Engagements — House of Commons, 2018-10-31
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: May I welcome what my right hon. Friend said about Armistice Day? That will be welcomed by the 1st Battalion, The Rifles, who are based in my constituency.The Prime Minister will know that the tax burden is approaching a 50-year high and that we do not help families with the cost of living by raising their taxes, so I am really pleased that we kept our promise to cut taxes for 32 million people. May I ask her to make sure that as the economy grows we continue both to cut taxes and to spend money on our priorities in a balanced way that works for everyone in our country?; CLIC Sargent, a wonderful cancer charity for children, has found that families in Harlow face a 54-mile round trip to get to their nearest treatment location, costing them up to £161.58 per month. Average families taking their children for cancer treatment are paying £180 per month. Given the huge £20 billion increase in the NHS budget, will my right hon. Friend meet me and CLIC Sargent, and introduce a young cancer travel fund to help those families with the cost of living?; I always thought the Chancellor was a bit iffy about Brexit, but how wrong I was. This week he announced a Brexit dividend Budget if we come out of the European Union with no deal. He will be able to cut tariffs, abolish VAT on certain products, and reallocate the £39 billion that he was going to give to the EU to this country, cutting taxes, improving public services, and lowering debt. Prime Minister, I always thought that you could be the Queen of Brexit, but did you ever think that the Chancellor could be the King of Brexit?; In 2014, I wrote to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the then Chancellor to ask how much tax was unpaid on letting income from private landlords. HMRC wrote back to me and said that it was £500 million, in its estimate, which is enough to build about 7,000 social homes. How much is that tax gap now?; It is 47 years ago this week that the UK’s last space launch took place through the Black Arrow project. Many of us feel that that is too long. While the confirmation of the vertical spaceport in Scotland is very welcome, the real prize is to be first to market with horizontal launch capability. As the Prime Minister will know, Spaceport Cornwall is well placed to deliver that prize. Will she confirm that the Government remain ambitious to be a first mover on horizontal launch, and will she back Spaceport Cornwall’s bid?; My hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) has told me about the harrowing evidence he witnessed during three weeks of hearings by the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse while it was investigating Nottinghamshire councils. I have also read some of the survivors’ courageous testimonies. I hope that when the inquiry panel publishes its recommendations next summer, the Prime Minister will accept them in full, but the survivors need help now. A suggestion that has come forward is that a small amount of money for survivors’ groups would have a disproportionate impact, providing support and encouraging others to come forward. Will she ensure that resources are made available to provide that help now?
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend, who I know has been consistent in pressing on the needs of the people of Yemen. We certainly back the US’s call for de-escalation in Yemen. He references our role in the United Nations Security Council. In fact, in March we proposed and co-ordinated a UN Security Council presidential statement, which called on the parties to agree steps towards a ceasefire. That remains our position, but as the Minister for the Middle East, my right hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), said in the House yesterday, "a nationwide ceasefire will have an effect on the ground only if it is underpinned by a political deal between the conflict parties."—[Official Report, 30 October 2018; Vol. 648, c. 775.] My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed that matter last night with Martin Griffiths, the UN special envoy. They agreed that the UK will continue to encourage all parties to agree to de-escalation and to a lasting political deal that will ensure that any ceasefire will hold in the long term.