Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ben Bradley and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 27th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think the whole House will want to support the balance and symmetry of the Good Friday agreement. That is what really matters, and it is a great legacy for all of us. It is vital for the protocol—or the arrangements that we have in Northern Ireland—to command the support of all sides, and that is what this Government will undertake to ensure.

[Ben Bradley (Mansfield) (Con)]

6. I am grateful to the Prime Minister for the additional funds and support that Mansfield has received in recent years for education and skills, for tackling crime, and for our town centre, which will be bidding for the levelling-up fund this spring, but Mansfield residents now want to see the tangible outcomes of those capital funds for the town centre. Will my right hon. Friend look seriously at how we might help to accelerate the often lengthy process of moving from successful funding announcement to spades in the ground, so that our residents can benefit from those investments?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is a fantastic champion for Mansfield and, indeed, the wider area. I am delighted that Mansfield was awarded £12 million as part of the towns fund. I cannot endorse any specific project, but the next round is coming up shortly and will be announced in the autumn.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ben Bradley and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 9th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Actually, this Government have been absolutely clear that it is unacceptable to use the threat of firing and rehiring as a negotiating tactic. We welcome the ACAS report, which finds that fire and rehire should be used only in limited circumstances, such as to prevent job losses, when other options have been exhausted. We have therefore asked ACAS to produce clearer guidance to help employers with other options.

[Ben Bradley (Mansfield) (Con)]

  We are on a mission in the east midlands to create 84,000 jobs for local people. We are legislating for planning powers for our development corporation, which will work in tandem with our unique inland freeport. Decisions about HS2, and specifically the Toton hub, will have a huge impact on whether we can deliver on our vision for the east midlands. Will the Prime Minister meet me urgently, so that we can ensure we can deliver on that commitment to local people?

[The Prime Minister]

The east midlands could have no more fervent or effective a champion, and I congratulate my hon. Friend on his vision for the east midlands freeport and all the benefits that rail integration will bring. I know that he is about to have a meeting with ministerial colleagues to determine how the integrated rail plan can work with HS2 best to achieve his objectives.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ben Bradley and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 28th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think that what people think is that the Labour party is losing all the arguments across British politics, that it has nothing to say, and that it has no plan for our future and no vision for our country. People see a Conservative Government who are getting on with uniting and levelling up, with the most ambitious agenda any Government have had for generations, and I think that is what they are listening to.

[Ben Bradley (Mansfield) (Con) [V]]

Next week, residents here in Nottinghamshire will go out to vote for the first time since that incredibly successful 2019 election, where they elected a broad slate of Conservative MPs across every constituency in this county. Despite that success, many areas, such as Mansfield, in much of the new blue wall across the midlands and the north still have mainly Labour councillors at a local level. Does my right hon. Friend have a message for Nottinghamshire voters, who have the opportunity next week to elect a Conservative local team who can work with our MPs to deliver for Nottinghamshire?

[The Prime Minister]

I do, and I thank my hon. Friend for all the wonderful work that he does for his constituency. My message would be, yes, I hope that the people of Nottinghamshire will get out and vote Conservative. It is we who share their priorities on crime, on the NHS, on investment in infrastructure and on levelling up across our country, so I hope they will vote Conservative on 6 May.

Covid-19: Road Map

Debate between Ben Bradley and Boris Johnson

Monday 22nd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, and the hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. That is why we are investing an extra £52 billion into the NHS but also tackling the backlog caused by the pandemic in cancer and many other conditions. The point he makes should be attended to by all those who think that another wave of covid is something we can simply put up with easily. The NHS is already under terrific pressure, and the more covid we have, the more it displaces other vital treatments, as he rightly points out.

