Engagements — House of Commons, 2018-03-28
Topic: Health
Questions: May I commend my right hon. Friend for getting on with Brexit? Nearly 60% of voters in North Devon voted to leave. Rather than dismissing them as old people yearning for a world of white faces, should we not respect their decision, and get on and deliver it?; Out- standing staff dedication, the passion of my community and ambitious leadership have secured huge Government investment and nationally celebrated excellence. Does my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister agree that when the department is fully staffed, 24/7 consultant-led maternity services will be secured?; There are some beautiful stately homes in this country, but our heritage is equally about the history of working people. Shortly, the all-party parliamentary group on industrial heritage, which I chair, will publish its report into how best we can use that great industrial past for the jobs of the future. Will the Prime Minister meet me to discuss how best we can implement its recommendations?; The investigative reporter, Patrick Christys, has uncovered questions over serious data breaches by Labour headquarters. The Information Commissioner has been notified. Will my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister join me in asking the Information Commissioner to do a thorough investigation?; According to the National Audit Office, local councils have had their funding cut by a massive 49.1% since 2010. Children’s services up and down the country are on their knees, a Tory council has gone bust and the gap nationally is £5.8 billion. When will the Prime Minister wake up to this crisis made in Downing Street?; Will the Prime Minister join me in welcoming the recent figures that show that last year the number of first-time home buyers hit a 10-year record high of 359,000? Does she agree that last year’s stamp duty cut and the extension of Help to Buy played an important part in that? Does she agree that promoting home ownership, as Margaret Thatcher did, will remain a central part of the Government’s policy?; I asked my constituents what they would like me to ask. They overwhelmingly said how can the Prime Minister justify that from next week families in poverty, earning just £145 a week, are expected to find £10 per week for each of their children to eat a nutritious school dinner, while Members of this House, earning 10 times—[Interruption.]; Today is the most exciting day on which I have ever got to my feet in this House. The Government have today made an announcement that will improve the lives of every single one of my constituents in Telford. Today, the Government have announced a £312 million investment in new hospital services in our area. Will my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister join me in welcoming this fantastic news and the benefits it will bring to Telford? Will she also very kindly wish everyone in Telford a very happy Easter?
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very happy to wish everyone in Telford, and indeed around the country, a very happy Easter. I am very pleased to welcome, as my hon. Friend has done, the considerable investment announced by the NHS in the hospital that serves her constituents. This is another example of how all we ever hear from the Labour party is the NHS being done down in funding terms, when what we see on the ground is more money coming into the NHS, improving services and serving constituents.