Oral Answers to Questions

David Taylor Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

Any editorial decisions on BBC content will be made by the BBC alone—that is right and proper. All I can say is that wherever I am in the world, it is clear quite how powerful the BBC is—a soft power perhaps, but a very important reflection of our values as a country and of deep connections between the people of Britain and other nations. We are determined to ensure that that remains the case.

[David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)]

T2. While we await the outcome of the Foreign Secretary’s reviews and our Chancellor’s forthcoming Budget, and remain confident that the Home Office’s plans will be successful in reducing domestic refugee costs, this issue remains of concern across the House. Will the Minister reassure the House that she will do everything she can to protect these aspects of our foreign aid budget, and will she meet me and concerned colleagues to discuss how we can take them forward after the Chancellor’s Budget?

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this issue. I would be very happy to meet him and other Members, particularly from the Government Benches, where we have a considerable number of MPs with direct experience of international development work. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is committed to bringing order to the asylum system. She has taken steps to unblock the backlog of claims. The fact that we lacked a plan to do that previously led to spiralling costs, which hit the international development budget very hard.