argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-10
Topic: Immigration
Sally Rachel Hamwee (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, the short point that my noble friend Lord Paddick wanted to make, as he generally does, in leaving out Clause 74(3) is that, again, this seems to conflate immigration and terrorism. It extends powers to question people about involvement in terrorism at the border and applies the powers to people being detained under a provision of the immigration Acts, and so on. The objection runs like a thread through the Bill, to so many points. Immigration and terrorism are not the same. Not all terrorists are immigrants. Terrorists who have succeeded in the UK have been British, and if the Government allow, in legislation, the bias implied by the conflation of these two, no wonder others display the same bias. I beg to move.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-10
Topic: Mixed Topics
Sally Rachel Hamwee (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, has her name to the opposition to Clause 76 standing part of the Bill. I am happy to pick this up briefly, as she has had to leave Clause 76 gives the tribunals a charging power in respect of wasted resources. I do not know whether it is aimed at lefty, liberal lawyers, a group to which I would be proud to belong, although I do not think I quite qualify—lefty maybe, liberal certainly, but I am an ex-lawyer I am trying to read my notes, but I cannot understand what I wrote last night.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-10
Topic: Immigration
Sally Rachel Hamwee (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, on Tuesday the noble Lord, Lord Wolfson, brought into the Chamber the Criminal Law Handbook and referred to its size. "Handbook" is a bit of a misnomer because lifting it could break one’s wrist, but it is as nothing compared to the immigration legislation and the Immigration Rules. The rules are too many to print; one has to access them online—unless things have changed in the last year or two Clause 78 allows the Secretary of State, by regulations, to make "amendments and modifications" such as are "desirable in connection with, the consolidation of the whole or a substantial part of the Acts" listed. Perhaps it is a secondary point to remark on the potential confusion of consolidating a part of, but not the whole of, an Act. We know the difficulties with regulations—certainly, we in the Opposition would call them difficulties—the problems of scrutinising and debating them, and the impossibility of amendment We have been promised the consolidation of immigration law for I do not know how many years. Has it got stuck in the quagmire of legislation, or is it just that it is too difficult? It is obviously recognised that there is a problem, but I am not convinced that Clause 78 is the solution: I think it may be an addition to the problem. More in hope than expectation, I have tabled Amendment 175A—Amendment 176A is consequential on it—in order that we publish draft consolidating legislation by the end of 2025 and then consult on the work I do not know whether I am doing an injustice to what is proposed. Clause 78(4) proposes that regulations be made after consolidation of "the whole or a substantial part of the Acts." That gives rise to potential confusion. The big question is whether the Minister has news of the consolidation exercise. I find it a little odd to provide here for regulations that cannot be made until after this long list of Acts is consolidated. I beg to move.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-10
Topic: Other
Sally Rachel Hamwee (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): As the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, is not here, I wanted to say that her point about consultation was well made, but what I think is particularly important in this group is Amendment 194A, in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie, which should not be left until goodness knows what time. I beg to move.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-10
Topic: Mixed Topics
Julie Smith (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My understanding of the ARAP scheme was that it was widened to some extent to allow those who may have been dismissed for minor offences to be included, but that the most recent changes, towards the end of 2001, reduced eligibility, particularly for certain groups of people who had worked with the British Council as contractors, so those in the second wave were no longer eligible and would have to apply under the ACRS and not ARAP.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-10
Topic: Immigration
Julie Smith (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, in moving this amendment the noble Lord, Lord Alton, pointed out that it was supported across all parts of your Lordships’ House. However, such is the nature of amendments that you can have only four names on the top of them, which on this occasion omits any Liberal Democrat name. So I rise, genuinely briefly, to support the amendment on behalf of these Benches because, as both noble Lords have made so clear, it really plugs the hole in the life raft, as the noble Lord, Lord Patten of Barnes, pointed out We are talking about a relatively small amendment and a relatively small number of people. But the amendment would make the difference of giving these people the freedom and ability to express themselves, and the opportunity to come and live freely, which is given to their parents and grandparents, and some of those who are in government in Hong Kong—so it is very important Some months ago, the young people of Hong Kong were very vocal in writing, again and again, "Please support us because we don’t have the right to come out under any sort of visa scheme". This is an important amendment and I very much hope the noble Lord, Lord Patten of Barnes, is right that it brings together both wings of the Conservative Party. The last time I remember something similar happening right across your Lordships’ House was on the rights of the 3 million EU nationals resident in the United Kingdom in the wake of the referendum, when all parts of your Lordships’ House and of the Conservative Party, apart from the Government Front Bench, agreed. I hope that on this occasion those on the Government Front Bench might be able to agree with the two wings of their own party, and with everybody else.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-10
