Ukraine

Debate between Nadia Whittome and Priti Patel

Tuesday 1st March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

We discuss all issues, some of which I cannot share on the Floor of the House because they are very sensitive in light of the attacks. I know my hon. Friend will respect that. Discussions are taking place constantly, but he is right to highlight just how dangerous, volatile and precarious the situation is. All of us are mindful of that as we work with our counterparts and our colleagues. I am speaking to many of my counterparts nearly every other day, plus ambassadors every single day. The situation is changing and we are hearing different reports. We are working in real time—real time—to provide all the support in the region and in-country in specific ways that can make a difference to people.

[Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) (Lab)]

Someone very dear to me who helped to raise me and who came to this country from Ukraine after the second world war would not have been eligible under any of the Home Secretary’s schemes. Today’s announcement, while welcome, is heavily caveated and still falls far short of what is needed. I want the Prime Minister to honour the words he spoke to me last week in this Chamber and put in place meaningful support for all those fleeing Ukraine. When will the Home Office start waiving visas and not just waving flags?

[Priti Patel]

I refer the hon. Lady to what I have said already in the House about the practical routes we are putting in place. [Interruption.] She can shake her head. I am sorry that she wants to be political, but we are putting in some very powerful routes that we will support. We do not know how many people will come over, but those routes have been developed in conjunction not just with our colleagues in the Ukrainian Government and other counterparts, but from the actual needs of people from what we are hearing in the region. She has heard me say very clearly that there are no caps on numbers.

We are creating schemes for people to come over, but that takes time. Not only that, but it also takes time to work with our colleagues in the region and work to meet their specific needs. I would like to think that the hon. Lady would respect that. It is not about the British Government just saying that we are starting up the scheme without actually working with people in-country or in the region on how it can be operationalised and how to ensure that it meets the needs of the people of Ukraine.

Windrush Compensation Scheme

Debate between Nadia Whittome and Priti Patel

Tuesday 23rd June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. That work is under way, as the Prime Minister instructed, with the Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Care. He is right to highlight the great contribution that individuals from migrant communities are making to the NHS. That work is under way right now, and we will be publishing more details on that and how the scheme of refunds will work.

[Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) (Lab)]

People of the Windrush generation were deported as a result of the Government’s hostile environment policies, including the healthcare surcharge, no recourse to public funds, the illegal working offence, immigration detention and the right to rent checks, which have been found to cause racial discrimination. The Home Secretary has not answered the question yet: why are those policies still in place, and when will they be abolished?

[Priti Patel]

I refer the hon. Lady to my earlier comments. I have already made it clear to the House that our immigration system is far too complicated. The work that we are taking forward in the Home Office is to simplify the immigration system, which will mean changes to our policy to make the system firm but fair.

Public Order

Debate between Nadia Whittome and Priti Patel

Monday 8th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend the Member for North West Durham (Mr Holden) is absolutely right.

[Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) (Lab)]

We will try again. Does the Home Secretary agree that the Government should remove statues of British figures involved in the slave trade? Further, does she agree that the lives of black people who have died following contact with police, such as Sarah Reed and Rashan Charles, are worth more than any statue?

[Priti Patel]

The hon. Lady will be well aware—perhaps she would like to lobby local authorities across the country to bring about the changes to statues. I notice that she celebrated the violence and criminal scenes that we saw across the weekend. I thought that the politics of protest and placards had left the Labour party with the departure of the right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn).

--- Later in debate ---

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. One of the most extraordinary—

[Nadia Whittome]

All lives can’t matter until black lives matter.

Points-based Immigration System

Debate between Nadia Whittome and Priti Patel

Monday 24th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend makes the very valid point that obviously we are on the side of the British public when it comes to delivering the people’s priorities. Last week I too met people from the Russell Group and other universities who are supportive of the routes that we are providing for the brightest and the best, and of our ensuring that we get the global talent that our academic institutions need.

[Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) (Lab)]

When I was a care worker, some of the highest skilled people I know taught me how to work miracles in 15-minute calls. This Government view people who help others who are sick, elderly or disabled as low skilled because they are low paid, and deny them the special status being offered to billionaires and footballers. For the record, will the Secretary of State explain which aspects of care work she considers low skilled?

[Priti Patel]

The hon. Lady will know—I have already said this, but I will restate it—that I am working with the Department of Health and Social Care and its Secretary of State specifically on the routes into and support needed in the care sector.

[Nadia Whittome]

indicated dissent.

[Priti Patel]

The hon. Lady shakes her head, but importantly we are also looking at investment. The Government are investing in social care in a record way. That will make a difference to wages, training and investment in social care workers across the UK.