Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Deidre Brock and Priti Patel

Monday 5th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He is correct that over the summer the majority of arrivals in small boats from France—about 60%—have been Albanian nationals. He will be delighted to hear about the work that I have led on reform of the national referral mechanism, a key component of the reforms to the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which has been committed to within this Session of Parliament.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

9. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of her asylum policies on Afghan citizens seeking refuge and humanitarian protection in the UK.

Refugees from Ukraine

Debate between Deidre Brock and Priti Patel

Thursday 10th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

This is the theme that we hear constantly throughout the community—a recognition that, of course, people will want to go home. It is their country; it is the place of their birth; it is where they have lived their lives. There is no question about that. That is why we are taking a consistent approach across all schemes to the leave period that people can come here for, even those on temporary leave.

The point about ethnic cleansing is so valid. There are still people of Ukrainian origin in Russia who are subject to appalling persecution. Those people are also in our thoughts, and we want to consider how we can help them, too.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

Yesterday, I spoke to a senior member of the Ukrainian community in my constituency. He wanted to know what sorts of resettlement schemes are being looked at to support orphans and unaccompanied children arriving here, and whether the Home Secretary would consider waiving all visa requirements for them.

English Channel Small Boats Incident

Debate between Deidre Brock and Priti Patel

Thursday 25th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

My right hon. Friend is, of course, absolutely correct. Arrests have been made. It is not for me to comment in detail on the type of arrests or the type of work that is taking place, but I can assure my right hon. Friend and the House that, certainly for the last few years, the level of intelligence-sharing, both in the UK and in France and beyond—for we go much further than France when it comes to intelligence-sharing—has been pivotal to arrests, convictions and smashing up gangs. A great deal of outstanding work has been done. I may have alluded on Monday to a very big case in which an Albanian criminal was prosecuted. Such outcomes are not always reported, but collectively there have been some very significant arrests and prosecutions.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

I believe that the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has written to the Home Secretary seeking an urgent meeting regarding her recent attacks on Scottish councils and their responsibilities to asylum seekers. I urge her to take up that offer, so that a few home truths about the situation can be relayed to her. Does she agree that now is also the time, in the face of an appalling tragedy, to stop referring to this as simply a French or a UK issue and instead to address it as an international or global issue? Does she also agree that it is vital for disputes over Northern Ireland and fishing to be treated entirely separately from working together to find a joint solution?

[Priti Patel]

I take issue with the hon. Lady’s comments. Let me say first that the Immigration Minister met representatives of COSLA on Monday and these issues did not arise. Secondly, I have never said that migration is a UK-France issue; I have always said that it is a global issue. It is no use pointing to my colleagues; the hon. Lady was putting the question directly to me. I have always maintained that this is a global crisis, and I have always been proactive in speaking to my counterparts in EU member states and other countries. I have even hosted meetings with them. I think that that context is equally important.

Windrush Lessons Learned Review

Debate between Deidre Brock and Priti Patel

Tuesday 21st July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend makes an important point about the responsibility that we all have in terms of learning from the past and trying to right the wrongs of the past collectively. He has sat in the House diligently over the course of previous statements, if I recall, and the most recent Windrush statement as well, and asked a question in a similar vein. He will have heard me say to all Members of this House that whether it is on individual cases or whether it is in our tone, our posture or how we address the issue of injustices, we have to work together. No individual, no Government, no organisation has the sole answer to this. It is important that we work collectively and together.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

We hear that caseworkers have been told to demand of some claimants that they make their case beyond reasonable doubt—a high standard that many will struggle to meet. Why has the bar been set so high? Will that be reviewed as part of the evaluation of the hostile environment policy?

[Priti Patel]

As I have already said several times with regard to the cases themselves, these are complicated cases and individuals need to provide certain amounts of information with regard to the processing of claims and not just payments. That is part of the scheme that was created before I became Home Secretary, with Martin Forde QC, and the scheme was developed in conjunction with members of the Windrush generation. I have said that I am prepared now to look at any complexities around the scheme, and I said this at the Select Committee last week as well. If we need to look at amending the scheme going forward to enable and facilitate quicker payments or swifter cases being turned around, we will absolutely look at that.

Windrush Compensation Scheme

Debate between Deidre Brock and Priti Patel

Tuesday 23rd June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

My right hon. Friend understands some of the challenges associated with the Windrush generation and the compensation scheme and the exceptional work of community representation and organisations whose passion and commitment is incredible. That work will absolutely continue, primarily because it is important for the Home Office to continue that engagement and dialogue with the community. If cases have not been resolved by the deadline of April 2023, of course we would look to extend it, but my objective is to ensure that we find these claimants. The rates are still incredibly low. Hon. Members have referred to individual cases they know of, but there are many we still do not know enough about, which is why we have this extensive community engagement. It is the right and proper approach.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

The Home Secretary has just admitted that successive UK Governments were institutionally racist and that the hostile environment resulted directly in the Windrush scandal. What exact actions will she take to change the culture of government in Whitehall to ensure it never happens again, and will she unpick the odious and repressive hostile environment?

[Priti Patel]

I refer the hon. Lady to my comments earlier.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Deidre Brock and Priti Patel

Wednesday 18th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

T8. A recent reply to a written question stated that nearly 11% of the aid budget is managed through the EU. Will the Secretary of State tell us what concrete plans she has to ensure that that money is properly used after Brexit?

[Priti Patel]

The hon. Lady is right to point out that we make contributions through other organisations, particularly the European Union. After Brexit, we will ensure that that money is not only spent accountably and in a transparent way, but doing exactly what it is there to do: serving the world’s poorest and providing relief to those people who desperately need that aid support.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Deidre Brock and Priti Patel

Wednesday 11th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend will know that our priority is, of course, economic development and making sure that, through our aid, we are delivering long-term sustainable economic development and prosperity in everything we do. He is also right to note that DFID is working across the Government as we leave the European Union to look at unilateral trade preferences and the work we can do to grow our trade footprint across the world.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

T4. Unlike the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies), we in the Scottish National party welcome the fact that OECD data show that, last year, the UK was one of only six countries to meet the 0.7% aid target. That, of course, includes the Scottish Government’s international aid fund. What assurances can the Secretary of State give that her Government’s commitment to that target is unwavering and will continue to be fulfilled beyond the next general election?

[Priti Patel]

We have been unequivocal in our commitment to 0.7% and, in addition, it is a manifesto commitment. Let me restate again, for the benefit of the House, that the focus of my Department is on poverty reduction and on ensuring that that money is spent to drive taxpayer value and deliver programmes for the poorest in the world.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Deidre Brock and Priti Patel

Thursday 25th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

I come back to my opening comment: we fully assessed the impact of the Bill’s equality measures, and we are meeting our wider obligations. As the hon. Gentleman will recognise, universal credit supports people in employment, and that applies equally to women. That is alongside all the additional measures that we are now implementing, such as the national living wage, increased childcare and tax-free childcare.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

18. The Minister will be aware that women’s aid groups have expressed serious concerns that changes to housing benefit could force the closure of many refuges. Will she challenge her colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions to exempt refuges from those changes, to protect vulnerable women and children who are fleeing domestic violence?

[Priti Patel]

The hon. Lady will know that there are measures in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill, and they are in conjunction with the many discussions that we have with stakeholders, and we take on board all considerations. That is exactly what the Department will do in its dialogue with third-party organisations.