Topic: Other
Sarah Ludford (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I hope I am not being a bit of a cynic, but if the noble Lord intends that the Government respond to us on Report, that might make it a little difficult for us to prepare for the possibility of a vote. Can he secure a response? We were promised jam tomorrow—I think we wanted to hear some jam today. We should at least get the jam before Report, not on Report.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-10
Topic: Immigration
Jonathan Oates (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, Amendment 180 in my name and those of the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, and the noble Lord, Lord McNicol of West Kilbride, would require the Government to provide physical proof of status for those with immigration status in the United Kingdom I will try not to detain the Committee too long, because the arguments for providing physical proof alongside digital status have been aired extensively in this House, most recently on the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill, when your Lordships overwhelmingly supported a cross-party amendment to this effect for EEA citizens with settled or pre-settled status. At that time, there was no need to argue for such physical proof for those with other immigration status in the United Kingdom because they were already entitled to it—something the Home Office now seems determined to reverse. I will come to that in a moment When we discussed this previously, the main arguments advanced by the Government against providing physical proof appeared to be, first, that digital proof was better than physical proof because it could not be lost—putting aside the fact that digital proof can indeed be lost or destroyed, no one ever suggested that physical proof should replace digital proof, but rather that it should complement it; and secondly, that as the Government intended us all to move to a digital-only system at some point, it made sense for the settled status scheme to adopt digital-only from the outset.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-10
Topic: Immigration
Sarah Ludford (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I stress that these Benches as a whole support my noble friend Lord Oates’s amendment, as we consistently have. I applaud him for pursuing this issue relentlessly. It seems like one gigantic mess. The EEA citizens under the EU settlement scheme were used as guinea pigs for a digital-only system, although I understand that it is now being extended to everybody. My noble friend referred to a 2018 pilot which basically said not to do it. There does not seem to have been any good policy evaluation along the way, and people are having all these practical problems For example, some people cannot go to France because they do not know whether they are going to get back in as their status has not been linked to their new passport. These are major issues for individuals. They may not be major issues from a bureaucratic point of view in the Home Office, but some people are unable to get a mortgage or a job because the system does not work I cannot stress enough how much this needs to be sorted out. The noble Baroness, Lady Lister, mentioned the 3million; those of us working with that group find it admirable. The Home Office said it was considering the 3million’s proposal but has failed to engage with it since June 2021, which is eight months ago. The Home Office really needs to focus on this. The Minister has consistently said, "Don’t just bring me criticisms; bring me solutions"—my noble friend has brought a solution Frankly, if I can work a QR code for my Covid pass on the app, anyone can—actually, I did get a bit of help from my neighbour at one point. But this is a solution, and it has worked with the Covid pass. I really hope that the noble Baroness can give us some good news and at least go and talk to the 3million.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-10
Topic: Mixed Topics
Jonathan Oates (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I thank the Minister for her response. Given the lateness of the hour, I shall not delay proceedings further. I was very encouraged—I think it is the first time I have been really encouraged in these debates—by what the Minister had say: that she would take back this issue of a QR code. It has been around for a while, so I hope that she can push the Home Office on it. There seems to be some ideological or bureaucratic resistance—I do not know what it is—because, as we discussed, this is not a partisan matter; it is a just a matter of giving people the sort of surety they need On what the Minister said about digital by default, the study that I quoted from 2018, as well as the trial, made it clear that digital by default does not mean digital only—and it should not have to. If we can find a way with a QR code, I would be absolutely delighted. I hope that the Minister will be able to come back to us before Report with something positive and joyous, but I ask her to involve the representative groups as sector systems develop. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-10
