Patrick Grady: What is the point of visa priority services if they do not actually provide any kind of priority? Will the Home Secretary reply to the letter I sent her in August containing several examples of constituents paying through the nose for priority tier 2 or settlement visas but waiting far longer than the promised 10 to 15 days for any kind of response?
Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the evidential basis was for the calculation of the sum of the £92.4 million security costs for resettlement of Chagossians in Diego Garcia set out in his Department's consultation document of 4 August 2015; and whether his Department calculated the cost of employing a similar number of Chagossians as contract personnel.
Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the benefit of using multilateral forums to resolve disagreements with the Government of Mauritius about the Chagos Islands.
Patrick Grady: Does the Minister recognise that signatures to early-day motions in this House since the general election show that there is cross-party support, and probably majority support in this House, for justice for the Women Against State Pension Inequality? If and when the WASPI question comes to the House on a Backbench Business motion or an Opposition day motion, will the Government sit on their...
Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs on fast track access to child tax credits for families who have been through the refugee family reunion process.
Patrick Grady: rose—
Patrick Grady: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many child tax credit applications by reunited refugee families have been approved through fast track procedures.
Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received from those EU Member States who abstained in the vote on UN General Assembly Resolution 71/292 on their decision to abstain.
Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of 22 EU member states abstaining in the vote on UN General Assembly Resolution 71/292 on diplomatic relations with those states.
Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Governments of those EU member states who abstained in the vote on UN General Assembly Resolution 71/292 on their decision to abstain.
Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made on the ability of the Government to gain support at the UN from EU member states for its position on the Chagos Islands of the UK leaving the EU.
Patrick Grady: I am very grateful to have this opportunity before the recess to raise the issue of support for witnesses of terror attacks overseas. I had originally hoped to bring this matter to the House as a Backbench Business debate, and I am grateful to the previous Backbench Business Committee and Members from across the House—and some former Members now—who had supported my bid, which...
Patrick Grady: I warmly welcome the opportunity for this debate, which builds on the heavily subscribed debate in Westminster Hall on 12 July, and makes up for the Chamber debate that was cancelled as a result of the general election and Dissolution. Like Members and parties across the House, the Scottish National party is clear that abuse faced by political candidates, particularly women and those from...
Patrick Grady: Yes, absolutely. We might even say that what is happening online is being replicated in some offline publications, or perhaps vice versa. The whole thing has to be toned down. As politicians, we have a role to play. The sad reality is that the President of the United States won his election after a campaign built on playing to the worst side of people, playing up to Islamophobia, insulting...
Patrick Grady: The hon. Lady is absolutely right. That is why it is important to call out abuse in such circumstances, and to have debates of this kind. I congratulate the Government again on making available the time for it.
Patrick Grady: I think a consensus is emerging on that. My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow Central (Alison Thewliss) drew attention to the anomaly whereby, although one of our colleagues was able to anonymise their address on the ballot, their partner was standing for the council and therefore had to publish the address, which completely negated the arrangement.
Patrick Grady: I am a little bit conscious of others wishing to speak, but I will.
Patrick Grady: As I have said, I think a degree of consensus is emerging on that point. Perhaps the Minister will address it when he sums up the debate. I want to stress what Tasmina had to go through. She was subjected to language that I will not repeat in the Chamber because it would be unparliamentary, although it is not unparliamentary when it comes from the President of the United States; let us put it...
Patrick Grady: I am grateful to you for calling me, Mr Chope, because I appreciate that I came late to the Chamber. I was detained in a Select Committee, so my apologies—pepani chomene. I am grateful for the opportunity to offer a few brief reflections on Scotland’s relationship with Malawi, and congratulate—yewo chomene; zikomo kwambiri—my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow East...