Clause 1 - Naturalisation:
Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill
6:00 pm
Mr Parmjit Dhanda (Gloucester, Labour)
I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the debate, especially as someone with Asian parents, who fails Norman Tebbit's cricket test and supports a football team from the north-west, grew up in west London and is proud to represent Gloucester.
On the point about trade unions, when my mother first came to this country, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Unison—the National Union of Public Employees, as it was then known—made a huge contribution, as it still does, in training people, ensuring that she learned the language and could subsequently become a shop steward.
The hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam mentioned other institutions in constituencies throughout the land. In my own patch, Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers already offers English language courses and works with FE colleges. It is important to continue to tap into the resources available.