Steve Witherden
MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr · Labour · United Kingdom
“I welcome the open approach and accessibility of the Department, but what I would appreciate even more is clarification from the Minister of how these changes can be reconciled with the UK’s obligations under international law.”
“I recognise the need for reform of our immigration system, but many of the measures in this Bill require further scrutiny. Existing legislation has long served as an important safeguard, ensuring that powers are exercised properly.”
“Before my election in 2024, my salary as a teacher, a head of curriculum area and a member of the extended senior leadership team at my school was less than half an MP’s salary. It is difficult to argue that Members need second, third or even 16th jobs while many of our constituents struggle to make basic ends meet.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Western. I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) for the campaigning work he has done over many years on this important issue. As Members of Parliament, we are privileged to be here, but this is a demanding, full-time role.”
“Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage)—I did contact him, Mr Western—who has declared more than £2 million in earnings since his election to this House in July 2024 from media contracts, paid Cameo appearances and serving as a brand ambassador for a gold dealer. That would be laughable if it were not so concerning.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. It was in this Chamber, on 28 January 2025, that I was the only Labour MP to speak out against the Government’s proposed changes to agricultural property relief.”
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“Open licences are not included in those figures, meaning that the true scale of UK military exports to Israel remains unknown and unaccountable. The report also exposes that despite pledging to halt F-35 part shipments directly to Israel, evidence suggests that the UK continues supplying crucial components. These jets, 15% British made, fuel relentless attacks on Gaza, registering over 15,000 flight hours since October 2023, and dropping bombs that kill hundreds of people indiscriminately.”
“That is something I will touch on later in my speech, but I also hope that we will be getting some answers on those exact points in due course. Between October and December 2024 this Labour Government approved £127.6 million in single-issue arms licences to Israel, which is more than the total approved from 2020 to 2023 combined. My hon. Friend the Member for Coventry South (Zarah Sultana) was accused of “sensationalism” for highlighting that to the Foreign Secretary, but these are the Government’s own figures. Included in that total is £60 million in incorporation licences, up from just £2 million in the previous quarter. That prompts the question: why have single and incorporation licences surged both since we took office, and after the so-called suspension?”
“Therefore, the Government’s claim that it is impossible to halt supplies of F-35 components to Israel without undermining the global F-35 supply chain does not stand up to scrutiny. That raises serious questions around the UK’s legal duty to prevent genocide, yet the weapons continue to flow.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. I am very glad that the al-Mawasi attack has been mentioned and I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments he expressed. Freedom of information data reveals that the F-35 open general export licence was used 14 times to export to Israel in 2023—three times as much as in any other year. Israel is heavily reliant on F-35s for its attack on Gaza and is expanding its fleet. Without UK components, those jets could not fly. The latest report from the Palestinian Youth Movement further details the F-35 supply chain. It shows that subassemblies and parts for F35s, including those used for repairs and maintenance, are all “logged and documented”, and that the global supply chain for the US-run F-35 maintenance programme has “robust traceability”.”
“The hon. Member raises some really important points and I am in agreement with her intervention. When reviewing arms export licences to Israel, the UK must also consider violations across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the west bank, where Palestinians face home demolitions, forcible displacement and settler violence—actions breaching the fourth Geneva convention and risking UK legal obligations under the arms export criteria. The Foreign Secretary’s recent condemnation of Israel’s actions as “monstrous” was welcome but incomplete, because the very same Government continue to facilitate such actions. We cannot have it both ways. We cannot condemn atrocity while simultaneously fuelling the machinery that enables it. We cannot claim to uphold international law while profiting from its breach.”
“In court, we are told that it is not for the courts to decide, as those treaties are not incorporated into domestic law and are Parliament’s responsibility. If it is not Parliament or the courts, who are the Government accountable to for the decision to continue to transfer arms to Israel, potentially breaching international law and facilitating a genocide? Will the Government publish their most recent assessment of the risk that Israel is committing genocide?”
