Antisocial Behaviour Action Plan

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Monday 27th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Suella Braverman]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are seeing far too many instances of bad behaviour, dangerous behaviour and unacceptable behaviour going unchecked—whether that is violent or disruptive behaviour or a plain nuisance. We need to ensure that visible policing becomes a fact of life, so that people are deterred from engaging in this behaviour in the first place, but also that we have a system of immediate justice so there is a swift sanction and people feel the full force of the law.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Only after my right hon. Friend the Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper) published her comprehensive strategy on antisocial behaviour has the Home Secretary been shamed into cobbling together today’s statement, but that statement does not mention the word “alcohol”. Alcohol is at the source of much domestic violence, community violence and city centre antisocial behaviour, so how is she going to get on top of the growth in alcohol-based violence?

[Suella Braverman]

I gently remind the hon. Member that her party has royally failed to properly cost its so-called plan on antisocial behaviour, as evidenced by the shadow Policing Minister’s failure to explain how it would be paid for. Once it gets the basics right, we can have a proper conversation about what Labour’s proposal is. On taking the action that we are proposing, we are delivering £12 million of additional funding this year to police and crime commissioners to support an increased police presence alongside other uniformed authority figures such as wardens in problem areas for antisocial behaviour. Raising the visibility and increasing the resourcing of policing will be an effective way to deter and take the right action.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Monday 20th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Suella Braverman]

We keep the list of proscribed organisations under review. We do not routinely comment on security and intelligence matters, but where a group meets a test of being a terrorism concern and where it meets our legal criteria, then a group can be proscribed, if it is necessary and proportionate to do so.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

What is more frightening than this toxic Bill that locks up the most vulnerable people who walk this planet, imprisons innocent children and pushes trafficked women back into the hands of their perpetrators, is that this Tory Government are peddling their divisive rhetoric because the Home Secretary has failed to govern or to provide communities with the support they need. Before she others the innocent, will she not admit that she is blaming the destitute to mask her own failures?

[Suella Braverman]

The only people who have failed here are Labour and Opposition Members who have failed to stand up for the British people and failed to support our measures to stop the boats. All they want is open borders and unlimited migration.

Illegal Migration Bill

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Tuesday 7th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Suella Braverman]

We have made it clear that there will be a duty on the Home Secretary to make arrangements for a removal, and that removal will be suspended only in the event that the claimant can establish that they face a serious risk of irreversible harm should they be removed. In all other instances, that person will be removed and they can make their claim from the safe country or the country to which they have been removed.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

York is England’s only human rights city and we have welcomed asylum seekers. It is a privilege to provide a safe haven for them, but this legislation is a real affront to those values. Can the Home Secretary publish the legal advice on how her legislation is compatible not only with international law but with the European convention on human rights?

[Suella Braverman]

As a former Attorney General, I know that the Government abide by the Law Officers’ convention, which means that neither the fact nor the content of legal advice is disclosed. That would be a decision for the Attorney General. We are very clear, however, that our Bill complies with international obligations, so we urge all hon. Members to support it.

Plymouth Shootings

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Tuesday 21st February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Today will be a difficult day for the community in Keyham, and my thoughts are with them, but I am not reassured by the Government’s response, particularly around mental health but also for victims of domestic violence and their former partners. I have a constituent who is in hiding right now because her former partner has had his firearms returned to him. What reassurance can the Minister give that this incident will be the last, and that my constituent will also be safe?

[Chris Philp]

Everyone’s constituents, including the hon. Lady’s, are entitled to feel safe. As the shadow Minister said, firearms licences are not a right, and it is important that we think very carefully before issuing anyone with such a licence. As I said, we will respond comprehensively to the recommendations in these three reports. I know that that will include consideration of domestic abuse and domestic violence, which are clearly indicators of substantially increased risk, and I would be happy to discuss those recommendations as soon as they come out with the hon. Lady and her constituent if she would like to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Monday 19th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Tom Tugendhat]

The hon. Member makes some solid points about the dangers of the involvement of certain states—in this case, Russia—in the United Kingdom. He should also be aware that the visa scheme closed in February 2022, and the response to Russian aggression or Russian influence in this country has been pretty robust. Indeed, since 2019, we have increased spending on the National Crime Agency by 30% and £200 million extra has gone in. As he knows, there is a long way to go and that is exactly what I am going to be doing over the next few years.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

7. What steps she is taking to support asylum seekers while their applications are being processed.

[The Minister for Immigration (Robert Jenrick)]

Appropriate support is provided to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute while applications are outstanding. Asylum seekers have access to the NHS, and children in family units to full-time education. They can obtain further assistance via the Migrant Help support line.

