Oral Answers to Questions

Edward Argar Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising that. I will indeed endorse that fantastic organisation. It is a testament to the fact that we have small companies and charities in our constituencies that can make a big difference to many people across the world.

[Edward Argar (Charnwood) (Con)]

5. What steps her Department plans to take at the forthcoming global disability summit to promote disability inclusion in international development.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Penny Mordaunt)]

The UK’s global disability summit in July will increase action and investment, share best practice and deliver lasting change. It will tackle the stigma faced by people with disabilities and provide educational, learning and economic opportunities and the means to access them through more available assistive devices.

[Edward Argar]

I welcome that answer. I recently met Sightsavers, a fantastic charity doing great work tackling sight loss and the stigma faced by disabled people around the world, particularly in the developing world. Can my right hon. Friend reassure me that at this important summit she will join with it in pressing for concrete goals for Governments to tackle the stigma faced by disabled people around the world?

[Penny Mordaunt]

That is absolutely the aim of the summit. It has already galvanised people into action, including multilateral organisations around the world, which will be embedding disability in their programming.

Oral Answers to Questions

Edward Argar Excerpts

Wednesday 28th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

As I was saying, the referendum was held, the vote was taken, the people gave their view and we will be delivering on it.

[Edward Argar (Charnwood) (Con)]

Q15. My right hon. Friend will be aware of the fantastic Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College in Woodhouse in my constituency. It equips young people planning a career in our armed forces with the skills they need to help to defend this country in the 21st century. Will the Prime Minister confirm that we will continue to invest in strong defences for our country, so that those young people can play their full part in the future in the best armed forces in the world?

[The Prime Minister]

I join my hon. Friend in recognising the work that is done by the Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College in his constituency and the skills that it gives young people who wish to enter the armed forces, but he raises an important point about funding in relation to our armed forces. I can announce today that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor and I have agreed that the Ministry of Defence will have access to £600 million this coming financial year for the MOD’s Dreadnought submarine programme. Today’s announcement will ensure that the work to rebuild the UK’s new world-class nuclear submarines remains on schedule, and it is another sign of the deep commitment this Government have to keeping our country safe. Along with the £200 million carry-forward agreed at the supplementary estimates, that means that the MOD will benefit from an extra £800 million in the next financial year. We continue to exceed the NATO 2% target and remain the second biggest defence spender in NATO.

Capita

Edward Argar Excerpts

Thursday 1st February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

As I said, there is a continuing process of engagement. Over the years, the Government Commercial Function has been beefed up. We have brought in people with expertise who understand these companies and are engaging with them on a day-to-day basis to understand their business models. The purpose of doing that is to understand those business models to ensure that we are confident that we can continue to deliver these public services.

[Edward Argar (Charnwood) (Con)]

Will my hon. Friend confirm that what matters to this Government is what delivers the best public service outcomes to our constituents in terms of quality and value for money—exactly the same considerations that motivated Labour when, in government, it let so many public service delivery contracts to private companies?

[Oliver Dowden]

Yes, Labour let lots of contracts to private companies, because it believed that they had the expertise to deliver them, and that is exactly what we are doing. Interestingly, since the surge in the use of PFIs that took place under the Labour Chancellor before last, Mr Gordon Brown, we have tightened up the terms of PFI. We are learning the lessons from some of the excessive PFI contracts that we saw, which had underneath them ludicrous service fees for some of the services provided.

European Council

Edward Argar Excerpts

Monday 18th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

As the right hon. Gentleman knows, we believe that we can actually deliver on having no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland through the overall relationship that we negotiate between the UK and the European Union. Failing that, we will look at specific solutions that match the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland, and failing that, we will move to the concept of full alignment, which is about having the same objectives on both sides. If he carries on reading the progress report, it makes it clear how that would operate: it could be UK-wide or, with the agreement of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly, it could be specific to Northern Ireland.

[Edward Argar (Charnwood) (Con)]

I welcome the sensible and pragmatic agreement on phase 1 that my right hon. Friend has secured. Opposition Members confidently, and wrongly, suggested she could not do that, and yet again, as on so much, she has proved them wrong. Just as she has delivered for the UK on phase 1, will the Prime Minister reaffirm her determination to prove them wrong again and secure a good trade deal in phase 2, in line with her Lancaster House speech?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I can confirm to my hon. Friend that the principles set out in the Lancaster House speech continue to apply. Obviously, I elaborated on those in the Florence speech, and we will be continuing to do so as we move forward into those negotiations. I believe we will achieve an ambitious comprehensive free trade agreement with the European Union, because I think it is in their interests as well as ours.