European Council

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 19th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Swire]

Mali was not on the agenda, and I am not aware that it was discussed.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

The impact of the war in Syria on the Christian community there is causing great concern to many people in this country and elsewhere. At the EU summit, was there any discussion of the displaced Christian community who are caught between President Assad’s regime and the anti-Government forces?

UK Trade & Investment

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 19th March 2013 Westminster Hall

[Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury and Atcham) (Con)]

There is nothing more important than exports. The House constantly debates and argues over how to slice the cake—there are huge areas of difference between Opposition and Government Members—to provide for all the public services that we want to support, yet exports are about increasing revenue as a whole for the country and making that cake bigger. I am extremely disappointed that no Labour Back Benchers are present for the debate, but that is typical of debates on exports. They also table few written questions on this critical subject, so they clearly are not interested in engaging with it. I hope that the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Wrexham (Ian Lucas), will take a message to his parliamentary party about the importance of engaging in such debates so that we can work constructively together, across parties, on this critical issue.

My office and I have spent the previous few months interviewing people from hundreds of SMEs from all over the UK, who have come to the House of Commons to give us their experiences—good and bad—of UKTI. We presented our preliminary results at a meeting with the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I have repeatedly lobbied the Chancellor on the issue, and I very much hope that some movement, or some additional support for UKTI, will be spoken about on Wednesday.

During my interviews, I have got to know Mr Nick Baird, the chief executive of UKTI, who I think is doing a very good job, and I want to put on record my thanks to him for his professional leadership of the organisation. I am, however, disappointed that a number of companies that I have met have failed to get the support that they require from UKTI, so I have started to take them to Mr Baird to allow him to engage directly with them and provide support. Some of the companies are talking about hundreds of millions of pounds of investment into the United Kingdom, so that is very important.

I shall mention briefly, as I have to be very brief, three key recommendations that I would like the Minister to take on board, with which, by the way, Mr Baird agrees. The first is about the structure of UKTI. At the moment, personnel report into different Departments, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and sometimes to local ambassadors. What we want in the United Kingdom is one organisation that is fit for purpose, with reporting taking place directly to UKTI’s board and its chief executive. We want an organisation that can hire, fire and reward on the grounds of performance and on a commercial basis. We want to encourage people in UKTI to go the extra mile and strive to do everything possible to help British businesses to export. Regrettably, the support is rather patchy; in some parts of the world it is superb, but in others it is poor. We therefore want a common theme across the world and a common reporting structure.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Daniel Kawczynski]

No, I will not. I am sorry, but I do not have time.

My second point is about funding. Only 0.005% of Government spend goes to UKTI, and I am concerned that we will fall behind Scottish Development International, for example. That body receives far more pro rata, given the number of companies in Scotland, so it is able better to support its companies.

There is only a 49% awareness of UKTI among SMEs, and it is important that the body gets more funding from the Chancellor so that the message about what it can do for those companies throughout the world is better understood. My hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North (Nick de Bois) made the superb point that for every £1 spent, UKTI generates £22 of revenue. If I was the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my No. 1 priority would be to give UKTI more money.

My third point is that we need greater parliamentary scrutiny of UKTI. I am having to condense a 25-minute speech into five minutes, and this is only the second debate that has been held on UKTI in the past 12 months. This is a ridiculous way of scrutinising one of our country’s most important bodies. I want ongoing parliamentary scrutiny, and even—dare I say it—a Select Committee that can interact with Ministers and the UKTI chief executive on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis, and hold them to account about specific countries and projects so that we are always scrutinising how taxpayers’ money is spent. When that parliamentary scrutiny takes place, we will be able to say to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, “Look at what UKTI is doing. Look how things are improving. Give it more money,” and I cannot overemphasise the importance of that. I desperately want to work with colleagues to convince the Chancellor and the Prime Minister to give us a Select Committee of the House of Commons to allow those of us who are passionate about exports to work together constructively to hold UKTI to account.

