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Tag: Jo Cox

  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the fairness of the (a) licence fee and (b) initial overcharge for those paying the licence fee by direct debit.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The BBC’s funding has been a central issue in the Charter Review process, and this has included consideration of the fairness and affordability of the licence fee, and the ways in which it can be paid. David Perry QC’s independent report on TV Licence Fee Enforcement highlighted that current payment plans, set out in regulations, inhibit the ability of TV Licensing to help those on lower incomes by offering alternative, more manageable payment schemes. The conclusions of his report have been considered as part of the wider Charter Review process, and the government’s position on these issues will be set out in the forthcoming White Paper.

  • Jo Cox – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jo Cox – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of a seven-day elective service in the NHS on patient (a) care and (b) safety; and if he will publish any such assessment.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government’s current plans for ensuring the same quality of care in hospitals on all days of the week are focussed on those with urgent and emergency care needs at weekends and those who are already inpatients. It is for individual health economies to determine if they wish to provide elective care at weekends, for example if they can use more efficiently additional resources that are available to meet urgent and emergency care needs.

  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress he has made on the transfer of responsibility for attendance allowance to local authorities.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Later this year, the Government will consult on giving more responsibility to support older people with care needs to Local Authorities in England and to Wales, including people who, under the current system, would be supported through Attendance Allowance. Work on the consultation is progressing with the relevant departments, and officials will work with stakeholders throughout the consultation process.

  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the constructive engagement of the Saudi-led coalition with the UN on the question of its de-listing as a state or armed group that violates children’s rights during conflict.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    [This question was tabled before the sad death of the Honourable Lady but the subject remains important and the Government’s response ought to be placed on the public record.]

    The UN Secretary General’s annual report on Children in Armed Conflict was published on 2 June. The report includes a section outlining the impact of the conflict in Yemen on children.

    The conflict in Yemen has had a significant impact on children, in terms of the numbers of child casualties, the recruitment of children as soldiers, and attacks on hospitals and schools.

    We note the announcement by the UN Secretary General on 6 June that removed the listing of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition from the report’s annex, pending the conclusion of a joint review by the UN and Saudi Arabia on the cases and numbers cited in the text. We welcome co-operation between the UN and Saudi Arabia to look in to this matter.

  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make an assessment of the extent to which her Department’s policies prioritise the prevention of identity-based mass violence.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The Strategic Defence and Security Review and the UK Aid Strategy set out a consolidated, whole-of-government approach to tackling conflict and building stability overseas. This approach uses diplomatic, development, defence and law enforcement capabilities in an integrated manner. As such, addressing and preventing conflict, instability and state failure is a key priority running through UK aid policies and programmes. This includes the prevention of identity-based mass violence, alongside other forms of violence and instability.

    These priorities are reflected in National Security Council-led strategies for countries and regions at risk of instability, including of large-scale identity based violence. The underlying drivers and enablers of mass atrocities are addressed as part of joint, cross-government conflict analysis and early warning, and through conflict-sensitive development programming. Development programmes also contribute to the prevention of mass violence by supporting wider conflict prevention and peacebuilding activities – for example by supporting community mediation efforts, or reforming security and justice systems.

  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made on the proportion of new build housing constructed in this Parliament that will be bungalows.

    Brandon Lewis

    It is not for the Department to estimate the amount of new build housing that will be bungalows. The National Planning Policy Framework and planning guidance requires local authorities to plan for a mix of housing based on current and future demographic trends, and the needs of different groups in their area.

  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the temporary removal of the Saudi-led coalition from the UN’s list of states and armed groups that violate children’s rights during conflict on the integrity and effectiveness of UN Security Council measures on children and armed conflict.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    [This question was tabled before the sad death of the Honourable Lady but the subject remains important and the Government’s response ought to be placed on the public record.]

    The UN Secretary General’s annual report on Children in Armed Conflict was published on 2 June. The report includes a section outlining the impact of the conflict in Yemen on children.

    The conflict in Yemen has had a significant impact on children, in terms of the numbers of child casualties, the recruitment of children as soldiers, and attacks on hospitals and schools.

    We note the announcement by the UN Secretary General on 6 June that removed the listing of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition from the report’s annex, pending the conclusion of a joint review by the UN and Saudi Arabia on the cases and numbers cited in the text. We welcome co-operation between the UN and Saudi Arabia to look in to this matter. A political solution remains the best way to bring this conflict and the suffering of the Yemeni people to an end. The UK Government continues to support the work of the United Nations on Children and Armed Conflict.

