Heidi Alexander
Main Page: Heidi Alexander (Labour - Swindon South)Department Debates - View all Heidi Alexander's debates with the Wales Office
(14 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend makes a very good point. There is always a danger when there is a big backlog—we have been left one of 400,000 to 450,000 of asylum records—to just wave them through, but I assure him that there will be no amnesty. All cases will be considered on their individual merits. We are committed to getting immigration and asylum issues under control. We are looking at the last Government’s points system, and even under their tier 1 of highly skilled people, it turns out that around 30% of those given leave to remain are in low-skilled roles. The current system is not working, and we are going to sort it out.
Heidi Alexander (Lewisham East) (Lab)
I would like to return to the education maintenance allowance. In March, the Prime Minister came to Lewisham college and spoke to students about his plans. He said:
“We’ll keep it. We’ve taken a look at it. We think it’s a good idea.”
Will he explain to me and the 1,150 students at the college who are currently receiving EMA why his Government are scrapping it?