Some 45 UKTI staff work in Brazil, but 52 opportunities are listed on the website. The website is not properly maintained, and no opportunities are listed for a huge number of countries. We might not be surprised that that is the case for some obscure, small countries, such as Cape Verde and Mauritania, but there are many larger countries that have no opportunities listed against them. If we are going to have a website and to communicate with SMEs up and down the country, we need always to be harvesting opportunities across the world and putting them on that site. We must ensure that information is disseminated daily to all nine regions in England, and that those regions then interact with their SMEs to find out which can best be tailored to each opportunity.

Whenever I have travelled abroad, I have noted that the most important thing to remember, as my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North mentioned, is branding. The British brand is the gold standard. It is the best in the world, so many people across the middle east, and in the rest of the world, yearn to buy British. Give us an opportunity here in the Commons to scrutinise UKTI on an ongoing basis, and give us a Select Committee.

--- Later in debate ---

[Charles Hendry (Wealden) (Con)]

I put on record my interests as the Prime Minister’s trade envoy to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, and as the chairman of the advisory board of the Russo-British chamber of commerce.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North (Nick de Bois) on securing the debate. He was absolutely right to say that our future recovery lies not within the eurozone, but outside it. We must focus much more on countries where there are tremendous opportunities that we are often missing. From my experience of visiting them as a Minister and subsequently, such countries want to trade with Britain. The door is open, and the question we are most often asked is, “Why don’t we see more of you?” I am delighted at the work being done by the Foreign Office and UKTI teams to try to ensure that we are in a strong position to do that.

There are very exciting developments in Russia, with which our trade has doubled in the past three years. It has moved from being our 19th biggest trading partner to being as large as our 11th biggest, which is a huge improvement in activity. We want such an approach to be replicated in many other countries.

I welcome the approach taken by the Minister for Trade and Investment, my noble Friend Lord Green, towards developing links with chambers of commerce. They are well established in their countries, where they are well known to their Governments, and they understand those countries well. It is much better to develop those relations than to put in place a new structure.

Chambers of commerce are also well positioned to ensure that we go beyond the few cities that trade delegations usually visit. In Russia, there will be delegations to Moscow and St Petersburg, but there are exciting new opportunities and a real enthusiasm for doing business in Kazan in Tatarstan, and chambers of commerce should be our natural allies in making things happen.

At the end of last year, the Prime Minister appointed seven of us as trade envoys to some of the fast-developing markets, which are exactly the sort of markets that my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North spoke about. We should recognise the extraordinary personal contribution that the Prime Minister is making in that area, with the success of his trade missions and his determination to get out there and win opportunities for British companies right around the world.

The role of trade envoys is to give an extra level of support, working alongside the FCO and UKTI. It is to focus purely on trade, not politics or diplomacy, and on taking that contact forward to a deeper and broader level of engagement. In the three countries in which I work, there are tens of billions of pounds of British investment in the oil and gas sector, and companies such as Shell, BP and BG have enormous departments that focus on improving such links. My focus therefore needs to be not only on working with them, but on seeing how to secure opportunities for the supply chain and service companies, of which Britain has some of the finest in the world.

[Jim Shannon]

The effectiveness of businesses is measured by export contracts. Does the hon. Gentleman think that we should do more for our skills and people skills in construction, for instance, so that people are able to go overseas to help companies to build?

[Charles Hendry]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that we have world-class skills in that sector. I find that people saw what happened in Britain in 2012, when we delivered the most successful Olympic games ever, and know that those involved often have a tremendous amount to offer to countries with big ambitions in such areas.

The Asian games are in Ashgabat in 2017, the European games are in Baku in 2015 and the Expo is in Astana in 2017. In all those areas, we are introducing British architects, engineers and construction companies—working alongside other partners—to ensure that they have the chance to compete. The issue is not only about the big companies, because my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North is completely right that it is also about SMEs. On the recent mission that I undertook to Turkmenistan, the majority of companies were SMEs with expertise in the sports sector that saw how they could work alongside others and realise the potential of the 2017 games.

