Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Stephen Hepburn(5 years, 10 months ago)
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Mark Lancaster
My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and he is also absolutely right to cite his constituency company as a fine example of how we can continue to compete on the world stage.
Mr Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow) (Lab)
First, may I thank you, Mr Speaker, for your kind words about our former colleague Paul Flynn, who was a great comrade over the years?
Following on from the question asked by my right hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Mr Jones), why does the Minister not defer any action until after 29 March, when we will not be under EU procurement rules and we can award this ship—a £1 billion British taxpayers’ order—to a British shipyard?
Mark Lancaster
The hon. Gentleman seems to have a crystal ball—I simply do not—to see exactly what the situation will be post 29 March.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Stephen Hepburn(9 years, 1 month ago)
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Mark Lancaster
The Government are determined to honour the commitments made by the armed forces covenant to ensure fair treatment of veterans and their families in need of social housing. That is why this Government changed the laws so that seriously injured serving personnel and veterans with urgent housing needs must always be a high priority for social housing. It is, however, for local authorities to make judgments about the competing housing priorities in their areas, but if my hon. Friend writes to me with the details of this case, I will of course raise it with my Department for Communities and Local Government colleagues.
Mr Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow) (Lab)
Ten thousand of our homeless are military veterans, as are 10% of our prison population. How is the covenant tackling this problem?
Mark Lancaster
The hon. Gentleman will be aware of the £40 million invested in the veterans accommodation fund. I work very closely with a number of charities to ensure that we address this issue. He can see for himself at the Beacon home in Catterick, for example, or the Mike Jackson House in Aldershot, if he wishes to visit, and I would encourage him to do so.