I HAVE been contacted by many constituents this week on the question of family reunification of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. This refers specifically to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill’s amendment to section 17 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, which was rejected this week in Parliament, and many of you have asked for more understanding on this.

I would like to clarify that I support the need to make safe passage for refugee children and I have already made that commitment. This was not a vote on policy, but on procedure. Post-Brexit the question of unaccompanied child refugees will be properly considered within a new Immigration Bill.

In the meantime, the UK will continue to reunite unaccompanied children with family members in the UK under the Dublin Regulation until the end of the transition period (31st December 2020). It might interest you to know that in the last 12 months, the UK granted protection to over 7,500 children, and to 41,000 children since 2010.

Protecting vulnerable children remains a key priority for Government, and the UK has a proud record of doing so through our asylum system and our resettlement schemes.

In what has been a momentous week for the Brexit process, the Withdrawal Agreement Bill has formally become law after Her Majesty The Queen gave it Royal Assent. It will now proceed to formal ratification from the European Parliament. I support the Prime Minister’s statement that we can now “move forwards as one United Kingdom” and “put rancour and division behind us”. It has been a time of uncertainty for many but I now look forward to a brighter, more positive future – both for West Dorset and for the country, and will be working very hard on behalf of our local communities to make that happen.