We also have opportunities to attract more investment into the United Kingdom. These countries all have significant sovereign wealth funds. We can highlight the opportunities for them to invest in British businesses and infrastructure, and they should become our natural partners as we take that forward.

I believe that what really makes a difference is the relationship between trade envoys, and the Foreign Office and UKTI. We have excellent missions and ambassadors in those countries, but we also have outstanding UKTI representatives who are focused on understanding those markets and realising the opportunities. That means that we host good round tables to bring together a range of companies that are interested in investing here. For companies that are looking for where to export next, but are anxious about going to markets that are distant and new, we can help to make the process much easier.

I very much welcome the debate. Above all, the key message is that countries throughout the world that want to trade with Britain need to see us more. I am delighted that we have such an energetic Minister in post, because I know that he is tireless in taking that forward.

Bangladesh (Escalation of Violence)

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 19th March 2013 Westminster Hall

[Rushanara Ali]

My hon. Friend will be aware that any attempt to try to understand the deeply complex nature of the politics and political parties of Bangladesh is beyond me. I am concerned that all parties behave responsibly and within the law, whether they are here or in Bangladesh. My job as a constituency MP is to make sure that people behave responsibly and that, whatever their political leanings towards parties in another country, they act peacefully and within the law, whether there or here.

I appeal to those who demonstrate in one of the major parks—Altab Ali park—in my constituency every weekend and every Friday to do so peacefully and to relay their concerns peacefully. In the end, they will be doing no favours to their fellow countrymen and women in Bangladesh if they act irresponsibly. I would say that to all the political parties and to all those who have political leanings, whether towards Jamaat, the Awami League or the Bangladesh Nationalist party. Sadly, too often people get into polarised positions and insist that we, as British parliamentarians, should take sides. I do not think that is the responsible thing to do. What is important is that those people themselves exercise responsibility.

The hon. Member for St Albans (Mrs Main), in her capacity as chair of the all-party group on Bangladesh, has also raised concerns about political violence in Bangladesh, particularly among the youth wings of parties. Political leaders—our appeal is to all the political leaders—should take responsibility and ensure that they set the tone, so that the young, impressionable people who are involved in the youth wings of political parties act in a non-violent, peaceful way to highlight their concerns and their unhappiness about whatever may be happening. In the end, that will be the true test of the maturity of where people in Bangladesh and the British Bangladeshi community have got to. We have a responsibility to ensure that we encourage dialogue across the board in all the parties.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

First, I congratulate the hon. Lady on bringing this matter to the House. My constituency has the largest number of Bangladeshis in Northern Ireland and therefore this issue is very close to my heart. The attacks on religious organisations and religious beliefs—those of Hindu and Christian people in Bangladesh—have resulted in some 89 people being killed in the past year. Does the hon. Lady feel that perhaps more needs to be done to address the issue of the Hindu and Christian people who have been attacked and murdered because of their beliefs?

[Rushanara Ali]

Bangladesh is a country that was founded on the idea of standing up for the rights of minorities. The majority Muslim population in Bangladesh is all too aware of what it is like to face persecution; they fought a war of independence for that reason. I am a British Bangladeshi, but I was born in Bangladesh, and it is absolutely right that people are constantly reminded of the values and principles on which Bangladesh was founded. In fact, the nation was founded by Muslims and Hindus, by those with faith and those without faith—by people across the board. That is Bangladesh’s great strength as a country. Where there is rising intolerance, that intolerance must be dealt with.

