Afghan Resettlement Update

Debate between Stephen Farry and Johnny Mercer

Tuesday 18th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[Johnny Mercer]

I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman for his engagement in the process. We had a useful—although very short, I am afraid—visit to his constituency to see the challenge there. He is absolutely right: the disparity in provision is obvious where he is. We need to work harder in central Government, as well as at local government level, to ensure that all the benefits of the scheme are playing out for the families we are trying to serve.

I will have more to say in due course about contingency accommodation, but clearly, where individuals are getting specialist help at local hospitals, it will be in that area. We are yet to make a decision on precisely what that contingency accommodation will look like, but as I have said from the very start of the process, I do not want to see anybody going homeless at the end of the process—nobody should be homeless. I cannot march people to private accommodation and give them all the money in the world if they still do not want to live there, but there is no reason why Afghans should present as homeless at the end of this process.

[Stephen Farry (North Down) (Alliance)]

While there are clear concerns about what the Minister has announced today, it is important to recognise that there is a two-tier system, in that many tens of thousands of Afghans are currently stuck in the UK’s asylum system. Many of them have been stuck there for over two years. They, too, want to move on with their lives and are prevented from doing so. On the approach across Government, what representations can the Minister make to his colleagues in the Home Office to try to get those Afghans out of the asylum system, bearing in mind that many of them will have served with UK forces in Afghanistan or otherwise helped our forces?

[Johnny Mercer]

Applications to the ARAP scheme by those who served alongside British forces and so on can be made from a third country and at any stage. The Home Office is dealing with the asylum system at the moment, and we have heard a lot about that in the last couple of days. My responsibility in this area is very clear, and that is to get Afghans who are already in hotels into their accommodation, but I am sure the Home Office will have heard the hon. Gentleman’s remarks.

We are aware that this is a hugely challenging space, but I hope that with this scheme, the way we have worked with local authorities and the third sector, and the fact that we have built an Afghan taskforce for those who have already settled here and have charities working for the Government, we can set down a really clear blueprint for how we do migration that could see us properly integrate people from these vulnerable situations into British society.

Afghan Resettlement Update

Debate between Stephen Farry and Johnny Mercer

Tuesday 28th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Johnny Mercer]

That would be a pathway through the ACRS, which is precisely what it is designed to do. That is exactly why we are taking this course of action: there are people who we want to get through these pathways who are not now coming through these pathways because we have gummed up the system in the UK with too many people in hotels. I hope that, with all colleagues, we can make a real effort to get these people out of hotels and into communities, where they deserve to be for supporting western values and UK forces in Afghanistan. I look forward to working with the right hon. Member to get that done.

[Stephen Farry (North Down) (Alliance)]

There were several thousand Afghans in the asylum system even before Operation Pitting. Indeed, many of those are still awaiting decisions, including a young Hazara mother whom my office is working with, alongside her two daughters. Since then, many Afghans have come to the UK by small boats due to the failings of the ACRS. Given the situation in Afghanistan, does the Minister agree that it is surely inconceivable that the UK would deport anyone back to Afghanistan?

[Johnny Mercer]

We are currently not returning anybody to Afghanistan, so if these people are eligible for the criteria on the ACRS or the ARAP programme, I encourage them to apply for that, and they can do so from a third country. We are determined to get the individuals in the UK out of hotels so we can make that pipeline work, and then it will work for those whom the hon. Member mentioned.

Veterans’ Mental Health

Debate between Stephen Farry and Johnny Mercer

Thursday 12th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Johnny Mercer]

The armed forces covenant is an important piece of work that has brought us on a long way, but it is clear to me that we need to strengthen it. In the Queen’s Speech, this Government committed to enshrining the armed forces covenant in law so that no individual, or their family, can be disadvantaged because of their service. We are going to bring that in during this Parliament, and it will strengthen the armed forces covenant further. I sincerely hope that there is not a single local authority in this country that has not signed up to it.

[Stephen Farry (North Down) (Alliance)]

I concur with the Minister’s original statement and look forward to the roll-out of the military covenant in Northern Ireland, but I do take issue with his answer to the former Chair of the Defence Committee. In doing so, I challenge the narrative of vexatious claims being made against veterans, particularly in relation to Northern Ireland. It undermines the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland, which has the ability to weed out such claims; I do not even believe that examples have been cited. Can I urge the Minister to reflect on what may well be an unintended consequence of the road he is going down? Tens of thousands of people served with great honour and distinction in Northern Ireland, upholding the rule of law. If we end up putting in place some sort of measure to give unnecessary protection and warp the rule of law, that may end up de-legitimising and undermining the integrity of their service, which they are rightly very proud of.

[Johnny Mercer]

I reassure the hon. Gentleman that I tread with the utmost care when it comes to dealing with the very bloody, very difficult and very emotional scenarios surrounding historical prosecutions. There is absolutely no Minister or individual in my position, from the Prime Minister downwards, who would ever accept that those who serve in uniform commit crimes and we do not hold them to account. Under my watch, that will never happen. But we are going to ensure that the balance and fairness in this process are restored so that those who have served their country and done nothing wrong can retire from their military service in peace. It is a challenge, but this Government are not going to run from that. We are going to meet that challenge. The hon. Gentleman will know of the many, many servicemen and women and veterans, and their families, who have been dragged through a totally unacceptable process for many years. This process is about fairness and about justice, not only for them but for people in Afghanistan, Iraq and Northern Ireland. I urge him to work with us in the weeks ahead as we tread carefully down this path.