Independent Advocates for Trafficked Children

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 28th June 2016 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. I thank the right hon. Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) for setting the scene. We have all said this about her, but we mean it: she has certainly been an advocate for this issue, and it is a pleasure to follow her and add some comments. I will speak about Northern Ireland, including the Northern Ireland legislation that she referred to.

Parliament expressed its view clearly in passing section 48 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The Government even accepted Members’ criticisms and amended the Bill to make the provision a duty rather than an enabling power, yet they are now choosing to interpret that section as if it were an invitation and not an instruction. That concerns me, and hopefully the Minister will respond to that point. Like the Northern Ireland Assembly, I believe that there is more than enough evidence and best practice available upon which a statutory national service can be based. That evidence comes from a variety of countries, from international organisations, and, closer to home, from Scotland, as the hon. Member for Lanark and Hamilton East (Angela Crawley) said. Consequently, Northern Ireland’s statutory independent guardian service is already in development, as has been mentioned, under section 21 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015.

The Government, however, had a different opinion and felt that they needed to carry out their own trials to establish whether advocates provide a material benefit and add value to the care provided for children over and above existing services. That is perhaps not surprising in the light of their long-held view that existing children’s services were sufficient to support trafficked children, which I note they continued to profess immediately following the 2013 publication of the Government-funded “Still at risk” report from the Refugee Council and the Children’s Society. That report highlighted the insufficiencies and recommended a new advocate-like role to address them.

I therefore commend the coalition Government for deciding first to establish trials, and then to include child trafficking advocates in the Modern Slavery Act— some good stuff has been done. After the successful completion of the first trials, the Government can now be in no doubt about the beneficial impact of independent advocates, which the right hon. Member for Slough so clearly set out. I simply reiterate that the evaluation report makes clear that

“advocates added value to existing provision, to the satisfaction of the children and most stakeholders.”

It seems to me that the trials entirely fulfilled their purpose. They tested a system, demonstrated that the fundamental provision in question produced clear beneficial outcomes on many different fronts and highlighted areas for improvement in a full-scale implementation. Those improvements can and should be integrated into the new statutory scheme. Conducting further trials would be an unnecessary waste of time and resources. There has already been a delay of six months since the evaluation report was published, and longer since the trials ended. We can only expect further delays as procurement protocols, recruitment processes and other preparatory work, presumably including the setting up of a new evaluation mechanism, are carried out to establish further trials.

Many of the findings of the evaluation report were flagged up early in the interim report. They led to key amendments to section 48, including those relating to the legal powers of advocates and the duty of other public authorities to have due regard to advocates’ role.

Mindful of those considerations, I argue that rather than entertaining further delays through more trials, the time has come for the Minister to take action and to bring section 48 into force. I very much hope that she will confirm in her response, which I look forward to, that that is now the Government’s intention. It cannot be anything less.

If, however, the Minister insists on the expense and delay of yet further trials, I ask her, with respect, to explain how she envisages new trials addressing the gap in authority. How will the Government evaluate the effectiveness of advocates in engaging with local authorities and relevant agencies, given that the trials do not actually trial what is proposed? They deny advocates the statutory status that is central to their being able to deliver their function. It is difficult to see what mechanisms could be used in trials to require local authorities and relevant agencies to give due regard to the advocate’s role and responsibilities that would have a similar weight to a statutory duty. Sadly, the consequences of the delay will be that many vulnerable children across England and Wales have to go without much-needed assistance.

Scotland has of course been leading the way in the UK for some time, and I am pleased to say that Northern Ireland will shortly be joining Scotland in providing statutory independent guardians for both trafficked and separated migrant children. We are pleased to be part of that process, as the hon. Member for Lanark and Hamilton East said, and to follow the clear direction that Scotland has taken. It is a matter of great regret that trafficked children in England and Wales will not have the same access to support as those in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

When the lives of vulnerable children are at stake, it is imperative that we act with urgency, and we need urgency in the Minister’s response today. Does she really want it to be said that the worst place to be a trafficked child in the UK is in England and Wales, because the statutory rights and protections are weaker? I certainly hope not. I urge her to unblock the logjam that is holding up the commencement of section 48 and to act swiftly to enable every trafficked child in England and Wales to have an independent child trafficking advocate as soon as is humanly possible. I also ask her to address how she will ensure that separated migrant children in England and Wales will not be at a disadvantage compared with children in Scotland and Northern Ireland, who will have access to independent guardians.

