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  • Mark Jenkinson – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Serco and Migrant Accommodation

    Mark Jenkinson – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Serco and Migrant Accommodation

    The parliamentary question asked by Mark Jenkinson, the Conservative MP for Workington, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Mark Jenkinson (Workington) (Con)

    The Minister knows well the problems that I have with Serco’s procurement of accommodation in my constituency and I thank him for his engagement in recent days. Given the woeful communication with MPs and local authorities in recent days and weeks, can he confirm that lessons will be learned and that communication will be stepped up?

    Robert Jenrick

    I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the productive and constructive conversations that we have had. It is absolutely essential that the Home Office and partners such as Serco treat local authorities and Members of Parliament with respect and engage with them productively. Since my arrival in the Department, I have set in place protocols so that all Members of Parliament and local authorities will be notified in good time before hotel and other accommodation is procured, and so that we move to a better procedure, whereby there is effective and constructive engagement in the days prior to taking the accommodation.

    It is worth saying, however, that those are the symptoms of the problem. The core of the issue is the fact that 40,000 people have chosen to cross the channel this year alone and that places immense strain on our system. That is what we need to tackle, that is what Government Members are committed to doing and that is what the Opposition refuse to address.

  • Wayne David – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Food Banks

    Wayne David – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Food Banks

    The parliamentary question asked by Wayne David, the Labour MP for Caerphilly, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab)

    In my Caerphilly constituency, we have five food banks. One of those food banks is run by the Trussell Trust, and it has issued over 2,000 food parcels during the last six months. There is a question from the users of that food bank, which is: will the Government give a firm commitment to ensuring that benefits will always be enough to purchase essentials?

    The Deputy Prime Minister (Dominic Raab)

    The hon. Member raises a really important point, and we are doing everything we can to support those who may be reliant on food banks or otherwise struggling to make ends meet. He can see that with the £1,200 cost of living support that is going to the 8 million most vulnerable households, the energy price guarantee and further measures for pensioners. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor will set out further measures tomorrow. Of course, as I have said before, the No. 1 priority is getting inflation down. We will not be able to do that if we follow the spending plans of the Labour party.

  • Kate Osborne – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Poverty

    Kate Osborne – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Poverty

    The parliamentary question asked by Kate Osborne, the Labour MP for Jarrow, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Kate Osborne (Jarrow) (Lab)

    In 1936, people from my constituency marched to Parliament demanding jobs. They were living in poverty and were hungry. Some 86 years later, 39% of kids in Jarrow are still hungry. Will the Deputy Prime Minister and the Government end that scandal and commit to providing free school meals to all 800,000 children—40,000 of whom are in the north-east—from households in receipt of universal credit?

    The Deputy Prime Minister (Dominic Raab)

    I thank the hon. Lady. She will know that we have extended the eligibility of free school meals to 1.9 million pupils. On top of that, there is the £200 million holiday activities and food programme and the £1,200 of direct payments to the most vulnerable. I gently say to her that we also need to keep an eye on the macroeconomic picture. The No. 1 priority is to get inflation down, and we will not be able to do that if we follow the Opposition’s plans.

  • Peter Bone – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Returning Migrants to France

    Peter Bone – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Returning Migrants to France

    The parliamentary question asked by Peter Bone, the Conservative MP for Wellingborough, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)

    If migrants who crossed the channel from France illegally were immediately returned to France, it would stop illegal migration to this country, break the economic model of the people smugglers and, perhaps more importantly, stop thousands of people descending on northern French cities, which would benefit the French. When the Prime Minister spoke to the French President, was a returns policy discussed? If so, what was the President’s response?

    The Deputy Prime Minister (Dominic Raab)

    My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this issue. I cannot tell him the precise read-out from the meeting—I have not seen it yet—but I can tell him that the Home Secretary’s deal and agreement with her French opposite number means a 40% increase in officers patrolling beaches in northern France; UK officers embedded with their French counterparts for the first time; investment in port security infrastructure; more technology; and more wider European co-operation. We have taken all those measures in the teeth of the opposition from the Labour Front Bench, who have opposed every single measure that we have taken to stop illegal immigration, including things where I would have thought there would be cross-party consensus, such as life sentences for traffickers who play on human misery.

