argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): Does the hon. Gentleman agree that those parents sent their children here to keep them safe, not so that they could join them—although, my God, it is a pity that we could not provide that facility?
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): I could not agree more with the hon. Lady, and there are many such examples I went to the Zaatari refugee camp, where I met a 19-year-old who had lived in a tin shed for four years. His father had had his own business in Syria. Again, he scooped up everything and fled, through terror. Meeting this 19-year-old was a genuinely concerning and distressing experience. Where was his hope? He had been there for four years; he did not want to be in that place. He could not work, and although our Government are doing a fine job of providing education for his younger siblings, where was his hope? The second most striking feature I experienced was the clear desire to go home. They do not want to be living in those conditions; they want to go home—they want to go back to their country, of which they are so proud. We should try to imagine year after year after year seeing the possibility of returning to our home disappearing. These are remarkable people: their hope, their strength, their humanity, and the way they kept themselves together, somehow with a semblance of pride, has never left me.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): I completely understand my hon. Friend’s genuine concern; I just do not believe that there is any evidence to support it. Let us all stop and get real. History tells us: the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Steve McCabe) referred to Biblical times, and we have referred to the plight of the Jews in Germany and other countries. As my hon. Friend will understand, these people are living in the most appalling conditions, surrounded by war and terror day after day, month after month, and year after year. To suggest that someone deliberately, cruelly tries to get their child out of that horror in order to follow them is, frankly, as appalling as it is clearly not right; it is verging on madness. People do not do that for that reason. They might well say, "How the hell can I get my child out of here?" because of their love and concern for that child and to try to keep that child safe, just as the Jews did in Germany. Nothing has changed in person-mankind over the centuries: our desire is to keep our children safe, not to use them as a route for our own escape. So let us crush that one. I gently ask where is the evidence of people doing that? It is the last thing genuine refugees would do.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): We are talking about people who are already here and whose status as genuine refugees has already been determined. The idea that there are gangs of people smugglers in Syria going through that desperate warzone and enticing families to put their children into their hands is the stuff of fantasy. [Interruption.] No, it really is the stuff of fantasy It behoves on all of us to conduct these important debates on the basis of facts and evidence—and yes, at times, emotion. Look at the problems we have in our country with the lack of understanding. If I may say so, perhaps that has been evident in some of the speeches we have heard today If somebody living in very poor circumstances comes to this country, that person is an economic migrant, and that is profoundly different. Even if they enter the country illegally, we can understand why they are coming here. These people come here not to take, but to give. For centuries people have come to this country from other parts of the world because they want to build a better life for themselves and their children. I have always welcomed them, because they contribute by virtue of their immigration status. They are fleeing poverty and come for a better life. They do not expect us to provide for them.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way again; she is making a heartfelt speech. Perhaps I can articulate the concern here. We hear that the Bill relates only to children who are already here, but my understanding is that it will apply to future child refugees. The concern on the Government Benches is that, as people traffickers take advantage of these changes, more children could be pulled into desperate and evil situations in which they are taken advantage of. Our concern is about welfare, not some of the other points that have been made.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): Again, my hon. Friend misses the point. These are people with the status of refugees; they have been through all the systems and are accepted as genuine refugees. This is just a fake and phoney point that is being put forward It says a lot that there is this lack of understanding about the difference between an economic migrant and a refugee. During the referendum debate—I am not going to get into Brexit, Mr Deputy Speaker—people rightly raised the issue of immigration. I remember having a conversation with a constituent who said that she was voting for leave, "because there were too many Muslims in our country." That is the level of debate in our nation. That is the level of plain misunderstanding and misinformation. That is why this debate is so important.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Other