“I agree with the hon. Member that all countries have the right to defend themselves. I have condemned the vile events of 7 October in other places, and do so again here. All countries have the right to defend themselves, but no country has the right to commit war crimes. Despite the International Court of Justice’s ruling that there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza, the UK continues to authorise arms exports to Israel, making us in potential breach of our obligations under the genocide convention, the Geneva conventions and the arms trade treaty. In the hearing of Al-Haq v . Secretary of State for Business and Trade, it was revealed that the Government decided there was no serious risk of genocide back in July 2024, yet in Parliament we are told that the Government are waiting on a court determination.”
“I call on this Government to suspend all arms exports to Israel, to ensure that no British-made weapons are used in Israel’s brutal plans to annex, starve and ethnically cleanse the Palestinian population. The credibility of this House depends not just on what we condemn, but on what we enable, and history will remember that we enabled too much.”
“The F-35 programme is one of the most sophisticated supply chains on earth. If we wanted to, we could track every part. The real question is: do we want to? How do the Government define a weapon as defensive? What precisely makes an F-35 component defensive? Is it the Government’s position that the need to continue to supply F-35 components outweighs the risk of genocide? If so, is there any circumstance that would lead to the UK stopping that supply? The Government have claimed that there are red lines that would trigger a halt to exports, but Gaza is already a slaughterhouse. Children are emaciated or dying of hunger, hospitals have been intentionally destroyed and Israel’s leaders vow to wipe out Gaza, and still the weapons flow, so finally, Minister, where is our red line?”
“We are repeatedly told that the UK arms exports are “defensive in nature”, reduced to nothing more than “a helmet or goggles”, but let us be clear: the Government have never defined what “defensive” means, especially when exports include components for F-35 fighter jets capable of dropping 2,000-lb bombs on densely populated areas. Since September 2024, there has been no evidence that UK exports were limited to non-lethal equipment or that they were not intended for use in Gaza. The Government do not claim that it is too difficult to track where these weapons end up; instead, they invoke vague concerns about “international peace and security”, as though suspending exports to Israel would somehow endanger global stability, including support for Ukraine, but that is a false dichotomy. Palestinian lives are not less valuable.”
“While the Foreign Secretary repeatedly talks about the UK’s “robust” licensing regime, the reality is that British export data is notoriously opaque. Can the Government confirm whether they have reached a new assessment since September? If so, can they disclose it to the public? If the Government are truly confident in the legality of their exports, will they publish custom codes, product descriptions and a full paper trail from sender to end user? Would this level of opacity be tolerated if it were British civilians under the rubble?”
“I am in especial agreement on the importance of preventing those things. I am very eager, as I am sure the hon. Member is, to hear from the Minister in relation to those comments. Let us turn to the Government’s own assessments. In the same hearing, it was revealed that by September ’24, Israel had launched tens of thousands of air strikes and killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza. The public are being told to trust our judgment on the weapons that this country is sending to a state conducting a genocide. This is the same Government who, after reviewing 413 incidents, determined that only 0.5% of them potentially violated international humanitarian law. Not a single incident involving only the deaths of Palestinians was deemed even possibly unlawful.”
“More than 9 million people in the UK are not actively seeking work, with long-term illness cited as the single largest reason. Does the Minister agree that rather than penalising those who are sick or disabled, the Government should introduce a wealth tax to fund a genuine transformation of our public services, enabling us to face the future with a healthier, happier and more productive workforce?”
“When I look at the proposed cuts, especially the unjust tightening of the eligibility criteria for personal independence payment, I am filled with deep concern for many of my constituents. Wales already has the highest poverty rates among disabled people in the UK, and a greater reliance on PIP than any other part of the country. These cuts will hit Wales and my constituents particularly hard. I will vote against them. The Government must withdraw the proposals and ensure that disabled voices are at the forefront of all future reforms. We urgently need a welfare system that supports people when they need it most, so that they can continue to live, work and contribute to society, not one that pushes them further into poverty.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott) for securing this vital debate. I want to speak about working people. My constituency of Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr has a proud industrial heritage. Some may claim that the birthplace of the industrial revolution is Telford, but I would encourage them to read up on Bersham. In 2010, we witnessed the closure of our large chemical plant, which in 1920 was the world’s leading producer of phenol. We were also home to the last coalmine in north Wales, in Rhostyllen, which closed in the late 1980s. Like many post-industrial areas, our region suffers from higher deprivation and increased rates of illness.”
