Engagements — House of Commons, 2017-03-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: Telford is a story of transformation and progress. From the ironmasters of the first industrial revolution through to a new revolution in high-tech manufacturing at Telford’s T54 today, it has helped to build Britain. As the Government deliver on the democratic will of the British people and trigger article 50, will my right hon. Friend tell us how Telford will prosper from Brexit and from her plan for Britain?; For centuries, Prime Ministers have taken a close personal interest in the effectiveness of Dover and the channel ports as gateways to and guardians of the kingdom, so may I ask my right hon. Friend to take a close interest in making sure that Kent ports are ready for Brexit on day one, and not just in terms of customs, but with the M20 lorry park on schedule, and the A2 upgrade and the lower Thames crossing being taken forward? Mr Speaker, will you join me and the Prime Minister in wishing Dame Vera Lynn a happy 100th birthday this week and thanking her for her service to the white cliffs and to the nation?; With her strong commitment to defence, does my right hon. Friend agree that we must stem the outflow from our shrinking forces? I urge her to reconsider the policy that she inherited of encouraging service families to get on to the housing ladder on the one hand, while on the other hand increasingly focusing the Army in areas where there is no affordable housing, and then applying the new landlord tax arrangements to buy for let.; The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be 95 years old in December. In that UK, Scottish economic growth is a quarter of that of independent Iceland and a third of that of independent Ireland. Given that the Prime Minister supports Irish independence and the benefits that that has brought to Ireland’s economy and population, why does she oppose it for Scotland? Will she show Scotland the respect that the EU showed the UK in regard to a referendum?; Last week, with cross-party support, my hon. Friend the Member for Chippenham (Michelle Donelan) and I set up the all-party group on Lyme disease. This debilitating disease is a growing problem across the country, including in my constituency, yet awareness of it among the public and GPs is incredibly low. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that her Government do all they can to raise the profile of the disease and to resolve the problems surrounding both diagnosis and treatment?; During yesterday’s Adjournment debate, the Minister of State, Department of Health, the hon. Member for Ludlow (Mr Dunne), said that the issue in hand was above his pay grade. On the basis that the Prime Minister has the top pay grade, can she give us a clue about when we will see the long-awaited and very late tobacco control plan?; A substantial number of Ministers took the opportunity to visit Cumbria recently and saw for themselves not only its beauty, but its industrial strengths and potential. If the Government’s industrial strategy is to succeed, places such as Cumbria need to be part of that success. Will the Prime Minister ensure that Cumbria gets the infrastructure investment that it requires to ensure that it really does fulfil its potential?
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My ministerial colleagues and I were delighted to be able to take the opportunity to visit the beautiful county of Cumbria, and we are even happier now that Cumbria has another strong voice in the form of my hon. Friend the Member for Copeland (Trudy Harrison), a Conservative MP My hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (John Stevenson) is right: Cumbria and the north-west have huge industrial potential. That is why we are getting on with delivering our investment plans throughout the country, including the north-west. Let me give the House some figures: £556 million has been allocated from the local growth fund to boost local productivity; and the north is getting £147 million to tackle congestion and improve local transport. However, it is our plan for Britain that will deliver that stronger, fairer economy and those higher-paid, higher-skilled jobs for people throughout the country.