The Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP

Secretary of State

Home Office

2 Marsham Street

London

SW1P 4DF 

Date: 12^th August 2016

Dear Amber,

Congratulations on your new appointment as Home Secretary.  I look forward to working with you in this new capacity. 

I am writing to you now, though, about the ongoing refugee crisis and the situation in Calais and Dunkirk.

As you will be aware the Home Affairs Select Committee recently released the findings of their year-long inquiry into the migration crisis. I have read the report with some interest particularly as, earlier this year, I visited the camps at Calais and Dunkirk and was able to witness the devastating conditions first hand. What struck me most during my visit was the number of unaccompanied minors at the camp who had relatives in the UK and yet remain in volatile and dangerous conditions, when safe and loving environments exist just across the border.

I find it shocking that many of the unaccompanied minors at the camps have been waiting at least 6 months for access to safety and security – including many who were at the camps when I visited and are still there to this day. I am also in regular contact with voluntary organisations providing services on the ground who report that many unaccompanied children simply go missing. This is a monumental, and dangerous, failure on the part of both the French and British Governments.

Whilst I was pleased to see the Government make some concessions on the Lord Alf Dubs amendment earlier this year,  I share concerns that the Government has not done anywhere near enough to expedite the process of removing vulnerable children from dangerous conditions. By all indications, in the 3 months since the amendment was passed, fewer than 20 unaccompanied refugee children have arrived in the UK. This is wholly unacceptable.

With this in mind, I am writing to add my support to the recommendation made by the Bishop of Durham and the Home Affairs Select Committee - that the Government immediately accepts into the UK the already identified 157 unaccompanied children in Calais who have family members in the UK. I would also be grateful for an update on the progress of the implementation of the Alf Dubs amendment. 

I was also drawn to the point made by the Committee that there is simply not enough information available for scrutiny about the work that the French and UK Governments are undertaking to improve conditions at the camps, and yet there is a wealth of information available about the actions taken to improve border security. I would like to add my support to the recommendation that the UK Government should outline not only a long-term strategy for the camps, but also set out how much has been spent on improving humanitarian conditions and access to humanitarian protection.

The conditions in the camps have to be seen to be believed, and it is my firm belief that every Member of Parliament should visit the camps to understand the impact that our policies are having on the lives of vulnerable people. There is an organisation in my constituency – the Hummingbird Project – which runs safe spaces for unaccompanied minors, as well as providing medical services for people living at the camps. Hummingbird has kindly offered to show Ministers around the camps and I would be more than happy to put you in touch. I would ask that you make it a top priority to visit the camps at Calais and Dunkirk. 

In addition, the Government has chosen to opt out of all current EU resettlement and relocation programmes, whilst simultaneously providing limited alternatives for safe and legal routes of entry in to the UK for refugees. I would therefore like to reiterate my support for humanitarian visas and reform of the family reunification rules to include a wider definition of family.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,