I would emphasise, however, that there are concerns about religious freedoms across the board. Within a liberal framework—I believe that Bangladesh has a strong liberal tradition—the rights of people to peacefully practise their religious beliefs, whatever religion they practise, should be observed, along with their other civil rights. So I totally agree with the hon. Gentleman, but we need to ensure that we encourage the Government of Bangladesh and other political leaders in the country to set the tone and to try to ensure that they stand up not only against any kind of oppression towards any minority group, but for religious freedoms within a peaceful context. The concern is that violence is increasing—some of it sadly through the prism of religion—and that is deeply unhelpful.

Falkland Islands Referendum

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 12th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

I entirely endorse my hon. Friend’s point. This process will definitely be watched with great interest by the United Nations when self-determination, which is surely what a referendum is all about, is being considered.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on bringing this matter before the House. The referendum was clear: the Falkland islanders want to stay British. Does he feel that that message should be sent out from this House this evening to the Argentines—that the Falklands are British today, they will be British in 20 years’ time and they will be British for ever, as long as the people there want them to be?

[Guy Opperman]

I entirely endorse that point.

It is also right to remember those who passed away during the conflict 31 years ago, when 255 British troops died, 650 Argentinean troops passed away and three female islanders were also killed.

UK Trade and Investment

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Daniel Kawczynski]

I am very pleased for my hon. Friend and wish the company every success in exporting tea to China.

UKTI should appreciate these debates. I am proud of its achievements, but of course we should always scrutinise it to see if it can do more. This country became one of the greatest countries in the world through its ability to trade. We are not exporting as much as I would like, which is why it is so important to have these debates, and I am pleased that my hon. Friend has had a positive experience.

I do not want salaries to be just mediocre or okay for UKTI staff—many do a very good job. I want them to be the best, because I want UKTI to recruit the best. I want them to have greater incentives and bonuses to push for trade. My understanding—the Minister may correct me if I am wrong—is that UKTI staff are monitored as a whole, rather than as individuals. It is extremely important that we start to monitor individual performance. When I was in exports, if I did not hit my one-month target there would be problems; if I did not hit the two-month target, there would be serious problems; if I did not hit the three-month target, I would be out of a job. We have that pressure in the private sector, and it focuses the mind on delivering what is expected. I hope we can bring that private sector focus to UKTI.

I mentioned co-ordination across the country. I am the chair of two all-party groups: for Saudi Arabia and for Libya. Not once have I ever been contacted, in seven years, by anybody in UKTI about all of my delegations to Saudi Arabia and Libya—not on a proactive basis anyway. We, as parliamentarians, do an important job when we go to such countries. We meet important officials and leaders, so it is important for UKTI to understand all-party groups. Some are very active and UKTI should be engaging with us to find out what we are doing and try to have a common approach.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Does the hon. Gentleman see that it is the export not just of UK products, but of skills that help to increase business in Libya and the other countries in the middle east to which he has referred?

[Daniel Kawczynski]

I spent the afternoon with His Excellency Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, the former Libyan Prime Minister, who, with his counterparts, bravely brought about the revolution. He said the very same thing to me: that they are desperate for British skills, not just exported goods. They desperately need our experts in the fields of banking, commerce, education and health care. I agree with the hon. Gentleman.

The Prime Minister has started to appoint trade ambassadors and I have not heard from any of them so far, apart from my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham), who I think has been appointed to look after Indonesia. He is not in the Chamber at the moment, but I pay tribute to how he has been trying to engage with parliamentarians in a proactive way, and explaining what he is doing with companies from across the UK. He is helping them to enter Indonesia, and encouraging other hon. Members with companies that could benefit from participating. The Middle East Association and the Arab British Chamber of Commerce are also acutely involved in exports to the middle east. I hope that the Minister will give me an assurance that efforts will be redoubled to co-ordinate with all trade ambassadors, all-party parliamentary groups, the MEA and the ABCC to ensure that we have a co-ordinated approach as one country with one strategy, with all of us who are interested in exports consulted and utilised constantly to update our constituents on all the opportunities that exist.