  • Judith Cummins – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Northern Powerhouse Rail

    Judith Cummins – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Northern Powerhouse Rail

    The parliamentary question asked by Judith Cummins, the Labour MP for Bradford South, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)

    Seven years ago, in my first PMQs, a Conservative Prime Minister told me to stop “griping” and “get behind” his rail investment plans. A few weeks ago, the new Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said that there “wasn’t really much point” in going ahead with Northern Powerhouse Rail. Time and again, Tory Prime Ministers have promised NPR only to break their promises. Will the Deputy Prime Minister now put on the record whether he supports Transport for the North’s preferred option for NPR, with a stop in Bradford?

    The Deputy Prime Minister

    I can tell the hon. Lady that our £96 billion integrated rail plan will make Northern Powerhouse Rail a reality. We are committed to the project; the precise details will be set out in due course.

  • Rebecca Long-Bailey – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Exposing Military to Nuclear Weapons Testing in 1950s

    Rebecca Long-Bailey – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Exposing Military to Nuclear Weapons Testing in 1950s

    The parliamentary question asked by Rebecca Long-Bailey, the Labour MP for Salford and Eccles, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Rebecca Long-Bailey (Salford and Eccles) (Lab)

    A 1958 instruction from Whitehall ordered medics to take blood samples regularly from exposed veterans during nuclear weapons tests. I have been made aware that many veterans and their families have been reported being unable to obtain the test results, so are denied the ability to make any sense of what they, and in some cases their families, suffered. Will the Deputy Prime Minister investigate and inform me of the legal rights of these men to obtain their medical records? Will he undertake to ask the Prime Minister to order that the medical files be opened to veterans and the UK Health Security Agency immediately?

    The Deputy Prime Minister (Dominic Raab)

    I thank the hon. Lady, who has been a consistent champion on this issue, for which I recognise and pay tribute to her. My understanding is that the information is available to veterans and their families, who may request details of their service and medical records, but if the hon. Lady would like to write to me, I will make sure that she gets an adequate answer on her more specific point.

  • Harriett Baldwin – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Education Cannot Wait

    Harriett Baldwin – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Education Cannot Wait

    The parliamentary question asked by Harriett Baldwin, the Conservative MP for West Worcestershire, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)

    All our constituents want to see an end to the dangerous and illegal channel crossings. One of the best ways to do that is to make sure that services are delivered in the first safe place to which refugees flee. In that context, will the Deputy Prime Minister, as a former Foreign Secretary and Development Minister, commit to backing the work of Education Cannot Wait, which delivers education in refugee camps?

    The Deputy Prime Minister (Dominic Raab)

    My hon. Friend is absolutely right about the brilliant work that Education Cannot Wait does. She will know the importance of the campaign for girls’ education under both the previous Prime Minister and the current Prime Minister. We will certainly look at what more we can do to support that brilliant work, particularly for children growing up in refugee camps.

  • Ben Wallace – 2022 Comments on the Promotion of Vice Admiral Keith Blount

    Ben Wallace – 2022 Comments on the Promotion of Vice Admiral Keith Blount

    The comments made by Ben Wallace, the Secretary of State for Defence, on 18 November 2022.

    I am delighted to congratulate Vice Admiral Keith Blount on his promotion to Admiral and appointment as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

    His appointment demonstrates the United Kingdom’s unwavering commitment to NATO and our leadership in European defence. I pay tribute to the contribution Vice Admiral Blount has made to the Royal Navy and the Alliance in his career to date. He brings extensive leadership experience and has served on operations across the globe alongside our allies and partners. I look forward to continuing to work with him and NATO.

  • Louise Haigh – 2022 Comments on Northern Powerhouse Rail

    Louise Haigh – 2022 Comments on Northern Powerhouse Rail

    The comments made by Louise Haigh, the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, on Twitter on 17 November 2022.

    Rishi Sunak told voters he would deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail IN FULL – now he’s abandoned it.

    A lost decade of broken promises has left us with second-rate infrastructure and held our economy back.

    They crashed the economy, and want Northern communities to pay the price.

  • Jeremy Corbyn – 2022 Comments on Jeremy Hunt’s Financial Statement

    Jeremy Corbyn – 2022 Comments on Jeremy Hunt’s Financial Statement

    The comments made by Jeremy Corbyn, the Leader of the Opposition, on Twitter on 17 November 2022.

    Jeremy Hunt’s attempt to justify the last wave of austerity is an insult to all those who lost their lives to 12 years of state-sanctioned cruelty.

    Even more insulting is that he expects us to simply lie down and accept it all over again.

    He’s got another thing coming.