Immigration: Pausing the Hostile Environment Debate
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Vicky Foxcroft
Main Page: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)Department Debates - View all Vicky Foxcroft's debates with the Home Office
Immigration: Pausing the Hostile Environment
Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts(5 years, 9 months ago)
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Caroline Nokes
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that. I am sure that he was desperately trying to work out where Nokes came from. [Interruption.] I do not know. It is my ex-husband’s name. It is really important that we acknowledge, celebrate and recognise the contribution that immigrants have made to our country, to our community and to our society, and I do that. I hope that, over the coming months when we get to debate the immigration Bill, people will remember that.
Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)
Many of my constituents in Lewisham and Deptford have been victims of the hostile environment for far too long, waiting years for visas, not having service standards met and not being able to get any sort of update from the Home Office. Does the Minister accept that pausing the hostile environment is far too little and too late for many of my constituents, and should not the Government now be ending it for good?
Caroline Nokes
The compliant environment provides some important policies that enable us to distinguish between those who are here legally and those who are not. As I said in response to an earlier question, this was something that commenced many years ago, under a different Government, and it is absolutely right that we should be able to check that those who are accessing benefits and services have the right to do so.