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Tag: Maggie Throup

  • Maggie Throup – 2023 Speech on the Budget

    Maggie Throup – 2023 Speech on the Budget

    The speech made by Maggie Throup, the Conservative MP for Erewash, in the House of Commons on 20 March 2023.

    I would like to add my name to the growing list of Members with a science degree. My hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Mr Wragg) will be pleased to hear that it is from the University of Manchester.

    Since I was last able to make a contribution to a Budget debate from the Back Benches, the economic outlook, both at home and abroad, has shifted dramatically. The aftermath of the pandemic, compounded by the effects of the war in Ukraine, has left many of the world’s leading economies battling a combination of high inflation and mounting debt.

    My right hon. Friend the Chancellor is to be commended for the measures he has brought forward to meet the target of halving inflation by the end of the year, to continue to support people with record high energy bills and, crucially, to avoid a recession. That is not just my assessment, but one reflected in the feedback I received on the doorsteps from my constituents across Erewash this weekend as we were out canvassing. They described the Chancellor’s statement as measured, confident and logical.

    I want to focus on tech, and specifically the support for the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. Everyone will remember the important role the MHRA played during the pandemic. It was the first medicines regulator to authorise a vaccine against covid-19. Its worldwide reputation is second to none. Many other regulators quickly followed in its footsteps in authorising vaccines, as they trusted its decisions. It was not just the fact that it was first on so many occasions in approving new vaccines—including the bivalent vaccine, effective against the original Wuhan strain and omicron—but the way it did it.

    Traditionally, the different stages of clinical trials are carried out sequentially, but whether it was a vaccine or a therapeutic, the acceptance that regulation could be made on data generated by stages of clinical trials carried out in parallel was a real and significant breakthrough. Yes, on most occasions the MHRA was first to authorise a vaccine from the variety of suppliers available, but on some occasions it was able to base its approval on Food and Drug Administration or European Medicines Agency approval.

    That type of linked-up working for a wider range of medicines is now being facilitated by the allocation of funding in the Budget. As has been acknowledged by Dr June Raine, the MHRA’s chief executive, the £10 million funding will be used to fund its ongoing innovation work and accelerate the development of groundbreaking global recognition routes. That will undoubtedly give UK patients faster access to the most cutting-edge medical products in the world.

    A few weeks ago, I was invited by the former chief executive of the British Bankers Association and one of my predecessors as the Member of Parliament for Erewash, Angela Knight, to speak to a delegation of senior business leaders, during which we discussed the importance of public health and the value of health tech to the economy. It is estimated that the private sector alone loses over 100 million workdays each year to sickness absences, greatly impacting on productivity and hindering wealth creation.

    To fully capitalise on the creation of new investment zones, as well as the expansion of UK civil nuclear, led by Derby-based Rolls-Royce, we must ask ourselves: how do we keep the UK workforce healthier for longer? The answer is through a combination of targeted public health measures aimed at prevention, such as tackling obesity and reducing levels of smoking, together with innovative health tech partnerships, such as the one signed by the Government and Moderna to invest in mRNA research and development and build a state-of-the-art vaccine manufacturing centre here in Britain.

    Returning to the targeted public health measures announced in the Budget, I especially welcome the £60 million for public swimming pools. I trust it will be distributed fairly to ensure that swimming pools such as those at West Park leisure centre in Long Eaton and Victoria leisure centre in Ilkeston can continue to be used by my constituents to support both their physical and mental health.

    This Budget is designed to inspire confidence in the British economy and will continue to provide the stability that has so often been the watchword of the Conservative Government led by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. My constituents stand to benefit greatly from the measures introduced to curb inflation, help with the cost of living—we heard about many aspects of that, including the change to prepayment meters and protecting energy payments—and safeguard vital public services. I am sure that many of my constituents will raise a glass or two to the Chancellor for again backing the British pub. I therefore look forward to backing the Budget in the Lobby tomorrow evening.

  • Maggie Throup – 2023 Speech on Removing VAT from Sunscreen Products

    Maggie Throup – 2023 Speech on Removing VAT from Sunscreen Products

    The speech made by Maggie Throup, the Conservative MP for Erewash, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    “It won’t happen to me”—that is what we all think. But then it does. It happened to me. Back in 2019, I noticed a blemish on my left arm. Knowing that both my parents had benign skin cancer, I decided to get it checked out. After a biopsy, my blemish was diagnosed as melanoma and I underwent surgery to remove the cancer. I was one of the lucky ones. The melanoma had not spread. I was not ill. I was discharged from the cancer specialist in 2020, free from melanoma. While I am left with an impressive scar on my left arm, the outcome could have been so different had I not been aware of the signs to look for and caught the cancer early.

