The United Kingdom has a proud record of helping those fleeing persecution, oppression or tyranny from around the world. Alongside providing £10 billion a year to support people through our overseas aid, the UK is a global leader in refugee resettlement. As a country, between 2016 and 2019 we resettled more refugees from outside Europe than any member state of the EU. In 2015, the Government committed to resettle 20,000 of the most vulnerable refugees who fled the conflict in Syria through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) – the Government has now met that commitment.  

In total across all of our resettlement schemes, the UK has now resettled more than 25,000 vulnerable refugees in need of protection over the past 6 years, with around half being children. These refugees are resettled directly from regions of conflict and instability rather than from safe European countries. I believe that it is most important to prioritise those refugees in dangerous situations, not those already in Europe. 

The Government already provides safe and legal routes for people needing protection or seeking to reunite with their families. In the year ending December 2020, over 5,400 refugee family reunion visas were issued to partners and children of those previously granted asylum or humanitarian protection in the UK. Over 29,000 family reunion visas have been issued in the last 5 years. 

Let me assure you that the new Nationality and Borders Bill will allow the UK continue to resettle genuine refugees directly from places of danger and offer refugee family reunions. It will improve support for refugees to help them build their life in the UK, integrate and become self-sufficient members of society. The Bill also seeks to introduce a new temporary protection status for those who do not come directly to the UK or claim asylum without delay once here but who have, in any event, been recognised as requiring protection. 

It is also the case that refugees in the UK need to have the freedom to succeed as they settle. This means ensuring refugees have access to the tools required to become fully independent and provide for themselves and their families. This will allow refugees to be in a position to contribute and integrate into the economic and cultural life of the UK.

In order to achieve this, the Home Secretary has announced £14 million of funding to help newly granted refugees to integrate in the UK. This fund will pilot new approaches across the country to support newly granted refugees to learn English, move into work, access housing and build links in their local communities. Lessons learned from these pilots will inform future support available to all refugees.

In order to protect this country, the Home Secretary has the power to deprive someone of their British citizenship where it would not render them stateless. This power has been in place for more than a hundred years and has been used by successive Home Secretaries. I would like to assure you that any decision to deprive an individual of their citizenship is only used in exceptional circumstances where there is a significant threat to the public, such as from a terrorist, and based on all available evidence, including secret intelligence, with a right to appeal – I fully support the ability for the Home Secretary to deprive citizenship on these grounds. Therefore, if you have not partaken in any of the above activities then you have no need to worry about your citizenship being revoked.

The Nationality and Borders Bill will amend the law in order to allow the deprivation of citizenship where it is not practicable to provide notice. This could be in a case where there is no way of communicating with the individual, for example if they are in a war zone. The Bill does not give the government power to unilaterally remove British citizenship – all current procedures must be followed and there is still recourse to appeal, it simply changes whether written notice is given or not.

It is vital for national security that the powers of the Home Secretary are effective and I support the Government in ensuring that this is the case.

DS.

I understand you have concerns regarding my support for the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. As you will be aware, the Bill contains a large number of measures with the central aim of cutting crime and building safe communities. 

At the last election, I was elected on a manifesto to restore confidence in the criminal justice system and this Bill delivers that pledge made to my constituents. 

This Bill seeks to equip the police with the powers and tools they need to protect themselves and the public, while overhauling sentencing laws to keep serious sexual and violent offenders behind bars for longer, and placing greater emphasis on rehabilitation to better help offenders to turn their lives around and prevent further crimes.

I welcome the fact that this legislation builds on the work already underway across Government to deliver a smarter, fairer justice system as the UK builds back safer from the Coronavirus pandemic. I am particularly encouraged by the hundreds of millions being invested in our court system to deliver speedier justice and reduce delays. It is also vital that victims receive the support they need and deserve, and ministers are investing unprecedented funding for victims support services. The funding package for the police and the recruitment of 20,000 police officers alongside the £4 billion investment in extra prison places will ensure these reforms are successful. 

I am confident that the measures in this Bill are necessary and proportionate. It is important to remember that the Bill is about tougher sentences for the most serious offenders, better protection for the police and a greater focus on ensuring offenders can turn their lives around and rehabilitate back into society. 

I appreciate you may not agree with my views on this; however, I hope this response has outlined why I believe this is a fair and balanced approach to the criminal justice system.

DS.

I know that with appropriate help and support, most people with Down’s syndrome are able to lead healthy, active and more independent lives, achieving more than ever before. I do recognise, however, that people with Down’s syndrome face significant challenges across all stages of life and it is right that the Government considers how to help make sure their specific needs are recognised and considered. That is why I fully support Dr Liam Fox’s Down Syndrome Private Members’ Bill, and I am delighted the Government does too.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the need to improve access to services for people with Down’s syndrome. The Down Syndrome Bill will require the Secretary of State to publish guidance to public bodies to ensure they are clear on how they should meet the needs of people with Down’s syndrome. It will set out best practice across health, education social care and housing, giving practical advice on how the appropriate steps can be taken to meet the needs of those with Down’s syndrome when planning, designing and delivering services.

