Engagements — House of Commons, 2019-10-02
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Questions: Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that legislation to establish a tough independent regulator of internet companies empowered to challenge the automatic right to anonymity online should be a priority for the Queen’s Speech?; On Saturday, I was out knocking on doors with my listening team, listening to the views of local people, as we do every week. The message to me, whether they were leave or remain voters, was crystal clear: get Brexit done by 31 October. Deputy Prime Minister, can you reassure my constituents that we will leave the European Union by the end of this month, come what may, no ifs, no buts?; Housing, I believe, is the first of the social services; without it, we cannot have education, productivity or health. The NHS has a diagnosis code for inadequate housing. The Department of Health wrote to me saying that poor housing costs the NHS £1.4 billion a year, but that figure is now four years old. Will the Secretary of State ensure that the Department of Health writes to me with the most up-to-date figures and places that information in the Library?; The Government update of the national planning policy framework published in July 2018 changed the policy we have had for generations of not building on the green belt. The policy now allows future development to be considered. Local planning authorities are coming under great pressure from developers who do not want to spend money to improve brownfield sites. Unspoilt areas such as the Seven Cornfields on the edge of my constituency are now under threat from inappropriate development by house builders who put profit above all else. We should not be building on such sites, especially at a time of concern for the environment. I ask the Prime Minister to review the green belt policy to protect areas such as the Seven Cornfields from developers.; On Monday, my constituent Richard should have been paid. It was the first time in his life that he was not. Richard, like many others whom I met with his union, Unite, was a dedicated employee of Thomas Cook. Given that the warning signs were there for months, if not years, will the Government use the extra parliamentary time that we now have to bring forward emergency legislation to stop a further airline collapse? Will the Government pledge now to expedite Richard’s redundancy pay and to recoup the millions taken by the directors in the past few months?; Can the First Secretary of State set out clearly and unambiguously for this House in what circumstances the Prime Minister will write to the EU Council President, as set out in the terms of the Benn Act?; My constituent Anne has an auto-immune condition and needs 20 tablets a day to control pain. This medicine is her lifeline, and without it she could die, but she has been warned that a no-deal Brexit will mean a severe risk to its supply. Can the Secretary of State say why his Government are willing to risk her life and many others by refusing to rule out no deal, choosing a policy of ruin over delay?; On 27 July in Manchester, the Prime Minister said he wanted to bring northern cities’ bus services up to the same level as London’s. Bus services are really important to my constituents. The problem is that, currently, Government funding for bus services is £75 a head in London but £5 a head in Sheffield. Although the Chancellor has announced a further £200 million for bus services, it would take half that money to bring Sheffield’s funding level alone up to London’s. Are the Government really going to fund the better bus services the Prime Minister promised for northern cities such as Sheffield, or have we again had a grand announcement from the Prime Minister that, on detailed examination, simply is not worth the paper it is written on?; This week I heard from my constituents Phil and Rachel Turner, whose five- year-old daughter Eliza has cystic fibrosis. They are planning to move to Scotland so she can receive the life-changing drug Orkambi on the NHS. Does the First Secretary of State agree that it is a tragedy that families should have to uproot their lives in that way? Can he confirm that funding will be found for children affected by this terrible disease so they can take up the treatment without delay? Furthermore, may I suggest that the Government should support Labour’s plan to set up a publicly owned generic drugs manufacturer that would supply medicines to the NHS at affordable rates?; The last Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), created a hostile environment for migrants that made them feel alienated and unwelcome in this country, examples being the descendants of Windrush, and now EU migrants. The current Prime Minister is creating an even more hostile environment for anyone who does not agree with the UK leaving the EU on 31 October without a deal, by invoking the language of war, and through talk of surrender, betrayal and capitulation. Why do this Government feel the need to whip up such hatred, animosity and division, when so many people are already suffering from the Government’s austerity?;   I recently met a victim of domestic violence who continues to live in isolation and terror, even now that the abusive relationship is over. This Parliament has a duty to her, and to every victim of domestic violence, to pass the Domestic Abuse Bill, which is finally having its Second Reading today. Will the Foreign Secretary promise her that this life-saving legislation will not fall due to Prorogation?
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I will certainly pass on my hon. Friend’s point directly to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and other Ministers, and will see what more can be done in the neighbourhood that he talks about. The reality is that some businesses and high streets are suffering, partly because of online competition, and partly because of consumer trends. We need to make sure that we boost high streets and businesses, and in particular the small businesses in this country that have created over 80% of new jobs. All that will be put at risk, frankly, by the damaging and counter-productive policies that the shadow Chancellor has come up with this week.