Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Gethins Excerpts

Monday 5th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab)]

2. What steps the Government have taken to increase the speed of family reunification for unaccompanied refugee children in Europe.

[Stephen Gethins (North East Fife) (SNP)]

6. What steps the Government are taking to accelerate the family reunification process for unaccompanied children in Europe.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Amber Rudd)]

We continue to work with the French, Greek and Italian authorities and others to improve family reunification processes for unaccompanied children. We have seconded a UK official to Greece, we have a long-standing secondee working in Italy, and we will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry. Transfer requests under the Dublin obligation are now generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. More than 120 children have been accepted for transfer this year from Europe.

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[Amber Rudd]

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that under the Dublin obligation we have an obligation, which we are acting on, to work with the authorities in France to remove the children who have a family representative in the UK. We are working on that. Since the passage of the Immigration Act 2016 in May, we have agreed to take 30, of whom we have taken approximately half, and we have taken 120 this year. He should not underestimate the difficulty in making sure that we always do what is lawful under French law and EU law at the same time.

[Stephen Gethins]

The Home Secretary will be aware of significant concern about this issue in humanitarian organisations. With the onset of winter just a couple of months away, and given the time that it is taking, will she commit to additional resources and to coming back to the House within the next month to tell us how many children she will take?

[Amber Rudd]

I am always keen to update the House on the latest results from what my Department is doing. We are aware of the humanitarian need and that is why the Government are so committed to ensuring that we work in the best interests of the children. We will always work in the best interest of those children and we will always ensure that that is within French and EU law.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Gethins Excerpts

Monday 13th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Richard Harrington]

The most recent figures published are that, I believe, more than 30 children from France have come over here—that is in the period up to April 2016—and I can assure the right hon. Lady that we are expecting this to increase very significantly. But we cannot take these duties lightly. For example, we have carefully read the survey, or census as it calls it, by terre d’asile on most of the Calais camp. It identified about 180 children of which 50 claim family reunion connections with the UK. We are doing everything we can to quantify exactly who are the ones with family reunification links with this country, and doing our best to speed up reunions. However, I am sure the right hon. Lady will agree that we have to take this seriously and make sure that they have proper connections with the UK, and if it is proved that they do, which is a very quick process, that they are brought over here very quickly.

[Stephen Gethins (North East Fife) (SNP)]

20. Further to the question from the right hon. Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart), does the Minister think that 30 is an adequate number? How quickly does he think he can get the children who have been identified reunited with their families?

[Richard Harrington]

As I explained to the right hon. Lady, I think the number will be increasing significantly in the future. The most significant thing is the speed this takes once a child claims asylum; it takes a short period— in many cases, it is two weeks—and I am hoping to improve on that.

Migration into the EU

Stephen Gethins Excerpts

Wednesday 10th February 2016 Westminster Hall

[Stephen Gethins (North East Fife) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Rosindell. I congratulate the hon. Member for Gravesham (Mr Holloway), a colleague on the Foreign Affairs Committee, on securing this debate. He will be surprised to hear that I agree with him on the need to differentiate between refugees and immigrants. I was very pleased that he made that distinction in his comments, but that is the only common ground that we have. However, I congratulate him on securing the debate and on speaking about the subject so forthrightly. It is an issue that we sincerely need to discuss, and we have had a good debate with some good contributions.

I want to briefly touch on immigration since other hon. Members have touched on it today. I hope the hon. Member for Gravesham will forgive me for doing so, given the comments that have already been made. Immigration is a good thing for the United Kingdom. It has been a good thing for a long time past. Huge contributions have been made by immigrants and refugees to all of our communities the length and breadth of the country. Similarly, within the European context, freedom of movement is a good thing. It is good for our economy and it is good socially. I am somebody who has benefited. There is a great myth that somehow it is only the United Kingdom that bears the brunt of freedom of movement, whereas the reality is that UK citizens benefit from freedom of movement as much as EU citizens benefit.

The hon. Member for St Albans (Mrs Main) was keen to highlight the English challenges, which I am sure there are. She made a sensible case for devolution of immigration because it is something that the Scottish Government have looked for. It would benefit the Scottish economy, so we want more immigration. I know that the agriculture sector in my own constituency benefits, as it does in the constituency of the hon. Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter), who also highlighted that the NHS benefits hugely from immigration. We in Scotland are keen to see more. The hon. Member for St Albans made her case on behalf of her constituents and I respect that, but there is a case to be made for devolving immigration. In fact, in countries such as Australia, different states already take responsibility for immigration.

