Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda

Debate between Neil Coyle and Priti Patel

Wednesday 15th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

I have not seen the case that the hon. Lady mentions. She is welcome to bring that to me; I would be happy to look at it. As I have said throughout this statement, we will continue with our policy, and we will continue in our determination to break up the people smuggling gangs and work with our global partners to find solutions.

[Neil Coyle (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (Ind)]

We know that Ministers have form for breaking rules and wasting public funds, but will the Home Secretary stop hiding the figures and tell us how many millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money her Government will squander before the outsourcing of asylum policy, so roundly condemned by our Church of state and our next Head of State, is eventually and inevitably proved unlawful?

Channel Crossings in Small Boats

Debate between Neil Coyle and Priti Patel

Monday 22nd November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He speaks with passion and conviction on this issue for a very good reason, which of course is that the British public are sick to death of this. They are absolutely, heartily sick of what they are seeing, and that speaks to many of the abuses that take place in our asylum system and the fact that the system is broken. Yes, processing takes too long, and yes, we have had the pandemic; there is a range of reasons why this is the case, but we want to address it and fix it and tackle it long term. There are no simple solutions, which is why the legislation is so important.

[Neil Coyle (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (Lab)]

As it stands, the Nationality and Borders Bill will criminalise the work of the RNLI, as the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, the hon. Member for Corby (Tom Pursglove), acknowledged in Committee; it is an outrageous situation. I have tabled an amendment to prevent the RNLI from being prosecuted for its courageous humanitarian work. Will the Home Secretary meet RNLI staff and volunteers and adopt my amendment to protect these frontline life savers, who have sadly already been the target of abuse and attacks because of the Government’s irresponsible narrative and media headlines on this issue?

[Priti Patel]

We have been very clear that we will table an amendment on Report on the specific point that the hon. Gentleman has made. What I would also say about the Bill—[Interruption.]—if he lets me finish. Of course, the importance of the Bill is that it will not just bring about long-term reform but make life harder for the criminal gangs behind these crossings. That is something that should unite us all, and we absolutely want to make sure that happens.

Nationality and Borders Bill

Debate between Neil Coyle and Priti Patel

2nd reading
Monday 19th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

I will give way shortly, but I want to make progress first. The Opposition argue that it is wrong to deport murderers, rapists and dangerous criminals—[Interruption.] It is a fact. They think that border controls are wrong. They think that ending free movement is wrong. Well, Labour Members can sigh and shake their heads, but the fact of the matter is that over the last 12 months, when it has come to ending free movement and having discussions about reforming immigration and our points-based system, they seem to think that open borders are the answer. They obviously do not support our new plan for immigration. They do not like the people’s priorities when it comes to these issues, yet they have no plan.

[Neil Coyle (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (Lab)]

The public seem to want a fair, fast and affordable system, so can the Home Secretary tell the public how much more the taxpayer will pay for her new proposals?

[Priti Patel]

In fact, the taxpayer will be saving money in the long run. We already spend over £1 billion a year on dealing with the failed and broken asylum system. If the hon. Gentleman has read the Bill and the new plan for immigration, which I urge him to do, he will see that there are a range of measures—

--- Later in debate ---

[Priti Patel]

No, I will not give way. I have taken many interventions.

We are also closing the loophole that has prevented the defence of some immigration decisions on the ground of national security.

I am resolute that we must fix a terrible injustice suffered by the Windrush generation and others who were denied British citizenship unfairly—

[Neil Coyle]

At the hands of the Conservative party.

[Priti Patel]

By successive Governments, if the hon. Gentleman had read the Wendy Williams report about Windrush. I have already overhauled the Windrush compensation scheme. I urge colleagues across the House to help us encourage people to come forward. What happened to them must never be repeated. That also means fixing our outdated nationality laws. The Bill gives the Home Secretary power to grant British citizenship to people who would have become British citizens if not for unfairness and exceptional circumstances beyond their control. For example, in one case, an individual was refused citizenship due to an absence from the UK on a given day, despite many years of previous residence. Of course it was not his fault.

The Bill provides further flexibility to waive residency requirements to help members of the Windrush generation and others acquire British citizenship more quickly. That will also mean that children unfairly denied British overseas territory citizenship can finally acquire citizenship here. That was one of the anomalies that came out in the Windrush scandal.

Our laws must be clearer and easier to understand. The “Windrush Lessons Learned Review” by Wendy Williams also said that immigration and nationality law is complex. The Bill gives the Home Secretary the power to simplify and consolidate immigration law so that we can address many of the citizenship anomalies that have existed for too long—for decades, in fact.

The British people are generous and compassionate. As I said to the hon. Member for Rhondda earlier, they give billions of pounds every year in overseas aid to provide support in countries around the world, to empower countries and communities and to invest in many economies. The British public also embrace those in genuine need and want people to succeed. They also want a system that is fair and firm—fair to the British people and to those in genuine need, but firm against the criminals and those who exploit our generosity by gaming the system.

The Bill is critical to delivering that new fair but firm system. It is also central to our new plan for immigration. It goes a long way to addressing decades of failure and challenges, in the law and illegal migration and in immigration courts and tribunals, in the way in which I have just reflected upon. The Windrush scandal has shone a spotlight on many of the anomalies that have existed when it comes to citizenship. We will change those areas, with secure borders and rules that will be easy to understand. That is part of the cumulative end-to-end change that we seek to introduce.

We want to slam the door on foreign criminals, put organised crime gangs out of business, and of course give help and support to those in genuine need. Everyone who plays by the rules will encounter a new system—

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Neil Coyle and Priti Patel

Monday 12th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Neil Coyle (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (Lab)]

How many EU settled status applications have been refused or rejected where the passport holder applicant is a citizen of an EU member state, due the applicant’s not having been born in that country?

[Priti Patel]

I am very happy to write to the hon. Gentleman about the specifics of his question; I do not have that detail in front of me right now. Throughout the application process, the Home Office has worked with and supported individuals who have issues demonstrating their status through some of the measures that I have already outlined, so that their status can be secured. There are ways in which we have been doing that, and I will write to him with that information.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Neil Coyle and Priti Patel

Monday 13th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[David Simmonds (Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) (Con)]

What steps her Department is taking to help protect victims of domestic abuse.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Priti Patel)]

Domestic abuse devastates lives. During this time of covid that we have all experienced, victims are particularly vulnerable, and as we know, home has not been a safe place for everyone to access the usual support that they could receive. That is why, through our landmark Domestic Abuse Bill, we are committed to protecting victims in a stronger way.

[Neil Coyle [V]]

As things stand, the Government are discriminating against people who have “no recourse to public funds” restrictions imposed on them and their British-born children, who are denied access to support. Will the Home Secretary end that discrimination by amending the Domestic Abuse Bill to ensure that help is provided to everyone affected by domestic violence and scrap this fundamentally racist policy?

[Priti Patel]

The Domestic Abuse Bill has, I think it is fair to say, been discussed extensively in the House, and I want to thank everybody who has made outstanding contributions to it, including the many organisations that participated in advance of the Bill coming to the House. We are offering support to migrants who suffer domestic abuse through our destitution domestic violence concession scheme. I would like to emphasise—and the hon. Gentleman will know this from his work as a Member of Parliament and with local authorities—that support is provided by local authorities, and individuals can access safe accommodation and get support through various means, which is incredibly important.