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): Let me bring my remarks to a conclusion, Mr Deputy Speaker. Of course I agree with everything the hon. Gentleman has said; he is absolutely right on this. Hon. Members have nothing to fear in this Bill. It is the right thing to do, legally and morally. Even if they cannot vote for the Bill, I ask them to abstain. But they can go better than that, and I ask them to support this excellent piece of legislation.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough (Gill Furniss). I congratulate the Bill’s promoter, whose constituency I do not want to offend by trying to pronounce it, on introducing this important Bill on an important issue To debate the Bill properly, it is important to look at everything that the Government are already doing to help refugees and those fleeing conflict and persecution, as opposed to considering the Bill in isolation. Context is very important in this case. We have been investing in support for the most vulnerable refugees through resettlement programmes such as those that bring Syrian refugees over to Britain. By 2020, some 20,000 Syrian refugees will have been resettled, and around half have already arrived I am incredibly proud to represent Colchester and my residents, who have been so welcoming of those who have made their home in our town. I particularly commend Welcome Refugees Colchester and Fresh Beginnings, which do such great work in my constituency. The UK is settling 3,000 vulnerable children and family members from conflict zones in the middle east and north Africa. That is on top of the unaccompanied child refugees brought over from Europe under the Dubs scheme, which Members will note I supported. Several Members have said that that is not enough, but we should be clear that the Government are playing their part in helping those in need of sanctuary. In 2016, the UK resettled more refugees from outside Europe than any other EU state. Eurostat figures show that more than a third of people who have been resettled in the EU came to the UK. We need every European country to be play its part. It is long established in the Dublin III regulations that asylum seekers should apply for asylum in the first EU state at which they arrive. I accept that that can be an incredible administrative burden on some nations, so it is right that we do what we can to help The Government have committed £3.6 million to help to strengthen co-operation with France on the operation of the Dublin regulation and the development fund. I have no doubt that we will continue to work with other countries to identify projects that support genuine claims through the Dublin process. Those are not the actions of a Government who do not care about refugees. This is about getting the existing regulations working properly.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Jeremy Mark Quin (Conservative, Centre-right): I respect the position that my hon. Friend took on the Dubs amendment when it was debated in this place. I have been pondering the remarks made earlier by the Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, the right hon. Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper): her concern that children in Greece may not be coming to this country because of worries about our rules on whether they can then bring in their parents. That does not change how I think about the Bill, but does my hon. Friend agree that it would be nice to hear the Government’s reaction to that and to establish whether what the right hon. Lady described was the official position of the Government in Greece and Governments elsewhere?
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. I, too, hope that the Minister will answer that specific point when she rises to her feet later in the debate. I agree that that issue potentially needs to be addressed —I might come to it a little later in my relatively brief contribution—but it does not address the fundamental reasoning in relation to supporting, or not supporting, this Bill As I have said, this Bill is about both getting the existing regulations working properly—many would say, I think, that they are not working properly at the moment—and ensuring that refugees can be identified, which is the most important thing, and then reunited with their families when they arrive safely in Europe. We do reunite families—that is a very clear point to make. Over the past five years, 24,700 family reunion visas have been issued. Since 2010, 49,830 people have been provided protection status in the UK—a status that means that they are entitled to apply for qualifying family members to join them. Suggestions that our immigration rules somehow prevent families from being together are simply not true Of course, the rules allow for a refugee’s partner and dependent children under the age of 18 to come to the UK. Unaccompanied child refugees are not allowed to sponsor applications from family members, yet, importantly, the rules also provide for scope to grant leave outside the rules in exceptional circumstances. That can allow for dependent children over the age of 18 to be reunited with family members in the United Kingdom.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. I do not know the full situation in that particular case, and I strongly advise her to raise it with the Minister. My wider point is that there is already a process in place by which the family reunification route can be taken. I appreciate her point about exceptional circumstances, and I very strongly advise her to raise her case with the Minister. It is not something that I can properly address—
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for giving way; it is very kind of her. When I was in Jordan—I am sure that she has had experience of this as well—I saw that magnificent efforts are being made to settle refugees. However, I also came across a family where the elderly parents, or grandparents, were going to Austria and the youngest son and his wife and children were going to Canada. That situation would encourage them to look at those illegal ways to stay together, which, as the right hon. Lady rightly says, we all want to do with our families.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Mixed Topics
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Lady is kind to give way again. At the moment, families can come through. My concern is that if we change the law, a brave under-18 will say, "I will take that step, and this law will allow me to bring you with." That is my concern, with such a large population. Perhaps that clarifies where I was coming from.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Other
Michael James Tomlinson-Mynors (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the right hon. Lady; she is making a cogent argument, and that is what this place is for. She asks for evidence. My hon. Friend the Member for Somerton and Frome (David Warburton) mentioned the example of Germany in 2015 and the impact that the change of policy there had. Could she comment on that and say whether that is evidence one way or the other?