Topic: Immigration
Sally Rachel Hamwee (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I will move the amendment tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Chakrabarti, and supported by the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, because I feel so strongly about the subject. Who knows, the Government might have something new to say; I would not want the Minister to waste her speech. I am not sure whether the noble Baroness, Lady Williams, will be replying—she is nodding. I want to use this opportunity to thank the noble Lords on the Government Front Bench at the moment for their courtesy through a number of trying hours. There is a lot that I do not agree with—I have made no secret of the fact that I think this is an awful Bill—but we always appreciate how the noble Baroness approaches everything. She must be very tired but she does not show it. I just wanted to express my thanks; I have heard such comments outside the Chamber as well Last night, I discovered that the beautifully honed notes for my speech had disappeared. It was not so beautiful as to include "civis Britannicus", though—if I have got that right. Perhaps I dreamed that I wrote it because this is not the first time that I have spoken on the importance of immigration detention not being indefinite, although it may be the shortest speech I have made on the subject. Some of the amendments may be in the same form as ones I have spoken to in the past and divided on Detention centres are formally immigration removal centres because they are for the removal of people liable to be removed, not indefinite incarceration. In a lot of our debates over the years, the Government have said that people are not detained for that long. That is not point. Some are, of course—some are detained for a long time—but it is uncertainty and lack of hope that characterise indefinite detention. We have often heard from ex-detainees of the loss of hope and its impact on them I want to mention one other amendment in this group, on ending the use of privately run places of detention. It is not something we have previously debated, I think, but I recall having a conversation with Brandon Lewis when he was the Minister in the relevant department—at least I got his name right this time—following revelations about Brook House. I asked him why the Government did not just terminate the contract with the contractor. He said, "We’d end up with the same staff because they’d be transferred or they’d reapply for their jobs, and there are not many people who want to do the job". I did not find that entirely convincing; rather, it was not a complete answer. I fear that the ship of having only state-run detention centres has sailed but, if the Minister has notes that refer to this, I think that the Committee—or, if not the Committee, the people who read Hansard—would be glad to hear them. I beg to move.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-10
Topic: Immigration
Sarah Ludford (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I want to say a few sentences as my last words in Committee—thank goodness, at 11 o’clock at night. I agree with what my noble friend Lady Hamwee has said, and I applaud everything she has done over the years on immigration detention—and the noble Baroness, Lady Lister of Burtersett. Both are doughty champions of trying to constrain immigration detention and stop it being indefinite. I do not have their background on this subject, but I know that the Minister has grappled with them—if I can put it like that—over the years, and if she had some encouraging news for them that would be a great way to end the Committee.
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-10
Topic: Immigration
Sally Rachel Hamwee (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, obviously that is disappointing. I do not feel I am in a position to judge what, on the face of it, seems encouraging from the comments that have been made about improvement of detention arrangements. I will be very interested to see the UNHCR evaluation that the Minister mentioned. However, I cannot help saying—I suppose it is the role of the Opposition to approach assurances with our own questions—that I remember the gatekeeper point and that the JCHR, of which I was a member, was unpersuaded that that role was effective.
Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill — House of Lords, 2022-06-06
Topic: Other
Timothy Francis Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): May I suggest that if the passage of the Bill is to be smooth, any information the Minister is able to provide about the impact, past or expected, would be extremely helpful? Otherwise, we are all going to be arguing about suppositions.
Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill — House of Lords, 2022-06-06
Topic: Mixed Topics
Timothy Francis Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I am sorry to interrupt the Minister again, but I am frightened that he is not going to tell us who the regulator will be, explain why we are covering only three of the many principles covered in legislation in other territories, or provide us with a glimpse of the secondary legislation.
British Sign Language Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-25
Topic: Other
Elizabeth Barker (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Thomas of Winchester, is taking part remotely and I invite her to speak. For the middle section of her speech, the noble Baroness will be assisted by the noble Lord, Lord Bruce of Bennachie.
