Queen's Speech

Lord Roberts of Llandudno Excerpts

Wednesday 26th May 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Roberts of Llandudno]

My Lords, it is a privilege to follow my colleague the noble Lord, Lord Judd, who has an outstanding record on the issues that he mentioned.

We often think of international development as a matter of commerce, possibly as aid and trade. I suggest that it is much more than that. It is about people’s aspirations and dreams; it is about how we can help people to achieve their potential and realise what they could become.

At different times in history, the world has been deprived of so many people. We have had wars, great hunger and humiliation, when people have been obliterated. A little while ago, we were remembering what happened at Katyn in the forests of Poland, when the military leaders who could have led Poland into a new era were destroyed. We have suffered because people have not been allowed to achieve their potential. Not one of us here has suffered the terror of a Holocaust or has waited in dread to see what might happen to our families and children. We have not seen people being treated in a totally inhuman way. However, one thinks of the possible Einsteins and Mendelssohns who were not able to achieve any of their potential.

The UN charter reaffirms,

“faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small”.

The individual is absolutely crucial and is to be safeguarded in our civilisation. I will not take too much time this evening, but I wish to speak about two issues: the status of migrants and that of asylum seekers. Through exit and entry checks on those who come to and leave this country, we hope to regularise the situation of migrants and especially asylum seekers. In this new situation, we can help to give people an opportunity to achieve their dreams and to develop their abilities in the fullest possible way. We have the opportunity to restore dignity to the most vulnerable in our communities and to remove the stigmas and fears of the past.

People from the European Union come here completely legally but, especially in the present economic situation, they find even existing here a challenge that they often fail to meet. One organisation, Barka UK, visits Polish people, including rough sleepers and those who have lost their jobs. Last year, it found in a garage in Brent 20 penniless and homeless Polish men who were cooking rats—this was in the present era—for their meals.

There are things that we can do to improve the situation. For example, we need to look at the benefits system. I suggest that people from the European Community who have paid contributions in their own country should be able to draw on those contributions anywhere in the European Union. If they are unemployed or ill, they should be able to draw on contributions paid in, say, Lithuania even in Wales. Things can be done where Europe can lead the way. A clause in the pensions and benefits system might make this possible at no cost at all to us. I hope that the Minister will instigate an investigation to try to remove struggling migrants from destitution.

I come now to asylum seekers. However bleak the economic crisis, it must not be used as an excuse to undermine those who are already among the most vulnerable. The Queen’s Speech promises to,

“end the detention of children for immigration purposes”.

I would vote for that all the way. At Yarl’s Wood and other places, this has been a tremendous concern. Our responsibilities to the most vulnerable are now being met in a more positive way.

I finish by mentioning the City of Sanctuary movement, which aims to make our towns and cities welcoming places for people who are seeking sanctuary in the United Kingdom. I am proud that Swansea was the second city in the UK, after Sheffield, to become a city of sanctuary. Over the past two years, Swansea’s City of Sanctuary initiative has gathered the support of 105 local organisations, including faith communities, small businesses, South Wales Police and the local newspaper. The City and County of Swansea passed a unanimous resolution of support for this status and is working in every way possible to implement it throughout local government.

We need to make people feel that they belong here and that we welcome them. Let us change hostility into hospitality. People are here and they have a right to be here. We must make them feel that they are part of our communities. We need to give all sections of the community hope and the real possibility of achieving their potential. A major task is to remove people’s suspicion of life outside their communities and to help new arrivals to be comfortable in the wider society. That would enable them to contribute much more effectively to the life of the community. As a Parliament, we have the opportunity to help people to realise their dreams and to fulfil their aspirations.