Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Chris Ruane

Wednesday 13th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my right hon. Friend and the Education Committee for their work on this important issue. Obviously we all recognise that good discipline in schools is essential, but it is also important to ensure that any exclusion is lawful, reasonable and fair. Guidance sets out that headteachers should, as far as possible, avoid permanently excluding any pupil who is subject to an education, health and care plan, and make additional efforts to provide extra support to avoid excluding those with special educational needs. We want to ensure that schools play their part in supporting children who have been excluded, in collaboration with alternative providers and local authorities.

My right hon. Friend mentioned the Timpson review. It is still ongoing, but I can assure him that when it reports in due course, we will look very seriously and very carefully at its recommendations.

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

Q9. Since 2013, 220 parliamentarians and 450 members of their staff have received mindfulness training in the House. Our cross-party mindfulness all-party parliamentary group has published a report, “Mindful Nation UK”, on the uses of mindfulness in education, health, prisons and the workplace, and it has been well received by the Government. After Brexit negotiations have been concluded—when the Prime Minister might need to de-stress—will she meet representatives of our cross-party group and senior scientists to discuss what more can be done through mindfulness to reduce human suffering and promote human flourishing?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this important issue, and I thank the mindfulness APPG for its work and its recent report. As the hon. Gentleman knows, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for adults with depression.

I am aware of the training that staff have received. A few weeks ago, a constituent came to my surgery to talk about mindfulness. A member of my parliamentary staff who was with me had undertaken that training, and was therefore able to speak about the impact that it had had.

The commissioning of psychological therapies is a matter for NHS England, but I will ensure that it is aware of the report.

Leaving the EU

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Chris Ruane

Monday 14th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that there is no unilateral right to exit that mechanism. There is, of course, a termination mechanism within the withdrawal agreement and the protocol, but both sides would need to agree because of the fundamental point of ensuring that, at every stage, there is the guarantee of no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. The backstop need not come into force if the future relationship is put in place by the end of December 2020. Even if there were a need for something at that stage, it would be possible for this Parliament—we have been clear that it would be for this Parliament—to choose whether to go down the route of extending the implementation period instead. I believe that the best thing for us to do is to work to ensure that the future relationship comes into place, with a long-term and sustainable guarantee of no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister has just informed the House that she and her party accepted and respected the vote of the Welsh referendum on devolution in 1997. If that is the case, why did the 2005 Tory manifesto call for a further referendum on Welsh devolution, including an option to abolish the Welsh Assembly?

[The Prime Minister]

We accepted the vote on Welsh devolution, and we accepted devolution. Of course, we looked beyond that to extending the powers of the Welsh Assembly, and this Government have extended the powers of the Welsh Assembly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Chris Ruane

Wednesday 31st October 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The news out of Pakistan of the release of Asia Bibi will be very welcome to her family and to all those who have campaigned in Pakistan, and indeed around the world, for her release. Our long-standing position on the death penalty is well known: we call for its abolition globally.

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

Q6. Since 2010, the number of rough sleepers has risen from 1,700 to 4,700. We now have homeless tent encampments outside on Victoria Street. Homelessness charities believe that one of the main reasons for the huge increase is the botched introduction of universal credit and a general hostile environment towards the poor. May I ask the Prime Minister why she believes the number of rough sleepers has shot up by 268% on her watch?

[The Prime Minister]

We recognise that we need to take action in relation to rough sleepers. We have a commitment to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and to end rough sleeping by 2027. That is why we have already published a strategy to deal with this; we have put initial funding of £100 million into it, and there are pilot projects being worked on in various parts of the country. If he is interested in this issue of rough sleeping, I hope he will support the proposals that the Government have put forward, which were confirmed in the Budget, for increasing stamp duty on those purchasing properties in the UK who do not live or work in the UK, with that money to go into supporting people who are rough sleeping.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Chris Ruane

Wednesday 5th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The whole issue of the illegal wildlife trade is a very important one. It was an issue that I touched on when I was in South Africa, in fact, and there was a Minister from Botswana there at the time. We are holding a major conference later this year on the illegal wildlife trade, because we see it as an important issue, and we are bringing people together across the international community to consider how we can further deal with this.

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

Q14. Prominent Tory Brexiteers promised that Wales would not lose out on funding if it voted to leave the EU. Wales has received £5.3 billion in European structural funds since 2000—the highest level in the UK and Europe. Will the Prime Minister guarantee, here and now, that Wales will not lose out on these funds should the UK leave the EU?

[The Prime Minister]

First, the hon. Gentleman says “should” the UK leave the EU. The UK is leaving the European Union, and that will happen on 29 March next year. What we will be doing—what we are doing—is reassessing and looking at the structural funds that have come from the European Union in the past. We are setting up the shared prosperity fund, which will ensure that we are looking at disparities within regions and within and between the nations of the United Kingdom. We are working to ensure that we have a system, and a deal with the European Union for the future, that works for the whole of the United Kingdom.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Chris Ruane

Wednesday 9th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend raises a very important issue. At its heart is the support and gratitude that we owe to all those who have served in our armed forces. Our armed forces personnel are willing to put their lives on the line for our safety day in and day out, as are our personnel who work in law enforcement. The peace we see today in Northern Ireland is very much due to the work of our armed forces and law enforcement in Northern Ireland, but we have an unfair situation at the moment, in that the only people being investigated for these issues that happened in the past are those in our armed forces or those who served in law enforcement in Northern Ireland. That is patently unfair—terrorists are not being investigated. Terrorists should be investigated and that is what the Government want to see.