It is especially welcome that the Government will consult widely on the proposed guidance, ensuring the voices of those with Down syndrome, their families and carers are heard, and that the guidance is fit for purpose. This, I believe, is essential.

I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the work of my colleague Dr Liam Fox in bringing forward this important Bill. I look forward to seeing its passage through Parliament and can assure you that the Bill has my full support.

Let me be clear, no-one should be struggling to afford to keep their home at a reasonable temperature in a modern society, and although we have seen progress toward this goal, there is still so much my colleagues and I can do to make this a reality.

Elderly people are some of the most at-risk individuals when it comes to fuel poverty. Winter Fuel Payments are the largest benefit paid to pensioners, and will continue to be available to all pensioners. In addition to Winter Fuel Payments, Cold Weather Payments are available and the Warm Home Discount provides over one million vulnerable pensioners with a £140 rebate on their energy bills.

The Warm Home Discount is a key policy in the Government’s programme to tackle fuel poverty and the effects of rising energy prices on low-income households. Launched in April 2011, it has helped over 2.2 million low-income and vulnerable households, including individuals with a disability, each year with their energy costs. I am pleased that the Energy White Paper committed to extending the scheme to at least 2025/26 and the Government is committed to expanding the spending envelope from the current £351 million to £475 million (in 2020 prices) per year, to reach over 750,000 more households in, or at risk of, fuel poverty. Furthermore, later this year the Government will consult on reforms to the scheme from 2022 to better target fuel poverty. 

Animal research still plays a role in providing vital safety information for potential new medicines. It is worth remembering that, as a result of findings from animal studies, a large number of potential new drugs never get as far as being tested in humans. Some aspects of the toxicological assessment of new medicines cannot be adequately assessed in humans, and animal data will be the only kind available. 

Without animal testing it is highly likely that a large number of potentially dangerous new medicines would be tested in healthy volunteers and patients in clinical trials, and I know Ministers believe that this would be quite unacceptable. However, animals are only used when there are no suitable alternatives, and by encouraging new cutting-edge approaches to science we will ensure that standards of animal welfare are improved. I am opposed to animal tests where alternative approaches could be used.

I am proud that the UK has consistently led the way on animal welfare, recognising in law that animals can feel pain and suffering through the Animal Welfare Act. The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill, which is making its way through Parliament, enshrines the recognition that animals are sentient in domestic law. I am encouraged that this Bill will create an Animal Sentience Committee with experts which will produce reports on how well policy decisions have paid all due regard to the welfare of animals.]

It is important to remember that, existing scientific research methods ensure that, by the time medicines reach clinical trial, risks are significantly reduced.

DS.

I welcome the intention, through the Health and Care Bill, to develop more integrated care between the NHS, local government, social care providers and other partners to deliver better integration of health and care services on the ground. The reforms proposed in the Bill will continue to improve the quality and sustainability of NHS services and outcomes for patients.

Service provision by the independent and voluntary sectors has been, and continues to be, an important and valuable feature of our healthcare system, which I fully support. Safeguards are already in place to ensure that the interests of the public and the NHS are always put first. The ICB chair would have the power to veto members of the board and there are robust requirements on ICBs to manage conflicts of interests.

That said, I do appreciate that there are concerns about private sector involvement in ICBs. It is important that people are assured that the work of ICBs will be driven by health outcomes, not by profits.

I know that the Bill does not allow private sector providers to influence, or to make, decisions on spending, but it is welcome that the Government has committed to putting that beyond doubt. They have tabled an amendment for the next stage of the Bill’s passage through Parliament. This would prevent the appointment of a member of an ICB if they could reasonably be regarded as undermining the independence of the NHS because of their involvement in the private healthcare sector or otherwise.

DS.

Around 90 per cent of liver deaths are related to lifestyle and unhealthy environments with the vast majority of these being alcohol related, and it is these diseases that are responsible for a four times increase in liver mortality over the last few decades.

In March 2020, guidance on liver disease was published, which is designed to promote awareness among clinicians, supporting them to increase understanding with their patients, and to help them to be proactive identifying risk factors. Alongside moves to support people to make the best lifestyle choices for their health, it is extremely important to ensure that health professionals have all the information they need to help and treat patients at risk of, and suffering with, liver disease. 

Alongside this work, NHS England is establishing liver networks in England, which will enable quicker access to specialised liver services, as well as providing additional clinical advice on disease prevention and referral practice. 

DS.