Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts
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Nationality and Borders Bill
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts ExcerptsTuesday 1st February 2022
(2 years, 3 months ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Nationality and Borders Act 2022 View all Nationality and Borders Act 2022 Debates Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: HL Bill 82-III Third marshalled list for Committee - (1 Feb 2022)
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Con)
My noble friend Lord Hunt made a valuable distinction but, with respect, he did not take it through to the logical conclusion, which is that this is only an interim measure. What is attractive is our very flexible labour market. Once you are through the system, you can easily get a job—much more so than in France and continental European countries where the labour market is much more rigid. The issue that my noble friend picks up is an interim issue that will make the ultimate objective of entering the labour market flexibly once you are through the system much easier; he is therefore right that the House is unfair to say that it is not a factor. It is a factor, but one in conjunction with the other issues, particularly the flexible labour market.
The Lord Bishop of Durham
If it is so much more generous here, why, in 2020, did the French have roughly 150,000 asylum claims while we had 30,000?