[Rachael Maskell]

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and British Red Cross have highlighted how 13,000 individuals have been trafficked into modern slavery, and the fact that they are not in regular employment being a risk. As a result, will the Minister ensure that local authorities have the funds to put on a full programme for asylum seekers while they are waiting, but also that there are pilot schemes so that those people can have access to the labour market?

[Robert Jenrick]

The hon. Lady and I have met to discuss this issue, and I am grateful to her for her thoughts and for the good work that has been done in York. We do not agree that those awaiting asylum decisions should have access to the labour market. We think that that could be a further pull factor to the UK. However, there are other ways in which asylum seekers can make a positive contribution to society, for example, through volunteering, and we want to work with local authorities and other stakeholders to see whether we can pursue those.

Hotel Asylum Accommodation: Local Authority Consultation

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Robert Jenrick]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend and wish him well with that meeting. We want to ensure that we exit hotels as swiftly as possible, and I set out in answers to other hon. Members how we will do that. I appreciate the burden that this is placing on his constituency and I hope the increase in engagement from the Home Office and its partners will ensure a better and more fruitful relationship with his local authorities.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is not just local authorities that need consultation, but the NHS. In York, 80 internationally recruited nurses have been displaced as a result of the Mears Group block-booking their hotel. The nurses were also sitting exams at a crucial time for their entry into the NHS. Some 150 more NHS nurses were due to be in that hotel. It is now costing the NHS at least £10 per nurse per night to try to accommodate them elsewhere. Can the Minister explain why they cannot remain in that hotel? Will he talk to the NHS to ensure that this does not happen again?

[Robert Jenrick]

I have spoken to the Minister with responsibility for secondary care about the broader issue of doctors, nurses and other clinicians staying in hotel accommodation and how we can have better communication between local NHS trusts, local authorities and the Home Office when hotels are procured, so I hope we will be able to improve processes and ensure it does not happen in future.

Migration

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Wednesday 16th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Robert Jenrick]

I will take that suggestion back to the Home Office. Our objective is to ensure that we process claims as quickly as possible; a great deal of work is now going on in the Home Office to achieve that and to bring productivity back to where it should always have been, frankly. We want to bring use of the hotels to a close as quickly as possible. We have already set out some of the steps we will take to achieve that, such as considering larger sites and dispersing individuals in local authority accommodation and the private rented sector elsewhere in the country. The real task, however, is to prevent people from crossing the channel in the first place. We cannot build our way out of the issue; we have to reduce the numbers making the crossings.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

York wants to do all it can to support people seeking asylum, but as a result of providing initial accommodation as opposed to contingency accommodation, it is not receiving the funding that it vitally needs. When will the Government provide parity in the funding that local authorities need to support people who are seeking asylum? When will the Government bring forward a homes for refugees scheme so we can ensure that people are settled in our community and are getting the support they need from families?

[Robert Jenrick]

I will happily speak to the hon. Lady separately about the specific concerns of City of York Council. The hotel accommodation is fully funded by the Home Office, but I appreciate that there are knock-on costs for local authorities. I met London Councils earlier today; if not for this urgent question, I would have been meeting representatives of councils across the country to hear their concerns and see how we can improve the situation.

Labour and Skills Shortages: Temporary Recovery Visa

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Tuesday 8th November 2022 Westminster Hall

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Cummins, and I thank the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) for securing a debate of such importance for my city of York. I will focus mainly on the hospitality sector, but I will also stray into a few other sectors where we are certainly experiencing skills shortages.

To realise York’s potential productivity, and ultimately the value of the pound, we cannot stand still, which is why the debate is timely. We need to move forward by putting pragmatism ahead of ideology in order to understand the reality of particular sectors and local economies across the country, to focus on the data, which speaks so loudly, and to listen to sector leaders across our communities to ensure that their aspirations for their industries can be realised, and that we are not left short of potential opportunities that people want to bring to the economy.

On Friday, I met York’s hospitality sector leaders—people from hotels, visitor attractions, restaurants and others—to talk about the challenges that we face in our city. Of course, the issue of skills shortages was high on the agenda. We have 1,605 enterprises in York’s hospitality sector, which employs 20,000 people, two thirds of them part time. It is growing, which is encouraging. Our “Skills for Employment” strategy—a 10-year plan for skills that Lee Probert, the principal of York College, assembled for our city—highlights the fact that the sector grew by 7.8% between 2017 and 2020, so we have a great opportunity to consolidate it. However, many places cannot open their doors full time, and with the cost of living crisis hitting hard, businesses are struggling and we need to ensure that we get the labour. They live hand to mouth with the innovation that they are able to bring. They got to the summer, got to half term, and they are going to get to Christmas, but, come January, they are worried not only about the great freeze, but about the freeze in business itself. They are really worried about that, and I hope the Minister will talk to his colleagues in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport about the cliff edge that the sector faces.

