[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones has petitioned Prime Minister Theresa May to reverse her government’s decision to end the ‘Dubs’ child refugee scheme.
Last week the UK Government announced that a scheme to relocate to Britain children caught up in Europe’s migrant crisis will close at the end of March after a total of 350 arrivals.
The so-called Dubs amendment, designed by peer and former refugee Lord Dubs, aimed to help some of the estimated 90,000 unaccompanied migrant children across Europe. While there was no target number written into the legislation, Lord Dubs had suggested the UK could support 3,000 of the most vulnerable unaccompanied refugee children.
At Senedd Questions today, Labour backbencher Joyce Watson called for an urgent debate in the National Assembly for Wales. Mrs Watson said:
“Leader of the house, could we, as a matter of urgency, have time to discuss Wales’s response to the plight of child refugees in the European camps? I’ve been contacted, and I expect many in this Chamber have been, by constituents from Mid Wales Refugee Action, and other groups, who express, and I quote, their deep sadness and horror about the UK Government’s decision to limit the number of unaccompanied child refugees to Britain to a
‘paltry 350, rather than the 3,000 that Lord Dubs calculated would be our fair share.’
“The Government says it is because local authorities have no space. I’d like to hear from the local government Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children on that specific point.”
The Mid and West Wales AM continued:
“As you know, the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee is currently looking at some of these particular issues and we hope to report our findings next month. But this is urgent.
“It’s interesting to note, in her recent interview with the ‘New Statesman’, the Prime Minister stated that her proudest achievement was delivering the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Yet, by refusing sanctuary, she is exposing thousands of children—the most vulnerable of children in the world—to trafficking and worse. This Chamber should have time to say and to do something about that.”
Replying on behalf of the Welsh Government, Jane Hutt AM revealed that the First Minister has today written to the Prime Minister urging her ‘to reverse this decision’. Ms Hutt said:
“Thank you, Joyce Watson. I think, in response to the first point of your question about working with local authorities, the Welsh Government does work very closely with the Welsh Local Government Association regarding local authorities and their willingness, ability and capacity to accept unaccompanied refugee children. Also, we are very much aware of placements being offered in the last week, for example, by leaders of Welsh local authorities, who are expressing a desire to take children under the Dubs scheme. But I think it is relevant to share with the Chamber that the First Minister has written to the Prime Minister today, and he has said that he wants to urge her ‘to reverse this decision’ in terms of concluding the Dubs scheme at the end of March. He says this closes a
‘vital route to sanctuary for some of the most vulnerable child refugees…I urge you to reverse this decision and work more effectively with devolved administrations and local authorities to identify placements for the affected children.’
“Also going on to say to the Prime Minister and, of course, Members are aware, that
‘We are currently investing £350,000 in building social services capacity to ensure additional places for unaccompanied asylum seeking children can be identified.’
“I think, finally, I would say that the First Minister says that
‘Wales is an outward-facing nation which takes its moral obligations seriously.’
“And
‘Reinstating the scheme would send an important message about the type of country we want to be in the context of the recent hardening of attitudes towards refugees elsewhere in the world.’”
Joyce Watson is founder and chair of the Assembly Cross-Party Group concerned with human trafficking.
The transcript of the 31 January Plenary session is published here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