[Ben Bradley (Mansfield) (Con) [V]]

This morning I visited Manor Academy in Mansfield Woodhouse to see the amazing job it has done in setting up covid testing for pupils and staff. It is very keen to see its children back in school, as it knows that the inequalities that existed pre covid will only have been exacerbated by closures. Can my right hon. Friend assure the House that wide-ranging support will be offered to schools to address not just academic issues but the social and emotional challenges that many children will face as a result of those closures?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes. One of the most important things we can do is not just support kids’ mental health, address those issues and help teachers to address them, but also invest in one-on-one tutoring, which will be of massive value to kids who have come under particular stress and who have fallen behind but who may show great potential that needs to be unleashed. One-to-one tutoring is something we will be investing in heavily.

Covid-19: Winter Plan

Debate between Ben Bradley and Boris Johnson

Monday 23rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I will take up immediately the hon. Lady’s point about Hull and try to understand why it has not got the lateral flow tests that she rightly wants to see.

[Ben Bradley (Mansfield) (Con)]

Nottinghamshire went into tier 3 just a few days before the national lockdown, but it was a very stressful few days for the beauty industry in Nottinghamshire, which was uniquely forced to close, unlike in any other tier 3 area in the country. Given that the premise of the tiered regional system was to have consistent and fair restrictions in each tier across the country, will the Prime Minister assure me that he will seek to avoid those kinds of irregularities under the new restrictions to avoid the upset felt by beauticians and make sure it is fair for small businesses?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, we will indeed. As I said in my statement, we will make sure there is much more uniformity about the way we do things.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Ben Bradley and Boris Johnson

Monday 2nd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The furlough scheme is a UK-wide scheme and will continue to be available wherever it is needed.

[Ben Bradley (Mansfield) (Con)]

Sport and exercise are hugely important for the health and wellbeing of the nation. Youth and children’s outdoor sports are low risk in terms of both age groups and the activities, while people can take part in other sports such as golf without ever coming into contact with another soul. Such activities could help to mitigate some of the more negative impacts, both physical and mental, of lockdown, and in my view the benefits outweigh the risks. Will the Prime Minister consider very carefully allowing some of these outdoor low-risk activities to continue?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, but I must repeat what I said earlier on: there is a wide range of activities that many people would like to pursue, but the risk is that they will have chains of human contact whether they like it or not, and increase the risk of transmission. That is why we have set out the measures that we have.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Ben Bradley and Boris Johnson

Monday 12th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to Steve Rotheram and other leaders in that area for the support they are giving for the measures we are putting in place. I think that they understand the real dilemma that we face, which is that we must get the virus down but we must also keep the economy going and support jobs. That is what we are doing.

[Ben Bradley (Mansfield) (Con)]

It is really frustrating that Mansfield is heading into new restrictions when our rate of transmission is 10% of that of Nottingham city—despite being further away from it than Derby, for example, which is not being similarly restricted. I understand the need to get ahead of the virus, but I argued strongly against these arbitrary-seeming boundaries. Can my right hon. Friend assure me that this will be regularly and properly reviewed, and that Mansfield will not be automatically tied to the city’s fate when it comes to removing these restrictions in the future?

[The Prime Minister]

I understand completely the frustrations of the people of Mansfield. I am afraid that further restrictions are necessary across the country in the way that we have outlined today, but of course they will be reviewed very regularly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ben Bradley and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 23rd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

These are indeed tough times and I have no doubt that many businesses and many employees are feeling a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty and we will do our level best to protect them throughout this period. But we will get through this by precisely the methods that we have outlined and that were agreed upon in the House yesterday. The reality of the Opposition position has been exposed—the cat is out of the bag—because the shadow Education Secretary said of the current crisis,

“don’t let a good crisis go to waste.”

That is the real approach of the Labour party—seeking to create political opportunity out of a crisis, out of the difficulties and dangers this country is going through, while we are taking the tough decisions to get the virus down, to keep our education system going and to keep our economy moving. The right hon. and learned Gentleman supported that yesterday. I hope that, in a spirit of togetherness and unity, he will continue to give it his support.

[Ben Bradley (Mansfield) (Con)]

  Our local football clubs are hugely important to our communities and Mansfield Town is a fine example of a club that both works with and invests in our town. Many sports clubs around the country have found that their hopes of welcoming fans back to stadiums next month have been dashed. Given that many Football League clubs are so reliant on gate receipts to be viable, will my right hon. Friend assure me that he will do everything possible to support those clubs, both as businesses and for the communities that rely on them?