“We must rebuild trust, repair the damage caused by rushed trade deals and fight for a fair and competitive post-Brexit trading environment. I therefore ask the Minister what consideration has been given to constituents such as mine in Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, who rely heavily on a free, stable and healthy agricultural sector, in the Government’s commitment to reset the UK’s relationship with the European Union.”
“The reduced availability of workers has created operational challenges and pushed up production costs, further straining the financial stability of Welsh farms. Additionally, uncertainty about the future of subsidy structures and support mechanisms remains. The lack of clarity on agricultural policies across the UK has made Wales less attractive for inward investment, leaving businesses uncertain about what lies ahead. The Tories let down our farmers time and again, signing disastrous trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, forcing more than 12,000 farmers and agribusinesses out of business since 2010 and mishandling the Brexit negotiations. Their failures have deepened the financial struggles of Welsh farmers, and we must learn from those mistakes.”
“However, a report from the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy revealed that UK food and agricultural exports to the EU have dropped by more than 16% on average since we left the EU single market, which equates to a staggering £3 billion less in exports annually. The introduction of border checks for agrifood products and of regulatory hurdles has made it increasingly difficult for Welsh farmers to compete on a level playing field. Those changes have led to higher costs, delays and uncertainty, making it harder to maintain smooth supply chains, something that particularly affects our smaller businesses. Moreover, Brexit’s impact on labour shortages in the UK food industry has been severe, with a significant proportion of workers in the agrifood and meat sectors coming from the EU.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Paul Davies) and fellow Welshman for securing this important debate. Wales’s agricultural sector is at the heart of our social fabric, employing more than 50,000 people. It is central to our economy, our food security and the preservation of our stunning countryside. Yet since Brexit, our farmers have faced severe challenges. Brexit has without doubt created significant challenges, particularly for trade relations. The EU was, and remains, a critical trading partner for Wales, with a substantial 75% of Welsh food and drink exports destined for the trading bloc.”
“Furthermore, by ending academy presumption, the Bill takes a significant step towards increasing academy accountability, empowering local authorities to better serve the needs of their communities, particularly helping SEND students and reducing reliance on unaffordable independent providers. I hope to see the severe disparity between teachers’ pay and the high salaries of academy CEOs reviewed and addressed in future education legislation. We must ensure that funding is directed where it is most needed: to teaching and learning. This Bill marks an historic first step towards creating an accountable and fair education system that will benefit all our children.”
“The lack of national consistency not only allows these schools to undervalue and overwork staff but undermines basic rights such as pension schemes, maternity and sick pay. Our Bill will tackle those disparities by extending the statutory pay and conditions framework to all teachers in academies, ensuring greater consistency and fairness between academies and maintained schools. There is also the issue of admission policies. Too many schools misuse their control over admissions to break with inclusive local authority policies, selecting what they consider to be a more favourable intake of students. The Bill’s extension of the power to direct admissions to academies will ensure that local authorities can secure places for hard-to-place and vulnerable students, rather than allowing academies to exercise shameful selective admissions.”
“It is a pleasure to speak in this important debate and express my support for the Bill. For far too long, school children have borne the brunt of academisation. Fortunately, the Labour Government in Wales rejected this model, but, having been a teacher on the border for most of my working life and a national executive member of the NASUWT, I have seen at first hand the negative impact of academies becoming the default model, while local authorities have been sidelined. Since the introduction of the Academies Act 2010, the freedom for academies and free schools to set their own pay, terms and conditions has led to the exploitation of teachers. For example, teachers at Ark schools are expected to work 1,657 hours—more annually than a maintained school teacher, while earning £7 less per hour.”
“Given that nearly half of families in poverty have a disabled member and that without PIP an additional 700,000 disabled households could be pushed into poverty, I am concerned that the rumoured cuts will not help people into work but instead drive them further into destitution. What assurances can the Minister give me that the voices of disabled people have been heard and reflected on in the upcoming Green Paper?”
“By creating a new right to claim automatic unfair dismissal if someone is reemployed on varied terms to carry out the same duties, the Bill takes a vital step towards dignifying employees with security and autonomy.”