People in the sector do not want to limp from season to season. They want to be able to plan. When they plan, they can put in place their skills strategy. When they plan, they have the headspace and can grow their industry, whether in the supply chain or directly facing their customers. We therefore have to build resilience into the system. We are fortunate. We have around 40,000 students across York, which helps to address some of the capacity issues, but not by itself.

Some businesses are doing incredible work. The Grand in York has taken refugees from Ukraine and supported people into employment, ensuring that there is a labour supply. It has also provided wider skills, including language courses, and has provided support even if people then move elsewhere in the sector. That is a positive sign of a good employer with the ability to invest, but not every employer has the margins to be able to do that.

In York, we have a skills strategy for 10 years in the city, but it will not be enough when we are near 100% employment. That is why we need to look further afield to ensure that we have a supply of labour coming into the city.

The Yorkshire hospitality sector has put together a three to five-year plan, looking at the cliff edges in front of it and highlighting the fact that only 5% of young people see a future in the hospitality sector. Again, we need to ensure that we have a supply of labour. The sector is using innovation as much as possible, with skills camps and academies in order to deliver so much more, but the workforce is not sufficient. That is why I turn, as other colleagues have, to the report by the Select Committee on Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It highlights the scale of vacancies across the economy now, so we know we cannot stand still on this issue.

The youth mobility scheme is excellent. It gives young people the opportunity to come to the UK, learn the language and skills and have vital life experience. When we look at the list of countries we have heard about today—Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Hong Kong, India, Canada, South Korea, Monaco, San Marino and Taiwan—we do not have any EU countries on that list. With regard to the aim of bringing 1,000 people over to the UK, if we compare San Marino’s population of 34,000 with the EU’s 446.8 million, the Government’s thinking seems to demonstrate a disparity. We need the movement of young people to be expedited so that they come and support our economy and our labour market, and see that investment in their future and our future, too. It is a perfect scheme that would work for my city of York, where people can really enjoy the sector.

We do have a challenge, and I am going to be very straight and honest about this. As has been mentioned in this debate, we need sufficient housing, and we need to address that urgently because of the cost of living in York and the Airbnb situation. The flipping of private rented accommodation into Airbnbs means that we need to ensure we have suitable housing for people when they come and give to our local economies. We must have systems in place to support the city.

I want to highlight an opportunity to the Minister. I know he is working hard on the issue of those seeking asylum in the UK, but these people come with skills. That is why I ask him to look at the shortage occupation list to see whether we can passport people with skills into the economy, so that we can utilise the skills that people bring and ensure that we are not experiencing labour shortages in certain areas.

York is about to receive 450 people into a hotel in the city. They will get an incredibly warm welcome and lots of support from the infrastructure within York. We will provide people with a home for as long as they are with us. However, if they are not able to work, that is a missed opportunity for them and for us. That is why we need to ensure that we enable people to both utilise and gain skills while they are with us. We recognise that people need time to get oriented and to heal their trauma, but engaging in good employment will give them the opportunities that they need and that our city needs. It is such a waste of talent, skill and life if people are just waiting in hotels for their claims to be processed. We want that process to be expedited, but while they wait, we welcome their employment across our industries. Those people then build relationships in the city, which gives greater security not only to them but to all of us. I hope that the Minister will bear that in mind and ensure that there is more opportunity for those individuals in future.

The tourism and hospitality sector has the advantage that it can use its resources to pay staff slightly more than other sectors. As a result, people have been sucked out of the care sector. Indeed, I will end by speaking about the care sector. The scale of vacancies is affecting the delivery of social care and the ability to discharge patients from hospital. That means people cannot get in the front door and we have an NHS crisis. Not being able to bring care workers into the UK because they do not fit into the points-based system seems completely ludicrous and self-defeating.

I trust that the Minister will look specifically at social care and the opportunity to bring highly skilled staff to the UK to deliver that vital role, so that all our constituents can have the care that they need, as we would expect. Not only are we in a crisis now, with 165,000 vacancies in social care nationally; given that 28% of care workers are over the age of 55, will have a greater crisis in future. That must be sorted out. I trust that the Minister will look at ways in which we can bring in young people and other people with skills, albeit for the short term, until we have the labour supply. However long it takes, we need to address those crises.