I have come across instances where business has been lost in the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and other countries, when business men from those countries have wished to come to the United Kingdom to visit a particular project or institution—to see whether it is appropriate to build in their country or whether their company has the calibre to undertake such a project—and their visas have been rejected. As a result, the business has been lost, obviously to the great annoyance of the host country and the business people involved. There must be greater co-ordination between UKTI and the Home Office to ensure that visas are granted to the genuine business men from all over the middle east who are trying to come to the United Kingdom either for training courses or to look at projects and companies.

UKTI is good at high-value opportunities. As I have said, I recently had the privilege of meeting Paul Noon, the director of UKTI in the west midlands. I applaud the work that UKTI does and I am grateful to the Minister for all his efforts. In my view, there has been a radical shift over the last two and a half years. The Prime Minister has said that he wants our embassies to be shop windows for British businesses. To a degree, I can see a vast improvement in our embassies. A lot of that is a tribute to my hon. Friend the Minister and his colleagues who have ensured that all the people at our embassies, from the ambassadors downwards, are focused on supporting small and medium-sized companies to export overseas to the middle east and north Africa, but too many of these opportunities are the really big ones. We need a massively increased focus, drilling down in every MENA country to the smallest of opportunities, no matter how small. We also need the sharing of information between all British companies. We are very bad at exchanging information with one another in this country compared with our European Union counterparts.

This debate follows the last one, almost a year on. My colleague Mr Justin King and I are writing a report—it will go to every Member of Parliament, including the Prime Minister—about the real experiences of small and medium-sized companies and their feedback. I very much hope that the Minister will give me an assurance that he and his Department will take seriously that report and our passion for increasing British exports.

Human Rights: Iran

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 16th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way and for bringing such an important debate to this Chamber. The number of Members here is an indication of its importance for us. The hon. Gentleman has not mentioned it yet, but is he aware of the specific persecution of pastors of churches such as evangelists? If someone is a closet Christian, they are left alone, but if someone tries to promote the gospel or evangelise, they are persecuted, as shown by the fact that 85 people were jailed for it in 2009 and more than 100 people were jailed for it in 2010. Does the hon. Gentleman feel that this is not just about human rights, but about religious rights?

[Mr Amess]

I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman on that point, as I do on so many other matters.

Some 1,000 prisoners—yes, 1,000 prisoners—are currently on death row in prison. The regime has appointed a death panel to expedite the implementation of the death penalties for prisoners on death row, yet the world remains absolutely silent.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West (Mr Amess) for securing this debate on such an important subject, and I pay tribute to him and my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr Burrowes) for consistently championing the cause of human rights in Iran. As my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate has just said, one of the most striking and appalling aspects of the situation in that country is that Iran’s own constitution and laws provide for precisely the liberties the breach of which we learn of week by week in the reports from Iran.

A few years ago when I was an Opposition spokesman I briefly visited Iran and was told with great pride by representatives of the Government about the position given to the Armenian and Assyrian Churches in Iran, and the fact that seats were reserved for religious minorities. That stands in stark contrast to the treatment of individual believers and pastors, as has been reported in my hon. Friends’ speeches and in interventions from both sides of the House this evening, and as is apparent from the catalogue of tragic cases of people—particularly, as the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) pointed out, from the Evangelical and House Church movement inside Iran—who have been imprisoned, tortured and treated in the most appalling fashion.

[Jim Shannon]

We are talking about the Muslim order of Islamic guidance—I believe that is what it calls itself. It is the blackshirts of that organisation who come to target evangelicals specifically, and that organisation should be condemned at the highest level.

[Mr Lidington]

There is no doubt in my mind that deliberate and systematic persecution of Christians takes place in Iran. Iran’s supreme leader called last year for efforts to be made to stop the spread of Christianity in Iran. Ironically, that is being done in the name of a faith that prides itself on the message of mercy and compassion, and in the name of a prophet of Islam who accepted the place of Jesus as one of the honoured prophets of Islam. The Koran contains many of the stories of Jesus, including the nativity, told as part of Islam’s own religious revelation. That makes still more shocking what we are observing in Iran today.

