Immigration: International Students

Lord Watts Excerpts

Tuesday 10th October 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My noble friend points out precisely why they are included in the migration statistics.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

Are not the figures the Minister gives for the Russell group distorted by the fact that some of those universities have a special visa system?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

There has been a tier 4 visa pilot—that is possibly what the noble Lord is referring to—and we will evaluate its effectiveness. However, he actually makes a case for the fact that we welcome international students here.

Brexit: Customs and Border Staff

Lord Watts Excerpts

Monday 6th February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, there is more than just the French authorities to consider, although we have worked very hard and in good co-operation with the French. Control of our borders means just that—control of who comes in and who goes out. However, I accept that no system is perfect.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, would not the introduction of ID cards be the cheapest way to try to deal with this problem? Would not the Government’s time be better spent looking at the proposals and seeing how effective they would be in introducing controls on our borders?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

In short, no. We have moved beyond the ID card in terms of the amount of information we have on passenger movement. Technology now has almost negated the need for what the noble Lord talks about, which was quite some time ago.

Islam: Tenet of Abrogation

Lord Watts Excerpts

Monday 12th December 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I did not hear the last bit of that question because there was a bit of a noise from the House. This House prides itself on the wide range of Questions that can be tabled. We do not police too heavily whether those Questions are always necessarily accurate or reflect the situation. I cannot remember the noble Baroness’s second point. I will leave it there.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

Is there not a real danger of highlighting parts of the Koran, when you could equally make the same points about the Bible? Is it not important that we do not take either of those texts as literal?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, we have seen with all religions how people can interpret parts of them to their own ends. I was talking just this morning about my own Church and how some things in the past have been interpreted not for evil ends but wrongly. It happens with all texts. It is a question of how we as a civilised society deal with that in the round.

Asylum Seekers

Lord Watts Excerpts

Tuesday 1st November 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, the Question refers to those who have been granted refugee status, as opposed to those seeking asylum at that point. I think the noble Lord is talking about a different matter.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, will the Government make a special effort to help women immigrants and refugees learn English? Women are often isolated by being unable to speak the language.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The noble Lord is absolutely right for all the points I made in replying to the noble Lord, Lord Alton. Women are often the bedrock of family life and their children’s future. I think it was earlier in the year that the former Prime Minister announced the setting up of a fund for women to learn English to help them integrate well into British society and to help their children.

Hate Crime

Lord Watts Excerpts

Thursday 14th July 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

On the final point, if the noble Baroness shares that evidence with me, we will of course follow it up. As I have already indicated, the hate crime action plan is imminent; it has cross-government approval and will be looking to tackle some of the very issues the noble Baroness has highlighted. I would also highlight a few of the steps the Government have already taken. From this Dispatch Box I have previously spoken about both race and religious hate crime, which we have seen increase over recent years. From 1 April this year, for example, every police force across the country is now required to record race and religious hate crime for what it is, by category. The important thing, which I know as someone who has been subjected to this crime both on the internet and elsewhere, is that we communicate. We need to have the confidence of communities, so that they know they can report hate crime. As the noble Baroness has highlighted, the most important area is follow-up action.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, why does the Minister believe there has been a recent increase in these crimes? Is it anything to do with the recent referendum, or is it for some other reason? What will the Government do now to address the problems that have been created over the last few months?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The noble Lord raises an important point. We have seen even in recent history that, regrettably, there were some who used the referendum result to invoke and incite hatred against different communities. I myself visited the Polish centre in west London. Thankfully, these remain sporadic attacks. We have also seen a rise in attacks on particular communities; particular BME communities have been targeted. Recently I met religious faith leaders as well. We talked about reassurance and the importance of reporting religious hate crime, race hate crime or any kind of hate crime, and then following it up practically. This is an evolving area. It is unfortunate that there are many in society who suffer this from the few who seek to make an issue of race, religion or any other issue. We need to stamp it out and send a clear message in that respect.

Euro 2016: Fan Violence

Lord Watts Excerpts

Tuesday 14th June 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Keen of Elie]

I believe that such commendation is not required because the vast majority of English supporters are decent and peaceful. We are dealing here with an exception, where a tiny minority has tarred the others. I do not believe that one should assume that, because this tiny minority has brought this shadow on the game, it reflects the views of the vast majority of English supporters.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, the British police are trying to track down the British hooligans who took part in some of the riots that we saw over the weekend. Do we know what Russia is doing about that? If it does nothing, does that not raise the question of whether we should have the next championship in Russia?