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Nigel Paul Huddleston (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is making an important point that has not been much debated today. It is probably inappropriate in this debate to talk about capacity constraints—do we have enough housing, and so on—when accepting refugees into this country, but one thing to which there seems to be no limit on capacity is the willingness of our residents and constituents to welcome refugees. We are hearing that very strongly right across the country. It seems that they are very willing to fill the gaps in areas where the Government, with their resource constraints, cannot always achieve these goals.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Rebecca Faye Clark (Pow) (Conservative, Centre-right): I could not reiterate my hon. Friend’s comments more strongly. Just last month, the charity I have been talking about announced that the Home Office had approved the resettling of a second refugee family in Taunton—and they will be very welcome. We must remember the lasting impact that welcoming vulnerable families into the UK may have on our national reputation. A letter from the father of the first refugee family resettled in Taunton from Kurdistan reminds us of this. In his letter, he thanks the "tender and loving" people of the UK and says: "This beautiful kindness will remain with me until my end" That fully backs up what my hon. Friend just said.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Rebecca Faye Clark (Pow) (Conservative, Centre-right): I am going to press on, because other people want to speak Having illustrated how this country is willing to take in people and do its very best for them, I want to touch on the current law. In the last five years, we have granted 24,000 families reunion visas, and these visas are free of charge and free from the eligibility criteria that usually apply to family visa applications. The law ensures that those offered refugee status in Britain can bring their family unit, including their partners and dependent children under 18. Other relations, such as dependent adults, adopted children and post-flight family members, are rightly subject to different visa criteria, such as maintenance funds and knowledge of English. If applicable, however, in the case of dependent children over 18, for example, applications may be granted outside the exemption rules, and in serious circumstances the law allows for extended family members to sponsor children. It is absolutely right that these exemptions are in place and that they be used properly.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Rebecca Faye Clark (Pow) (Conservative, Centre-right): I am going to press on To be clear, a great deal of thought and attention has gone into this system, and the Government are fully committed to implementing section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016. As we have heard, Ministers have visited Greece and Italy to discuss processes, taking into account relevant national laws applicable to the scheme’s implementation. The Government have also invited referrals of eligible children from France, Greece and Italy, and we are working to ensure the safe identification and transfer of eligible children In partnership with the UN Refugee Agency, we operate numerous schemes—many have been referred to already—such as the Gateway, Mandate, children at risk and vulnerable persons relocation schemes, to make sure that those in most need can find a secure home. The children at risk scheme alone will resettle 3,000 children and their families from the middle east and north Africa over this Parliament. In addition, as mentioned, the Government have an ongoing commitment under the Dublin regulation, and we continue to work closely with member states and relevant partners to ensure that children with qualifying family in the UK can be transferred quickly and safely to have their asylum claim determined in the UK This country takes its moral obligations very seriously and wants to contribute to making the world a better place, yet it is important that in our generosity we do not inadvertently create circumstances that harm some of our most vulnerable. We do not want to encourage children to undertake dangerous journeys in the hope that relatives can join them later, only to fall prey to human traffickers. Sadly, that happens all too often.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Rebecca Faye Clark (Pow) (Conservative, Centre-right): I will press on because the hon. Members who wish to intervene have already had their say on this We all know that, unfortunately, criminal gangs will shamelessly exploit vulnerable people for profit, and we should be careful not to feed such activities in any way. We should reaffirm that international protection must be claimed in the first safe country reached by a refugee. That is the fastest possible route. Current criteria aim to strike the right balance and enable thousands of people each year to be reunited with their families in the UK, without putting the most vulnerable at risk. I am pleased that the Lord Chancellor is undertaking a review of legal aid reforms. That will include an evaluation of changes to the scope of legal aid in immigration cases, and it will report back next year.