It is a pleasure to speak on this matter, and it is important that the issues involved are stressed. I believe that England and Wales should follow Northern Ireland and Scotland’s examples, and I say in all honesty that it would be remiss of the Minister not to give a clear direction on that today. I look forward to her response, as well as that of the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion).

[Mr Gary Streeter (in the Chair)]

We now move on to the Front-Bench speeches. It is worth pointing out that the debate can go on until 4.26 pm, but of course it does not have to.

Football Fan Violence: Euro 2016

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 14th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

He sounds a very bigoted fellow indeed.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Russian fans were high on body-building medication, covered in tattoos and spoiling for a fight, encouraged—as we heard from the hon. Member for Ilford South (Mike Gapes)—by some Russian Members of Parliament. What will be done to protect British fans—indeed, all fans—from these Russian thugs?

[Mrs May]

Every effort is being made to work with the French authorities to ensure that if any extra action is necessary to protect fans from any of the home nations against the thugs who have been perpetrating this violence, that action is taken.

Orlando Attack: UK Security Measures

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Monday 13th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: this issue has a wider resonance, and we must do everything we can. Much has already been done but I suggest that we will never be able to say that we have done all the work we need to. Throughout the education system and in our attitudes and approaches as a Government and as politicians, we must show that we are all one community and that we must resist those who attempt to divide us and sow hatred, of whatever sort, in our communities.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I want to express the sympathies of the Democratic Unionist party; our thoughts and prayers are very much with those affected by this dreadful atrocity. I commend the work of those on the ground who offered first aid and tried to prevent more deaths. The FBI had marked Omar Mateen as presenting a low security risk, and did not know that he would carry out unspeakable murder. This is the latest example of people who are only noted on the radar but then go on to commit murder or join Daesh. Those known to the security services, but who are seen as a low-security risk, are, more than ever, resorting to wicked and evil criminality. Is it now time to review the security system, especially with respect to those who feature on the so-called lower levels?

[Mrs May]

The hon. Gentleman is right. The job done by the security services, day in and day out, is a difficult and complex one. By definition, they have to decide who presents the greatest risk of taking action, but the task is made more difficult by the fact that people simply sitting at home, looking at things on the internet, can then be inspired to go out and commit terrible atrocities. It is a job that our security services and law enforcement agencies do very well every day of the week. They keep us safe, and I think Members should thank them and show our gratitude to them for all they do.

Removal of Foreign National Offenders and EU Prisoners

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Monday 6th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

The reason for legislating to have the tags is to be able to identify where people are, so that when the circumstances allow for deporting them, it is easier for us to do so.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Home Secretary for her answers so far. Does she recognise that the Government’s failure to deport more EU murderers and rapists undermines the case for remaining in the EU, particularly when housing EU convicts in UK jails costs the taxpayer some £150 million each year? What has been done to reduce that drain on our financial resources?

[Mrs May]

The number of European economic area foreign national offenders who have been deported has tripled since 2010-11, from just over 1,000 to well over 3,000. We are making progress in that field.

EU Migrants: National Insurance Numbers

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 12th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[James Brokenshire]

I will leave it to the hon. Gentleman to make the case for having a visa system for all EU nationals, which is what he appears to be suggesting. The Government have a clear approach to controlling migration from outside the EU through our skills-based visas and through other routes, as well as to dealing with the pressures that we have highlighted, with economic competitiveness and with draws such as the welfare system.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

With discrepancies of 1.2 million national insurance numbers being reported, and with EU immigration increasing, it has become harder to tell whether new arrivals will stay for just a few months or for more than a year. This means that passengers from the EU who want to live permanently in Britain might have been incorrectly designated as visitors. What has been done to ensure that people coming from the EU are correctly identified, particularly in these difficult times when accurate figures are vital and being transparent is key to creating trust among the British people?

