Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-06-08
Topic: Energy
Questions: The whole House will unite behind the Prime Minister on his determination to hold Ukrainian war criminals to account, but is he aware that there are five alleged Rwandan war crimes perpetrators living freely in the UK, who have been doing so now for 16 years and have neither been extradited nor put before the British courts under our existing laws? As he prepares to go to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Rwanda, will he look carefully at this issue, because it is bound to be raised with him? Will he reassure the House and the Rwandan Government that he takes these matters extremely seriously, and that what has so far been justice massively delayed for 16 years will not be grotesquely denied?; Changing the subject completely, in North East Hertfordshire we are very concerned about sewage overflows into our precious chalk streams. This is damaging to the flora and fauna, and also restricts the use of these precious streams for leisure. The Environment Act 2021 includes some important measures, and I welcome the fact that the Government have consulted on their reduction plan for storm overflows, but when can we expect to see meaningful improvements and real reductions in the amount of sewage going into our rivers?; Earlier this week, the Prime Minister wrote that“you cannot just spend your way out of inflation, and you cannot tax your way into growth…We will cut the costs of government.” Hear, hear—I completely agree. May I suggest that, as a strong start, he scraps the inflated white elephant that is HS2, saving the Government tens of billions of pounds from a budget that is spiralling out of control?; The north Wales mainline railway has had little investment for more than a century. In practice, that means that jobs at Manchester airport are poorly accessible to many of my constituents: they face a two-hour commute, whereas a similar journey in the south-east of the country takes just 45 minutes. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that the north Wales line features in the updated rail network enhancements pipeline at the decision-to-develop stage?; Despite the Prime Minister’s promises of new hospitals and more doctors and nurses, the Brontë birth centre at my local hospital in Batley and Spen is temporarily shut and is at risk of permanent closure due to staff shortages and lack of resources. The reality on the ground is that after 12 years of Conservative mismanagement, the NHS is broken. Can the Prime Minister explain to expectant parents in my constituency why, despite his promises, they are now forced to travel miles to give birth, and why his Government voted against the effective long-term workforce plan for the NHS proposed by his right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Jeremy Hunt)?; Will my right hon. Friend join me in complimenting Bradford on becoming the 2025 city of culture? Will he also praise the team from Durham, who gave a fantastic representation of what County Durham had to offer? Bradford must really be extraordinary to have beaten us.In 2025, Durham will celebrate the bicentenary of the Stockton and Darlington passenger railway, which of course will distract people from Bradford. I believe that my right hon. Friend is the best person to lead on delivering levelling up for the north-east. To that end, will he encourage progress on the Ferryhill station development, reinvigorate the Leamside line and help to deliver a great county deal for County Durham?;   In Monday’s confidence vote the Prime Minister secured the support of just two of Scotland’s 59 MPs, which means that, from the massed ranks of his Scottish Conservative colleagues, he secured as much support as there are pandas in Edinburgh zoo. The Prime Minister is an intelligent man, and he must know that that position is untenable. If he is not going to do the decent thing and resign as Prime Minister, surely it is past time that he wrote a letter of resignation to himself to stand down as Minister for the Union.; Last week, the Princes Centre in Princes Risborough, which supports adults with a variety of mental health challenges, learning disabilities and conditions such as dementia, celebrated 10 years as an independent daycare provider. It was clear to me from my recent visit what a happy, welcoming and supportive atmosphere had been created for all service users. Will my right hon. Friend join me in thanking and congratulating the manager, Kim Challoner, and her whole team of staff, volunteers and trustees on delivering this first-class service, and as Chequers is but a hop, skip and a jump from Princes Risborough, will he deliver those congratulations in person?; I would have more sympathy with the words “get on with the job” if it had actually started in the first place. Two weeks ago, the Prime Minister told the House: “To the best of my knowledge, everybody is getting their passport within four to six weeks .”—[Official Report, 25 May 2022; Vol. 715, c. 287-288.]However, the Passport Office is currently quoting a 10-week service time, and many of my constituents are waiting considerably longer than that. Cancelled summer trips could cost families more than £1 billion. Does the Prime Minister accept that the Passport Office’s backlog is placing additional pressure on families who are already struggling with the cost of living crisis?;   As my right hon. Friend knows, my constituency is facing unrealistic housing targets, which is putting pressure on the council to try to develop a local plan that would close a successful working docks and mean the loss of beloved open spaces such as Deangate Ridge, all in the name of meeting an arbitrary target. Can he reassure my constituents who are facing this level of over- development that there will be greater flexibility in respect of housing numbers, so that the council can produce a local plan that delivers appropriate housing while protecting important sites such as those?; My constituent Mark is trying to sponsor two sisters from Ukraine to come to the UK. These two sisters were housed in dangerous temporary accommodation in Montenegro for several weeks while the UK Home Office refused to process the application of the younger sister because she is 13 and travelling without her parents, even though she had her 18-year-old sister with her. The 18-year-old sister is now in London but the 13-year-old sister has been sent back to her home town in Ukraine, which is under siege. Will the Prime Minister tell me, hand on heart: does he think sending vulnerable children back to a war zone is the right policy?; The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra and the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra are due to visit the UK this summer to perform at the BBC Proms, the Edinburgh Festival and other venues. Other European countries are waiving their visas, but to get to the UK, the musicians are facing visa delays and prohibitive visa costs of £18,000 and £10,000 respectively. We should be doing all we can to support these Ukrainian musicians, so will the Prime Minister match our European neighbours and enable these Ukrainian artists to tour to the UK this year by expediting their visa applications and waiving their visa fees?; The poorest in this country currently pay the highest fuel costs through prepayment meters that have higher standing charges and higher tariffs. Belgium ensures a social tariff for the poorest and most vulnerable. As the perverse and pernicious euphemism of self-disconnection enters the lexicon—when in fact it is a politically imposed choice, not something chosen by individuals—is it not time that we provided a social tariff and ended the injustice of prepayment meters?
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Member and I can tell him that what we are doing right now is helping 8 million households across the country with £1,200 of support, £300 for pensioners who are in receipt of the cold weather payment, plus £400 for every household in the country. That is the support we are giving right now to help people with the cost of energy. The only reason we can do it, as I have said before to the House, is because of the strength of the economy and the brave, tough calls we got right during the pandemic.