Engagements — House of Commons, 2021-09-22
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: Last week, members of the armed forces parliamentary scheme from across the House attended our excellent Defence Academy. What is striking is the number of service personnel from overseas who come to the UK to benefit from its world-class professional defence and security education. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this is a further illustration that, far from being a fifth wheel on the carriage, the UK is at the heart of ensuring global security, and that the AUKUS pact is one of the best ways to meet emerging threats, particularly in the South China sea?; [R] The bus and train operator FirstGroup continues to slash our transport services in West Dorset despite receiving millions of pounds of public money with no revenue risk at all, and having the worst rail line frequency in the country on the Heart of Wessex line. Will the Deputy Prime Minister directly intervene to save what little service we have on that three-hourly-frequency line or actively work to get a new operator that will?; As you know, Mr Speaker, Warrington is one of the fastest growing towns in the north of England, but our hospital, which is mostly Victorian, is creaking at the seams. Over the last year, the hospital has recruited an additional 240 new nurses and more than 100 doctors, but we need more beds. Will the Deputy Prime Minister speak to the Health and Social Care Secretary and ask him to back our bid for a new hospital in Warrington?; As the Scottish National party’s Westminster COP26 spokesperson, I welcome today’s announcement by Ineos of £1 billion of investment into cutting greenhouse gas emissions at its Grangemouth plant and supporting the carbon capture, utilisation and storage Acorn cluster at St Fergus in Aberdeenshire. It is a big step in the right direction. I must ask the Deputy Prime Minister this. Can he outline exactly what his Government have against the Scottish Government requiring real living wages for Scottish workers and net zero obligations in their green ports?; Later today, the Subsidy Control Bill will give us all a welcome chance to replace clunky and bureaucratic EU-derived laws with faster, simpler and more flexible UK rules instead. But does the Deputy Prime Minister agree that subsidies need strong controls so that they are not misused by—heaven forbid—a future Labour Government? Ministers have already committed to make the UK a world leader in subsidy transparency, so will he look carefully at proposals to publish details of more subsidies in future rather than fewer, as the Bill currently suggests?; I have known the right hon. Gentleman for some time and always got on quite well with him. He represents one of the wealthiest constituencies in the country. Will he assure me that he still believes in the redistribution of income in our country? Does he really believe in levelling up? If he does, will he ensure that Channel 4 stays in Leeds and stays in the public sector? It is essential to the growth of our tech economy in the north of England.; The Government say that, to protect the most vulnerable, they are compelling care workers to be vaccinated against covid-19 even though that is expected to force out 40,000 carers who have been on the frontline throughout the pandemic. Will my right hon. Friend set out why the same approach is not being taken to protect the most vulnerable in the national health service?; The increase in employers’ national insurance payments will place a huge burden on the public sector from local government to police and fire services. Can the Deputy Prime Minister tell the House what the financial impact of this will be both north and south of the border and if additional funding will be provided to ensure that there are no cuts to our vital public services?; A lot of the reason why I am standing in this Chamber today follows a chain reaction of events following the death of my father from a single-punch assault, but my dad is just one of many victims, which is why this week we are marking One Punch Awareness Week. May I ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will join me in showing his support for One Punch Awareness Week, and can I extend an invitation to him, and indeed to all colleagues right across the House, to join me immediately after PMQs in Westminster Hall to show that support?; Following the ill-informed and partisan comments from President Biden overnight, would the Deputy Prime Minister urge the Prime Minister to point out to those he meets in the US who actually care about political stability in Northern Ireland that, far from defending the Belfast agreement, the Northern Ireland protocol is now the single greatest danger to the political institutions? The situation is now time-critical. Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree with me that a solution that restores Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom’s internal markets is the only way to avert the collapse of the institutions, and such a solution must be found in weeks rather than months?; With fewer than 100 days until Christmas, many of our constituents will be choosing to shop for children’s toys online. There have, unfortunately, been incidents of young children swallowing small parts, such as batteries and magnets, that require invasive medical intervention. With rogue traders out there, how can consumers be satisfied that the toys they purchase via online marketplaces are safe, marked as age-appropriate and meet the required safety standards?
Derek Gordon Thomas (Conservative, Centre-right): All hon. Members enjoy the opportunity to eat British food, drink British drink and enjoy British flowers. I am joined by all of Cornwall’s MPs in pressing the Home Secretary to renew the seasonal agricultural workers scheme for next year—that is 30,000 people—and also to allow them to pick daffodils. Will the Deputy Prime Minister please speak to the Home Secretary, to remind her of the urgency of getting that scheme renewed?