Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill

Debate between Alun Cairns and Jerome Mayhew

Committee of the whole House
Wednesday 17th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jerome Mayhew]

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s intervention, which allows me to highlight the Government’s success in reducing the backlog, as the Prime Minister outlined at Prime Minister’s questions.

I do not shy away from the point that the Rwanda scheme is expensive. If the cost were calculated as the amount spent per person flown to Rwanda, it would be a very high cost indeed, but that is not the point of the scheme. The idea of the scheme is not that every single person who illegally crosses our border will be shipped to Rwanda but that it will act as an effective deterrent. If we send a few people to Rwanda, the criminal gangs and, more importantly, the people who pay them large sums of money will get the message that paying the criminal gangs to be ferried across the channel is no longer an effective way to gain access to the United Kingdom. If that is successful, as I believe it will be, it will be very sound use of money because it will not only prevent additional cost to our society and public services but will protect the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world, while righting a gross unfairness in our asylum system.

[Alun Cairns]

My hon. Friend is making an extremely important point, particularly on the costs. Is he aware that the President of Rwanda has been reported as saying that the UK could well be refunded if all the resource is not used because of challenges along the way?

[Jerome Mayhew]

I was not aware of that, but it adds grist to the mill and strength to the Government’s argument for proceeding with the Rwanda policy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alun Cairns and Jerome Mayhew

Tuesday 24th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jerome Mayhew (Broadland) (Con)]

2. What plans he has to help ensure that offenders give back to their communities.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

6. What plans he has to help ensure that offenders give back to their communities.