Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-10-20
Topic: Public Lands
Questions: Having a prematurely born child in neonatal intensive care means that for families, every day can be a struggle —practically, financially and emotionally. Trying to continue with life as normal while racked with worry and a guilt that simply never leaves you is just not possible. That is why the Prime Minister’s commitment to deliver neonatal leave and pay for parents in that situation is so important. Will he meet me to discuss how quickly we can put that through Parliament so that parents get this support as quickly as possible?; Knowing my right hon. Friend’s commitment to UK bioscience, and his understanding of the exciting potential for improving mental health treatments for conditions such as depression, trauma and addiction, will he cut through the current barriers to research into psilocybin and similar compounds, so that the British public can receive, and British science research and British pharmaceutical companies can enable, potential treatments for those most debilitating conditions to be delivered at the earliest possible opportunity?; It is always a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford)—the new quiet man of British politics. [Laughter.] Long may it continue. The weekend before last, I went to sea with the Brixham trawlers. Brixham fish market is now turning over £1.4 million a week. It is looking forward to its share of the levelling-up fund, but it is also looking forward to the previously announced £100 million fisheries and seafood scheme. When will we see pillars 2 and 3 launched, and will the Prime Minister reaffirm his commitment to our coastal communities and our fishing sector?; Delivering new homes is key to levelling up, as is putting that power in the hands of local people and making sure we build the right number in the right places. However, my constituents, especially in Thievesdale and Ordsall, are concerned about over-intensive developments in our local plan. Will the Prime Minister confirm that the minimum housing requirement for Bassetlaw is 4,896, not the 10,000 claimed by the Labour-run council?; Tomorrow, at 2.50 pm, my constituency will fall silent as we mark exactly 50 years since Scotland’s largest peacetime explosion ripped through Clarkston Toll in East Renfrewshire. Ten shops were demolished by the ignition of gas, which had escaped from a fractured gas main beneath the shops. A passing bus was caught up in the blast. Twenty-two people died, mostly women, and over 100 were injured. Tomorrow, 50 years on, the community and the families will come together for a memorial service. Will the Prime Minister join me in acknowledging the terrible losses that many families locally suffered and the continuing sorrow in the community, and in reflecting that the victims of the Clarkston disaster must never be forgotten?
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for raising this anniversary. She is right to commemorate the victims of the Clarkston disaster. Our thoughts and our condolences continue to be with the families of those who lost loved ones. Of course, we must do everything in our power to make sure that no such tragedy is repeated.