[James Brokenshire]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman’s point about the need for clarity and certainty in relation to the numbers. We have looked to the Office for National Statistics, which operates independently of me, of the Home Office and of other Government Departments, to give us that clarity. It has judged that the international passenger survey is the best and most appropriate measure for that, and it continues to review, as it does from time to time, how best to ensure that it captures effective data from its interviews and how those data are extrapolated to produce its quarterly numbers.

UK Citizens Returning From Fighting Daesh

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 19th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

I am grateful to you, Mr Speaker, for granting this debate, and to so many right hon. and hon. Members for expressing an interest in it. I am particularly honoured that my right hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes) will respond to the debate for the Government. I know that the nation sleeps more soundly and sweetly in the knowledge that he is our Minister for Security.

This question is not a new one. We have grappled with how to view and respond to our fellow citizens who go abroad to fight in foreign wars. They did so not for money, as mercenaries, but because they believed that was the right thing to do, and they joined the side of the conflict that at least ostensibly—and certainly, for those unversed in the complexities of an individual conflict—held widespread public support. That side was viewed by many, perhaps at times the majority, as the right side, or as, in one way or another, Britain’s ally. Some 50,000 English, Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish fought in the American civil war, and several thousand fought in the Spanish civil war, as was memorialised by George Orwell. More recently, dozens of British volunteers joined Croatian units during the Yugoslav wars between 1991 and 1995.

After the experience of the American civil war, Parliament passed the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870, which prevents Britons from enlisting in a foreign army that is at war with a state currently at peace with the United Kingdom. However, that Act has never been properly enforced. It was, and it remains to this day, extremely difficult to monitor and to prosecute such an offence. Those returning from the Spanish civil war frequently expected to be given a hero’s welcome; in fact, they were invariably treated with suspicion by the police. They faced workplace discrimination, and many were even prevented from enlisting during the second world war.

Today, many—perhaps hundreds; I do not have an authoritative estimate, but perhaps the Minister will give us one in a moment—British citizens have travelled to northern Iraq, and from there into Syria. They have trained with Kurdish forces and militias and, ultimately, fought on the frontline against Daesh, in some cases in the fiercest fighting that there has been in this conflict, at Sinjar and Kobane.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for securing this debate about a very interesting issue. Many people who went to the middle east to fight on the allied side—the side that the Government are supporting—checked with their own police forces and Government officials to let them know that they were going, and they were allowed to go, but when they returned, some were arrested, questioned and detained. Is there not something wrong when someone checks to see whether it is all right to go but then is arrested on their return? Why should that be?

[Robert Jenrick]

The hon. Gentleman gets to the point of the debate and I will return to that issue in a moment. The Government and the country need a clear and consistent policy. If we let individuals go, why should we arrest them for terrorism on their return?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hayes]

The hon. Lady makes a reasonable case. There is a robust system in place for missing persons to be identified, for example, by the Turkish police on the Syrian border. We spend a great deal of time considering the issue of people returning from Syria, because some of them will subsequently be subjects of interest to our intelligence services and to law enforcement. However, the point that my hon. Friend the Member for Newark was making was that if someone has said to the police, “I’m going,” do different forces apply the same policy consistently? It is a reasonable point, which is why I have committed to considering it in more detail and to looking at the guidance.

[Jim Shannon]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mr Hayes]

I am anxious to make progress, but I will briefly give way to the hon. Gentleman.

[Jim Shannon]

This House took a majority decision to support bombing attacks in Syria and Iraq. Those who watched those debates would assume that the bombing would be in support of the 70,000 allied forces and supporters who were trying to fight Daesh on the ground. That was the whole purpose of the House’s decision. Anyone watching that debate who wanted to support the factions fighting Daesh would feel, when they spoke to the police, that this House was already fighting a war, and that they were doing nothing wrong. Does the Minister understand that that is the issue put forward by the hon. Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick)? There are two different groups: those who are fighting Daesh, and those who support Daesh.

[Mr Hayes]

I am saying to the hon. Gentleman that someone might think that they are going out for what might be the perfectly noble cause of fighting our common enemy, but there is always a great deal of uncertainty about what happens when they get there. Such people are by their nature often quite ignorant of what they will encounter and may become linked to, tied to, or involved in all kinds of organisations and groups, some of which are proscribed in this country and engage in all kinds of other activities as well as the battle against Daesh. This is a complicated issue and should not be presented as anything else, although I understand the hon. Gentleman’s sympathy.