Where I differ with my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West is on his challenge that the Government, or the rest of world more generally, are silent on these matters. I can absolutely understand his anger and frustration at the fact that these abuses of human rights have continued year after year, but the British Government have been resolute in calling Iran to account for its human rights violations. We will continue to monitor closely and speak out against such violations in Iran, which not only contravene international law but do not even comply with Iran’s own laws or professed values.

I shall draw the attention of my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and that of the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), to this evening’s proceedings. They have frequently condemned the many instances of human rights violations reported to us. We believe that that has contributed significantly to both public and international awareness of individual cases and of Iran’s human rights record, and has helped build pressure on the regime. Sadly, we know, too, that many more abuses remain behind closed doors. The promotion of human rights has always been seen by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary as something that should lie at the very heart of British foreign policy. We regularly make clear to Iran, through the various international forums in which we participate, the importance we place on respecting international human rights law.

Israel and Palestine

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 11th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mark Hendrick (Preston) (Lab/Co-op)]

On 29 November, the United Nations General Assembly voted to upgrade Palestine’s status to non-member observer. The Assembly voted 138 to 9 in favour, with 41 nations abstaining, including the UK. The USA supported Israel and voted against upgrading Palestine’s UN status.

The vote should be welcomed as a symbolic milestone in Palestine’s ambition for statehood, rather than as “unfortunate and counter-productive”, as the US Secretary of State has chosen to describe it. Enhanced UN status brings Palestine closer to the international community, its organisations and values. The Palestinians can now take part in UN debates and potentially join bodies such as the International Criminal Court.

By abstaining in the vote, Britain has made itself less relevant to meaningful engagement in the search for peace. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Mr Alexander) warned the Foreign Secretary before the vote:

“Abstention tomorrow would be an abdication of Britain’s responsibilities.”—[Official Report, 28 November 2012; Vol. 554, c. 231.]

The UK did not stand on the side of progress but instead chose the politically expedient option. I would be interested to know what the Minister believes was achieved by the UK abstaining from the vote and how that strengthens the goal of a two-state solution.

In response to the vote, Israel announced on 30 November that it will build 3,000 new housing units in the west bank and East Jerusalem and withhold more than £75 million in customs duties. Israel’s response to the perfectly legal move of upgrading Palestine’s UN status is an illegal move to try and ruin a two-state solution and withhold Palestinian money. The proposed housing units would be built in the Ariel, Elkana, Efrat and Karnei Shomron settlements in the west bank, and in the settlements of Pisgat Ze’ev and Gilo in occupied East Jerusalem, according to the Ministry of Housing and Construction. In the words of the Foreign Secretary, if implemented the plans would make the two-state solution “almost inconceivable”, because in effect they would largely cut off occupied East Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied territories.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It might come as no surprise that I have a slightly different opinion. Does the hon. Gentleman feel that if there is to be peace in the middle east between Palestine and Israel, recognition of the state of Israel has to come first?

[Mark Hendrick]

Yes, I do. It is important that Hamas recognises Israel and that Israel is there to stay.

Palestinian Resolution (United Nations)

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 28th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

The thing that would most give those people hope and confidence that there is the future that they rightly desire would be to see their leadership sitting down with the Israeli leadership, both making the necessary concessions and talking about how they can help each other to achieve the goal of a settlement based on 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as a shared capital of both states and with a settlement for refugees. That would really give them hope, as it would have done at the time of the Oslo peace accords, so everything that we do should be calculated to encourage that, and that is what has dictated our policy.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Foreign Secretary for his considered statement to the House. When the latest peace agreement was reached, Palestinian authorities stood by and allowed seven Palestinians to be killed after allegations were made that they had given information to Israel. One of them was under close arrest in a prison in Palestine at the time and so could have given no information whatsoever. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that it is obvious that Palestine has not moved away from Hamas terrorism and brutality and that he must stand firm and not agree to the enhanced recognition for Palestine at this time for those very reasons?

