Our resources have to go to helping those most in need, who are in the conflict region itself

A number of constituents have contacted me recently in relation to an amendment to the immigration bill regarding refugees who are already in Europe. I spoke on this issue in the House of Commons on Monday, as I have been following the refugee debate closely.

 

I explained in my speech why I found it difficult for serious practical reasons to support the call for taking in 3,000 unaccompanied children from Europe.

 

Firstly, there is an important principle. We want to use taxpayers' money so our resources for helping are naturally limited; those resources have to go to helping those most in need. Those people are in the conflict region itself. Furthermore, I believe we should avoid providing incentives for more people - and surely children least of all - to take the extremely dangerous journey across the Mediterranean. This is why the UK is only taking refugees directly from camps in the region, rather than accepting those who have already made their way to Europe. The last thing we want is families putting their children unaccompanied into the hands of people traffickers. This is a position which is supported by the UNHCR representative to the UK and by the Children’s Commissioner.

 

I would also stress that there are dozens of safe countries in Europe itself between the shores of Greece and Italy, and the UK. All European countries have to play their part in helping make life better for child refugees; this is not Britain's job alone and it could hardly be achieved by suggesting that children can't stay in other modern, developed countries which are safe. So far, Britain has done considerably more than many other European countries put together. 

 

As I said in the debate, I certainly do agree with Save the Children that every child and young person should live in a supportive, protective and caring environment that promotes their full potential. The Government's refugee family reunion policy already allows immediate family members of a person in the UK with refugee leave or humanitarian protection status - that is a spouse or partner and children under the age of 18, who formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country of origin - to reunite with them in the UK. This is a sensible focus for our resources which directly answers the need of children. 
 

The existing criteria are already enable thousands of people each year to be reunited with their families in the UK and are fully compliant with the UK's international obligations. You may be interested to know that three discretionary resettlement schemes are also in place for recognised refugees for whom resettlement is the most appropriate answer. These schemes are operated in partnership with the UNHCR: Gateway; Mandate; and the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme.

 

My key practical concern is that we are not in a position to provide enough homes for 3,000 children in the UK. It is brutal to make promises which we cannot deliver, so I could not vote for a proposal that I don't believe we can deliver. Specifically, Norfolk already has more than a thousand children living in care. How do we provide a supportive, protective and caring environment for refugee children if we cannot already find enough foster or long term homes for those local children who live in care? If legislation is a hollow offer it is no help at all.

 

It is important to remember that the Government is also making a significant contribution to support refugees and their families in other ways. The UK has pledged £2.3 billion in humanitarian aid in response to the Syrian crisis, and we intend to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees displaced to neighbouring countries over the lifetime of this Parliament. And last week the government announced additional action to help even more of the most needy from the camps in the region, the majority of whom will be children and families. 

 

Locally I maintain close contact with our County Council, to ensure that Norfolk is indeed playing its part in accepting our fair share of the refugees that Britain believes it can accommodate from this terrible conflict. By my point above about children who are already in care, you can see that this should be a serious practical concern for us all in Norfolk.