Wanless Review

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston

Tuesday 11th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

Yes. That recommendation from the Wanless and Whittam review is separate from the work of the inquiry panel. The permanent secretary has accepted those recommendations and is ensuring that they are acted on and put in place.

[Ms Gisela Stuart (Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab)]

May I return to the question by my fellow Birmingham MP, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Steve McCabe)? We have clearly lost a lot of paper files, and only one official who would have been expected to know what went on, even in the absence of files, has voluntarily come forward to give information. Would it not therefore be appropriate to have a more systematic scroll through those who might have known, and rather than wait for them to come forward, to ask them proactively?

[Mrs May]

As I said to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Steve McCabe), Peter Wanless and Richard Whittam were open to decide how to do the work of the review; it was for them to determine how best they could ensure that they were doing their job thoroughly, as I believe they did. As for whether there are officials who would, or should, come forward to give evidence to the inquiry panel, that is a separate question. I am very clear that any former official who has any information should feel able to come forward and not feel that the Official Secrets Act will get in the way of their doing so. It is important that we hear all the evidence that is available.

Child Sex Abuse (Rotherham)

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston

Tuesday 2nd September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

We need to be clear in all our interactions with anyone involved in anything like this, and in the messages we send from the House and the Government, that there can be no excuse for allowing the perpetrators of such appalling crimes to escape justice. Cultural considerations cannot be an excuse for allowing perpetrators to escape justice but, as I said, there are two issues here, and while it is important to consider the one that my hon. Friend raises, underlying that is a question of the culture within the agencies with regard to the sort of families these girls came from and whether they were to be believed, and that is the culture we also need to break.

[Ms Gisela Stuart (Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend the Member for Coventry North West (Mr Robinson) rightly highlighted the lack of a sense of responsibility among many of the agencies that were working together. However, even if we can restore a sense of responsibility, we will need to ensure that there are proper information and data flows. Given the fragmentation of our secondary schooling system, will she talk to the Department for Education about ensuring that whatever school structure is in place—a free school, an academy or whatever—local authorities will have all data available and may then freely share them with all other agencies?

[Mrs May]

We would all agree about the importance of sharing information appropriately among the various agencies to pick up any children who are vulnerable or might be sexually exploited so that the relevant people are aware of that information and therefore take action.

Syrian Refugees

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston

Wednesday 29th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. The United Kingdom can be very proud of its record on the humanitarian aid that it is giving refugees from the Syrian conflict. As he says, it is the second highest amount in the world—second only to the United States—so we can hold our heads high and recognise the tremendous support that we are giving to Syrian refugees.

[Ms Gisela Stuart (Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab)]

When does the Home Secretary expect the first people to arrive in this country under the scheme, and has she already had discussions about that, particularly with NHS trusts that will have to provide the capacity to deal with them?

[Mrs May]

I cannot give the hon. Lady a date for when the first people will arrive. We obviously have to ensure that we can provide individuals with appropriate accommodation and support. That process can be done generically at the start, but individuals will then have to be considered case by case.

Romanian and Bulgarian Accession

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston

Wednesday 27th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend makes an important and serious point about people moving to the UK who would be of benefit to their own countries if they remained in them. It is important to look at the issue he raises about the disparity of wages and salaries that can be earned, particularly when looking at renegotiation, free movement and transitional controls. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made it clear that one aspect that we are currently considering is whether a more flexible approach on transitional controls, reflecting potential disparities and extending transitional controls while certain disparities remained, would be more beneficial than the blunt instrument we have now.

[Ms Gisela Stuart (Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab)]

As a foreign national who came to this country, I find some of the tone of the right hon. Lady’s response to be slightly distasteful. Some of what she wants to put in place is right and proper, but she did not answer the shadow Home Secretary’s question about why those things were not put in place when we called for them eight months ago. Does she anticipate that all the provisions she mentions will be in place by 1 January?

