Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Home Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Duncan Hames Excerpts
Monday 10th March 2014

(10 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Baroness May of Maidenhead Portrait Mrs May
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We are continuing to deal with net migration. [Interruption.] I fully accept that the most recent figures, which show an increase in migration from the EU, have made the task more difficult, but it ill behoves Labour Members to talk in those terms when they had an immigration policy that meant there was uncontrolled immigration throughout their period in office.

Duncan Hames Portrait Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)
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A successful Wiltshire businesswoman who has created jobs for dozens of local people and paid her fair share of taxes faces her family being wrenched apart on account of her mother being denied leave to remain. How can we ensure that wealth creators—people who create jobs for our constituents —are not made to feel unwelcome here by changes to the family migration route?

Baroness May of Maidenhead Portrait Mrs May
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I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will want to raise individual cases with my hon. Friend the Minister for Security and Immigration. In overall terms, we have changed all routes of entry into the United Kingdom, which has had an impact on non-EU migration, which is at its lowest since 1998. The hon. Gentleman talks about wealth creators, and it is important that we differentiate in the system. We are cutting out abuse and ensuring that the brightest and the best can come to the UK.