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

Q13. Waiting times for personal independence payment tribunals in Wales have quadrupled over the past four years. My constituent, Alan McKittrick, is suffering from prostate cancer, angina, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, arthritis, hernias, mental ill health, dizziness, blackouts and ulcers, yet his initial PIP claim was refused. He then waited 56 weeks for an appeal, which he won. Will the Prime Minister apologise to Alan, and when will she end this hostile environment towards sick and disabled people?

[The Prime Minister]

Obviously, Members across this House raise issues about the PIP process, and the Department for Work and Pensions is consistently looking at the whole PIP process. One of the issues that the hon. Gentleman raised in his question was the health of the individual concerned. As he sits for a Welsh constituency, I would have thought that, if he wants to talk about health, he should talk to the Labour Government in Wales.

UK Plans for Leaving the EU

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Chris Ruane

Monday 9th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend has made a very important point, and I certainly would encourage businesses and others to ensure that they are making that clear with their contacts in the 27 member states. I believe that that is already happening, and I certainly meet people from across the European Union who make exactly the point that it is in their economic interests to ensure that we get a good deal negotiated by March 2019.

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

Over the past 17 years, Wales has received £9 billion in grants from Europe. During the Brexit debates and the referendum, Tory Ministers said that Wales would not lose out as a result of Brexit. Can the Prime Minister tell us how much funding Wales will get—additional funding—after Brexit is completed?

[The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Mr David Davis)]

Nice bid.

Child Abuse Allegations (North Wales)

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Chris Ruane

Tuesday 6th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

Obviously, what would happen to any individual who was found to be a perpetrator following any potential criminal prosecution is a matter that would need to be determined at the time. I think that the whole House shares a view on the valid point that the hon. Lady makes about those who fear that they will not be heard; we in this House have responsibility, authority and power, and we should make sure that the message that goes out from us clearly today is that victims will be heard. If someone has been a victim and has allegations to make, I ask them please to bring them forward and take them to the police. The purpose of the investigation is to ensure that we follow all avenues of inquiry, and that victims can see that their voice is heard, that they are listened to and that, where possible, perpetrators are brought to justice.

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State said that she has not had direct contact with the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones. May I suggest she does make contact with him and with the Children’s Commissioner for Wales to ensure that there is full co-operation and the free flow of information across all UK borders—those of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands—in a Welsh inquiry or in an overarching UK inquiry?

[Mrs May]

As I understand it, a number of conversations are being held with the First Minister of Wales—as I indicated earlier, the Secretary of State for Wales has already been in touch with him. I think there will be discussions about the nature of the review of the Waterhouse inquiry as part of that. Of course, as instances emerge—as allegations are made and victims come forward—it will be necessary to ensure that there is an exchange of information in the investigations. One benefit of being able to bring the director general of the National Crime Agency, along with the assets of SOCA and CEOP, and other force assets, as necessary, into this investigation is to make sure that all the information sharing that is necessary is done.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Chris Ruane

Monday 12th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I am happy to say to my hon. Friend that the work on the definition of the back, middle and front-line functions has been done by Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary, not by the Home Office. A report defining those functions is available from HMIC, and I am happy to make sure that it is available in the Library.

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

Crime levels in north Wales dropped by 45% over the 13 years that Labour was in power. Over the past year, crime levels have gone up. Do Ministers accept any responsibility for the increase in crime?

Metropolitan Police Service

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Chris Ruane

Monday 18th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I thank my hon. Friend. As I indicated in my response to the shadow Home Secretary, there were indeed a number of times under the last Government when these issues and concerns were raised and no action was taken.

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

The Metropolitan police have had the names of thousands of UK citizens whose phones have been hacked into for a very long time. Have all the people who have had their phones hacked into been informed of it by the police?

[Mrs May]

I simply say to the hon. Gentleman that the Metropolitan police’s current investigation has made it clear, as I understand it, that it is going through the names on lists. I caution him on his assumption that everybody whose name appears on a list has necessarily “had their phone hacked into”, in his terms, but that is being looked into by the current investigation. It is clear that it is alerting people when it finds evidence.

Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Chris Ruane

Monday 13th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend, who is exactly right: this is not an untried method of dealing with police accountability. The Mayor of London is indeed the equivalent of a police and crime commissioner. Earlier, from a sedentary position, the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd (Chris Ruane) said that the Mayor of London was “too visible”, but politicians should be out there, visible and able to take on—

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

He’s too blond!

[Mrs May]

I am not going to be tempted down the route of saying that he is too blond. [Interruption.] You can never be too blond.