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Category: Speeches

  • Robert Courts – 2021 Statement on Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme

    Robert Courts – 2021 Statement on Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme

    The statement made by Robert Courts, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, on 25 May 2021.

    I am tabling this statement for the benefit of hon. Members to bring to their attention spend under the Industrial Development Act 1982 (“the Act”).

    On 24 November the Government announced the introduction of the airport and ground operations support scheme (the scheme) with the intention of supporting airports and ground handlers who have experienced the impact of covid-19 on their business while maintaining high levels of fixed costs during the 2020-21 financial year. The aim was to open the scheme in January and ensure grant payments were made to eligible businesses by the end of the financial year. Grant payments would be made using powers in sections 7 and 8 of the Act.

    Section 8(8) of the Act states that financial assistance for any one project shall not exceed £30 million, except so far as such excess has been authorised by a resolution of the House of Commons. The need to act and ensure that support was provided promptly meant that the Government were previously unable to seek such authorisation from the House of Commons.

    Section 8(9) of the Act provides that the Secretary of State shall lay a statement concerning the financial assistance before each House of Parliament if they are satisfied that the payment or undertaking to pay financial assistance in excess of £30 million was urgently needed and it would have been impracticable to obtain the approval of the House of Commons by way of a resolution.

    The need to provide urgent support to airports and ground handlers who play a vital role in the infrastructure of the country made it impracticable to seek authorisation by way of a resolution, for payments under the scheme in excess of £30 million and I am therefore tabling this statement. The details of the spend on the scheme, which opened for applications at the end of January, are set out below:

    Total of Scheme Grants

    £ 86,925,171.00

    Commercial Airports

    £ 65,075,462.00

    Ground Handling Operators

    £ 21,849,709.00

    The Government remain committed to supporting the sector and has recently announced that the scheme will be renewed for the first six months of the financial year 2021-22. Consent for the use of powers in sections 7 and 8 of the Act for the renewed scheme will be sought separately.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2021 Statement on Force in Mental Health Units

    Nadine Dorries – 2021 Statement on Force in Mental Health Units

    The comments made by Nadine Dorries, the Minister for Patient Safety, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health, in the House of Commons on 25 May 2021.

    Today, I am pleased to announce the launch of the Government’s consultation on the statutory guidance for the Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act 2018.

    The Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act 2018, also known as Seni’s Law, was introduced into the House of Commons by the hon. Member for Croydon North (Mr Reed) in July 2017 and received Royal Assent in November 2018. The Act is named after Mr Olaseni Lewis, who died as a result of being forcibly restrained while he was a voluntary patient in a mental health unit.

    The purpose of the Act is to clearly set out the measures which are needed to both prevent the use of force and then ensure accountability and transparency about the use of force in mental health units. By promoting good practice, identifying poor practice, and through a greater understanding of where there are problems or issues for specific groups, we can address this nationally as well as locally. The statutory guidance sets out how we expect mental health units to meet the requirements of the Act. This consultation will seek views on the clarity, content and approach of the proposed guidance.

    This is vitally important to minimise restrictive interventions in mental health units which affected 12,000 individuals in 2019-20, and disproportionately those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

    This is a landmark piece of legislation which enjoys the support of patients, people with lived experience, voluntary and charitable sector organisations and the NHS. Today’s launch represents a significant step forward in our efforts to prevent the use of force in mental health units which would not have been possible without the tireless campaigning of the hon. Member for Croydon North and the Lewis family.

    This consultation is part of the Government’s wider reform agenda to improve support for individuals with severe mental illnesses. The Government published their Mental Health Act White Paper on 13 January 2021, which sets out proposals for once in a generation reforms to the Mental Health Act, responding to and building on Sir Simon Wessely’s review of the Act. We are also working hard to achieve our NHS long-term plan commitment to give 370,000 adults and older adults with severe mental illnesses greater choice and control over their care and support them to live well in their communities by 2023-24.

    The consultation will conclude on 17 August 2021. The Government’s intention is to publish the final statutory guidance and begin commencement of the Act in November 2021.

