Withdrawal Agreement Bill receives Royal Assent
In an historic and decisive step the Government's Withdrawal Agreement Bill, (WAB), which will take the UK out of the EU on 31 January, passed all its stages in Parliament and been given Royal Assent.
With regard to this bill a number of constituents have been in touch to ask me about my decision to vote against the amendments. While I, or a member of my team, will respond to everyone personally I include a summary of my response here.
The amendments
None of the amendments have a role in the Withdrawal Agreement Bill. The purpose of the bill was straightforward - to put the Withdrawal Agreement, which the Government agreed with the EU, into law. I believe that important issues such as are included in certain amendments should be dealt with thoroughly and properly in their own right, and not simply added into a another piece of legislation whose purpose is unrelated.
Clause 37 of the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill – family reunion for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children
As a mother I take the welfare of all children very seriously and my heart goes out to children across the world who find themselves separated from their families. I have not, and will never use my vote to harm the rights of children.
I am a supporter of the current Family Reunion Scheme which is ongoing, and Government policy has also not changed on this matter. Primary legislation is not required to continue the Scheme, so voting against the Amendment did not change existing resettlement programmes.
The Amendment itself would not have guaranteed the rights of refugee children and their families. Instead it would have required the Government to negotiate on this issue as part of our withdrawal from the EU. For the record the Home Secretary had already written to the European Commission on the 22nd October – well in advance of our exit from the EU - to start negotiations on this very matter - hence this amendment is not required.
Please be assured that the Government is fully committed to the principle of family unity and to helping and supporting the most vulnerable children. In the last 12 months, the UK granted protection to over 7,500 children, and to 41,000 children since 2010. This is more than the vast majority of EU countries have done to help these vulnerable children.
Our resettlement schemes offer a safe and legal route to the UK for the most vulnerable refugees. As of September 2019, over 18,250 people have been resettled through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) and over 1,700 have been resettled through the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme (VCRS). Over half those resettled via these two schemes have been children.
The Prime Minister made clear the importance this Government places on ensuring that unaccompanied children who are seeking international protection in an EU Member State can continue to be reunited with specified family members who are in the UK, as well as children in the UK with family in the EU, following the UK’s exit from the EU. This remains a negotiating objective of this Government.
I hope this provides reassurance of my personal commitment, and our Government's commitment, to helping vulnerable children, and that the schemes in place have a strong track record of achieving this aim.
Acknowledgement: Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament - image from 20th January WAB 2nd reading.
