Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lilian Greenwood

Wednesday 17th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Q1. If she will list her official engagements for Wednesday 17 July.

[The Prime Minister (Mrs Theresa May)]

I am sure Members will want to congratulate all those who took part in what was a great weekend of sport. In particular, we congratulate Lewis Hamilton on his record sixth win in the British grand prix. On Monday, I was able to welcome England’s cricket team to Downing Street, following their brilliant performance in winning the cricket world cup. As I said to them, they are a team that reflects the very best of modern Britain and a team that plays like no other in the world.

I am sure the House will want to join me in wishing all the best to the home nations taking part in the netball world cup in Liverpool.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

[Lilian Greenwood]

I join the Prime Minister in offering our congratulations, particularly to the England team that won the cricket world cup. We were proud to host some of the games at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. I also extend our best wishes to the netball team.

Notts County, the world’s oldest professional football club, is facing the very real threat of extinction. Under chairman Alan Hardy, the club has reached a financial crisis and could be liquidated before the start of the coming season. Players and staff have not been paid in weeks, and the club is set to make its fourth appearance in the High Court later this month to face a winding-up petition. Will the Prime Minister and the whole House join me in calling on the Football Association, the Football League and the National League to investigate the current situation and help to secure the future of this truly historic club?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising this issue. Football clubs up and down the country are obviously of great importance to their local communities. Overall, the financial state of football clubs is better now than at any time, but the Government are certainly not complacent. The hon. Lady referred to various football authorities; we will continue to hold the football authorities to account for ensuring that there is transparency around the ownership of clubs, that sufficient inquiries into the suitability of owners are made, and that financially clubs continue to live within their means. I am sure the whole House will join the hon. Lady in hoping that, as the world’s oldest professional football club, Notts County resolves its situation soon.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lilian Greenwood

Wednesday 19th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. The manufacturing industry has been clear with us that it wants the country to leave the European Union with a deal that helps to protect those jobs. That is exactly what we want to do, and that is the decision that Parliament will be faced with when we bring the meaningful vote back.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Q12. Almost 1,000 Nottingham South residents have already responded to my Brexit survey. Only 7% back the Prime Minister’s deal and more than three quarters want to vote on Brexit if MPs cannot agree. She will not let Parliament have a vote and she opposes letting the people have a vote. Are not her attempts to dodge and delay simply costly and reckless?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady is wrong. She says that I will not let Parliament have a vote; Parliament will have a vote when we have conducted those further discussions with the EU.

Exiting the European Union

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lilian Greenwood

Monday 10th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend has put the facts clearly to the House. In my statement I spoke of the responsibility that the House has to deliver on the referendum, to do that in a way that protects people’s jobs and futures, and to recognise the importance of the vote that people will take and its impact on people’s trust in our politics.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

This morning, a prominent Nottingham business warned me that a no-deal Brexit could put it out of business. This afternoon, the Prime Minister raised the threat of an accidental no deal. It is crystal clear that her deal cannot command a majority in this House, whenever we vote on it. Is not her time-wasting delay simply reckless?

[The Prime Minister]

No, and hon. Members of this House who do not wish to have no deal need to recognise that the only way not to have no deal is to have a deal and to agree a deal. There is no agreement on any alternative deal in this House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lilian Greenwood

Wednesday 31st October 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises a very important issue. He is, as I would expect, championing the cause of Cornwall, and one or two of my other hon. Friends from Cornwall are supporting him. We have awarded grants worth £31.5 million to enable satellites to be launched from UK soil, and we have also announced a £2 million fund, subject to business case, to help boost airports’ ambitions to offer horizontal space flight. That includes sites such as Newquay, Glasgow Prestwick and Snowdonia. The UK space flight programme continues to consider these leading proposals, and I am sure it has heard my hon. Friend’s championing of the request for Cornwall.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Q3. My hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) has told me about the harrowing evidence he witnessed during three weeks of hearings by the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse while it was investigating Nottinghamshire councils. I have also read some of the survivors’ courageous testimonies. I hope that when the inquiry panel publishes its recommendations next summer, the Prime Minister will accept them in full, but the survivors need help now. A suggestion that has come forward is that a small amount of money for survivors’ groups would have a disproportionate impact, providing support and encouraging others to come forward. Will she ensure that resources are made available to provide that help now?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady raises a very important issue. I am pleased that I was able to set up the inquiry into child sexual abuse. As I said at the time, I think people will be shocked to know the extent to which children were being abused in this country in many different environments and circumstances. She has raised a particular issue in relation to Nottinghamshire. When the independent inquiry’s report comes forward, we will look at its recommendations very seriously. I will ask the relevant Minister to look at the issue that she raised about survivors’ groups. We have worked with survivors’ groups —I did so when I was at the Home Office. It was talking to them and hearing from them that made me realise exactly how terribly badly people have been treated, the appalling crimes committed and the appalling abuse they have suffered. That is why it is important that this independent inquiry gets to the truth.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lilian Greenwood