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Rebecca Faye Clark (Pow) (Conservative, Centre-right): I am winding up, Mr Deputy Speaker—[Interruption.] I am winding everybody up, so I will cut to my conclusion We need to focus our efforts and humanitarian aid on ensuring peace and stability in the world. People do not want to leave their homes; they want peace. When any of them are asked, they say that what they really want is to stay in their own country, and that is what our country, with its humanitarian aid and overseas spending budget, is determined to help with as its first priority. The UK does not back away from its obligations, and it has pledged £2.46 billion of aid to Syria, and is committed to spending 0.7% of our GDP on international aid We must work with our partners across the world and with colleagues across the House, but our answer must strike the right balance between our will to shoulder our humanitarian responsibilities, and not encouraging a situation that would inadvertently cause more suffering. We need to deal with the root causes of the refugee crisis. Crucially, all existing regulations in our toolbox must be used effectively and eloquently—my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Will Quince) referred to that and I fully support his words Finally, as I have said, this Government have a fine record on refugees, but they are fully aware that in some areas that record might be improved. That is why we are reviewing legal aid, and why the Government are listening carefully to NGOs, and others, as part of their commitment to a wider review of our approach to family reunion, asylum and resettlement policy. I know they will continue to build on that approach, which fully supports our humanitarian principles. I welcome the discussion and debate that has ensued today, and I trust that notes are being made by those on the Treasury Bench. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester, I will continue to listen to the wider debate, and then I will make up my mind.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Michael James Tomlinson-Mynors (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) and so many other speeches. I congratulate the Bill’s promoter, the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Angus Brendan MacNeil). I have been practising pronouncing his constituency name, but perhaps not for long enough. I, too, understand the difficulties of piloting private Members’ Bills through this House, having got a presentation Bill through to Third Reading, before it fell and failed at that particular hurdle It is not my intention to detain the Chamber for a particularly long time. Despite the disappointing cries from the Opposition Benches, there are still one or two points that I want to make. I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on bringing this serious subject to the Floor of the House, particularly this week with the crisis and war in Syria having entered its eighth year. Parliamentarians also heard this week from the ambassador to Jordan, a country to which many refugees have fled for security. He updated us, telling us that there are 740,000 Syrian refugees and 100,000 others in the camps in Jordan. He also talked about the assessments being made by the UNHCR.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Anna Mary Soubry (Conservative, Centre-right): Conservative Members have rightly raised a very important point: what happens if an 18-year-old in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan decides to take advantage of this Bill by coming here and then getting his family over? Does my hon. Friend agree that that scenario simply could not happen, because somebody from Syria would be in Jordan as a place of refuge, and if they were then to enter this country illegally, they would not be deemed a refugee, and therefore they could not use this Bill? Does he agree that that dispels concerns raised by hon. Members about the exploitation of this excellent proposed legislation?
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Immigration
Michael James Tomlinson-Mynors (Conservative, Centre-right): I heard my right hon. Friend mention that point earlier, but I do not think anyone else has done so as yet. I would like to hear from the Minister whether my right hon. Friend’s interpretation is right. The Bill title includes the word "refugees", so she has raised a perfectly sensible point and I look forward to hearing the answer in detail. I will, however, turn to my concerns about the pull factor, because, despite cries from the Opposition Benches, I think they are legitimate points to raise and I will do so.
Refugees (Family Reunion) (No.2) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-03-16
Topic: Other
Michael James Tomlinson-Mynors (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand the hon. Gentleman’s point, which is similar to that made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), which I answered. I still want to address the concern, because people have raised it with me.