Unaccompanied Children

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 19th April 2016 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr Burrowes) on presenting his case and giving us all a chance to participate in this debate.

The migrant crisis was undoubtedly one of the defining issues of 2015, and it will undoubtedly be a defining issue this year as well. It is impossible to avoid it, and hard to find a member of the public who does not have an opinion on it, whether we consider the negative consequences seen in Cologne or the positive stories of relocated refugees settling successfully into a new society. It is a major issue that will take some time to resolve. In Belfast and in Northern Ireland, we have had our first refugees, sponsored by the Northern Ireland Assembly, which has encouraged them to relocate and be part of Northern Ireland. Church groups have also gathered around to ensure that that happens.

We have all seen the images of what ISIS or Daesh do: they behead, rape, murder and pillage. It is not hard to understand why any human being would want to get as far away from that as possible. More than 14 million Syrians in the country are in need of help, 7 million of whom are internally displaced, and nearly 5 million have fled abroad, including the hundreds of thousands making their way into Europe. Nevertheless, it is important to be rational and not let our emotions make us lose the run of ourselves. Syrian nationals were the fourth largest group of asylum applicants in the year to September 2015.

We cannot ignore the heart-breaking plight of genuine refugees. In 2015, some 3,043 asylum applications were received from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, 56% more than in 2014 and 141% more than in 2013. More than half of all applications were from Eritrea, Afghanistan and Albania.

I want to underline the plight of Christians fleeing Syria. Some 900,000 Christians have been displaced in Syria, many of them families and children. Although we focus on Syria, it is clear that there is quite a spread of people seeking to come to Europe. We must be careful to do the right thing and have a compassionate approach, as the hon. Member for Enfield, Southgate mentioned.

Regardless of our approach, we must ensure that refugees are processed correctly, in order to give genuine refugees the dignity that they deserve and root out potential criminal elements or security threats. We have all seen the distressing images from the Mediterranean. The news last night referred to the unscrupulous people in Libya and elsewhere who fill boats full of people, often without regard to safety. They are an obvious threat to people making the perilous and often fatal journey to Europe.

When it comes to children, especially unaccompanied children, we must act. We must be compassionate and do the right thing. The Syria crisis, in addition to the political situation across the middle east and north Africa, has resulted in an ever increasing number of unaccompanied migrant children making their way to Europe. Concerns about such children have been raised, not least after Europol warned that at least 10,000 unaccompanied children have gone missing since entering Europe. We must ask ourselves where those children are, what has happened to them, whether we are concerned and whether we are doing our best to find them.

People will know that I am a Christian and have strong views on these issues. From a compassionate point of view, I would say: where are those children, and what are we doing about them? Our Saviour said:

“Suffer the little children to come unto me”.

What are we in this House doing as Christians? What is this House doing as a leader of society to help those children?

[Mrs Grant]

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that a more consistent procedural approach across London boroughs and local authorities would also help to deal with the problem of missing children? Children go missing in this country too.

[Jim Shannon]

I accept that, and I thank the hon. Lady for outlining the issue clearly. Yes, we should have learned something in our own society about how to deal with and respond to the issue. We need, honestly and consciously, to take it seriously.

[Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP)]

Does the hon. Gentleman also agree that it is important that registration occurs at the point of entry, so that we can track children and ensure that appropriate child protection measures are in place?

[Jim Shannon]

I wholeheartedly agree.

At least 3,000 displaced children will be resettled in the UK, but the problem is that the Government initiative to relocate child refugees will not include those already in Europe. It is not the case that the whole of Syria is marching into Europe, although sometimes people listening to the news might think that it is. That is not how it is; let us keep things in perspective and focus on the important issues. The European Commission’s chief spokesman said that 60% of those arriving in the EU as part of the movement were economic migrants rather than refugees. We must empathise with genuine refugees.

I am conscious of time, so I will finish with this comment. We should do what we can do to help. There are screening and security issues to be addressed, but we need to be part of the humanitarian effort, most definitely with regard to children. I can only hope that this debate will put pressure on the Government to reconsider and start helping with the efforts to assist unaccompanied children who are already in Europe. We need to get the right approach, reconsider the current one and be part of the humanitarian effort to help those poor children, who absolutely need and deserve our help.