    One in 36 men and one in 47 women in the UK will be diagnosed with melanoma in their lifetime. Tragically, 2,300 people die from the disease each year. That number has included a business acquaintance of mine, who very sadly passed away in his early 40s, and BBC Radio Derby presenter Colin Bloomfield, who passed away at the age of just 33 in April 2015 after his melanoma metastasised to his lungs.

    These deaths do not need to happen—86% of melanomas are preventable by adopting simple sun protection. That is why I back the call for sun protection of SPF 30 and above to be available VAT-free. I congratulate the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Amy Callaghan) on securing today’s debate and on all the work she has done on this issue.

    The Government can do a lot, but they cannot stop people going out in the sun; they can do a lot, but they cannot change the weather. But they can remove VAT from sunscreen. We need to remove every possible barrier that could stand in the way of people buying a life-saving product. At the same time, such a measure sends out the message that the Government are serious about tackling all types of cancer. From an economic perspective, a healthy workforce is a productive workforce. The cost to the NHS of not taking action against a preventable cancer must be huge. We need to break down the silos in the NHS, between the NHS and the Treasury, and between all Government Departments, and look at the cost of not removing VAT on such a product.

    As is often the case, each and every one of us needs to take some personal responsibility. They say that only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun. We should be taking the same preventive measures during the hot summer months here that we would if we were on holiday abroad. That includes seeking shade, wearing a hat and loose clothing, and keeping out of the sun when it is most prevalent. Through a combination of these actions, we will see a noticeable decline in cases of melanoma, which at the moment takes far too many lives, far too early, but the Government have a part to play as well.

  • Maggie Throup – 2023 Speech on Brownfield Development and the Green Belt

    Maggie Throup – 2023 Speech on Brownfield Development and the Green Belt

    The speech made by Maggie Throup, the Conservative MP for Erewash, in Westminster Hall, the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Fovargue, and I commend my right hon. Friend the Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton) for securing this important debate on a subject close to my heart. My hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham (Greg Smith) made an excellent point early on in his speech about the true definition of “green belt”, and the difference between that and agricultural land, but I reassure him that my examples today are about the green belt. Really, though, my message is more about “brownfield first”, because that is what we need to ensure.

    I first became involved in politics because of a community campaign to protect huge swathes of the green belt. I set up that campaign, and although it took eight years, I protected that swathe of green belt and stopped a motorway service station from being built. A number of years on, I am back here, once again talking about protecting the green belt. My message is that I will never give up.

    All colleagues have spoken passionately about the need to build on brownfield sites first. Like others, I understand that there is a need to build more houses in this country, including in Erewash, and to support those, such as our younger generations, who want to become homeowners, but that should not come at the expense of the green belt. I welcome the Government’s initial steps in pursuing the “brownfield first” policy; I am also pleased that they will end the so-called duty to co-operate, which made it easier for urban authorities to impose their housing on suburban and rural communities. However, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Theresa Villiers) said, I am wary of the watering-down of that commitment. The Government need to do more, but I emphasise that green-belt land should only ever be built on as a last resort.

    I am concerned that local authorities such as Erewash Borough Council are coming under increasing pressure to include green-belt land in their core strategy, partly due to unfair housing targets being imposed on them. Despite expressing my views to Erewash Borough Council, there are still plans to build 6,000 houses in the borough, the majority of them on the green belt, including around Kirk Hallam and Cotmanhay. I campaigned tirelessly to prevent those proposals from going ahead, but sadly without success. The description that the hon. Member for Hemsworth (Jon Trickett) gave of the impact on his community mirrors the impact that such building would have on my communities.

    We do have brownfield sites available across Erewash, as well as a considerable number of empty properties, mainly above retail sites in the town centres of Long Eaton and Ilkeston. Erewash has a proud industrial heritage, and there should be a planned approach to access those empty and derelict properties, with the option of converting them to residential properties. There are already some examples of that happening in Erewash, but not enough: the Poplar pub on Bath Street, which is the high street in Ilkeston, has now been replaced by housing and retail units. While it is always sad to see the demise of our pubs, that development will play its part in the redevelopment of Bath Street—so important for a thriving community—as well as taking pressure off our green belt. Maximising those kinds of opportunities first surely must be the strategy moving forward.

    On 21 March last year, I wrote to the Secretary of State requesting a meeting, along with the leader and chief executive of Erewash Borough Council, to discuss the specific situation in Erewash. That request was passed to the then Housing Minister—that was a few Ministers ago—but I am still waiting for that meeting. I welcome my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Rachel Maclean) to her place today; hopefully, she will be in post for a sufficient length of time for that meeting to take place.

    Today’s debate has provided a welcome opportunity to raise awareness of why the “brownfield first” policy is the right path to choose. It is clear that building on brownfield land plays an important role in regenerating our communities across the country. I welcome the Government’s initial steps to pursue the “brownfield first” policy. Nevertheless, they need to fully commit to it and do more.