British Sign Language Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-25
Topic: Civil Rights
Celia Marjorie Thomas (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, I warmly welcome this Bill and pay tribute to all those people who have made it possible, particularly my old friend David Buxton, chair of the British Deaf Association, and of course the noble Lord, Lord Holmes of Richmond Some years ago, I met a man who happened to be in charge of the Access to Work programme at the DWP, and I managed to persuade him to fund BSL interpreters for the surgeries of councillors with hearing loss, one of whom was David Buxton. I do not know whether there are now any councillors who fall into this category. Perhaps the Minister can tell us, and whether the scheme is ongoing I now hand over to my noble friend Lord Bruce, to whom I am very grateful for his help At this point, Lord Bruce of Bennachie continued the speech for Baroness Thomas of Winchester. At first glance, this is a very modest Bill, but it is of enormous significance because, as we have heard, it gives legal status to British Sign Language at long last. In time, it will be unacceptable for the courts to be the only public service to offer BSL. It is also timely because, for the last two years, people with hearing impairments have not been able to lip-read, with so many people in masks. I can imagine that this will have taken its toll on their mental well-being, with many being very hesitant about going out and about It must be stressed that BSL is not everyday English put into sign language; it is a language in its own right, with its own grammar and syntax. It is of fundamental importance that there are far more properly trained interpreters who can fulfil the promise that the Bill affords. It is particularly important for there to be enough interpreters to work in the health service so that the children of parents with hearing loss are not put into the invidious position of having to be the go-between at consultations, especially when sensitive matters are being discussed. I know that the Department for Education is considering a GCSE in BSL—could the Minister say how far advanced those plans are At this point, Baroness Thomas of Winchester resumed. My final point is to ask the Minister how we should scrutinise this legislation in the months ahead. Will the guidance that the DWP will issue to all departments be made public? When will the Cabinet Office’s report on the promotion of BSL be published? Finally, how will jobseekers with hearing impairments be able to access the services of BSL interpreters? The Bill is very welcome, if long overdue, and we all wish it well.
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-31
Topic: Other
Brian Paddick (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Leave out from "House" and insert "do insist on its Amendment 80 and on its disagreement with the Commons in their Amendments 80A, 80B, 80C, 80D, 80E and 80F, do disagree with the Commons in their Amendment 80H, and do not insist on its Amendment 80G but do propose Amendment 80J instead of the words left out of the Bill by Amendment 80—
Ukraine Refugee Visas — House of Lords, 2022-03-31
Topic: Immigration
Shaista Sheehan (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, on Monday, the Minister told me from the Dispatch Box that I was wrong when I raised concerns about application forms for Ukrainian refugees being available only in English, yet just last night, the Home Office confirmed that this is indeed the case. It said that Ukrainians seeking refuge could ask their sponsor to fill the form out for them instead. This is a ludicrous suggestion and further elongates an already arduous process. Does it not show that the Government are once again putting paperwork before people? Does the Minister accept that his remarks on Monday were wrong and will he please correct them?
Homes for Ukraine Scheme — House of Lords, 2022-03-31
Topic: Immigration
Shaista Sheehan (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, yesterday the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, in response to the Statement on Ukraine, said that 2,700 visas had been granted to Ukrainian refugees. Can the Minister say whether that number refers to applications for the Homes for Ukraine scheme? My understanding is that people who do manage to navigate that application process are issued a reference number, not a visa, and then have to await an official letter of permission to travel to the UK, without which they cannot enter the UK. This is yet another example of putting paperwork before people. How many people have received that letter and, as a consequence, how many people have arrived in the UK?
Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-03-08
Topic: Immigration
Sally Rachel Hamwee (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, this is another occasion when, from and on behalf of these Benches, I can say that we agree and can edit my remarks down—although not completely. Between us, my noble friend Lord Paddick and I have put our names to all of the amendments, save that of the noble Lord, Lord Alton—nothing was meant by that except that it slipped past us—and we support them all The noble and learned Baroness referred to the combination of seeing victims of trafficking through the lens of immigration, as if this is all a single issue, ignoring the trauma and exploitation they have suffered as victims. I add that, of course, not all victims are immigrants. In fact, the minority are, so far as we know —there is a lot that we do not know yet. The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner has commented that the Bill creates "a distinction between victims who are deserving of support and those who are not", like deserving and undeserving refugees I will go back to trauma, which was referred to by the noble and learned Baroness. There seems to be an assumption that, if a story varies, even in a small detail, from one day to the next, the whole must be a lie. The noble Lord, Lord Alton, mentioned legislating in haste; I say that it is not us who repent at leisure but the victims who suffer hard at leisure I am no great fan of using domestic legislation to construe and apply an international treaty—I support Amendment 68A, but I simply pre-empt the point being made against me, referring back to previous amendments. It is a very neat way of not disqualifying victims from protection, other than in very limited circumstances. It is very difficult to see how the Government could oppose the amendment on the best interests of the child, if we are truly concerned about child victims. The noble and learned Lord, Lord Stewart, said in Committee that the Government do not consider that Clause 62 would prevent victims coming forward because of the "discretionary approach". He said: "All of us ... want victims of modern slavery to continue to come forward for identification and support, irrespective of their personal circumstances or the circumstances in which they came to be exploited."—[Official Report, 10/2/22; col. 1877.]