Engagements — House of Commons, 2018-07-11
Topic: Transportation
Questions: As a proud Welshman and a proud Brit, I say, “Come on England!”Crime is on the increase in the Ribble Valley, including antisocial behaviour orders, but the response from the Labour police and crime commissioner is to close front desk services at police stations, including Clitheroe police station. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we do not better protect the public by degrading the service that they pay for?; My right hon. Friend will be aware that in London we have experienced a 377% increase in moped crime in the past two years. As the Mayor of London has so failed to tackle crime, will my right hon. Friend ensure that the Government intervene to make London the safest city in the world?; There are growing concerns in my constituency about the proposed changes to planning powers for fracking applications being put forward for consultation by the Government and specifically the idea of treating non-fracking shale exploration as permitted development. Will my right hon. Friend update me on when the consultation will be open, and does he agree that these kinds of planning application must come forward on the basis of local authority consent?; The artificial pancreas, which is championed by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, has the potential to transform the lives of those with type 1 diabetes. Will the right hon. Gentleman agree to look at ways to increase access to diabetes technology, including the artificial pancreas and continuous glucose monitoring, so that everyone with type 1 diabetes will have access to the best available technology?; While we enjoy the summer weather, it does, of course, present challenges to our farming community. Will my right hon. Friend join the National Farmers Union and me in calling for people not to use sky lanterns, preferably ever, but certainly not during such a tinder-dry harvest? Our food producers deserve our support.; Since the collapse of Carillion six months ago, the new Royal Liverpool Hospital has stood unfinished and empty—a monument to corporate greed. Hospitals are for treating the sick, not lining the pockets of investors, so instead of waiting for commercial lawyers and accountants, holding secret meetings with no public accountability, will the Government now call in this contract, buy out the investors and deliver a publicly owned, publicly run hospital for the people of Liverpool?; Given the NATO summit this week and the range of threats that this nation faces, including the appalling use of nerve agents on British soil, will my right hon. Friend reassure me and my constituents that the Government will continue to see NATO as the bedrock of Britain’s defence?; Until she was raped at the age of 18, my constituent led a healthy and happy life. Since then she has suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder, seizures and blackouts, panic attacks, anxiety and depression, and is heavily reliant on her mother’s care. The Department for Work and Pensions has refused to award her the enhanced rate of personal independence payment on the basis that when she presented herself for her assessment, she was not demonstrating those particular symptoms. As a result, her mother is unable to claim income support and carers allowance, which is placing financial hardship on top of severe emotional distress. May I ask the right hon. Gentleman to arrange a meeting for me with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions? What my constituent has experienced is, I am afraid, another example of what we see week in, week out in our surgeries: the cruel and inhumane consequences of this Government’s welfare policies.; Every Member of Parliament will have about 1,000 constituents who are on the autistic spectrum, and who will suffer from anxiety and often, in crisis moments, will not know where to turn. All of us here are familiar with the expression, “Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.” This week sees the launch of Molehill Mountain, a free, groundbreaking smartphone app that has been developed by the charity Autistica, and which will help autistic adults to manage their anxiety. Will my right hon. Friend join me in welcoming this fantastic new app, which could help many people to manage their fears?; The Information Commissioner has fined Facebook for its involvement in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and the Electoral Commission has concluded that the leave campaign broke electoral law. Is now not the time to set up a judge-led inquiry into the Brexit referendum? If the British people have been duped by Brexit shysters, they deserve to know about it.; I do not consider myself to be a Brexiteer, but two years ago, when asked to make a choice about the future direction of the country that I love, I voted to leave the European Union, knowing that thatwould be difficult but believing that our nation could make it work. I was not alone, and I have now been joined by those who voted remain and wish to respect our democracy. Does my right hon. Friend agree that across our continent people are feeling dangerously ignored, and that if democracy is to mean what we all thought it did, tomorrow’s White Paper will show that we in Britain, at least, will not deny the instruction that our people have given us?; I am sure the Minister will want to join me in thanking hospices across the country for the fantastic work they do supporting the terminally ill and their families, and especially the Pendleside Hospice, which supports my constituents, but is he aware that over the last eight years average Government grants have been cut from 32% to 20%, and that as these charities are outside the “Agenda for Change”, they are not eligible to apply for funding to cover the NHS pay award? Will he today give a commitment that the Government do value the work of hospices and will he step in to get some extra funding to cover this award?; Cornwall gets back some of our money from the EU in regional aid. Much of that money was, and is, used to invest in agrifood, in which I believe Cornwall is a world leader. How will this investment be able to continue without falling foul of state aid rules in this sector when the Government have said there will be a common rulebook?; Members of my family were either killed or badly injured working in the coalmines of the South Wales valleys. We owe all of our miners a debt of gratitude, yet in recent years the Treasury has raked in billions of pounds from their pension schemes, so will the Chancellor meet me, retired miners and coalfield community MPs to fix this injustice?
David Roy Lidington (Conservative, Centre-right): As regards GTR, improvements are simply not happening quickly enough, despite the assurances that the operators have given. We have launched a review of Govia Thameslink, which will report in the next few weeks. If those findings show that Govia is at fault, we will not hesitate to take action, whether through fines, restricting access to future franchises or stripping it of the franchise. Passengers deserve a far better service than they are getting at the moment, and we will hold those operators to account.