  • Maggie Throup – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Waiting Times for Immigration Courts

    Maggie Throup – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Waiting Times for Immigration Courts

    The parliamentary question asked by Maggie Throup, the Conservative MP for Erewash, in the House of Commons on 10 January 2023.

    Maggie Throup (Erewash) (Con)

    What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on reducing waiting times for cases in immigration courts.

    Dean Russell (Watford) (Con)

    What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on reducing waiting times for immigration cases.

    The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice(Dominic Raab)

    We are committed to ensuring faster throughput in immigration and asylum tribunals to support the Government’s priority to combat dangerous small boats crossing the channel.

    Maggie Throup

    Does my right hon. Friend agree that the quickest way to end the use of hotels such as those in my constituency as temporary accommodation centres is to speed up the processing of immigration cases and, when cases are rejected by the courts, for the Government to act swiftly to remove failed claimants from the UK?

    Dominic Raab

    My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is part of the solution, and I am working closely with the Home Secretary on that. Our aim, working together, is to eliminate the backlog of people who claimed asylum before June 2022 by the end of this year. We will support the Home Office in delivering that so that we can end the use of hotels by 2024. Part of that is about the throughput, so we are doubling the number of decision makers in tribunals from 1,270 to 2,500. Digital can also play a role. Overall, we are driving forward that process to the ends that she describes.

    Dean Russell

    Further investment in the immigration process is welcome. However, last year we saw a stark increase in the number of people attempting to enter the country illegally in small boats. That is unsafe for those genuinely in need, unfair on those who moved to this country through safe and legal routes and unacceptable for the working people of the UK, including those of Watford, who foot the bill. As one of the Government’s priorities for the new year, will my right hon. Friend set out what practical steps are being considered, including by the Justice Department, to ensure that we have the most effective border in the world by 2025?

    Dominic Raab

    My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He will have heard what the Prime Minister said about the five pledges, one of which is to end the small boats coming across illegally. I mentioned what we are doing with the Home Office to get the backlog down in the immigration tribunal. My hon. Friend will know about the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, and the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister have also talked about further measures being brought forward shortly. Of course, the Labour party has opposed every single one of those measures. It is no surprise that, in 2010, the last Labour Government left a record backlog of asylum claims. We are the ones fixing that mess.

  • Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maggie Throup on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the evidential basis is for NHS England’s decision not to fund the pre-exposure drug prophyaxis for HIV for the at-risk population.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England has placed its position on the commissioning of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) under review. This review of the commissioning process will be undertaken by the Specialised Services Committee of NHS England in late May 2016. Depending on the outcome of that decision, a further decision taking account of the clinical evidence for PrEP, the evidence and demand for other new treatments not currently commissioned and NHS England’s available funding and priorities is currently planned for June 2016.

  • Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maggie Throup on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which areas have been chosen as test sites for the pre-exposure drug prophyaxis (PrEP); what selection criteria have been used to identify those test sites; and what measures his Department plans to use to assess the effectiveness of PrEP in the test sites over the next two years.

    Jane Ellison

    The planning of the process to select test sites, including timing and criteria for selection, will continue alongside NHS England’s review of its position on the commissioning of pre-exposure prophyaxis (PrEP).

  • Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maggie Throup on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the outcomes of the Anti-Corruption Summit in May 2016 on developing countries.

    Sir Desmond Swayne

    The commitments agreed at the London Summit could potentially achieve major benefits for developing countries including preventing their resources from being stolen and hidden abroad; ensuring international systems recover these funds whilst punishing perpetrators; and helping citizens have greater opportunities to seek justice against corruption.

  • Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maggie Throup on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the introduction of small scale DAB licensing for community radio stations.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The ten small scale DAB technical trials funded by DCMS have been positive with more than 80 smaller commercial and community radio stations broadcasting on DAB for the first time, including some new services. We are looking at options for new legislation to license small scale DAB multiplexes.

  • Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maggie Throup on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve the maintenance and safety of unadopted roads.

    Andrew Jones

    The maintenance and safety of unadopted roads or private streets are the responsibility of the land owner. The decision on whether or not local authorities adopt roads, and therefore maintain them at the public expense, rests with each individual local highway authority.

    To help improve the process around road adoption for new developments, my department has been working with housebuilders and local authorities on the production of an Advice Note. This was published for consultation in January 2016 and the final version should be published later this year.

  • Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maggie Throup on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to increase the powers of local authorities to (a) remove travellers camped illegally on public land and (b) recover site clean-up costs from those illegally settled on public land.

    Gavin Barwell

    Local authorities and the police have a range of strong powers that enable them to take action against unauthorised encampments and developments. Ministers sent a summary of these powers to all council leaders, Police and Crime Commissioners and Police Chief Constables in March 2015:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/418139/150326_Dealing_with_illegal_and_unauthorised_encampments_-_final.pdf

    The government is open to suggestions for how enforcement could be strengthened and continues to keep this issue under review.

    “