Child Refugees in Europe Debate

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Department: Home Office

Child Refugees in Europe

Liz Saville Roberts Excerpts
Monday 25th January 2016

(8 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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James Brokenshire Portrait James Brokenshire
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The vulnerable persons resettlement scheme is meeting our rightful obligation to respond to the crisis that we see in Syria, which is the basis for the figure of 20,000 that we have outlined for the course of this Parliament. Obviously, we have certain other arrangements with UNHCR, but we need to meet that commitment and respond to the crisis that we see before us.

Liz Saville Roberts Portrait Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)
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Volunteers to Calais talk of refugee families struggling with a dilemma—whether to buy black market substances to dope their children, or to face the prospect that they will reveal the family to the authorities in transit across the channel by crying in fear. Surely the Government can better safeguard children by also adopting proper selection and identification processes for families before they reach the UK to avoid these terrible situations.

James Brokenshire Portrait James Brokenshire
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The most effective way to do that is to see that those families claim asylum in France. There have been around 2,800 claims of asylum in and around Calais. The French Government have put in place the new arrangements that I described so that people can be moved away from Calais into better reception centres. That is the clear message that I would give, which may well identify some of the family reunion issues that the hon. Lady has highlighted.