On refugees, my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Joanna Cherry) made an impassioned case. The hon. Member for Gravesham talked about how many we should take. We should certainly take a lot more than the 0.25% we currently take. The EU is looking to relocate 160,000 refugees, and that goes to the heart of the points he makes. I hope the Minister will give a thorough explanation about why the UK Government are not opting into the project. The United Kingdom has taken 400—0.25%—of those 160,000 refugees. That is a disgrace. Ireland, our neighbours to the west, have an opt-out, as has the UK, and Ireland has decided not to use it. Perhaps the Minister can tell us why the Irish have decided not to use their opt-out but the UK has. I am sure he will cover that.

Furthermore, I hope the Minister will touch on why the Government are not taking up offers of support from the Scottish Government. They have offered to help the UK Government and to take more than our fair share. Some 40% of the refugees who arrive are going to Scotland—the first batch went to Scotland. The Scottish Government have put their money where their mouth is. We are not just talking about this; we are doing it and we are taking action. Will the Minister touch upon the Scottish Government’s offers of help?

On the issue of refugees, we are talking about people fleeing conflict and failed states such as Libya. The United Kingdom had a hand in its becoming a failed state. We spent £320 million bombing Libya and then £25 million on reconstructing it. I believe we have a responsibility in such areas.

We also have the dreadful civil war in Syria. I was fortunate enough to spend time in a refugee camp on the Turkish border. I met one person who did not want to go back to their country. The only reason he did not want to go back was because he could receive the medical treatment for his wounds from the conflict only in Sweden, where the last remaining members of his family lived. We need to remember who is holding the front line on this—countries such as Macedonia, Croatia, Italy and Greece—and we have an obligation to show a little bit of European solidarity. I hope the Minister addresses that point.

As the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) ably pointed out, immigration has a huge impact, but it is a positive one. I noted his remarks about the Kindertransport children in his own constituency. We also have to remind ourselves of the challenges that refugees face. There are 2.5 million refugees in Turkey, and one in four people in Lebanon are refugees. The challenges are huge. That was something that my hon. Friend the Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East (Stuart C. McDonald) mentioned. I hope the Minister addresses those issues.

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[James Brokenshire]

We have clear rules in Europe that those in need of humanitarian protection should claim it at the first opportunity. We have provided aid assistance and expert support within Europe, and we stand ready to commit more to the hotspots initiative, ensuring that those in need of protection can be better identified. In the past fortnight, we announced the £10 million fund that I mentioned earlier, part of which is intended to harness the Dublin regulation by supporting effective identification of children who need to be reunited with their family. Where family reunion under the regulation is achievable, we will help to match things up by having better systems in place. That is about direct assistance.

[Stephen Gethins]

Further to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East (Stuart C. McDonald), is the Minister suggesting that Malta, for example, should deal with the refugees that arrive there on its own without the UK lending a supporting hand?

[James Brokenshire]

As I have indicated, the UK is more than lending a hand by dealing with some of the significant factors that push people to cross the sea and with the organised immigration crime that is facilitating that. We are also providing expert support to the European Asylum Support Office, Frontex and Europol. The UK is demonstrating, through a broad range of measures, its commitment to solidarity with European partners in dealing with the crisis at hand.

On returns, which some Members have referred to in the debate, the unprecedented numbers of migrants and refugees arriving in Europe mean that it is more important than ever that each and every EU member states fulfils its responsibilities to process all those arriving, provide refuge to those who need it and return those who do not. As part of those efforts, all member states must have legislation and processes in place to identify and weed out abuse of their asylum system.

Border Management (Calais)

Stephen Gethins Excerpts

Wednesday 24th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I thank my right hon. Friend for gently pointing that out to me. He makes his representations. Representations are also made to me on a regular basis by my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Charlie Elphicke) on the impact these incidents have on the port and the surrounding transport network. I will raise the comments my right hon. Friend makes with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport.