  • Amanda Solloway – 2021 Statement on the Research Collaboration Advice Team

    Amanda Solloway – 2021 Statement on the Research Collaboration Advice Team

    The statement made by Amanda Solloway, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in the House of Commons on 25 May 2021.

    The Integrated Review sets an ambition for the UK to be a science and technology superpower by 2030. International research collaboration will be central to achieving this objective, and our research sector needs to be both open and secure.

    The Government work with research institutions, funding bodies and industry to ensure national security risks are understood and responded to appropriately. I and the Secretary of State for BEIS (Kwasi Kwarteng), as well as our officials, have discussed these issues at all levels within the research community. We expect institutions and individuals to make sure international collaboration is safe, sustainable and secure.

    I am therefore pleased to announce that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will this year launch the Research Collaboration Advice Team (RCAT). The new unit will provide an efficient route by which researchers can access advice, as well as seek confidential consultation on sensitive and emerging issues. Its leadership will operate from Manchester and advisers will be distributed across the UK, available to researchers from across the country. Advisers’ responsibilities will be limited to guidance, and they will not have enforcement responsibilities.

    The RCAT will be a BEIS unit, but its advisers will work closely with officials in the Departments for Education, International Trade and Defence, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the National Technical Authorities.

    This initiative complements a number of measures already in place to manage risk within international collaboration, including:

    Guidelines published by Universities UK, on behalf of the sector and with Government support, to help universities to tackle security risks related to international collaboration;

    the Trusted Research campaign, run by National Cyber Security Centre and Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure in partnership with BEIS and the Cabinet Office;

    one of the toughest export controls regimes in the world, including guidance recently published by the Department for International Trade specifically for academics;

    the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s Academic Technology Approvals Scheme, a pre-visa screening regime expanded to cover a wider set of technologies and all researchers in proliferation sensitive fields;

    guidance from the Intellectual Property Office on protecting intellectual property known as the Lambert Toolkit; and

    our work with partners and allies, including the G7, to create international frameworks that support open, secure science collaborations.

    My Department is working hard to promote research collaboration, putting science and technology at the heart of our international partnerships. As a package, these measures are enabling this effort by making sure collaboration is safe, sustainable and secure.

  • Luke Hall – 2021 Comments on Fairer Parking Charges

    Luke Hall – 2021 Comments on Fairer Parking Charges

    The comments made by Luke Hall, the Local Government Minister, on 26 May 2021.

    This government is making life easier for motorists as we get back to life as usual and build back better from the pandemic.

    I encourage motorists and parking operators to share their views on our proposed Parking Code of Practice.

    These changes will bring in a fairer system for drivers, creating a simplified appeals process and curbing excessive charges for millions of motorists.

  • Liz Truss – 2021 Comments on Modernising the G7

    Liz Truss – 2021 Comments on Modernising the G7

    The comments made by Liz Truss, the Secretary of State for International Trade, on 26 May 2021.

    It really is now or never for the World Trade Organization. International trade only works when it is fair and when countries submit themselves to a common set of rules, and for that to happen we need a more modern and dynamic WTO.

    We want to use our G7 Presidency to address the fundamental issues facing global trade, and support Dr Ngozi in her work to bring the WTO into the twenty-first century. Like-minded democracies need to lead the charge on trade reform, because if we don’t then there is a very real danger that global trade fragments and that fewer countries end up playing by the rules.

  • George Eustice – 2021 Comments on Eradicating Bovine TB

    George Eustice – 2021 Comments on Eradicating Bovine TB

    The comments made by George Eustice, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on 27 May 2021.

    Bovine TB is one of the most difficult and intractable animal health challenges that the UK faces today, causing considerable trauma for farmers and costing taxpayers over £100 million every year.

    The badger cull has led to a significant reduction in the disease but no one wants to continue the cull of a protected species indefinitely. That is why we are now building on this progress by accelerating other elements of our strategy, including cattle vaccination and improved testing so that we can eradicate this insidious disease and start to phase out badger culling as soon as possible.

