monday 29th February 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

We changed the rules on that in legislation. We said that we wanted to attract the brightest and best. We want people to apply on a points-based system so that those with qualifications and people who could add something to the British economy through expertise and skills are able to come here, but other people are not. There would be restrictions on their families as well.

[Lord Tomlinson (Lab)]

Does the Minister accept that there has not only been a change in the rules, but a change in some of the language? Today, he did not reaffirm the commitment of the Prime Minister to reduce net migration to tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands. Today, his words were “to sustainable levels”. Are sustainable levels the level that the Prime Minister promised?

[Lord Bates]

Yes, they are. That is what we set out in our manifesto. We believe that we can get the numbers down but some extraordinary circumstances are occurring at the moment. The principal driving force is the imbalance in growth across the European economy in terms of employment. This has been picked up and identified as a principal factor by the Migration Advisory Committee, the independent group of labour economists. We would like to see greater growth and reform within the eurozone economy so that jobs would be created in those communities and people would not have to travel, but these things are not totally within our control.

Railways: South East Flexible Ticketing Scheme

Lord Tomlinson Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd February 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I will write specifically on that issue to the noble Lord. I believe that the noble Lord was referring to the awards of franchises; it is true that we are working very closely to ensure that there is an open competition. However, I will write to him on his specific question.

[Lord Tomlinson (Lab)]

The Minister has declared to the House that he does not think that he would agree with anything said by the leader of the Opposition in the other place. Is he really saying that as a Minister in the Government he is declaring himself opposed to the referendum that will take place on our membership of the European Union?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My right honourable friends have made clear their position on the EU referendum; we are negotiating. I am a member of my right honourable friend the Prime Minister’s Government and stand with him. He is ably leading negotiations and it is in the interest of everyone, both in the other place and this House, to show full support for our Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Syrian Refugees: Settlement in the UK

Lord Tomlinson Excerpts

Monday 7th December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

In terms of moral responsibilities, it should be recognised that we have committed to take 20,000 refugees by the end of the Parliament, which represents a significant upscaling of the scheme. The Prime Minister said last week that he would look at this issue again. He is doing so, but a key group that is concerned here is the UNHCR, which we are working closely with. It is concerned that if we offer special treatment to unaccompanied minors, that may encourage more of them to be trafficked or might take them away from the region where they would actually stand more chance of remaining with their families. In fact, that is being exploited by the people traffickers, who send the children first in the hope that they might be resettled, and that others may follow afterwards. The Prime Minister is looking at this again because on the face of it, there is a compelling humanitarian case. However, no decision has been taken yet.

[Lord Tomlinson (Lab)]

Will the Minister reflect on the fact that another of the Prime Minister’s pledges was to reduce net migration from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands? Can he update your Lordships’ House on the statements made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer last week, in which he seemed to suggest that the Government are minded to take migration for the purposes of higher education out of the net migration count?

[Lord Bates]

I have two thoughts on that. First, of course, it is absolutely right that there needs to be downward pressure on the wrong sort of immigration into this country. We have got to get those numbers down, precisely so that we can also offer more generous support to the genuine refugees and asylum seekers. On the specific of students, whatever the change in the calculation of the numbers, it will make no change to the student policy. There is no cap on the number of students who can come here for genuine courses at genuine universities, and that will remain the case.

Channel Tunnel: Migrants

Lord Tomlinson Excerpts

Tuesday 1st December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

There is a certain displacement happening here. As the security at Coquelles gets stronger and tougher, and as we then provide greater security around the port of Calais and move along to Dunkirk, Le Havre and other places, there will be displacement. People are going to be forced into the smaller ports and airfields that have been mentioned. That was the reason why we said that there was an increased threat there that needs to be responded to. Part of that was announced by the Chancellor last week when he announced £9 million for additional aviation security just to tackle that problem.

[Lord Tomlinson (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (GP)]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Bates]

Under the Dublin regulations, they have to apply for asylum in the first safe country that they arrive in. If that is France, that is where they must apply for asylum. There are regulations under Dublin III, which the noble Baroness will be familiar with, that deal with family reunification. Where the individual applies for asylum in France but actually has strong family links in the UK, we will enter into discussions with our French counterparts to see how that arrangement can be resolved in a way that keeps the family together.

[Lord Tomlinson]

Would the Minister agree that it is about time that he changed the Answer he gave the House recently and revisited the role that identity cards can play in the fight against terrorists and illegal immigrants, and, by doing that, in the fight against the gangs that are organising these activities?

[Lord Bates]

The answer I gave to the House, which I acknowledge it did not fully accept—perhaps that was to do with the way I presented it—was that we had tried that before.