"The Government are today laying regulations to strengthen the right to work and the right to rent schemes, alongside updated statutory codes of practice for employers and landlords. These measures implement provisions in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 and will come into force in October 2026, in …..." Alex Norris - View Speech
"This Government inherited an asylum system under significant strain, with hundreds of hotels in use at considerable cost to the taxpayer.
I wish to update the House on the Government’s action to fix the asylum accommodation system, ending the use of asylum hotels and replacing them with alternatives that work.
"With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on asylum accommodation.
It is important to remind the House of the wider context, and in particular the events that have brought us here today. In the years before the general election, the number of people arriving in the United Kingdom …..." Alex Norris - View Speech
"We see the contrast there clearly. While the Government have a serious plan on how to accommodate a significant number of people and change that reality, the hon. Lady offers just “Hail Marys” and long shots. Her colleagues had 14 years, but sat through them and did not make any …..." Alex Norris - View Speech
"I am grateful to my hon. Friend for those important questions. Let me start where he started; everything is local somewhere, and the impact of our proposals is significant on those local communities. I recognise that, and that is important, but we are developing plans to mitigate the impact. There …..." Alex Norris - View Speech
"My hon. Friend has doggedly pursued me on this very important issue. It is really important that, as the Home Office, we consider the broader context—such as what he says with regard to Afghan resettlement scheme provision—around a community’s ability to sustain a supported population and that full dispersal model …..." Alex Norris - View Speech
"I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his questions. It is not bragging to say that under the previous Government the number of folks accommodated in hotels was 56,000 at its peak and it is now at 21,000. It is important for the public to understand those changes. …..." Alex Norris - View Speech
"In a general sense, a number of the people we now see in leadership positions in the Reform party were previously in the Tory party and had significant agency over this issue. They pretend now to be concerned bystanders, but actually they are the architects of the situation we are …..." Alex Norris - View Speech
"Having visited such hotels, I recognise that they are not as advertised—or distorted—by others. The ultimate distorters are the human traffickers, for whom it is a significant upside to say not only that the conditions are good, but that it is easy to work illegally from the hotels. We must …..." Alex Norris - View Speech
"I am well aware of York’s status as a city of sanctuary—[Interruption.]—or as a human rights city, forgive me. I always want to work with the people of York to ensure that asylum seekers are humanely housed. Nevertheless, the challenge today is that we have around …..." Alex Norris - View Speech