  • Jo Cox – 2015 Maiden Speech in the House of Commons

    jocox

    Below is the text of the maiden speech made by Jo Cox in the House of Commons on 3 June 2016.

    Thank you, Mr Speaker; it is a great privilege to be called to make my maiden speech in this most important of debates, and I congratulate many others who have made outstanding maiden speeches today.

    I am sure that many right hon. and hon. Members will claim that their constituencies consist of two halves or numerous parochial parts; I am another in that respect, and Batley and Spen is very much that kind of constituency. It is a joy to represent such a diverse community.

    Batley and Spen is a gathering of typically independent, no-nonsense and proud Yorkshire towns and villages. Our communities have been deeply enhanced by immigration, be it of Irish Catholics across the constituency or of Muslims from Gujarat in India or from Pakistan, principally from Kashmir. While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.

    My constituency is also home to Fox’s Biscuits and Lion Confectionery, so I am sure you will not think it an indulgence, Mr Speaker, if I describe Batley and Spen as a constituency with an industrial heart wrapped in a very rich and pleasant Yorkshire landscape—geographical, historical and cultural.

    The spirit of non-conformity is as prevalent now in my part of west Yorkshire as it was in the time of my two immediate predecessors, Mike Wood and Elizabeth Peacock. They were both known for offering their own brand of independent, non-conformist service, albeit in very different ways. I intend to maintain that established tradition in my own unique style.

    Of course, Batley is a town that has sent Labour MPs to this place for the best part of a hundred years. One of them, Dr Broughton, is of course famously credited with bringing down a Government, so I respectfully put the right hon. Members on the Front Bench opposite on notice. The Spen valley has a far more chequered political history, alternately sending Labour and Conservative MPs here to Westminster for much of the 20th century. Nothing made me prouder on 8 May than to be sent to this place with an increased Labour majority, proving again that in my neck of the woods non-conformity is what we do best.

    As I have already alluded to, we make things in Batley and Spen; we do so now, just as we did historically. Batley and Spen has a high proportion of people working in manufacturing, and we can boast the full range of industries, including high-skilled, precision engineering. We manufacture all sorts, from beds to biscuits, and from carpets to lathes. We also have some of the best fish and chips in the country, and some of the best curries in the world.

    However, what many of our businesses are lacking is confidence: confidence to expand; confidence to borrow; confidence to grow; and the confidence to fuel a real economic recovery that benefits everybody, offering decent jobs, paying decent wages and bridging the skills gap. Key to changing that situation is a fundamental shift in attitude towards regional economic regeneration. It is time to give city and county regions the powers and resources they need to promote growth, and I will happily work with all of those who are genuinely committed to building an economic powerhouse in the north. This agenda has to have at its centre a commitment to connect towns and villages in constituencies like mine to thriving city hubs, and to deliver a financial offer in the forthcoming July Budget that gives this worthy goal a real chance of success. Yorkshire folk are not fools: talk about devolving power to cities and regions, while simultaneously stripping them of the resources to deliver and subjecting northern councils such as Kirklees to the harshest of cuts, is not compatible with a worthy commitment to building a northern powerhouse to drive growth and prosperity.

    Businesses in my constituency want help to address the skills mismatch at local level which leaves employers with staff shortages and young people without jobs. They want access to reliable sources of finance, including a network of local banks. They want to connect to a regional infrastructure that works for them, not rail price hikes of more than 126% and endless delays to key transport projects such as the electrification of the line from Manchester to Leeds. Many businesses in Yorkshire want the security and stability of Britain’s continued membership of the European Union, a cause I look forward to championing passionately in this place and elsewhere.

    The key question is: will the Government’s actions match their northern powerhouse rhetoric? HS2 is not the only acid test. There are two bigger challenges. First, will the Government really devolve all the powers and decisions that could and should be taken locally and regionally? My test will be this: if there is a compelling reason for this to be a national decision then so be it; if not, it should be devolved. Secondly, will the Government really take the whole range of their decisions—on transport, research and development, planning, education and skills—in the interests of rebalancing the economy and growing the north?

    I am Batley and Spen born and bred, and I could not be prouder of that. I am proud that I was made in Yorkshire and I am proud of the things we make in Yorkshire. Britain should be proud of that, too. I look forward to representing the great people of Batley and Spen here over the next five years.