  • Gavin Williamson – 2021 Comments on Amanda Spielman’s Extended Time in Role

    Gavin Williamson – 2021 Comments on Amanda Spielman’s Extended Time in Role

    The comments made by Gavin Williamson, the Secretary of State for Education, on 27 May 2021.

    Amanda Spielman has a wealth of knowledge and experience from her five years leading Ofsted that will be invaluable as we work to support the education sector to make sure every child is able to recover from the impact of the pandemic.

    I am grateful she will remain in place as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector for a further two years to oversee a smooth reintroduction of a full programme of inspections, providing vital constructive challenge and reassurance to parents and families.

  • Marsha de Cordova – 2021 Comments on Review into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party

    Marsha de Cordova – 2021 Comments on Review into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party

    The comments made by Marsha de Cordova, the Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary, on 25 May 2021.

    This report is a damning indictment of the discrimination rife in the Conservative Party, and it goes all the way up to the Prime Minister.

    Reports of Islamophobic hate crime spiralled in the weeks after Boris Johnson likened women who wear the burka to ‘letterboxes’ and ‘bank robbers’.

    He must now issue a full and proper public apology that acknowledges the pain and hurt he has caused in the Muslim community, as well as taking meaningful action to rebuild trust, especially among Muslim women.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2021 Comments on Local Lockdowns

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2021 Comments on Local Lockdowns

    The comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 25 May 2021.

    Where is the Secretary of State?

    Communities like mine in Leicester or towns and boroughs like Burnley, Bedford and Bolton bore the brunt of this crisis these last 15 months; often in lockdowns longer than elsewhere, felt abandoned without adequate financial support, and families have struggled.

    Can the minister understand how insulting and upsetting it is to us to have new restrictions imposed – a local lockdowns by the back door – and the Secretary of State doesn’t even have the courtesy to tell us.

    Why was this guidance simply plonked on a website in Friday night and not communicated to anyone?

    Why were local Directors of Public Health and local authority leaders not consulted?

    Why were MPs not informed?

    What does it mean for our constituents?

    The family in Leicester who have booked a few days away by the coast in next week’s half term – do they now have to cancel their break?

    Can University students in Leicester travel home after exams, can prospective students come to Leicester to look around the campus?

    The parents in Bolton taking their children to see their grandparents on the other side of Greater Manchester this bank holiday Monday, do they now have to rearrange their plans?

    The young couple in Burnley who have postponed their wedding for over a year and have invited friends and family from across the country to celebrate their special day, is the message to them that the wedding is delayed again?

    Can he take a message from me the MP for Leicester South to the Secretary of State:

    Withdraw this guidance now.

    And convene a meeting of the relevant Directors of Public Health this afternoon to produce a plan involving isolation support, enhanced contact tracing and – because we know from PHE a single dose of the vaccine is less effective against this variant – the rollout of vaccination for everyone and including bring forward second doses for a larger cohort.

    A year ago minister were defending Dominic Cummings on twitter, Mr Cummings now tweets about the lack of competent people in charge. Based on the handling of this latest fiasco, he has a point doesn’t he?

  • Ellie Reeves – 2021 Comments on Government’s Rape Review

    Ellie Reeves – 2021 Comments on Government’s Rape Review

    The comments made by Ellie Reeves, the Shadow Solicitor General, on 25 May 2021.

    We have been waiting over two years now for the Government’s rape review, and again the date of publication has been kicked into the long grass.

    No more pilots no more consultations, we need action, we need a plan.

    Labour has one – what we’d do has been set out in our Survivors Support Plan and in our Green Paper for ending violence against women and girls. And I urge the minister today to commit to a date for publishing the rape review.

    Labour has also called for the Government to make a commitment to supporting Labour’s Green Paper on ending violence against women and girls, which included measures for rolling out indicators of progress – alongside annual reports – to ensure the Government makes tackling violence against women and girls a priority across every department.