House of Lords Votes to allow unaccompanied Children Refugees

The Government is under pressure to take in 3,000 unaccompanied Syrian child refugees after a combination of Labour, Lib Dem and Crossbench peers backed the amendment to the Immigration Bill, defeating the Government by 306 votes to 204.

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said: “The House of Lords this evening have shown themselves to be more in touch with public opinion than our own Prime Minister. “The Government must stop ignoring the British people and the thousands of orphaned children languishing across Europe. Cameron should show some humanity. A small sacrifice from a large nation would turn these kids’ lives around. The Government must listen to this strong message from the Lords, it is time he stopped making excuses and did the right thing.”

Save the Children estimate there are 26,000 lone children across Europe, 400 of which are living the Calais ‘jungle’.

The UK has committed to taking 20,000 refugees from Syria by 2020, but the Prime Minister has repeatedly claimed offering sanctuary in the UK to refugees already in Europe could encourage more to make the often perilous journey to the continent.

George Osborne’s Secret Cuts to the NHS and Public Services

Hidden amongst the tax-cuts and other announcements in last week’s budget, was a significant reduction in funding for some important public services, particularly the NHS.

An investigation by Liberal Democrat MPs has found that changes hidden in the Budget will mean the NHS has £650m less to spend on front line services. The research on the budget, based on analysis from the House of Commons Library, reveals hidden changes to public sector pensions, passing the cost directly to the health service and other public sector bodies.

Plans to reduce the public service pension scheme discount rate will raise the Treasury around £2bn from 2019/20, but passes the cost directly to the employers. The NHS is one such employer and their share is estimated to be around £650m.

The changes will also see teachers’ pension contributions rise by £426m, the armed forces by £314m and police forces by more than £100m. This is an unbudgeted cost will take money away from front line services to pick up the bill.

Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron said:
“Even by George Osborne’s standards, this is a vicious attack on our health service, schools and public services. He made grand promises about funding the NHS and is now making secret cuts by the back door.

“George Osborne cannot pull the wool over people’s eyes. Choosing to ask schools, hospitals, and forces to pay £2bn extra in pension contributions has a real cost, and vital services will have to pick up the bill.

Watch Lib Dem Leader Tim Farron’s reponse to the budget here.