[Mrs May]

I have made it clear on many occasions that I think immigration has been good for the United Kingdom overall. The problem we faced was uncontrolled immigration under the previous Labour Government, whom the hon. Lady supported. We therefore needed to ensure that we brought some control into our immigration system. Most members of the public think that it is only fair when they are hard working and contributing to the NHS, for example, that other people coming here should be required to contribute as well, while those who come here legitimately think it only fair that those who are here illegitimately and illegally should be removed from this country. Some of the measures—the tightening of the habitual residence test, for example—have been renegotiated in recent months. These policies are being looked at and they will be in place by 1 January; others will be put in place as soon after 1 January as is possible.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston

Monday 19th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting the issue of Chinese visitors to the UK. That is an important market for the UK and I am pleased to say that we have seen some strong growth in the number of Chinese visitors to the UK for both business and tourism. It is one of our priority markets, so we have undertaken a number of changes to our system. Half our Chinese business customers, for example, now benefit from access to a priority scheme. We have opened new expanded visa application centres in a number of cities, but we will continue to look at what we do to ensure that our clear message is that Britain is open for business and has a functioning visa system that ensures that those whom we wish to welcome to the UK can come.

[Ms Gisela Stuart (Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab)]

It is no good saying that we are open for business when the perception out there is that we are not. Will the Home Secretary consider meeting admission tutors from the Russell group and representatives of chambers of commerce to familiarise herself with what is happening on the ground? The perception is that we are not open for business and that access is not as quick as it should be.

[Mrs May]

One problem is that a lot of people are claiming that the UK is not open for business because of our visa system. The former Immigration Minister went out to visit China and clearly gave out the message. The former and current Immigration Ministers and I have met people from the universities, the CBI and other business sectors to talk to them about the issue. It is not just for the Government to go out and say that Britain is open for business—business organisations and universities should give out that message. As the Immigration Minister said earlier, UCAS figures show that the number of applications from non-EU overseas students to our universities has gone up. The universities should stop claiming that there is a problem and go out and say that they are open for business.

Student Visas

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston

Tuesday 22nd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

There are various aspects of that particular issue, of course. In addition to the response I gave to the right hon. Gentleman on the e-Borders system, I might add that the UK Border Agency will, as part of its assessment of whether institutions can become highly trusted sponsors, examine whether they ensure that their students go home after their period of study. That is another way in which we will try to ensure that the issue is addressed.

[Ms Gisela Stuart (Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab)]

I serve on the external board of Birmingham university’s business school and I must tell the Home Secretary that both Birmingham university and Aston university are experiencing a reduction in the number of applications, so her message is not being heard. May I challenge her a little further on post-study work? Is she working with business schools on that, because they have very specific requirements, and if we lose sight of them, we will harm ourselves greatly?

[Mrs May]

We have been discussing with business and the university sector what might be the appropriate criteria for the post-study work route, and the message both those sectors have given me loud and clear is that if international students graduating from UK universities are to go into a job, that should be a graduate-level job.

Phone Tapping

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston

Monday 6th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that point. Last year, when Home Secretary, the shadow Home Secretary looked at the issue and the then Government were absolutely clear that there was no need to take any further action in relation to the investigation by the Metropolitan police.

[Ms Gisela Stuart (Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab)]

The Home Secretary has repeatedly prayed in aid the Select Committee report in support of her decision not to take any further action. I have been a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and have experience of how Select Committees can go only so far. When judicial reviews are then conducted, however, all sorts of evidence suddenly comes out to which Select Committees simply have no access. I urge the Home Secretary not to take comfort from the Select Committee but to make further inquiries and force the Metropolitan police at least to take some serious action rather than hiding behind procedure.

[Mrs May]

As I indicated earlier, such operational matters about whether to investigate particular individuals are for the police. We should jealously guard the operational independence of the police. I say to the hon. Lady, and to any other right hon. or hon. Members on the Labour Benches who think that I as Home Secretary should take it upon myself to tell members of the police force who they should or should not investigate, that that is a very slippery slope down which neither I nor this Government intend to go.