Channel Crossings in Small Boats Debate

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Department: Home Office

Channel Crossings in Small Boats

Kim Johnson Excerpts
Monday 22nd November 2021

(3 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.

Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.

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Priti Patel Portrait Priti Patel
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The Nationality and Borders Bill is going through the House right now. As I have always said, we look at all options, and those options are in the Bill. Obviously, if other legislative measures are required, the Government will look at them and bring them forward.

Kim Johnson Portrait Kim Johnson (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab)
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Does the Home Secretary agree that the narrative on immigration needs to change? As we have heard, 70% of asylum seekers are fleeing from persecution, greater numbers have been risking their lives to cross the channel in flimsy boats, and there has been net negative immigration with more people leaving the country than arriving. Does she agree that proportionately, the UK supports lower numbers than Germany, Spain, Greece and France?

Priti Patel Portrait Priti Patel
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In the interests of time, I refer the hon. Lady to the new plan for immigration. On page 6, she will see that:

“The UK accepted more refugees through planned resettlement schemes than any other country in Europe in the period 2015-2019”.

That answers her question about the number of people who are coming here.