Syria Crisis: UK Response

John Bercow Excerpts

Monday 8th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman might win a prize, although it may not be one that he craves, for probably the longest sentence in the Parliament.

[Justine Greening]

Mr Speaker, I shall try to answer briefly the points that the hon. Gentleman raised, which were all important.

As I said, we will do our level best to make sure that the commitments made last Thursday are honoured. The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight the important role of civil society. In fact, we had a day dedicated to that last Wednesday. Seventeen Syrian civil society organisations were represented at that event, and 27 non-governmental organisations overall. The role they have been playing, and can continue to play, is in delivery on the ground. Many of these people put their lives on the line every single day of the week to get into communities who desperately need their help. We have to continue to assess needs, and the information that we get from civil society is often vital in making sure that we target our aid where it can have the biggest impact,.

Looking ahead, perhaps optimistically, but nevertheless importantly, when we finally get to a position where we can see Syria getting back on its feet and rebuilt, civil society will have a crucial role not only in understanding the needs and priorities of local people but in forming networks that can help on the ground to deliver on them. As I said, I believe that we are playing our role, not only, overwhelmingly of course, in the region, but closer to home here in the EU. A pound spent here in Europe does not go anywhere near as far in supporting refugees as a pound that can be delivered closer to home in the region to provide food, water and shelter, or get a child into school who is currently out of school. It is incredibly important that we do not lose sight of the need to tackle the root causes that underlie the refugee flows into Europe over recent months.

The hon. Gentleman will not be surprised to hear that I could not disagree with him more on UK airstrikes. One of the key challenges in ever reaching any kind of peaceful settlement in Syria is the presence of the barbaric Daesh, who, day by day, routinely commit acts of unspeakable brutality—particularly on women, but on people more generally—in the territories they control. These people are not simply going to get up and go home. That is why we need to take military action against them to force them out of those territories. This is already happening in Iraq. They are leaving a wasteland behind them, but at least it is a wasteland that we can start to rebuild in, and we are going to do the same in Syria.

--- Later in debate ---

[Justine Greening]

I am pleased that my right hon. Friend has mentioned this historic step forward in getting agreement to start creating jobs for refugees. For many years, they had been unable to work legally, and that forced many into working illegally to try to support themselves. They might have left Syria with some assets, but over the weeks, months and years those assets were depleted, and reaching the end of them led many to decide that they had no alternative but to try find a life somewhere else. This therefore matters. In essence, countries such as Jordan and Lebanon decided to allow work permits so that greater numbers of Syrian refugees can work legally. These were big decisions for them to take, but they were right to do so as they cope, and indeed often struggle to cope, with the refugees who are temporarily, but in large numbers, within their countries.

What are we doing? On the Jordanian and Lebanese side, particularly with Jordan, we are setting up economic zones with advantageous tax rates to encourage investment. Some of this will be, in effect, the Syrian economy in exile. I have met business leaders who are re-establishing their Syrian companies, but in Jordan. That is not just good for Syrians who can get back into work; it is also providing work for local people who are unemployed. This is complemented by the investment coming from the World Bank and the European Investment Bank; and crucially, as my right hon. Friend mentioned, by reform at the European Union level and making our own trade barriers that much more flexible so that countries such as Jordan can more easily sell their goods into the huge market that is the European market.

We should be really proud of the work achieved with both Jordan and Lebanon at the conference. It was home-grown UK ideas that were put on the table and they got international support. Most importantly, they gave us the chance to work directly with the Governments of Jordan and Lebanon to help with the long-term provision of jobs and growth that will be there long after their generous hosting of refugees temporarily.

[Mr Speaker]

The lucidity and comprehensiveness of the Secretary of State’s replies cannot be disputed, but I would gently point out that we have got through two Back-Bench questions in seven minutes, so we shall now strive for improvement in productivity.

[Yvette Cooper (Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) (Lab)]

I strongly welcome the results of the London conference and the leadership shown by the Secretary of State and others in Government. That is immensely important. She said that Britain is also helping refugees in Europe, but the honest truth is that the help being provided to them is tiny. There are refugees in Greece and the Balkans, and close to home in Dunkirk and Calais, who are in worse humanitarian conditions than those in the region and who are being denied support by Governments, the United Nations and aid agencies because they are in Europe. Children are suffering from scabies, bronchitis and cold. How much of the London conference funding will go towards helping refugees in Europe? If the answer is none, what is the Secretary of State doing to hold a similar pledging conference to help the refugees in Europe?