Windrush Children (Immigration Status)

Debate between Rebecca Pow and Amber Rudd

Monday 16th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

Yes, we will make sure that the team can assist others as well.

[Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane) (Con)]

On that note, I very much welcome the Government’s assurances today that they will help these Commonwealth citizens. I particularly wish to cite the case of a constituent of mine from Uganda who came here after he was thrown out by Idi Amin. Will the new systems help him? He has lived in my constituency for 40 years and has had a heartrending experience with people wanting to throw him out.

[Amber Rudd]

I am sorry that my hon. Friend’s constituent is having such a challenging time. I urge her to ask the Immigration Minister to take a look at his particular case.

Harassment in Public Life

Debate between Rebecca Pow and Amber Rudd

Monday 18th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. As my hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Dr Wollaston) commented, the staff in our offices are often on the frontline of this abuse. We have to make sure that they are protected. This is not just about us; it is about a wider group of public servants, such as our staff. I agree with him that it is equally important to protect them. I hope that if he looks at the report, he will see that that point is addressed, but if he has further concerns he should come and talk to me about them.

[Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane) (Con)]

I will pick up on a point that was made from the Opposition Benches. Where do our children learn to trust? Where do they learn what is right, what is wrong and what is acceptable behaviour? I honestly think that we have to deal in our education system and in our schools with the issue of social media and how we conduct ourselves as citizens, because what is happening now is truly unacceptable in so many cases.

[Amber Rudd]

My hon. Friend is right. In citizenship classes, there is an online element that I would expect to be covered. That point has been made by other Members, and I will ensure that the Department for Education hears it. I think that our children hear about what is acceptable when they hear people like us calling things out, saying, “No more,” insisting that this is the end of such abuse, and saying that we will take action. It is by example that they learn.

Report on Recent Terrorist Attacks

Debate between Rebecca Pow and Amber Rudd

Tuesday 5th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question, and I know that he does great work on the ISC, which will provide important oversight of this report. One of its recommendations is that MI5 should oversee and engage with extreme right-wing terrorism in the same way that it does with international terrorism. That is the recommendation, and there are some clear implementations that go alongside it. We will be following that up, with his Committee and with the security services, to ensure that that takes place.

[Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane) (Con)]

I, too, welcome today’s statement. One of its main planks relates to data, and that involves not only sharing data but checking for concerning activity. Will the Home Secretary tell us whether she is having talks with internet companies about their platforms being used for terrorist purposes?

[Amber Rudd]

This has come up on a number of occasions before. All of us in the House want the internet companies to do more to take down potentially radicalising material and to engage more with the security services by telling us when people are looking at material or are buying things that could help to make bombs. There is a lot more we can do with these companies, and I hope that they will engage with us to ensure we deliver on that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rebecca Pow and Amber Rudd

Monday 20th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

I share the hon. Lady‘s view. We talk enthusiastically and positively about wanting to be a country that attracts the brightest and best to support our economy, but we recognise that there will also be a need for migrant labour in different areas—potentially in construction and potentially in dairy farming, as my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries and Galloway (Mr Jack) said. Dairy farming is exactly the sort of area on which I hope the Migration Advisory Committee will be able to report next year.

[Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane) (Con)]

I wonder whether the Secretary of State could also take seasonal workers into account. In my constituency we will have people turkey plucking, with Christmas coming up. A lot of these people are migrant workers—people who work on farms, fruit farms, and in the tourism and catering industries—but many are only temporary, so will she indicate whether this might be looked on favourably in the future?

[Amber Rudd]

My hon. Friend raises a good and important point about Christmas. I reassure her that we will be looking carefully at the need for migrant labour in that sector, too, but, above all, we will want to rely on the evidence, which is why the report from the Migration Advisory Committee is going to be so important.