[Stephen Gethins (North East Fife) (SNP)]

The Secretary of State makes a fair point about the work of humanitarian organisations in the theatre—we all applaud that—but does she realise we are facing the worst refugee crisis since the war and that the UK response has been described as paling in comparison with that of other EU countries? Does she welcome the Scottish Government’s offer to work with them and take more Syrian refugees in the resettlement programme?

[Mrs May]

First, several thousand Syrians have been able to claim asylum in recent years here in the United Kingdom. We introduced the vulnerable persons relocation scheme, which the Prime Minister announced last weekend will be slightly expanded. The scheme, working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, focuses on the most vulnerable. I have to say to the hon. Gentleman that to describe the donation of £900 million of aid to refugees, supporting many people’s lives through medical provisions, water, food and shelter, as pitiful is quite wrong. This country should be proud of the fact that we have taken such a leading role.

[Stephen Gethins]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The Home Secretary is giving her answer to the hon. Gentleman. It is not appropriate to try to raise a point of order in the middle of an answer. It is unparliamentary. It is also—dare I say it?—more than a tad discourteous.

Refugee Situation in the Mediterranean

Stephen Gethins Excerpts

Tuesday 16th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Keith Vaz]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman and, as I develop my speech, I think he will be pleased with the strategy I set out. He said that 2,000 have died in the past year. In fact, in the past six months, 1,725 people have drowned making this perilous journey, and there must be others who have died in small, unrecorded boats that have capsized. The figure is likely to exceed 3,000 by the end of this year.

Often travelling in crafts that are completely unseaworthy, these innocent men, women and children pay up to €7,000 to make the journey to Libya. Mr Speaker, your own distinguished chaplain, the Rev. Rose Hudson-Wilkin, made a passionate plea on the “Daily Politics” last week about the staggering humanitarian catastrophe on Europe’s doorstep.

This is part of a much wider issue. According to a report published by Amnesty International just yesterday, the neglect of conflicts around the world has led to the worst displacement crisis since the second world war. The report shows that millions of refugees—4 million from Syria alone—have been condemned to a life of misery, and hundreds of thousands of people are trying to reach the EU for a better life.

[Stephen Gethins (North East Fife) (SNP)]

May I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on securing this debate and on bringing this issue to the House? As he rightly points out, we are facing the worst refugee crisis since the war. Does he share my concern regarding today’s reports about the withdrawal of HMS Bulwark from the Mediterranean theatre, and will he join me in thanking the service personnel who have done a phenomenal job in very difficult circumstances?

[Keith Vaz]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. I pay tribute to the work done by those who serve on HMS Bulwark, and I will come to a specific point concerning what I hope the Government will do when that project comes to an end on 5 July.

The situation in Libya is a critical factor. Libya is a failed state just over an hour and half’s flight time from Rome. Constant conflict between multiple factions has left it largely ungoverned. It has few ports and poor infrastructure. Yesterday I spoke to the Italian ambassador, Pasquale Terracciano, who told me that 92% of migrants crossing the Mediterranean leave from Libya. The refugees travelling from Libya consist largely of victims of war and conflict in Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea, Nigeria and Somalia. Last Monday in Schloss Elmau, leaders of the G7 called on Libya’s leaders to form a Government of national accord. However, calling for a political solution is not enough, and the reconciliation process faces numerous obstacles. We urgently need to support the UN mission to bring parties in Libya to the conference table.

One obstacle is the prevalence of criminal gangs in Libya, which play a large part in trafficking migrants from their points of origin into the Mediterranean. These vicious groups have made millions on the back of the drowned victims. Over the past Christmas period alone, traffickers made an estimated €3 million from packing between 300 and 400 people on to old, doomed ships, on some occasions forcing them on to the vessels at gunpoint. This was vividly demonstrated on 2 January, when 360 Syrian refugees, including 70 children, were rescued after the Ezadeen, a livestock freighter, was left adrift in freezing conditions.

Some of the groups profiting from this situation include international terrorist organisations such as ISIS, which recently captured territory in the city of Sirte. Intelligence from Italy shows that trafficking has become a significant revenue stream for terrorist organisations to fund their activities. Terminating these trafficking rings is vital. Will the Minister assure us that the Government are providing practical support to train Libyan security forces, disarm the militias and re-establish the rule of law?

