Engagements — House of Commons, 2017-11-15
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: In April 2015, the residents of Brownsover saw their only GP surgery close in an area of Rugby that once had significant challenges but that, thanks to the great work of local councillors, has been regenerated. My constituents reluctantly accepted short-term pain for the long-term gain of a new surgery that would open the following summer. Regrettably, the project still has not yet started, so I wonder whether the Prime Minister might meet me and Brownsover patients’ action group to consider the slippage in this much needed facility.; Grand- parents have a vital role to play in the upbringing of their grandchildren, something which at a time of rising life expectancy they are better equipped than ever to fulfil. Does the Prime Minister therefore agree with me that we should send a strong signal from this House not only that there should be a presumption in their favour when it comes to adoption, but that they should be intimately involved in those decisions, which has been sadly lacking in my constituency?; Had the Prime Minister accepted my invitation to the universal credit summit in Inverness, she would have heard harrowing testimony from constituents and multiple agencies alike, including Macmillan Cancer CAB Partnership, who told us not only about patients dying while awaiting their payments, but about now being forced to self-declare that they are dying, even if they did not want the doctor to tell them their fate. Will she stop this wait, and end this cruel condition?; We are leaving the European Union, and as the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill goes through the House of Commons, does the Prime Minister agree with me that it is part of our job as Members of Parliament—some may even say it is our duty as Members of Parliament—to scrutinise that legislation; to debate considered amendments that seek to improve the Bill, and that are constructive and seek to ensure a smooth transition of our laws from the EU to the UK; and, importantly, to come together and deliver Brexit for our country and for the British people?; It has been almost a year since I stood in this Chamber, told my personal story and asked for a children’s funeral fund to be established. The Leader of the House recently expressed her sympathy for such a fund, and I have written to the Chancellor and urged him to include such a fund in next week’s Budget. Will the Prime Minister add her voice to mine, and ask her Chancellor to make this provision a reality?; Will the Prime Minister join me in praising the work of community transport providers such as CT4TC—Community Transport for Town and Country—in Amber Valley that provide services right around the country? Will she intervene to sort out the threat to the permit they use as not-for-profit providers, which threatens their services? In the meantime, will she issue guidance to confirm that there is no need for local councils to take enforcement action until that consultation is complete?; The Prime Minister is aware that BiFab, a firm that supplies the energy sector, might enter administration, which would put 1,400 jobs in Fife, Lewis and elsewhere in Scotland under threat. Will she work with BiFab, its workforce, the Scottish Government and Fife Council to do all they can? What specific action can she take?; Our NHS is a national treasure and we must be bold to protect it. Each week my constituents struggle to get an appointment with their doctors, while our fantastic doctors are stretched to the limit and practices are struggling to recruit. To safeguard our NHS, will the Prime Minister consider making medical students sign a contract committing them to working in the NHS for the first five years, thereby stopping the brain drain overseas of our newly qualified doctors?; The Foreign Secretary told this House that he has seen no evidence of Russian interference in UK elections or the referendum. Yet on Monday the Prime Minister warned Russia not to meddle in western democracies, and today The Times reports that fake Russian Twitter accounts churned out thousands of messages in an attempt to influence the EU referendum result. Has the Foreign Secretary been kept in the dark on the intelligence? Has he not read it, or is he wilfully blind? Will the Prime Minister now stop dragging her feet and set up the Intelligence and Security Committee to look urgently into the Kremlin’s attempts to undermine our democracy?; The harmful aspects of the internet are now causing a series of social policy emergencies, particularly among young people. Parents across the country will welcome the engagement of the Home Secretary with the industry on these issues, but will the Prime Minister tell us when we can expect legislation with real teeth that recognises our children only have one chance at childhood?; In the past month both Adam Ellison and Tommy Grace have been fatally stabbed in Prescot in my constituency. This is part of a 20% increase in violent crime in the past year. Since 2009, Merseyside police has lost over 1,700 frontline staff, including over 1,000—more than one in five—police officers. Some £82 million has been cut, with a further £18 million by 2021-22. How will the Prime Minister use the Budget to address the public’s rightful expectation of more police on the street? Merseyside’s budget has not been protected.; In July 2016, a 20-year-old man called Samuel Ciornei arrived in Barrhead from Romania. Three weeks later, in broad daylight, he held a shard of glass to the throat of a 14-year-old schoolgirl, forced her into bushes outside a local supermarket, and raped her. Last week, he was sentenced to nine years in prison. Will the Prime Minister explain what the Government are doing to stop dangerous individuals like Samuel Ciornei entering our country, and can she assure my constituents that Brexit will not result in the weakening or undermining of the security co-operation with our partners in the EU?; The Child Poverty Action Group recently published figures showing that, as a consequence of the cuts to universal credit and the benefits freeze, single parents with children stand to lose on average £2,380 per annum from the family. I ask the Prime Minister, when she was sitting down with her Government Ministers planning an absolute evisceration of single parents and families, whether today she feels a sense of shame.; A couple in my constituency have had their application for universal credit delayed because the mum does not have any photo identification. She cannot afford a passport and does not drive. They now have to wait for both her dentist and her doctor to provide identification. Given all the other chaos around universal credit, will the Prime Minister step in, show some common sense and transfer identification from legacy benefits over to universal credit, so that these unnecessary delays do not cause my constituents yet more pain and suffering?
Owen Smith (Labour, Centre-left): Thank you for granting this point of order, Mr Speaker, which relates to an incredibly important issue that was raised in Northern Ireland questions. When I asked the Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the hon. Member for Norwich North (Chloe Smith) whether women in Northern Ireland who were appealing for exemption under the so-called rape clause that currently applies there might be liable to prosecution because of the way in which that measure intersects with the criminal law in Northern Ireland, I was astonished to hear the Minister say no. She gave a one-word answer saying clearly that such women would not be liable to prosecution, but I have a letter from the Director of Public Prosecutions in Northern Ireland that directly contradicts that. What can you do, Mr Speaker, to get Ministers back to the House to correct what I believe to have been a misleading statement?