Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme

Debate between Victoria Atkins and Fleur Anderson

Thursday 6th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Fleur Anderson (Putney) (Lab)]

The delay of this scheme has been very traumatic for many of my constituents who have family members at risk of being murdered or kidnapped as child brides for Taliban soldiers, which has happened to them. I will be meeting them next week. Can I tell them how they will know if they are in the system; how, if they cannot apply, they will know whether they are going to be contacted; and when is the earliest that they will be brought here if they are eligible for the third route that the Minister mentioned?

[Victoria Atkins]

I assume that the hon. Lady is talking about constituents here in the United Kingdom, because she is meeting them. If they are in bridging accommodation, they will be considered as part of either ARAP or ACRS, unless they are British nationals. In relation to people who are in Afghanistan, I refer the hon. Lady to my previous answers.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Victoria Atkins and Fleur Anderson

Monday 7th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Fleur Anderson (Putney) (Lab)]

What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on tackling online harms.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Victoria Atkins)]

The Home Office is working across Government to tackle online harms though the online safety Bill and other measures. That Bill will be a truly world-leading and much needed piece of legislation to make the UK the safest place to be online. Although the draft Bill will be scrutinised by Parliament, the Government continue to work nationally and internationally to tackle online harms, including through the G7 and Five Country Governments.

[Fleur Anderson]

The ease with which even primary school-aged children can access extreme but legal pornography is frightening, and it is warping a whole generation’s view of healthy sexual relationships. Will the Minister assure me that the longstanding issue of age verification for legal pornography will finally be addressed in the online safety Bill?

[Victoria Atkins]

This issue concerns many Members across the House, and it has been voiced by many parents across the country. We must consider not just the online safety Bill, but the wider question of education and ensuring that our children are taught what is a healthy relationship and what is not. The hon. Lady will know the massive progress made by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which set out clear parameters regarding the so-called rough sex defence as well as non-fatal strangulation. She will know that discussions are ongoing with the Departments for Education and for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport about how we can cement that approach in legislation and, crucially, through education.