People locally often ask me about my ministerial role in the Government as the Minister of State for Legal Migration and the Border at the Home Office - a role which reflects a real priority issue for local people and indeed nationally. Our plan is working and we are keeping our promises - we are bringing down net migration sustainably, with an expectation that we will deliver the biggest reduction ever; we are closing asylum seeker accommodation hotels; and we are maintaining our efforts to end the small boat crossings of the Channel, which fell by a third last year compared to 2022.
In the last few weeks, I have participated in a number of sessions in Parliament about that work, and other aspects of my role, so I wanted to share the links to the various sessions, which you can find below:
• I was pleased to take part in Home Office Questions in the House recently, fielding questions about how the Government is reducing net migration, including stopping overseas care workers from bringing family dependants, increasing the salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas, and gradually increasing the minimum income requirement for Family visas. The Government is also actively promoting domestic employment in a really joined-up way, minimising reliance on immigration to fill a good number of vacancies. Further, I was pleased to provide an update on the closure of asylum hotels, a huge priority for the British public, on which we are making solid progress. You can watch the session, and hear more about this, here.
• I recently spoke on a motion regarding the British Citizenship (Northern Ireland) Bill, where I outlined how the Home Office is looking to amend the current citizenship application process to allow eligible Irish Nationals, of all ages, who live anywhere in the United Kingdom for five years, to apply for British citizenship in a more straightforward manner. Watch for more information on this, here.
• Towards the start of March, I answered an Urgent Question, largely on the important issue of how the Home Office is implementing recommendations put forward by the former Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, to ensure the strength of our border security, and to improve the asylum system to see claims processed in the most effective and efficient way possible. I was also able to outline the work that was underway to appoint a new Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, following the previous appointee's position being terminated. See the session, and hear more about this important issue, here.
• I recently took part in a Delegated Legislation Committee to debate the proposed amendments to the Draft Data Protection Act 2018 (Amendment of Schedule 2 Exemptions) Regulations 2024, more commonly known as the 'Immigration Exemption', following the result of a recent judicial review. You can watch the committee in full, and find out how we're responding to the Court of Appeal's judgement, here.