“I am proud to declare my membership of Unite the union and the NASUWT, and I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Before I was elected, I was a teacher for 20 years. Today, as we welcome this transformative legislation, I think of my former students. Their lives will be significantly improved by better wages, stronger workers’ rights and a fairer economy. I welcome the Bill, which will drastically limit the exploitative use of fire and rehire. Just outside my constituency, but affecting many of my constituents directly, more than 500 Oscar Meyer workers are striking against the company’s appalling use of the practice.”
“The Bill also takes crucial steps towards banning exploitative zero-hours contracts, ensuring that all workers have predictable hours and offering security for their day-to-day lives. I am pleased to see amendments extending such protections to agency workers. We have all felt the effects of a system that has left so many behind: flatlined wages, insecure work and falling living standards. It is therefore not just my former pupils but millions across the country who will benefit from the biggest upgrade to rights at work in a generation. I am proud to support our Labour Government in this historic step towards better quality employment across the country, and I look forward to the full delivery of the plan to make work pay. Diolch yn fawr.”
“I wholeheartedly agree with everything my hon. Friend has said. I am also pleased to see Government new clause 34 encouraging greater employer compliance and increasing compensation for workers subjected to fire and rehire by raising the maximum period of the protective award from 90 to 180 days. Amendment 329, tabled in my name, seeks to further protect against that harmful practice, ensuring that any clause in an employment contract that allows an employer to change the terms without the employee’s consent would be unenforceable, especially in cases of unfair dismissal related to a refusal to accept changes. That would further help redistribute the power imbalance between employers and employees, which currently allows low wages and poor working conditions to become commonplace.”
“In the UK, a woman is murdered by a current or former partner every week. According to research from Women’s Aid, 46% of women have faced some form of abuse in an intimate relationship during their lifetime. Given these harrowing statistics, we must confront domestic abuse for what it truly is: a national emergency. Does she agree that lifesaving specialist domestic abuse services, which have been chronically underfunded, must receive the investment that they so desperately need?”
“The most recent data shows that nearly 11,500 people are stuck in temporary accommodation in Wales, unable to move on from homelessness due to a shortage of social housing and unaffordable private rents. Given the escalating need for affordable housing across the UK, what conversations has the Department had with the Welsh Government to urgently address this crisis and collaborate on quickly increasing the availability of social homes?”
“Our agricultural shows and fêtes at Glyn Ceiriog, Montgomery, Llanbrynmair, Guilsfield, Berriew, Llanfair Caereinion and Llanfyllin would not be possible without the help of an array of amazing volunteers, nor would the community wellness hub at the George Edwards hall in Cefn Mawr, which has had a real and substantial impact on the mental health of local people. People in Plas Madoc recently celebrated 10 years of their leisure centre, which is owned and managed by the community. The Splash Community Trust, which manages the facility, has expanded its remit to support the community by hosting a food bank and offering other advice services. Its success story has been an inspiration to us all.”
“That has made a big difference to the many visitors to the brilliant El Sueño and the Mach comedy festival. In Carno, tireless volunteers are campaigning to reopen the railway station and establish a Laura Ashley museum at the very spot where its factory once stood. In Welshpool, the community hub has evolved from being a welcoming space into a supportive environment offering multiple services. One of the councillors, Ben Gwalchmai, has recently led the successful project to provide free community wi-fi, alleviating data poverty for many residents.”
“A walk up the Trefnant valley to the top of Acrefair is now as beautiful and idyllic as it would have been in pre-industrial times, with rare birds and uniquely marked brown trout visible in the brook. Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr is full of people with big hearts doing things every day to make our vibrant constituency special. In Llanidloes, constituents established a community venue at the Hanging Gardens, providing cake, soup, entertainment and wood and metalworking classes, complementing a town that already boasts community energy and solar organisations. It even offers a chance to borrow—not buy—from the library of things. In Machynlleth, our town councillors recently opened local town council-run toilets at a time when so many public conveniences are closing.”
