After a high number of constituents got in touch with me regarding the slow response by the Home Office, I decided to escalate the whole matter within Parliament in the most serious way an MP can, by asking for an Urgent Question. This is granted personally by the Speaker on only the most serious matters and they take precedents on the rest of the days business. I cannot remember an Urgent Question being so well attended and it was good to hear from so many colleagues from across the House.
My question was - how the department can speed up the urgent refugee applications coming from those leaving Ukraine.
Because of the high attendance, we discussed the matter in great depth and there is no question that the policy and will is there to admit more refugees who have already suffered so much leaving the truly awful situation in Ukraine. However, the actions by the immigration services have been pitifully slow to date. We are woefully behind other European countries and it is sad that much smaller countries such as Ireland manage to process more applications to date.
I welcomed the Government announcement on Thursday 10 March that the Home Office will be simplifying the visa process. I asked the Home Secretary to look at other steps that would speed up the system such as accepting the biometrics on Ukrainian identity cards and ensuring sufficient translators are available.
We must ensure our visa process is efficient but humane, those individuals and families fleeing their homes have already been through so much and we must find a way to return to our historic past of being a welcoming host to those fleeing conflict, especially from Europe.