Engagements — House of Commons, 2019-06-26
Topic: Health
Questions: One of the biggest restraints on what is a very positive economy in York and North Yorkshire is the lack of progress on devolution. Following the rejection of the One Yorkshire proposal, does the Prime Minister agree that we need a more local approach, such as a York and North Yorkshire deal to rival those of the big urban centres?; I am a firm believer that youth work is part of the answer to so many issues in our society and has a huge role to play in my constituency, but we are currently at risk of losing vital youth work qualifications. The review of those qualifications was announced on 1 April, but funding has been delayed in the system. If it is not secured, we are in danger of seeing universities and colleges drop the qualifications from 2020, so will my right hon. Friend ensure that the funding is signed off immediately and we can continue to train amazing youth workers?; Almost every infrastructure project across the UK requires British-made steel. The contracts for the next five years alone are worth £1 billion, but UK Steel and members of the Community trade union were yesterday asking me whether the Scunthorpe steelworks will still be working in five days’ time. Will the Prime Minister guarantee that, a month from now, before she leaves office, the Scunthorpe steelworks will still be open?; Universal credit is causing great hardship in my constituency. It is driving up debt and increasing food bank use. It is making people who are out of work worse off, and making people who are in work worse off. In her final weeks in office, will the Prime Minister act to halt the roll-out of this failed policy, or will she simply leave the injustice burning?; A recent YouGov poll on Islamophobia in the Conservative party revealed an astounding level of racism. Nearly 50% of those polled would not want a Muslim Prime Minister, while only 8% would be proud if there was one; 67% believe racist myths about Muslim communities, yet eight out of 10 do not think that it is a problem. In the light of that, and as one of the final acts of her premiership, will the Prime Minister finally agree to commission an external inquiry into Islamophobia within her increasingly “nasty party”?; Brexit uncertainty is hitting manufacturing businesses in my constituency. Local managing directors have told me that no deal would be absolutely catastrophic for them and for their exports to Europe, and that it will put local jobs at risk. One firm has already put workers on short-time working temporarily. Does the Prime Minister accept that her Government—and I include in this statement either of her likely successors—have made a catastrophic no-deal Brexit a more likely outcome?; Seven -year-old Talia Belaid, who is the daughter of my constituent, Gosia Szymanowicz, was abducted by her father and taken to Libya in 2012. The father returned here without Talia, and she remains in Libya with his mother. He was jailed but released on licence in 2017, and he has now absconded and is not reporting to the Home Office. All Gosia’s legal avenues have been exhausted and she is really desperate. Will the Prime Minister please use every channel available during her final weeks in office to secure Talia’s return to her mother in the UK?; On Friday, a 14-year-old girl with autism and a learning disability was placed in a secure mental health unit 150 miles from home. Her mother has already had to stop work and her parents are trying to scrape together the money to find temporary accommodation there, so that they can be near their child. Does the Prime Minister not agree that we really need decent, trusted facilities for distressed children in every community, so that families do not have to go through this?
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady makes an important point. The emphasis in the national health service that we are putting on dealing with mental health and on improving the support that is available is a part of this issue. I held a roundtable to look at the outcomes of our review of the Mental Health Act 1983, at which the types of circumstances in which people are provided for were raised. The NHS is looking at this matter very carefully, and we are ensuring that funding is available for further facilities to be provided.