Weekly Update – Friday 2 July 2021

Still no justice for Windrush victims

This week I spoke in the Windrush Day debate in Parliament to highlight the continued injustice experienced by the Windrush generation. The Home Secretary Priti Patel and this Government would love us to believe that the Windrush scandal is over, lessons have been learned and its time to move on. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Tragically, 21 victims of the Windrush scandal have now died before receiving a penny in compensation. Hundreds of others continue to wait, living with the consequences of the Governments cruelty. Despite Priti Patel’s claims of reform, the compensation scheme remains broken. The burden of proof is incredibly high, the length of time it is taking to make a decision is far too long and there is no independent appeal process. The appeal process is incredibly important given the small sums of compensations currently being awarded.

Perhaps most importantly, the government has failed to tackle the underlying causes of the Windrush scandal. The Systemic change that was needed has not materialised. The Hostile Environment policies are still in place. The criminalisation and degradation of migrants continues and the cultural change that is so badly needed within the Home Office has not occurred. Unless significant changes occur then another Windrush scandal is just around the corner.

The Edmonton Incinerator expansion is unjust

Plans to expand the Edmonton Incinerator are unjust, illogical, and dangerous.

This week we saw the very real consequences of the climate crisis in Canada and the United States as ‘Heat domes’ brought cities to a standstill and set forests ablaze. The world is heading for catastrophe unless radical action is taken. We need ambitious targets and concrete plans to meet those targets. That responsibility falls on the shoulders of local as well as national government.

In the face of those challenges, plans to expand the Edmonton Incinerator fly in the face of both justice and logic. We should be increasing recycling rates and clean methods of waste disposal, not spending huge amounts of money increasing one of the most toxic forms of waste disposal available to us.

An expanded incinerator in Edmonton will mean more than 700,000 tonnes of Co2 polluting the air and children’s lungs. Waste from more affluent areas of London will be funnelled to one of the most deprived areas, producing dangerous amounts of pollution for local residents.

For as long as I’m the Member of Parliament for Edmonton I will continue to speak out against this expansion and this week I tabled a number of Written Parliamentary Questions to the Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Unfortunately, the answers from the Minister were less than helpful. However, I will continue to press the Government and the North London Waste Authority on this important issue.

Offshore Camps are wrong

This week the Home Office announced it was exploring options to detain people who migrate or seek refuge in the UK in offshore camps, possibly located in Africa. This is an incredibly dangerous, immoral, and possibly illegal decision.

I’m proud that there are people who move to the UK to make a better life for themselves or because they believe this country may provide refuge from war, persecution, and other forms of violence. We have a duty under the Convention relating to the status of refugees and other international treaties to process all asylum claims in a humane way. Shipping those who seek safety in this country offshore is inhumane and cruel.

Instead of treating refugees with increasing cruelty the Government should be learning the lessons of Windrush and ensuring that migrants who arrive in this country are treated with the humanity they are entitled to.

EU Settlement Scheme Deadline

Earlier this week the deadline for EU citizens to apply for the EU settlement scheme passed. I backed calls for the Government to extend the deadline in the wake of the pandemic and the clear signs that many were likely to miss the deadline. I know that many of my constituents will have been unaware of the need to make the application at all or may have missed the deadline this week for other reasons.

Those who have missed the deadline should seek specialist immigration advice and can contact my office for further details on how to get that. I’ve also put down several written Parliamentary questions to both the Home Office and the Department of Work & Pensions to try and get clarification from those departments about the process of the many EU citizens who are likely to miss the deadline. Moving forward the Government must give clear guidance to those who have missed the deadline and ensure that another Windrush-like scandal does not occur.

——————————-

Thank you for taking the time to read my latest update, if you have any issues that you would like to raise directly with me then please do email  edmontonconstituency@parliament.uk. I’m always happy to help whenever possible.

Kind regards,

Kate Osamor MP