Wednesday 7th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am happy to join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to those who work in our offshore oil and gas industry, and thanking them for the work that they do. Last week’s weather highlighted just how important that work is to us all. We remain committed to supporting the industry, building on the £2.3 billion package announced in recent Budgets. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the oil and gas sector recently committed themselves to working together to ensure that the UK continues to enjoy the benefits of a world-leading offshore oil and gas industry.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Q6. Nottingham needs to find an extra £12 million this year to care for elderly and disabled people, but the Government’s answer—adding 3% to council tax bills—only raises just over £3 million, leaving a huge gap to be filled. No wonder Lord Porter, Conservative chair of the Local Government Association, warns that some councils will“be pushed perilously close to the financial edge.”Will the Prime Minister wake up to the social care crisis and urge the Chancellor to give local government the funding it needs in next week’s spring statement?

[The Prime Minister]

We have recognised the pressures that social care is under. That is why in successive fiscal events the Chancellor has given extra money to local authorities and the social care sector as a whole. Next week’s statement is not a Budget, but we have ensured that more money is going into local councils, not just through the precept that they are able to raise, but £2 billion extra has been put into social care in local authorities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lilian Greenwood

Wednesday 18th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think we all recognise the desperate situation in Syria, which is why we continue to be proud of our country’s record of giving humanitarian aid to Syria and to refugees from Syria: £2.46 billion has been committed since 2012, our largest ever response to a humanitarian crisis. I am very happy to join my hon. Friend in encouraging Members of this House to support the Singing for Syrians initiative and various events throughout the country. This is another important initiative focused, as is our humanitarian aid, on helping those people who are in a desperate situation in Syria.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Q7. Notts fire service tells us that sprinklers save lives. Nottingham City Council plans to retrofit sprinklers in all its high rise blocks, but the Government will not provide a penny to support it. After Grenfell, the Prime Minister promised:“We cannot and will not ask people to live in unsafe homes”—[Official Report, 22 June 2017; Vol. 626, c. 169.] How safe would she feel living on the 20th floor of Pine View or Southchurch Court in my constituency with one staircase and no sprinklers?

[The Prime Minister]

Since Grenfell, much has been said in this House about sprinklers. There are a number of aspects that have to be looked at in relation to the safety of tower blocks. It is not the case that sprinklers are the only issue that needs to be looked at or addressed; nor is it the only solution to ensuring their safety. On expenditure by the hon. Lady’s local council, it is of course up to the council to make decisions about what it wishes to do. We have been very clear that discussions have taken place with the Department for Communities and Local Government and local authorities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lilian Greenwood

Wednesday 22nd March 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My ministerial colleagues and I were delighted to be able to take the opportunity to visit the beautiful county of Cumbria, and we are even happier now that Cumbria has another strong voice in the form of my hon. Friend the Member for Copeland (Trudy Harrison), a Conservative MP.

My hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (John Stevenson) is right: Cumbria and the north-west have huge industrial potential. That is why we are getting on with delivering our investment plans throughout the country, including the north-west. Let me give the House some figures: £556 million has been allocated from the local growth fund to boost local productivity; and the north is getting £147 million to tackle congestion and improve local transport. However, it is our plan for Britain that will deliver that stronger, fairer economy and those higher-paid, higher-skilled jobs for people throughout the country.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Q7. The Prime Minister is in denial. Today’s report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies confirms that schools are already facing“the largest cut in school spending per pupil over a 4 year period since at least the early 1980s”, and that, as a result of her new national formula, funding is being diverted from schools with very high levels of deprivation. Every single school in my constituency will lose an average of £584 per pupil. Has the Prime Minister failed at maths, or failed to read her own manifesto?

