Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-12-01
Topic: Mixed Topics
Questions: Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister will know that we will not be able to stop the endless waves of illegal migrants crossing the English channel until we break free from the constraints of the European convention on human rights, which impedes our ability to tackle this tragic situation and protects even the most violent criminals from being deported. Does he agree that it is time to take back control and fulfil our 2015 manifesto commitment to get rid of Labour’s Human Rights Act and bring in a British Bill of Rights?; Britain has some of the most unaffordable childcare in the developed world, which reduces opportunities for working families, particularly single parents, deepens gender pay gaps and makes levelling up much harder. Will the Prime Minister meet me to discuss the proposal in my just-published policy paper “Poverty Trapped” for an immediate review to design out these internationally uncompetitive costs, while still delivering a safe and enriching level of care for our children too?; More needs to be done to tackle the people trafficking gangs that exploit migrants across Europe, promising to get them to this country. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is totally unacceptable that companies such as Facebook allow those smugglers to offer their services on their platforms—not only routes into the country, but the sale of forged British papers in order to aid their access? Does he agree that when this House passes the Online Safety Bill we will have the power to do more to make companies such as Facebook take down content that promotes illegal activity?; Women have been left with internal damage and pain that they describe as being like “razor blades inside them”. Many have lost their careers and some have even lost their lives. It is impossible to know exactly how many women are left suffering. So why will the Prime Minister not give these mesh-damaged women the redress that they were recommended in the Cumberlege report?; The levelling-up agenda has already changed so many areas of our country for the better. In my constituency, our town centre in Worksop is in desperate need of regeneration and of finally solving our flooding problems. Unfortunately, my council in Bassetlaw missed the deadline for the latest round of grants. What can this Government do to help support areas such as mine, which have struggled with their bids, in order to make sure they are successful the next time around?; Between 2010 and 2019, West Midlands police lost 2,221 officers. The force should receive an additional 1,200 new recruits by 2023 via the police uplift programme, but that will still leave a shortfall of 1,000 officers. This lack of frontline police has left the force stretched and under significant pressure, with officers telling me that“there are simply insufficient resources to investigate every crime.”Will the Prime Minister commit to providing West Midlands police with a fairer funding deal to ensure that the force can return officer numbers to 2010 levels?; Last week, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, the hon. Fabian Picardo, appeared before the European Scrutiny Committee and gave evidence about the continuing negotiations between Gibraltar and the European Union on their future relationship. The Chief Minister made it clear in his evidence that his ambition was that Gibraltar’s future should be “British, British, British”. Will my right hon. Friend say what the Government are doing to support the Chief Minister to achieve that aim and, in particular, to exclude any role for the European Court of Justice?; My constituency of Edinburgh West has some of the most polluted streets in our country. An estimated one in 29 deaths in Edinburgh are related to air pollution and we do not meet World Health Organisation guidelines, so will the Prime Minister meet me to discuss whether his Government can support my private Member’s Bill, which would tackle the issue, bring us into line and let us all breathe a little easier?; Last month, the drug company Pfizer announced the successful trial of a new treatment called Paxlovid. The trial showed the drug to be roughly 90% successful, or better, at stopping death. Our current vaccine strategy is an enormous success, but it leads to a never-ending biological arms race against the mutating virus. As a supplement to a vaccine strategy, this treatment will allow Governments around the world to avoid the need for future emergency restrictions. What are the Government doing in the short term to secure supplies of this revolutionary treatment and in the long-term to enable the building of factories to produce it in Britain?; Wales has 11% of the UK rail network, yet receives only 2% of UK rail enhancement funding and, as reported on WalesOnline, will be denied billions of consequential funding from HS2. Having under-delivered on rail in the north, and having under-delivered on rail in Wales, why should anyone trust this Government to deliver on their promises?; Getting investment into Gedling is important. At a previous PMQs, I put aside my political differences with Labour-run Gedling Borough Council to champion its levelling-up fund bid, which, like other funding bids that it has made was sadly unsuccessful. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is important that councils such as Gedling now take stock and learn from this experience and will he confirm that help from Government will be available to do that so that, in future, hopefully Gedling and other councils will be able to make more successful bids.
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, of course, we are very happy to help Gedling and other Labour-run councils to get their act together where necessary and to put in those bids. Just to remind my hon. Friend, more levelling-up fund bids come due in the spring of next year, and I wish Gedling well in its future bids.