Engagements — House of Commons, 2019-07-17
Topic: Immigration
Questions: I thank the Prime Minister and her chief of staff Gavin Barwell for all that they have done, with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on residential leasehold reform; there is now a prospect of ending unfairness and exploitation.In respect of another legacy, may I refer the Prime Minister to the book “Legacy” by Michael Gillard on the legacy of the Olympics? It is about Gillard’s investigation into the criminals involved. I am not suggesting that she reads it before next week, but those who do look at it will see how the Directorate of Professional Standards in the Met overturned the police officer who was investigating the criminals. When doing that, they should also look at “Behind The Blue Line” by Gurpal Virdi, which is about how he was investigated when the DPS did not interview the officers who were known to have been involved in the arrests of the complainant, and charged him with an offence with a weapon that was not available until eight years after the alleged offence.; The Prime Minister has repeatedly made animal welfare a priority during her time in office. Britain leads the World Animal Protection animal protection index. I thank her and the Secretary of State for supporting Finn’s law—the Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Act 2019—and for bringing forward the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill, which is a key measure for a nation such as ours that loves animals. That legislation will increase the maximum sentence for animal cruelty to five years’ imprisonment. Will the Prime Minister do whatever more she can to secure its speedy passage?;   In Shropshire, 300 doctors, surgeons and clinicians have been at the forefront of major reconfiguration and modernisation proposals for A&E provision in our county. We have secured £320 million for those vital changes, yet Labour-controlled Telford and Wrekin Council—an organisation bereft of any medical expertise—has repeatedly prevented them from taking place. Will the Prime Minister update the House on when this long-running saga will finally come to an end, so that my doctors and clinicians can get back to their day jobs?; I often disagree with the Prime Minister, but I respect the fact that many of her intentions are honest and decent. When she raised the hopes of millions of carers by promising them statutory leave entitlement, they were thrilled. So far, we have had reference to a committee. Is that a failed promise, or does the fact that it is a manifesto pledge mean she is assured that the honest and decent thing for her successor to do is deliver it?;   When the Prime Minister made her first speech in Downing Street, she said she would fight against the burning injustices of inequality. Three years on, nothing has changed. As schools wind down for the summer holidays, many children will be excited about the fun and the joy to come, but thousands of families whose children receive free school meals will be worried about how they are even going to feed their children, let alone take them on holiday. If she wants a meaningful, lasting legacy, will she extend the holiday activity funding to ensure that all children who receive a free school meal during term time are fed in the holidays?; Passengers across the north of England are wondering which has been delayed the longest—the northern powerhouse, or their next train. Will the Prime Minister and her legendary Transport Secretary use their last few days in office to justify our endless waits for relic Pacer trains, while the “Northern Fail” franchise rewards incompetent bosses with £2 million pay packets, or will she finally agree with our plans to renationalise the railways and run them for the public good?; For the entirety of the Prime Minister’s term of office, the UK has held to its 0.7% international aid commitment. Is the Prime Minister proud of this record, and will she use her powers and influence to ensure that the next Government hold not just to the letter but to the spirit of this commitment?; All the major European industrial nations insist that ships for their navies are built in their own yards. As part of the Prime Minister’s legacy, may I urge her to be a good European and follow their example, and instruct the Ministry of Defence to build its new support vessels in British yards, securing British jobs and using British steel?; Tonight, campaigners will be meeting in Govan to discuss direct action against the Home Office contractor Serco, which intends to make 300 vulnerable asylum seekers homeless through its lock-change eviction programme. Many of those asylum seekers have outstanding claims and, as the Prime Minister will know, the Home Office can take 37 days to process section 4 support. Will she intervene, stop the evictions, prevent a homelessness crisis in Glasgow and respect live legal proceedings, so that the law can be clarified in this regard?; On 26 June, this House agreed an Scottish National party resolution regretting that the Prime Minister’s legacy will be the hostile environment. Yesterday, the all-party groups on Africa and Malawi published a report showing that structural failures in the visa system are continuing to perpetuate that hostile environment. How can her Government spend millions of pounds on a global marketing campaign saying that Britain is great when, for so many academics, artists and traders from Africa, Britain is closed?
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): Entry clearance officers consider applications for visitor visas with the utmost rigour, because our visas are an important way of securing our border and an effective tool for us in reducing illegal immigration, tackling organised crime and protecting national security. The hon. Gentleman references visas for people coming from the countries of Africa. The percentage of African nationals who saw their application granted is up by 4% on what it was 10 years ago and is only slightly below the average rate of the past 10 years. Visa applications from African nationals are at their highest level since 2013.