“While much of Wales’s industrial development focused on the extraction of raw materials, such as coal, slate and water, the Ruabon-Chester railway—the oldest commercial rail line in Wales—was not used for resource extraction. Instead, it was used to export manufactured goods made from the beautiful Ruabon red clay deposits in the area to England. Fast-forward to the present day, and it is wonderful to see how modern Glyndŵr has evolved from its heavily industrialised past. The coal spoil tip in Rhostyllen, for example, housed the Hollywood-style Wrexham sign when the football club gained two famous owners a few years ago. We have the old chemical plant site, straddling Cefn Mawr, Acrefair and Trevor, which has naturally rewilded with an abundance of buddleia flowers and butterflies during the summer months.”
“I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones) on securing this important debate. Having spent my entire life in various parts of Glyndŵr, it is an honour to represent my constituency of Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, an area steeped in the rich history of Wales. Bersham, for instance, was the cradle of the industrial revolution, home to the Davies brothers’ workshops. It is where British ironmaking began in 1670; where smelting iron ore with coke first took place in 1721; and where the pioneer of industrialisation, “Iron-Mad” John Wilkinson, established himself in 1761. It is where the first single-mould cannons in the world were bored, which were against the Americans during their war of independence. It was also the site where the cylinders for James Watt’s steam engine were manufactured.”
“Furthermore, although the Government acknowledge the illegality of Israeli settlements, they continue to import goods from them. Illegal settlement products should not be regarded as Israeli goods and should be banned from entering the UK. With the US Administration openly calling—”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Alloa and Grangemouth (Brian Leishman) on securing this important debate. Last week, barrister Sam Fowles warned parliamentarians of the real risk that the UK could be in breach of international law. Given the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful and given the UK’s membership of the UN, the Government must impose sanctions on Israel to undermine its illegal occupation. Israel is on trial for genocide, so the current partial suspension of arms licences must go further. I say it again: the UK must impose an immediate and total ban on arms export licences.”
“Will they bring services back in-house where they belong and show their loyalty to the cleaners, the security staff and all the other undervalued workers who keep this country running, not the profiteering directors of outsourcing companies? Diolch yn fawr.”
“Adding to their economic insecurity, those workers are also excluded from access to decent pension schemes. The current outsourcing model weakens the Government’s ability to hold companies accountable. Basic protections for outsourced workers, such as company sick pay, are shirked, often forcing employees to continue working while unwell as they cannot afford to take time off. These outsourcing practices propagate the exploitation of employees. The companies behind them can easily avoid taking responsibility for poor pay and conditions, and the quality and fairness of essential public services are being compromised all the while. Will the Government honour the welcome promise of “the biggest wave of insourcing…for a generation”?”
“BAME and migrant workers are disproportionately employed in these roles. Last year we saw the long and hard-fought dispute between the Department for Education and its outsourced cleaners come to an end. Reports of those workers being overworked, treated “like rats” and denied the London living wage were truly appalling. Unfortunately, such treatment is common practice when it comes to the subcontracting of Government services to private firms. Many workers on outsourced contracts struggle to make ends meet, especially during the ongoing cost of living crisis, as their wages are often limited to the national minimum or living wage. In some Government Departments and agency workplaces, PCS members have even resorted to establishing food banks to support low-paid staff.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald) on securing this crucial debate. I have had the privilege of standing in solidarity with the facilities management staff and speaking at the PCS pickets that have been mentioned by others in this debate. Their demands could not be clearer: fair pay, better working conditions and an end to outsourcing in Government Departments. While delivering vital services such as cleaning, catering and security to keep civil service Departments running effectively, those employed on outsourced contracts are treated as second-class employees compared with their in-house counterparts. The result is a two-tier system with a sharp racial divide.”
“I welcome the news that the Secretary of State has signed a memorandum of understanding on four Welsh growth deals with Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Rebecca Evans. Will the Minister outline how this UK-Welsh Government partnership will deliver the well-paid jobs and economic growth needed in areas like Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr?”
“When you sit with an elderly farmer and his wife, both fighting back the tears, and they say, “If only I could die now, if only there was some kind of pill I could take now, so that my children don’t have to worry about this,” that has a profound effect. Diolch.”
