Refugee Crisis

Many constituents have contacted me about the thousands of refugees seeking refuge in Europe and I share concerns about the way this is being handled by the British and other European Governments.

At the end of the last Labour Government we were seeking to increase the number of refugees granted asylum in the UK from United Nations (UN) camps from 500 to 1000. The Government's Gateway Programme worked with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify some of the most vulnerable refugees in UN camps around the world and grant them asylum in the UK. These would include households headed by women and disabled individuals and their families.

I was the last Labour minister responsible for this programme and was seeking to expand it by working more closely with faith and community groups to ensure there was proper support once people had arrived in the UK for resettlement.

This was in addition to the normal asylum routes and consideration of cases of individuals arriving in the UK.

Under this Government we have seen the reiteration of the unworkable and too often inhuman immigration cap which is preventing many people from being reunited with family members, sending out negative messages about Britain's reluctance to welcome foreign students and leading to some bad decisions about both immigration and asylum.

While I welcome the Government's pledge to accept some of those fleeing war torn Syria and the region we can and should accept more. Aside from the clear humanitarian concerns we share, Britain can benefit from the skills and talents of the people so desperately seeking safety. Hackney is a young borough (with a third of residents aged under 24) but the rest of the UK needs younger workers to support our ageing population and staff our public services.

The Mayor of Hackney has made a statement making it clear to the Government that the people of Hackney are happy to welcome refugees, and that the council is already planning to receive and support more people should the Government allow an increase in numbers.

The Prime Minister has spoken about support in the region - this is important but I am not confident that there is a grand plan or strategy to tackle the underlying insecurity.

We need to do more of both - support in the region and welcome to safety those fleeing war - in conjunction with our EU partners.

As you may have seen, Labour called an emergency debate on Tuesday 7 September during which David Cameron announced plans to resettle 20,000 more Syrian refugees by 2020 from camps in the Middle East under the Vulnerable Persons Scheme. Whilst this should be seen as an improvement on the Government's position, it is clear that this is not enough. My Labour colleagues and I have urged the Government to take higher numbers of refugees as it is clear Britain is willing and able to do more.