Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tom Randall and Robert Jenrick

Monday 19th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Robert Jenrick]

I am always happy to take up cases for right hon. and hon. Members. I would just say, however, that the Home Office’s standards for visa applications are now back in line with its customer service standards. A large number of staff were taken off those cases in order to support the Homes for Ukraine and other humanitarian schemes, which I am sure the hon. Gentleman would agree with, but the service standards are now being met.

[Tom Randall (Gedling) (Con)]

A great many of my residents raise with me the issue of cross-channel migration. Following this morning’s High Court ruling, does my right hon. Friend agree that the Rwanda scheme, when it gets the green light, will be a fair scheme that will act as a deterrent and help to allay the concerns of Gedling residents?

[Robert Jenrick]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The point of the Rwanda scheme is to provide a significant deterrent, so that those coming here illegally never find a route to life here in the UK and so that we can focus our resources as a country on supporting those who really need to be here, through targeted resettlement schemes such as those for Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tom Randall and Robert Jenrick

Monday 5th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Robert Jenrick]

We are working with the chief medical officer’s team and Public Health England to prepare guidance as to how night shelters could be opened safely and in what circumstances, but the hon. Gentleman is obviously right that it is difficult to do so in a covid-compliant manner, so we are working with local councils to consider alternatives so that nobody should be left on the streets in the coldest weather this winter.

[Tom Randall (Gedling) (Con)]

My constituents in villages such as Burton Joyce and Stoke Bardolph understandably want to protect their green spaces and their village identity, which are part of what makes those places what they are. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that the Government’s proposed planning reforms will ensure that local people are empowered to decide on the shape of their community?

[Robert Jenrick]

I can certainly confirm that. We want to ensure that the green belt is protected so that there are beautiful green spaces for our constituents to enjoy and the identity of villages and communities such as those that my hon. Friend represents is protected and preserved for future generations.