Select Committee
Parliament

Conservative Rehman Chishti asks Sir Philip Rutnam why there has been no Home Office response to the committee’s report on UK-EU security after Brexit, which was published in March.

Sir Philip says the response is not yet complete and is unlikely to be published until after the government’s Brexit white paper on Thursday.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Sarah Jones raises the case of her constituent who went to prison shortly after being diagnosed with MS. She says it was seven months before he was taken to a nuerologist, once he was using hearing aids and a wheelchair, and she asks whether he should be moved to a lower catagory prison.

Mr Argar says he cannot go into details on a specific case but the health of prisoners is his priority. He offers to meet her to discuss the matter further.

Select Committee
Parliament

Sajid Javid says there will be no additional checks for goods coming into the UK through the Northern Ireland border.

He says smuggling is largely prevented through intelligence and police work and that system will continue after Brexit.

House of Commons
Parliament

Plaid Cymru's Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts asks how violence against prison officers is being combated.

Mr Stewart says the government is investing in spit hoods, sprays and other equipment to protect officers.

He says safety in prisons is a priority, as no other forms of rehabilitation are possible if prisons are places of violence.

Select Committee
Parliament

Sir Philip Rutnam says he has heard that the CDS system is running on schedule.

The Customs Declaration Service is an electronic service used for managing customs declarations.

It will replace the current system, CHIEF (Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight), in August and will be run by HMRC.

Sajid Javid says it will not lead to “a significant increase in customs declarations”.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, hoC

The minister is asked how the government is combating the use of drones to bring illicit substances into prisons.

Minister Rory Stewart lists several government priorities and highlights the importance of physical barriers.

He is asked if smuggling using drones should be made a specific offence. He says people are already being prosecuted, and one person has recently been sentenced to seven years for smuggling drugs with a drone.

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Parliament

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The SNP's justice spokeswoman Joanna Cherry asks if the government agrees with the SNP and the Brexit subcommittee that the European Court of Justice should continue to have influence on policies on data protection.

The minister Lucy Frazer says the government has made clear in the Chequers agreement that the authority of the ECJ will end but the UK will take its judgements into account, including on data protection.

Select Committee
Parliament

Home Secretary Sajid Javid says: “It will be an objective of the post-Brexit immigration system to bring down net migration to sustainable levels” – but refuses to be drawn on whether those targets will remain at the “tens of thousands” figure set out when Theresa May was home secretary.

Yvette Cooper: “It’s a massive chain round your neck, that immigration target, isn’t it? Don’t you want to ditch it?”

Sajid Javid: “Next question.”

Select Committee
Parliament

Yvette Cooper asks several times if the home secretary is “not ruling out preferential treatment for EU citizens”.

Sajid Javid says the prime minister has been very clear.

On Saturday, Theresa May appeared to leave preferential treatment for EU citizens on the table when she said: “We recognise that people will still want to have opportunities in each other's countries.”

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Parliament

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Labour's David Lammy recommends his own review of sentencing for black and ethnic minority people, and asks what is being done to stop inequalities in the justice system. He asks for a meeting.

Edward Argar, the minister, says the Lammy review was one of the first things he read when he assumed his post three weeks ago, and agrees to a meeting.

Select Committee
Parliament

Yvette Cooper asks: “Are you ruling out automatic leave to enter the UK for all foreign citizens after Brexit?”

Sir Philip Rutnam says: “I’m not sure there’s any such thing as automatic leave to enter.”

The Immigration Act 1971 says that the secretary of state must make provision for an individual to be granted leave to enter, rather than it being granted automatically – UNLESS that individual is entering under the provision of EU freedom of movement – which the home Secretary says will categorically end after Brexit.

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs are putting questions to the Justice Secretary, David Gauke, and his ministerial team.

He starts by answering questions on the education and job opportunities for prisoners. He focuses on the temporary release scheme which allows prisoners to go to work while still serving their sentences.

Conservative Alex Chalk asks how resources are being targetted on education for jobs prisoners actually want. Mr Gauke says prison governors are being given freedom to allocate funding as they see best.

MPs discuss education as a way to stop offending to start with.

Select Committee
Parliament

Sajid Javid says: “There will be no automatic right for anyone in the EU, or anywhere else in the world for that matter, to just hop on a plane or a ferry and come to work in the UK.”

But the home secretary says “we would look to see how we can smooth travel” between countries that the UK agrees trade deals with.

Select Committee
Parliament

Asked if he would consider compromising on preferential treatment for EU citizens in order to secure a better trade deal with the EU, Sajid Javid says: “There’s only one view that’s relevant and that’s the government’s view.”

“Your view is relevant,” says John Woodcock, “don’t do yourself down.”

Select Committee
Parliament

“We are looking for reasons to grant people the right to stay,” Sajid Javid says, responding to queries about settled status.

If EU citizens miss the deadline for settled status applications through no fault of their own, the government will still hear their cases, he explains.