Brussels Terrorist Attacks

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

Yes. Border Force has looked across airports and sea ports to see where it needs to enhance the checks that it provides. It is very conscious of the fact that the coming weekend is a particularly busy one for Gatwick at the start of a holiday period. It will take action accordingly.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Home Secretary for her statement and commend her for her courage and fortitude at this very difficult time. At this stage of the investigation, it would seem that those who activated the bombs in that murderous attack in Brussels airport did so before they got through security. Is there any intention to upgrade or have spot checks, for instance, outside the present security system? It is quite clear that something more needs to be done.

[Mrs May]

The hon. Gentleman raises an interesting point, on which there has been some commentary in the media. The practical problem is that if security is instigated at an earlier stage, a crowd is simply created in a different place. That is why that suggestion will not necessarily solve the issue of removing the ability to mount an attack on a large number of people. As I have said, the police presence and the visible security presence at certain airports has been increased, but I do not think that the hon. Gentleman’s proposal would necessarily remove the opportunity for terrorists to attack a large number of people.

Breast Ironing

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Jake Berry]

That is the point, but it is a mistaken belief, and one that has no place in any society, let alone ours here in Britain.

The words “culture”, “tradition” or “religion” come up when people try to explain this absurdly harmful practice, but as in the case of FGM, these words are just a thinly veiled excuse for a ritualised form of child abuse.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

The hon. Gentleman brought this issue to the House on International Women’s Day. That evening I sponsored an event on domestic violence that was attended by more than 100 people. I had not heard about breast ironing until that day, but FGM and breast ironing, and their prevalence in our society, including here in London, were raised that night. Does he agree that we need zero tolerance when it comes to this practice?

[Jake Berry]

I will come to that. I hope that the Minister will say what steps we can take to send the message out loud and clear from this House of Commons that the practice is completely unacceptable, whether it happens in London, Birmingham or any other city, or whether young girls are being taken to Cameroon, Nigeria or elsewhere for it to be done over the school holidays. No one should think that they can get away with it in this country without fear of prosecution.

Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 15th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Minister for his opening statement. The Democratic Unionist party supports the order. It is important to put on record our thanks to those in the police, the security services and the intelligence services who have done sterling and tireless work to keep us safe. We hope that that will continue.

I want to ask the Minister a couple of questions about proscription. As he knows, because our newspapers and other media are full of such stories, people use websites and social media, such as Twitter, to try to attract vulnerable young men, young women and young girls from all over the UK. In a speech that the then Minister for Security and Immigration, the right hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (James Brokenshire), made on 25 March last year, he outlined clearly the steps that had been taken to address the issue of social media being used to attract young people. Unfortunately, during the past year, we have seen a continuation of that attraction, and 700 people from the UK have travelled to support or fight for jihadist organisations in Syria and Iraq. Most of them have made the journey to join a proscribed organisation such as IS or Daesh. Around half of those who left the UK have since returned, according to the BBC.

The Minister indicated at that time that

“80,000 pieces of unlawful terrorist-related content that encourages or glorifies acts of terrorism”—[Official Report, 25 March 2015; Vol. 594, c. 1540.]

had been removed from social media, and that nine Twitter accounts and one Facebook account had been closed. We regularly see that. I ask this question genuinely and sincerely. I would love Facebook and Twitter accounts and other social media to be closed down so that we do not see stories in the Sunday papers about someone saying: “Be a bride to a Daesh killer and monster.” The fact is that they try to glamorise the situation and make it attractive. Today we had occasion to speak to, and hear the accounts of, some of the Yazidi ethnic religious minorities and hear about the abuse that they went through at the hands of Daesh. There is no attraction in that. How do we stop that?

Although steps have been taken, people are still leaving, so more has to be done, particularly in tackling the lure of social media campaign videos. What are we doing to stop that? What has been done to address the problem directly? What has been done to tackle online groomers who are planted in the UK to encourage young men, and young women and girls in particular, to make the journey to Syria and Iraq? How do we protect vulnerable and impressionable young people from being targeted?