Many of our EU partners believe that direct military action against the trafficking rings is necessary. The current plans are stalled in the UN Security Council, as the remnants of the Libyan Government have rejected proposals to take military action in Libyan territorial waters. However, there is no obstacle to taking firmer action in international waters under the EU’s common security and defence policy. The Italian Government believe that such an operation would be similar to the international action against Somali pirates, and they are right. The Government should provide direct support for more aggressive measures against the traffickers in international waters.

The Khartoum process, a commitment between the EU, north African countries and countries in the horn of Africa to co-operate in tackling people trafficking, appears to have had little impact. The project has been watered down and is a slow solution to a critical problem. We need an inclusive process that includes all those parties, but it needs to be tougher, as the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) said. Countries such as Tunisia and Algeria have to be vested with greater authority and resources to deal with this problem. The Tunisian ambassador, Nabil Ammar, has provided me with information showing that his country’s security forces stopped 191 illegal migration attempts this year, detaining a total of 1,265 people. They cannot maintain these efforts without our support.

What we need is a permanent taskforce, meeting on a 24/7 basis, with the authority to work with Frontex, to replace the Khartoum process entirely. It must include the key north African and southern Mediterranean countries. Through this taskforce, or otherwise, we must ensure that our north African neighbours receive adequate resources, as they face an increasingly significant humanitarian and security problem.

To relieve the stress on Italian, Greek and Spanish authorities, Dimitris Avramopoulos, the EU Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs, has called for migration centres to be established in Tunisia and Egypt. These centres would allow migrants to make asylum applications that are processed remotely outside Europe, preventing the migrants from risking their lives in the Mediterranean. The Government should review their current position against these centres, which present a legal alternative to refugees risking their lives in the Mediterranean.

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[The Minister for Immigration (James Brokenshire)]

I thank the right hon. Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz) for securing a debate on this important subject. I know that from his experience as Chairman of the Select Committee on Home Affairs during the previous Parliament, he has a detailed knowledge of the subject. He has visited places such as Calais and the Greek border to see for himself the pressures that migration creates in various countries. I have listened carefully to the points that he has raised, and in the time available I will try to respond to the issues that he has highlighted.

The right hon. Gentleman clearly underlined the fact that the situation in the Mediterranean is a tragic reminder of the risks that migrants are prepared to take in their attempts to make the perilous journey to Europe, and it is a stark illustration of the exploitation perpetrated by traffickers and organised criminals, who callously put people in harm’s way at sea. Frankly, they could not care whether people live or die. We need to focus on that callousness, that coldness and that complete disregard for human life, and the traffickers who are responsible for it. The loss of life is unacceptable, and I know the whole House is in absolute agreement on that.

Mass migration is one of the key global issues of our times. To put in context the challenge we face, it is currently estimated that about half a million people in Libya are awaiting the opportunity to cross the Mediterranean. There are no easy answers, and none of us should pretend otherwise. We need to look beyond the horizon, looking to the source and transit countries and considering an end-to-end process in dealing with this significant issue, but equally we need to deal with the here and now.

The UK is playing a leading role in the rescue efforts to prevent further deaths. We have sent the Royal Navy’s flagship, HMS Bulwark, to assist the Italian-led search and rescue mission. We have also deployed two UK Border Force cutters and three Merlin helicopters, in addition to police and military expertise. To date, UK assets have saved over 3,000 lives. No definitive dates have been set for the withdrawal of HMS Bulwark, but I can assure the House that all options are being actively considered.

We will continue to work with European partners to solve the immediate crisis, but these efforts alone will not make the problems go away; we need to treat the root causes and not just deal with the consequences. This can be done only with a comprehensive, long-term solution where we break the link between the people getting on the boats and achieving residence in Europe. This is absolutely key to the solution, as the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary have underlined in their contributions. Through breaking this link, we will stop people putting themselves in the perilous position that they face in seeking to make that journey across the Mediterranean.

[Stephen Gethins]

rose—

[James Brokenshire]

I can see that the hon. Gentleman wishes to intervene. I am conscious of time, but I will give way once.

[Stephen Gethins]

On the withdrawal of HMS Bulwark, the Minister said that all options are being considered. Will he confirm that, regardless of what happens, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs will make a full statement to this House?