Oral Answers to Questions

Sheryll Murray Excerpts

Monday 12th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[Nick Herbert]

The hon. Lady knows that this is a matter for the leadership of the Metropolitan police and for the Mayor. The Mayor has made it clear that he seeks to maintain the number of police officers in London at above 32,000, which will be more than he inherited from his Labour predecessor, and to protect neighbourhood policing.

[Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

T9. In Torpoint and other parts of my constituency, police response teams are finding that their times are restricted by the geography of the area, which means that some officers are forced to cross the River Tamar on a ferry or to drive for at least 30 minutes. Does my right hon. Friend consider that that is acceptable?

[Nick Herbert]

I understand my hon. Friend’s concerns about this issue and I also appreciate the particular geography in that part of her constituency. These matters of deployment are for the chief constable to decide and it is better that Ministers do not try to second-guess those, but I am happy to draw her concerns to the chief constable’s attention.

Oral Answers to Questions

Sheryll Murray Excerpts

Monday 6th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Robert Buckland (South Swindon) (Con)]

6. What steps she plans to take to reduce annual immigration from states outside the EU to the tens of thousands.

[Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

11. What steps she plans to take to reduce annual immigration from states outside the EU to the tens of thousands.

[Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) (Con)]

15. What steps she plans to take to reduce annual immigration from states outside the EU to the tens of thousands.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sheryll Murray]

How many migrant workers are from within the EU and how many are from elsewhere?

[Damian Green]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for asking that question, because it enables me to puncture one of the great urban myths in the immigration debate, which is that most immigration comes from within the European Union. The net migration figures—which we will get down to the tens of thousands by the end of this Parliament—show that the vast bulk of immigrants come from outside the European Union. She asked about the numbers. In 2009, 292,000 non-European economic area migrants entered the UK and only 109,000 left. The House will see that the vast majority of net immigration comes from outside the European Union. Such immigration is precisely what we will take action on.