I am calling for pragmatism over ideology. I am sure the Minister understands that our communities must be heard and that the skills they require must be met. It is for him to deliver that.

--- Later in debate ---

[Anne McLaughlin (Glasgow North East) (SNP)]

I am pleased to serve under your chairwomanship, Mrs Cummins. I thank the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron)—he comes from a beautiful part of England—for highlighting this crucial topic. Much like a lot of Scotland, his constituency faces the problems of rurality and the challenges of supporting a hospitality industry plagued by labour shortages.

It has been interesting to hear the many views on how we can tackle the issue of labour shortages post Brexit and post covid, especially given the divergence in the types of constituencies we represent, each with its own unique set of labour challenges, be they in agriculture, hospitality, fishing—we have heard extensively about fishing today—transport, construction, health and social care, logistics or food processing. The list goes on, but the core issue at heart remains the same. We have witnessed the doors slam on free movement, which is now a dirty word—well, two dirty words—for both the UK Government and the official Opposition. In addition, the global pandemic saw more than 1.3 million EU workers return home. When they finally thought about coming back, they were locked out by this Government’s hugely regressive post-Brexit points system.

If we had stayed in the single market, as the majority of people in Scotland voted to do, free movement would be the perfect solution to the many labour shortages across these islands. It will come as no surprise to hear that I am confident that Scotland will rejoin the EU—and that means the single market—as an independent member soon. Until then, we fully support the call for solutions to labour shortages through visa schemes, including a temporary recovery visa.

This is a crisis of the Government’s making. It was completely avoidable. It is a crisis caused by policy, politics and a rhetoric on immigration that is fuelling the right, stirred up by inflammatory language from the Home Secretary. I cannot tell hon. Members how shocked and disgusted I was to hear the Home Secretary refer to an “invasion” of immigrants to these shores. An invasion—really? “Invasion” conjures up images of insects, wild animals, wars and battles. It is far removed from the reality of the humanitarian crisis that we are witnessing in the channel.

The Minister could argue that the Home Secretary was not talking about migrants per se, just those crossing the channel—I do not think he will—but it is not acceptable, whoever she was referring to. The Home Secretary must understand that using that kind of language and stoking up fear about one set of migrants has an impact on all migrants. That includes the current and future migrant workers that the UK is absolutely dependent on.

It has taken empty shelves and closed restaurants to bring this issue to the public’s attention, but business leaders have been warning the Government for quite some time about the dire situation that they would find themselves in because of these shortages. The British Chambers of Commerce has said that of 5,700 businesses, more than 60% need to find more staff in the UK. Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of UKHospitality, pointed out that one in five workers has not returned after furlough, giving the sector a 10% vacancy rate. She agreed with the recommendations from the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee for a temporary recovery visa, and said:

“This would go a long way to helping recruitment challenges and would support the sector’s ability to provide fantastic service to all its customers. We would strongly urge the government to consider its introduction as part of a pro-growth review of immigration policy.”

Three quarters of UK businesses have said that they are experiencing difficulties filling vacancies. I have received numerous letters from businesses in my constituency that are struggling to get staff and asking what exactly the Government plan to do about it. There is another reason to ensure that we fill those vacancies. As the CBI said recently,

“Guarding against skills and labour shortages can…help keep inflation in check”.

At a time when the cost of living is going through the roof, should the Government not heed that advice?

The Scottish Government have tried to help the UK Government out. The First Minister even offered to split responsibility for immigration policy with them, and proposed a Scottish visa, but that was refused. It would solve some of the economic problems in Scotland, but it clearly does not fit the ideology that says that if the Scottish National party suggests it, it must be wrong. The Scottish Government are determined to address these issues but have very limited powers available to them. They are proposing a rural visa pilot, which offers a community-driven approach to migration that can respond to the distinct needs of remote, rural and island areas.

We want to welcome people, not ward them off, because people make communities and keep our economy growing. It makes no sense to stubbornly believe that we can just do everything ourselves, especially when our rural communities—much like that of the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale, I am sure—face population decline.

Many of the initiatives from the UK Government are very temporary. I understand that the solution is not complete permanence, but they are so temporary that they offer no real certainty for businesses or workers. They are simply sticking plasters. That is the crux of the issue with so much policy at the moment—the short expiry dates. I have had milk that has lasted longer than some of the previous Cabinet’s plans. I hope this one does better.