[The Prime Minister]

I know what a passionate supporter of Mansfield Town my hon. Friend is and I want to thank John and Carolyn Radford for all they have done for the club. The Secretary for State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is in active consultations with clubs across the country to see what we can do to help.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ben Bradley and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 6th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The furlough scheme has been one of the outstanding provisions that the Government have been able to put in. It has given huge numbers of people—more than 6 million people—in this country the security that they need. Obviously, we want to make sure that people continue to feel that security, but at the same time, we also want to enable people safely and securely to go back to work and earn their pay packets, as they want to do.

[Ben Bradley (Mansfield) (Con)]

Can I add my welcome and congratulations to my right hon. Friend? Does he agree with me that our further education and higher education institutions have a huge role to play in rebuilding our economy, particularly in supporting and retraining those who have lost their jobs? Has he considered what they might offer and, indeed, how we might incentivise them to offer the right qualifications in support, particularly for businesses and new entrepreneurs?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend very much for all the work he does to champion the cause of education, particularly further education, on the Select Committee on Education. As he knows, the agenda of this Government remains unchanged: to unite and level up across our country with infrastructure, technology and education above all. That includes our world-leading universities, which are now formulating vaccines against this disease, further education and the skills that our economy is going to need so badly for a sustained economic recovery.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ben Bradley and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 26th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The answer to her question, in a word, is no.

[Ben Bradley (Mansfield) (Con)]

Q11. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the people of Mansfield who, like many millions across the country, previously voted Labour but have now put their faith in a Conservative Government to deliver are not, in fact, traitors, as they were branded by members of the Opposition this week? In fact, this Government and Conservative Members respect these hard-working people and their communities and respect their choices and we will deliver for them.

[The Prime Minister]

I am not going to comment on the vituperation that is meted out by the Opposition party, but what I will say is that all voters should be treated with respect and with humility. I congratulate my hon. Friend on the hard work that he is doing for the people of Mansfield: £10 million for West Nottinghamshire College; £20 million for road improvements; £5 million for proactive lung-health screenings; and up to £50 million in a new town deal and future high streets fund. In my view, the people of Mansfield are well served by him.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ben Bradley and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 22nd January 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman wants to do nothing else except keep people in the welfare trap and stop helping people out of welfare and into work. I think he should pay tribute to all the people who, by their own hard work, have found fantastic jobs over the last year. He should pay tribute to the growth in employment in the UK economy.

Quite frankly, it is this Government who are getting on with delivering on the priorities of the British people: 40 new hospitals, 50,000 more nurses and 20,000 more police officers. The Labour party is still split from top to toe about whether to stay in the EU or to remain run by the EU. It still cannot make up its mind, and he still cannot make up his mind. We deliver on the people’s priorities.

[Ben Bradley (Mansfield) (Con)]

Q2. I welcome Ofsted’s annual report on our schools. It was released this week and shows great progress, not least that 86% of schools are now rated good or outstanding. With every school in Mansfield set to benefit from a funding increase later this year, the Government can be proud of the progress they are making. However, there is more to do, not least dealing with the 14% of schools that still do not reach that standard, many of which are based in areas that experience all sorts of other inequalities, too. What more can my right hon. Friend do to support and intervene in those schools to level up our education system and make sure that every child can access a good education, regardless of their postcode?

[The Prime Minister]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on the passion he brings to this debate and to this subject. He is entirely right that Ofsted’s most recent report shows that standards for the kids he and I care about are rising, with 86% of schools now rated good or outstanding. Of course there is more to do, which is why we are investing £40 billion more, but I am regretfully obliged to compare the performance of the schools to which he draws attention with the schools in Scotland where, through no fault of the pupils, performance in maths and science is at a record low.

Perhaps the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford), who is about to rise to his feet like a rocketing pheasant, will explain why his party is still so obsessed with breaking up our Union rather than delivering for the children and the pupils of Scotland.