Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jason McCartney and Dominic Raab

Tuesday 5th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Dominic Raab)]

Let me take the chance, on behalf of those on the Conservative Front Bench and, I believe, on all the Benches behind me, to offer our condolences to the shadow Justice Secretary on the passing of his father.

The overall reoffending rate has decreased by 5 percentage points from 31% in 2009-10 to 26% in 2019-20. Over that period, reoffending rates for robbery, criminal damage, arson, drug offences and sexual offences have all fallen.

[Jason McCartney]

I very much welcome the work that is being done to reduce reoffending rates. I vividly remember visiting Armley Jail and hearing about the work being done there. A big part of this work is transitioning ex-offenders into work. What role does my right hon. Friend see apprenticeships playing in that work?

[Dominic Raab]

My hon. Friend is right: the work that we are doing on skills and education right the way through to getting offenders into work is vital. I am very pleased, as he may know, that, working with the Department for Education, we are introducing a statutory instrument to introduce apprenticeships in prison. That SI will pass in September, and we will start the first apprenticeship straight away.

Hong Kong National Security Legislation: UK Response

Debate between Jason McCartney and Dominic Raab

Tuesday 2nd June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I think the hon. Gentleman is right on this point of principle. We want to make sure that we live up to our responsibilities, but it is also important, as we try to change the long-term trend to which he rightly refers, that we are clear about the basis on which we would do it. The basis is the ripping up of the essence of the joint declaration. We need to wait and see what the national security legislation looks like, to see affirmed the terms that have already been described by the Government in Beijing. We are right to say that that particular trigger point would change our minds, because then we would be able to stand on the firm point of principle and international law as the basis on which we were extending those rights. The stronger the position we are able to be in in that regard, the more likely we are to carry wide international support for the actions that we take.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

In article 45 of the Hong Kong Basic Law, the Hong Kong people were promised universal suffrage. It is clear that that is being ignored. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the UK now has a legal and moral responsibility to protect the freedoms of the people of Hong Kong?

[Dominic Raab]

I totally agree with my hon. Friend about the moral responsibility and our responsibility in terms of the commitments that we have made to the people of Hong Kong. We fully intend to live up to those responsibilities. There is still an opportunity for China to step back; we think it is unlikely that that will happen, but we will be steadfast in sticking to the word that we have given to stand by the people of Hong Kong and not just look the other way.

British Citizens Abroad: FCO Help to Return Home

Debate between Jason McCartney and Dominic Raab

Tuesday 24th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

First, I thank the hon. Gentleman for the tribute he paid to FCO staff. I can tell him that we are constantly talking to the airlines about limiting the additional cost expense put on travellers. Of course, the airlines are under acute pressure right now, with the number of jurisdictions to which they can fly limited. The high commission has set out the details so that people who are concerned can register so that they can be informed about the flights that will be organised to take them home. We have more than 1,700 British nationals who have already registered. That works, so the key thing is to disseminate those contact details. If he needs them, I am happy to provide them.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

I thank the Foreign Office team for their help in getting constituents home from Vietnam and Morocco. A couple of young constituents of mine have just made it safely to Lima for their flight home later this week, but I still have constituents stranded in Mauritius, India, Australia, Bali and New Zealand. Will the Foreign Secretary and all his team continue to work hour by hour through the night to secure the airline capacity we need to get those constituents home?

[Dominic Raab]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I thank him for his kind words. With the effort to get people out of Morocco, where we have worked with the airlines in what was a model and template for the future, we managed to get 8,500-plus passengers back home. We will seek to replicate that in all the jurisdictions he has mentioned.

Covid-19

Debate between Jason McCartney and Dominic Raab

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

We already have a means of doing that: people can sign up for real-time updates, and hon. Members can do that. I appreciate the difficult situation in Poland. As I have said, we are working with all our European colleagues to ensure that UK nationals or other nationals who are here can get home when they need to.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

I praise the Foreign Secretary for his statesmanlike approach, and I thank the SNP spokesman, the hon. Member for Stirling (Alyn Smith), for his constructive approach. It is good to see Opposition politicians rising to the occasion, just as our constituents want us to during this crisis.

I have constituents stranded in Morocco and Vietnam. Can we ensure that helplines in consulates and embassies are manned 24 hours a day to help our constituents? I also have constituents who are in a motorhome in Portugal and looking to get home. Can we ensure that provisions are made for crossing borders for those wanting to come home?

[Dominic Raab]

I agree with my hon. Friend about the importance of having, within the confines of a democratic institution such as this, a constructive approach, because that will make the process more effective. We will look carefully at all the issues that he raised. He mentioned Vietnam as one of the difficult areas. As Ministers have made clear, we are aware of a number of British nationals in quarantine—some in hotels; some in other quarantine facilities. We are in close contact with the Vietnamese authorities. We are providing assistance to all those affected, and we hope to see them moved to improved and better facilities as soon as possible. That is just one illustration, in pretty challenging conditions, of where we are working hard to ensure that his constituents and many others get the care, advice and support they need.