Business, industry and the workers themselves need certainty. I have been trying to hammer home that point in relation to the six-month energy relief scheme that is on the table for SMEs, public sector organisations and charities. They simply cannot operate in weeks and months. Last year, we saw a three-month visa offered to HGV drivers. What good is a three-month visa? Who in their right mind would move to a country where they face being kicked out in 12 weeks’ time? That is a point that I would like to make to Labour colleagues. I am not going to go into how crushed I felt when I heard the Labour leader say that we have too many migrants working in the NHS, though I know I was not as crushed as the migrant workers themselves. Today, Labour’s shadow Health Secretary, the hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting), said that if they got into power, they would keep migrant workers in the NHS until they had enough home-grown workers trained for the health service.

[Rachael Maskell]

I worked in the NHS for 20 years and all I will say is that I know the value of working alongside people who have trained across the world. They bring their skills into the NHS, and it has been a privilege to work alongside them. I think we should aspire to recognise the skills they bring and the opportunities that provides for our patients.

[Anne McLaughlin]

I really do thank the hon. Lady for that. There will be so many migrant workers who have worked their backsides off in the NHS, especially during the pandemic, and who will be devastated about what has been said, but the hon. Lady’s remarks go some way towards balancing that out.

I have to ask: what kind of arrogance does it take to believe that doctors, nurses, radiographers and others are so desperate to be here in the UK that they will fill the positions that we desperately need to be filled in the NHS, knowing that when they are surplus to requirements, they will simply be dispensed with because both Tory and Labour Governments would much prefer the jobs to go to those who were born here? Employment is a two-way thing. Migration is a two-way thing. If we do not meet migrants halfway, they will not come and we will not be able to look after people. Everybody needs to think clearly about that.

We need solutions and ideas. One solution that has been put to the Home Office, certainly by my party—indeed some of my colleagues have private Members’ Bills on it—and other colleagues today, is to allow asylum seekers to work. We are facing labour shortages, yet we have tens of thousands of people who are already here, desperate to contribute and integrate with our communities, but they are cut off and left to rely on meagre handouts from the state.

The current situation plays into the hostile environment rhetoric so well. To paint asylum seekers as economic migrants here for benefits is just not true. Nobody wants to live on less than £6 a day, and people should not be put in that situation. Given that 76% of asylum applications are allowed on the initial decision, not to mention the many more who win their appeals, we are putting thousands of people in an enforced limbo when they could easily be contributing, paying tax and filling the gaps in our labour market.

I would like to know if the Government have any plans to consider this eminently sensible solution. As the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale said, there is no downside. If the Minister’s answer is, “No, we are not going to consider this solution,” he must see a downside, and he must tell us what he thinks that is. My preference, and my fervent hope—I saw him nodding his head earlier when it was mentioned—is that he agrees to look into allowing asylum seekers to work and plug the damaging gaps that are holding the economy back.

Asylum Seekers Accommodation and Safeguarding

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Monday 7th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Robert Jenrick]

I will certainly ensure that local authorities are better communicated with about the location of children to their area and the support that the Government are making available. I am holding a teleconference later this week with all local authority chief executives and leaders to listen to their views and to advise them of our steps. On the back of that, if we need to make changes to our processes, I will certainly try my best to do so.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Inhumane centres and overcrowded, let alone unsafe hotels are no place to put these very vulnerable families. In light of the success of the Homes for Ukraine scheme, why will the Home Office Minister not undertake to have a homes for refugees and asylum seekers scheme, so that people can be settled in communities, supported and kept safe?

Western Jet Foil and Manston Asylum Processing Centres

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Monday 31st October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Suella Braverman]

I am committed to delivering the Rwanda plan, which took a huge amount of work and commitment by my right hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel) and the former Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), and is crucial to our multifaceted approach to the problem. We can look at the Australian experience of tackling a similar problem, and they would say that one very powerful tool was had from the moment at which they could return people or move them out of the territory to Papua New Guinea or Nauru. That had a massive deterrent effect, and that is what we want to deploy.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

The conditions at Manston are clearly unsafe and inhumane. We know of the suffering that people have experienced there after 12 years under the Government’s shameful watch. However, we also understand that there is a lack of accommodation across the country. Why will the Home Secretary not open up a “homes for refugees” scheme so that people can be supported properly in our own communities?

[Suella Braverman]

While the issue at Manston is indisputably concerning, I do not want us to create alarm unnecessarily. I therefore gently urge the hon. Member not to use inflammatory language. We are aware, for example, of a very small number of cases of diphtheria reported at Manston, but it has very good medical facilities and all protocols have been followed. People are being fed, clothed and sheltered. There are very high numbers—unprecedented numbers—at Manston and we are working at pace to alleviate that pressure and to get people out. We anticipate—hopefully—300 people leaving this evening, and so on throughout the week. We are working urgently to solve the problem.