[Lord Keen of Elie]

We are not aware of the steps that the Russians are taking in response to the events in Marseilles. The question of where the World Cup should be held is for FIFA, not for the Government.

Hillsborough

Lord Watts Excerpts

Wednesday 27th April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The noble Lord is right to raise the issue of trust in a general sense. Speaking as any citizen would, we look to our police forces up and down the country—many of which do an incredible job—to provide safety and security for all of us. A high level of confidence in your police force is an essential part of going about your daily life. Where that has failed, particularly in the instance of South Yorkshire Police—I know an earlier question related to the fluid nature of what is happening in South Yorkshire at the moment—it is important that police forces and all those associated with their governance not only accept direct responsibility but make and act on the right decisions for themselves and, more importantly, for the people of their areas.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

The Minister is aware of the damage that was done by the media over this issue but one individual, Kelvin MacKenzie, has special responsibility. Does the Minister agree that no broadcaster should employ Kelvin MacKenzie, given his past record?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

That is a matter for individual broadcasters. However, I am sure that if they are watching us or read Hansard, they will reflect on the noble Lord’s comments.

Severn Crossings: Tolls

Lord Watts Excerpts

Monday 14th March 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, I have just said—I am sure that the noble Baroness heard my previous answer—that the Government are looking to assist small and medium-sized enterprises in that regard. When the concessionary period comes to end, we will review the tolling procedure and will work hand in glove with the Welsh Government to ensure that an effective tolling regime applies on the bridge. However, I remind noble Lords that, even at the end of the concessionary period, £63 million will still be owing to the UK taxpayer, and it is therefore right that we look to ensure that we recover that cost.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, the Minister will be aware that there is already a toll on the Mersey tunnel and that there is a proposal to charge on the second crossing to Runcorn. Can he set out the criteria for deciding whether something is charged for? The charging system seems somewhat confused.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I will write to the noble Lord on that scheme and provide details of what lies behind that decision.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Watts Excerpts

Monday 27th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Norman Baker]

I am sorry to hear about the horrific incident to which the hon. Gentleman refers. We saw a report of another such attack on the front page of The Sun this morning, although fortunately someone was found guilty in that case. An EU regulation is being brought forward on the marketing and use of explosive precursors, and it separates chemicals into those that have a history of effective misuse across Europe and those that are less harmful. The great problem, as he recognises, is that many of those chemicals have legitimate uses in household activities, such as clearing drains and cleaning jewellery, so regulating them for legitimate use would be quite difficult, but we are determined to do what we can to identify the problems.

[Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)]

8. How many terrorism prevention and investigation measures orders will expire during January 2014.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (James Brokenshire)]

As of 30 November, eight TPIM notices were in force. The previous Government did not provide a running commentary on control orders, and for sound operational reasons we will not comment on individual TPIM cases. The next quarterly statistics are due to be published in March.

[Mr Watts]

I thank the Minister for that response. Until last week, both the Home Secretary and the High Court backed TPIMs. What has changed, and how will the Government protect the public now that they have made that change?

[James Brokenshire]

It is worth highlighting for the House that TPIMs provide some of the most stringent restrictions in any democratic country. The independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, David Anderson, described them as a “harsh” measure. I highlight that the two-year limit for TPIMs is supported by David Anderson and his predecessor in that role, Lord Carlile, who was appointed by the previous Labour Government. There are measures in place to manage TPIM suspects when they come off their orders, and we have confidence in the ability of the police and the Security Service to manage risk, which they do every day.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Watts Excerpts

Monday 7th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)]

10. Which police forces have experienced the greatest recent reduction in the number of front-line police officers.

[Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)]

18. Which police forces have experienced the greatest recent reduction in the number of front-line police officers.

[The Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice (Damian Green)]

Between March 2011 and March 2012, the West Midlands force had the greatest reduction, 435, in the number of front-line police officers. It also had, in the year to June 2012, a 13% reduction in overall recorded crime compared with the previous 12 months—one of the largest falls of any force in England and Wales.

[Mr Watts]

Will the Minister explain to my constituents why Merseyside is having to cut 552 police officers when Surrey, through the new grant system, can employ another 49 police officers? Is it because the Government are fiddling the figures and the grant system? Will he set up an independent body to look at the funding of the police?

[Damian Green]

The grant system is exactly the same as it was under the Government whom the hon. Gentleman supported. I am happy to tell his constituents that crime in the Merseyside area was down 6% from 2011 to 2012, and that victim satisfaction with Merseyside police is 88%, which is higher than the average for England and Wales. I hope that he and his constituents will join me in congratulating their local police on how well they are doing.