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Debate between Damian Green and Brian H. Donohoe

Tuesday 10th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Damian Green]

The hon. Gentleman is yelling rather than chuntering—I shall take the shadow Attorney-General’s word for it. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman should talk to my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole, who knows what he is talking about, whereas the hon. Gentleman does not, as is, regrettably, so often the case.

[Mr Donohoe]

Will the Minister give way?

[Damian Green]

I am sure the hon. Gentleman knows what he is talking about, so of course I will give way to him.

[Mr Donohoe]

I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. My intervention has nothing to do with what he has just said. He is more than halfway through his speech, but he has not said anything about the enormous dissent across the country about the problems in the Passport Office. Just this afternoon, I was told of another problem, so will he give a commitment that he will beef up that department so that Members of Parliament can at least get answers for their constituents?

[Damian Green]

I will say two things. First, the department has been beefed up, as the hon. Gentleman puts it: there are now more people working there than ever before. Secondly, if he can contain himself for less than 10 minutes, he will be able to listen to and contribute to the Adjournment debate, which is on that very subject and will be responded to by my hon. Friend the Minister for Security and Immigration.

A number of points have been made about immigration, which is worth addressing even though it is not in the legislative programme. The right hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough (Mr Blunkett) made a very thoughtful contribution about the need for a sensible debate about immigration. I agree that we need a rational debate, but I disagree with Members from both sides of the House who say that we need a Bill in this Session, because, first, we had a Bill in the previous Session.

The Leader of the Opposition has apologised for the immigration problems under the previous Administration, so we now appear to be in the slightly perverse position where the only party still defending Labour’s immigration policy is the Scottish National party. The hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) is hanging on grimly to the previous immigration policy, even though at least part of the Labour party, including its leader, is seeking to move beyond it. The second reason why we do not need another Bill is that if there is one lesson we can all draw from the previous Administration’s problems—whichever position we occupy on immigration—it is that legislation is not always the solution.

The previous Government passed eight immigration Bills in 13 years. If legislation were the solution to immigration problems, we would have had the most secure borders and the most controlled immigration in the world by 2010, but everyone—even the Leader of the Opposition—admits that, palpably, we did not.