Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Dan Carden

Wednesday 28th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend has raised an important issue. I hope that she recognises the action the Government have taken in relation to plastic. I was very pleased yesterday, when I was at the winter fair at the Royal Welsh, to see a company that 29 years ago started recycling plastic and turning it into products that people could use, such as garden seats and tables. That was an innovative initiative 29 years ago, and it is slap bang what we all consider to be the right thing to do today.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

Q11. The Prime Minister is currently travelling the country seeking public support for her Brexit deal, which she says will secure industry and jobs. Will she visit Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, where workers have been forced into industrial action, fighting the threat of casualisation, to save hundreds of skilled secure jobs in Merseyside at a company that has won £620 million of Government RAF contracts? What faith can people have in the future she offers if she will not act to save skilled secure jobs in our own defence industry?

[The Prime Minister]

May I first say to the hon. Gentleman that I realise what a worrying time this must be for the employees of Cammell Laird? Obviously, the Government do not have a role in the strategic direction or management of the company, but officials are in close contact with the company and are being kept informed. I hope there can be a dialogue between all sides, so that they can work together to come to a solution that is in the best interests of all involved. As I say, I recognise what a worrying time this must be for the employees of that company.

Progress on EU Negotiations

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Dan Carden

Thursday 22nd November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree with what my hon. Friend has just said. If this House were to stop Brexit, the British people would feel that it was a gross betrayal of the trust that we had shown in them and they had shown in us. I believe that it is a matter of our integrity as politicians that we deliver on the vote that we gave to the British people, when they told us, in no uncertain terms, to leave the European Union.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

The withdrawal agreement worsens the situation for the UK in terms of EU state aid, leaving the UK legally bound by European Commission decisions. Currently, the European Commission waves through state aid cases case by case, but that will not be so for the UK, with our economy and major industries permanently disadvantaged. At the same time, workers’ rights and environmental protections seem not to have any of the same types of protection. Was this negotiated by the Prime Minister, or was it at the behest of the EU?

[The Prime Minister]

We have made this clear on a number of occasions, and the proposals that we have put forward are very clear about non-regression in relation to workers’ rights. We already, in some areas, have higher standards on workers’ rights than other countries in the European Union, and we have, as a Government, been working to enhance workers’ rights in a number of ways, not least in our response to the Matthew Taylor report. It was this Government who banned exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts—a matter that the Labour party spoke about for many years but failed to do anything about.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Dan Carden

Wednesday 18th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I understand that there have been some clarifications of some of the statements that President Trump made. I did raise with President Trump the incident in Salisbury and the fact that we have seen somebody die here in the UK as a result of contact with a nerve agent. Of course, we took immediate action at the time after the Salisbury attack when we had been able to attribute it to Russia. The United States stood alongside us, as did many other nations across the world, and took action against Russia, which showed a united international front that sent a clear message that we will not accept this behaviour, that this is not behaviour that Russia can conduct with impunity and that we will continue to act together.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

Q12. Carillion forecast an £83 million loss on the Liverpool Royal Hospital, and physical cracks now exist in the structure’s concrete beams. It is 16 months late, over budget and structurally unsound, but the answer to my question in the Prime Minister’s absence last week offered no solutions. Will she now take responsibility for finishing and opening the new Royal and guarantee that the spiralling costs will not fall to the hospital trust, which would cut the budget for patient care in Liverpool for decades to come?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman raised this in my absence last week, so he will know that we are supporting the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust in its work on this, and we want to see the new hospital built as quickly as possible while securing best value for money in doing so. The Government and the trust continue to be in active discussions with the existing private sector funders to see whether there is a way forward to complete the remaining work on the hospital. It has taken longer, and further issues were uncovered during the process, but the way that we are approaching the situation is the right way to ensure that we are clear about what we are dealing with. We want to make the right decisions, and it is right that those discussions continue.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Dan Carden

Wednesday 25th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am happy to join my hon. Friend in congratulating the teachers, heads and all the staff of those two schools on their achievements, which have resulted from the work that they have been doing. She asked me to confirm that there are now 1.8 million more children in “good” or “outstanding” schools. I am afraid that I am not able to confirm that because, in fact, there are now 1.9 million more children in “good” or “outstanding” schools.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

Q11. My constituent, Anthony, who lives with a chronic, disabling illness, worked all his life until finishing on medical grounds three years ago. From 2002, he received disability living allowance, but last year he was transferred to personal independence payments and his mobility allowance was cut. Yesterday, Anthony handed back the mobility vehicle that he has had for 16 years. Today he is housebound and fearful for his future. The total injustice of the system means that he now faces a nine-month wait for his appeal at Liverpool tribunal services. What message does the Prime Minister have for Anthony as he adjusts to his new life as a prisoner in his own home?

[The Prime Minister]

I am sorry to hear of that case. As all Members will know, there are cases where people have had to appeal against such judgments. I will ensure that the Department for Work and Pensions is aware of the case raised by the hon. Gentleman.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Dan Carden

Wednesday 19th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises a very important issue. Members across the House recognise the importance of ensuring that we provide that support to those who are in our services and our veterans. The issue of mental health and wellbeing is very important, and I welcome the new strategy for mental health and wellbeing in the armed forces. I also pay tribute to the tireless work of my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Moor View (Johnny Mercer), particularly on mental health, since he came to the House.

My hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax) raises an issue that is important not just for us in the UK; we need to see how we can work internationally on it. That is why my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence launched the strategy at an international conference yesterday, with counterparts from the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. We will all campaign against the stigmas around mental health so that members of our armed forces and our veterans can get the help they need.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

Q6. In my constituency of Liverpool, Walton, almost 40% of children are growing up in poverty. With schools closing this week and local support services cut to the bone, austerity bites and kids do not get fed. The Prime Minister says that her mission is to make Britain “a country that works for everyone”.What is she doing now to stop kids going hungry this summer in Liverpool, Walton?

[The Prime Minister]

May I first of all welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place in this House? He is right to say that it is important that we look at the provision made in school for children and at the issue of households and poverty, but as I said to his right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition, the best way we can deal with poverty—the best route out of poverty—is for people to get into the workplace and then for us to ensure that other, better-paid jobs are provided for people in the workplace in the future.