“I will not say more about the proposed APR policy as a whole. Prior to my election in July, I attended 10 hustings —we do like our hustings in mid-Wales; my thoughts on this topic are well-known and on the record. However, I will speak about mitigations. First, I respectfully request that the Minister considers raising the threshold. If this policy is to target those who buy farmland solely to dodge inheritance tax, then let us make it so: raise the threshold and actually increase the rate for people like that, so that no family farm is affected. Secondly, I implore the Minister to look at an exemption for farmers who—I risk sounding macabre, but I want to make myself clear—are too late in life to plan for this proposed change. I hope the Minister and you, Mr Stringer, can forgive my emotion.”
“The proposed changes to APR for farmers come on the back of this and more, and feel like the straw that broke the camel’s back, or as we would say in Wales: “Yr hoelen olaf yn yr arch.— [Translation: The final nail in the coffin .] ”—if the hon. Member for Caerfyrddin can forgive my north-east Wales accent. The changes risk having a deeply detrimental effect on working family farms. What is at stake here? Food security. I have repeatedly spoken in the Chamber about my heartbreaking experiences with hungry children and food banks. In recent years, we have seen something that many never thought they would witness: food scarcity, empty shelves in the supermarkets and astronomical food price inflation. It cannot be overstated how that period of food inflation has affected the poorest in our country.”
“Her 48-year-old son, who has farmed alongside her since the age of 18, had hoped to take over the farm. His young daughters now share his passion. Sadly, they now face the prospect of losing the farm they have worked so hard for. Let me be clear. I support progressive taxation to ensure that the wealthiest pay their fair share towards the upkeep of our society. In the 21st century, we see individual plutocrats and super-wealthy multinationals buying agricultural land to avoid paying inheritance tax, with no intention of using it for farming. That reduces our farmed land—something we can ill afford, given our fast-growing population in an unstable world.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I congratulate the hon. Member for Caerfyrddin (Ann Davies) on securing this important debate about a topic of major concern for many of my constituents. Farming is at the heart of Wales’s social fabric, playing a vital role in our economy, food security and stewardship of the beautiful Welsh countryside. On Saturday, I met representatives of the FUW in Llansilin and NFU Cymru at a farm in Llanerfyl to discuss the ongoing challenges that farmers face. Farming is currently the least profitable sector of our economy, and changes to APR are having a significant impact on family-run farms. A lifelong farmer in my constituency raised her children on her 220-acre farm. Although considered small, the farm is valued at more than £1 million.”
“Women’s Aid highlights that the pro-contact culture in family courts can force children into contact with abusive parents, sometimes against their will. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is crucial that family justice agencies recognise children as victims in their own right, as outlined in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, to prioritise their welfare and, most importantly, save lives?”
“That would empower workers, increase accountability and raise standards for migrant workers, as employers would risk losing their workforce if they failed to treat workers fairly. Such measures will redress the power imbalance between workers and sponsors, giving workers the flexibility to escape exploitative situations and access their rights without fear. What conversations have Home Office officials had with those at the Department for Work and Pensions on the effects of data sharing and protections against employers using workers’ insecure immigration status to threaten and silence them in exploitative situations? The UK’s reliance on migrant workers cannot be overstated and all workers’ contributions must be valued and protected.”
“The existing legislation not only creates grey areas that allow employers to pay unliveable wages, deny sick pay and encourage abuse in the workplace, but it also strips employees of the agency to challenge those conditions. Many are trapped in a vicious cycle; they are scared to speak out due to fear of arrest, immigration detention or deportation, with no means to move to a safer employer. I fully support our Government’s commitment to reducing visa and immigration abuse, and empowering workers to report exploitation safely plays a crucial role in that. The introduction of a certificate of common sponsorship would enable migrant workers to change employers freely without facing the burden of additional immigration fees, the risk of being unemployed within the 60-day period or jeopardising their visa status.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Poole (Neil Duncan-Jordan) on securing this crucial debate. Migrant workers are vital to the UK’s economy and society. They make up over a fifth of our workforce and support essential industries such as hospitality and social care. Just last week, I had the privilege of meeting representatives from Focus on Labour Exploitation, the Latin American Women’s Rights Service, the Southeast and East Asian Women’s Association and the Refugee Workers Cultural Association. They voiced serious concerns about the current visa rules that tie many migrant workers to a single employer, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.”