Here you can see a summary of my voting record and the most recent contributions I have made in the House of Commons, including oral and written questions, speeches and debates.
I also propose and support a wide range of important Early Day Motions, and take part in debates in Westminster Hall, and in All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) to work cross-party on a number of issues.
If you are a constituent, please get in touch if you would like more information about my work on any particular topic you care about, or if you would like me to take up an issue that will help you.
Contributions in the House:
- Freedom of Information Act 2000 (Amendment) Bill: Second Reading – Siân Berry. Private Members' Bills
- Siân Berry: Will the Minister give way?
- Siân Berry: My question is more about the revenue and its spending. We have heard from local authorities concerned that they might have higher costs as a result of the measures. Can the Minister give us any reassurance that the costs will not spill over into services that might be affected by some of the […]
- Siân Berry: I have spoken quite a lot about my overall position on these clauses, but I would like to say a little more about the fact that clause 23 gives the Home Secretary the power to require these unfair payments from a minority of asylum seekers who are destitute when they arrive here. The […]
- Siân Berry: Does the hon. Member have any insight into the gap that I think the Minister left in the discussion on the last group, between claims that repayments will be affordable and what it says in the Bill, which is that it will only avoid destitution? Does the hon. Member agree that there is […]
- Siân Berry: I have four amendments in this group, and I will speak as briefly as I can about each of them. They are in the spirit of trying to improve the clauses even though I oppose them in principle. Amendment 77 seeks to strengthen the exemption on children and increase the age to 21. […]
- Siân Berry: I beg to move amendment 77, in clause 23, page 22, line 9, leave out “18 at all times” and insert “21 at any time”. This amendment would extend the exemption for repaying asylum support from any person who was under the age of 18 at all times they were in receipt of […]
- Siân Berry: It is very good to have you in the Chair this afternoon, Mr Twigg. From the discussions we have had today, I think it is clear what a mess the proposals in clauses 23 and 24 are. If it is not an itemised recovery of costs, it is a refugee tax—worse, it has […]
- Siân Berry: Will the Minister give way?
- Siân Berry: That is an entirely fair point. There has been a focus on the lowest-possible-cost accommodation, and it is only right that people can stay closer to where they may have a connection and all the other considerations. It is important that those figures are just the current average. Overall, given the gravity of […]
- Siân Berry: For clarity, if this is akin to those on work visas, why are the Government proposing that only those asylum seekers who were here in poverty should pay back those contributions? Why not have a more redistributive approach and also charge the most well-off people seeking asylum, or make it more progressive?
- Siân Berry: I take the hon. Lady’s point that people who have claimed asylum should be regarded as akin to those here on work visas. However, does she understand the points in my amendments about how different groups of asylum seekers are being treated differently? People who needed accommodation due to poverty will be asked […]
- Siân Berry: The evidence I have comes from local authorities that have given evidence to the Committee and are very worried that their obligations will be extended by this Bill. People will be driven into poverty by the Home Office taking this money away from the overall system in the local area. It would be […]
- Siân Berry: I am afraid I cannot agree with the hon. Gentleman. The evidence we have heard about the impact on people’s ability to integrate and on community cohesion has been clear. Amendment 81 in particular would be a good measure because it would incentivise the Home Office to reduce those costs and make decisions […]
- Siân Berry: One of my amendments would raise the level for repayments beyond mere destitution, which is wise in the circumstances, given some of the feedback we have received from support services, charities and local authorities. The clause will also entrench inequality among refugees. Not all refugees applying for asylum in this country require support; […]
- Siân Berry: It is pleasure to have you back in the Chair, Mrs Barker. I hope my voice holds out, as I will speak at some length on these amendments. The Committee has reached the part about charging refugees for the support that they receive, so I want to make some points about my overall […]
- Siân Berry: I beg to move amendment 81, in clause 23, page 21, line 33, at end insert— “(3A) Subject to subsection (3B), where the Secretary of State did not make a decision on a person’s protection claim within 180 days of the making of the protection claim, any sums to be paid by the […]
- Siân Berry: I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.
- Siân Berry: It is important to know whether the 30-month process will be more like a simple renewal—like me renewing my TV licence or something like that—or whether it will be a reinterrogation of the person seeking protection all over again? Will the onus be on the Government to say, for example, that a country […]
- Siân Berry: I would like further clarity on why those grounds—the reasons for which revocation could be made—which the Minister read out very clearly, are not simply added to the Bill at this point to make the situation incredibly clear.
>> You can see my full list of contributions since I was elected via They Work For You
Voting record:
My voting record is available on the Parliament website here:
https://members.parliament.uk/member/5314/voting
Early Day Motions:
You can see which Early Day Motions I am supporting in the current Parliament here:
https://members.parliament.uk/member/5314/earlydaymotions
APPG officer roles:
I am currently Co-Chair of the APPG on Poverty and Inequality, Vice Chair of the City Regions Transport APPG, and an officer of the APPG on Eating Disorders and the Humanism APPG.