Speeches by Vaughan.

“Just picking up on the mediation information and assessment meetings which were one of the outputs of that review in April 2024, and which were supposed to radically tighten up the process, what effect would you say that tightening up has had, if any?”

“I want to talk about early intervention. Just picking up from where we left off on private family law, you have said that change in that area is your principal priority. What specific changes do you think are needed in relation to that, and how are we getting on with implementing those changes?”

“Would it be possible, Sir Andrew, to go back to your point about the lack of district judges? I was quite struck that you said the numbers of district judges in the south-east is down by 20%. You referred to the simultaneous recruitment of circuit judges and district judges; I wonder if there is any other aspect or any…”

“I am the MP for Folkestone and Hythe. I am a barrister, associate tenant at Doughty Street Chambers, and I still hold a practising certificate.”

“I am the MP for Folkestone and Hythe. I am a barrister, associate tenant at Doughty Street Chambers, and I still hold a practising certificate.”

“I do not know what is going to happen; I cannot predict the future. The point I am making is that the measures that are being taken are moving us faster in the right direction than even we had intended at the outset of the Parliament. Labour also promised to clear the asylum backlog created by the last Government’s eff…”

“The logic of that is that every country neighbouring a conflict zone should take all the refugees. That is an absurd proposition. We have to take our fair share of refugees. We take fewer than other European countries, and a responsible approach to this issue accepts that there is not an obligation to claim asylum in a…”

“The reality is that, if we do not have a mechanism in place—and it was essentially jettisoned by the Conservative party—there is no way of creating either a deterrent or a way of working with our colleagues in Europe to address these problems upstream. If we took the position of the Conservative party, which is to with…”

“I agree with the hon. Member that we absolutely must ensure that those seeking asylum have proper access to legal aid. It is much quicker and cheaper in the long run if we can flush out all the claims at the outset, so that we do not have them raised at the last minute, when perhaps costs are higher. I am absolutely be…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered e-petitions 705383 and 718406 relating to support and accommodation for asylum seekers. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I lead this debate for the Petitions Committee, and I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Intere…”

“We did have a returns agreement with Europe before we withdrew from the European Union—the Dublin regulation. It was this Government that negotiated a new agreement with France in the UK-France deal. That deal, which is compliant with all the international obligations we have, is the potential way forward to solving th…”

“I want to underline the point I made in my speech, which is that France has a six-month period before work is permitted, so there is not that pull factor, or certainly not at that point.”

“Does the hon. Member accept that under the Conservative Government asylum applications were essentially paused, which had a huge knock-on effect on accommodation costs and the number of people who had to be accommodated, and that that caused the crisis that we are in?”

“Does the hon. Gentleman believe that withdrawing from those conventions will actually make those things easier? There is no basis for saying so. The truth is that we need those agreements to solve the problem—the deal with France is the start of this process of having a returns agreement again.”

“From the logic of what the hon. Lady is saying, we would detain everybody—we would put the 102,000 people currently in asylum accommodation in a detention centre. Does she accept that that will cost around £47 billion, which is not credible at all?”

“I thank the Minister for his response, and I thank all Members who have taken part in the debate. It is extremely important for everyone who signed the petitions to see that we are listening, and that we are considering and debating these very important issues. I am not sure I heard anyone dispute the proposition that …”

“I completely agree with my hon. Friend. I will turn now to the issue of asylum support, and make two key points. First, people claiming asylum cannot access the UK’s mainstream benefits system. They receive initial full-board accommodation for 90 days, plus about £10 weekly. After that they move to longer-term housing …”

“No.”

“rose—”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Efford. I thank the right hon. and learned Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Sir Jeremy Wright) for securing this important debate. As he said, we have serious and fundamental challenges in our criminal court system, and it is clear that only bold, radical action will…”