[Mr Hague]

That is the other side of the argument that we have heard. Certainly, Hamas is an organisation that has committed serious abuses of human rights. In response to the right hon. Member for Belfast North (Mr Dodds), I referred to what Hamas needs to do and how it needs to change. The hon. Gentleman has given a further illustration of the need for that.

European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 27th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Nuttall]

I am sure you would not wish me to be drawn off the subject of Croatia, Madam Deputy Speaker. My hon. Friend may well be right about that, although none of my constituents have expressed to me a desire to go to look for work in Croatia. They may all have a secret desire to do that, but I am not aware of a great number of my constituents seeking that opportunity at the moment.

We know what happened when Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007. According to the Home Office’s impact assessment, the number of national insurance numbers issued to Bulgarians and Romanians increased by 560% and 710% respectively two years after accession. We do not have the precise figures, but it is likely that a number of those will have been Romanians and Bulgarians working in the UK under the seasonal agricultural worker scheme and the sector-based scheme, which the current Government have stated will not be open to Croatians.

Moving for work is likely to be the reason why most Croatians will want to emigrate to the UK, and this amendment focuses on worker immigration. Let us be clear that after the seven-year period has elapsed the UK will have to apply full EU law on the free movement of workers. So a Croatian could move to the UK and compete with a British national for any job, and a Croatian so employed would have the right to reside in the UK. Of course, it is not purely the number of Croatians seeking work that would boost the number of people living within our shores, because the worker could bring their spouse, their children under the age of 21, together with any other dependent children, and their dependent parents and grandparents. While all those parents have the right to reside in the UK under EU law, they would all be entitled to equal treatment with British citizens, unless EU law stated otherwise. Of course that would include access to state welfare.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Does the hon. Gentleman agree—perhaps he does not—that Croatia has the potential to be a tourist destination similar to Spain 20 or 30 years ago? If so, there is every possibility that more people will want to go from the United Kingdom to Croatia because of job opportunities and because the countries around it have stable economies.

[Mr Nuttall]

The hon. Gentleman may well be right that lots of UK nationals will want to visit Croatia. All the evidence suggests that its desirability as a destination is increasing for UK holidaymakers, but that strays from my concern about the need to protect workers in this country. Once full EU law applies, a Croatian national, together with their family members, could move to and stay in the UK if they were looking for work. The Government already grant EU immigrants in the UK looking for work access to income-related jobseeker’s allowance. If a Croatian had been employed in the UK for 12 months continuously but had then lost their job, they would retain their right to reside in the UK indefinitely, provided they registered as a jobseeker. A Croatian would acquire the same right to reside if, having been in work, they then decided to take up vocational training. It would be fair to ask how many Croatians are likely to arrive on this basis. Unfortunately, even the Home Office’s impact assessment states that it has no “robust estimates” of the likely number of Croatian immigrants after accession, so no realistic estimate can be made—in other words, we simply do not know.

It has been suggested, including by the hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson), that the evidence points to the fact that most Croatian migrant workers will be attracted to Germany. However, as the Home Office impact assessment points out, the most widely spoken second language in Croatia is not German, but English.

Middle East

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 20th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

Some are not happy about it, but I have been clear about where the principal responsibility for this sequence of events lies. We also must be clear about the need to make progress more generally in the peace process and on Gaza. I am sure that that is the right position for us to uphold.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

What help have or can the British Government, either alone or with the United States Administration, give to Israel to ensure that the Iron Dome defence system that gives security to sections of Israel can be delivered for vulnerable parts of Israel that are not at present protected by a defence system?

[Mr Hague]

Israel, as I understand it, receives a good deal of help from the United States on its Iron Dome system, and it is American technology that has made that possible. The United Kingdom is not involved in that and I do not see any need for the UK to become involved. Israel and the United States have worked on it successfully together.