[The Prime Minister]

I responded to that point earlier, but let me just reiterate what I said. Across the House, for many years, there has been a general acceptance that the current funding formula for schools is unfair, and that is why this Government are seeking a fairer formula. A consultation exercise is taking place, and the Department for Education will respond to it in due course. We are grasping this issue, whereas Labour did nothing for 13 years.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lilian Greenwood

Wednesday 25th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises an important issue. He has long been a champion of entrepreneurship in this country, and I can tell him that in the industrial strategy we are committed to providing the best environment for business. The Treasury has established a patient capital review, for example, with a panel chaired by Sir Damon Buffini to look at the barriers that exist to long-term investment. We are also increasing investment in venture capital by the British Business Bank by £400 million, and that will unlock £1 billion of new finance. The Treasury is going to be publishing a consultation in the spring examining these issues, and I am sure my hon. Friend will wish to contribute and respond to that.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Q6. Four-and-a-half years ago, my constituents Chris and Lydia Leek were on a family holiday on the Greek island of Zante when their son, Jamie, was hit and killed by a speeding motorbike—it was his ninth birthday. The rider was convicted but has appealed against his sentence and, to date, remains a free man. Will the Prime Minister agree to meet Chris and Lydia to discuss how they can finally secure justice for Jamie?

[The Prime Minister]

I am very happy to look at the tragic case that the hon. Lady describes. Our thoughts must be with Chris and Lydia at the terrible loss they experienced. As to the issue of what is happening in terms of the Greek criminal justice system, of course that is a matter for the Greek authorities, but I will look seriously at this case and see if there is anything that the Foreign Office can do.

G20 Summit

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lilian Greenwood

Wednesday 7th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman is not going to get any different answer from me to the one that I have given on numerous occasions throughout this afternoon. I will simply say this: if we are going to negotiate the right deal for the United Kingdom on trade in goods and services, it would be quite wrong for this Government to give away all our negotiating position in advance of starting those negotiations.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

As the Prime Minister knows, about 140,000 workers in the UK are employed by Japanese firms. My hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Tristram Hunt) has mentioned Toyota, but Nissan, Honda and Hitachi all have large manufacturing bases that are vital to local economies and the supply chain. The Prime Minister knows that the huge uncertainty about our future relationship with the EU and the single market is creating difficulties. I want to provide her with another opportunity to say how, in her discussions with the Japanese and others, she tried to mitigate those risks to inward investment and jobs.

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady, who reminds me that I did not fully answer the question from the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Tristram Hunt) who referred to the issue of Japanese firms. I was able to sit down and discuss these matters with Prime Minister Abe, and the outcome was a positive desire to take forward further discussions on how we can ensure that we are getting the best possible trading relationship with Japan, and that we can continue to see Japanese investment in the UK. I am pleased to say that the single biggest vote of confidence on investment in the United Kingdom since we had the vote to leave the European Union came, of course, from a Japanese company—from SoftBank with its £24 billion takeover of ARM.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lilian Greenwood

Monday 17th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

T9. Given the 400% rise in anti-Semitic incidents this summer, I was pleased to hear that the Home Secretary had met representatives of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and of the Community Security Trust. Will she tell us what discussions she has had with Twitter and Facebook on this matter?

[Mrs May]

As the Minister for Crime Prevention has said, we have had discussions with the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the CST on the various issues that they have raised concerning anti-Semitic incidents, and in particular on how the police are responding to them. The extremism taskforce has been looking at how social media companies respond to Government requests relating to extremist material and hate crimes. We have initiated discussions on that matter and more generally on how extremist material can be taken down from such sites, and we will be progressing that work.

Child Abuse Inquiry

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lilian Greenwood

Monday 3rd November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

As I said in response to an earlier question, we are currently in the process of looking at the protocols that will need to be in place to ensure that the evidence that needs to be available to these inquiries will be available.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

My constituents who were subject to abuse at Beechwood and other children’s homes in Nottinghamshire have already waited long enough for their voices to be heard. I welcome the Home Secretary’s assurance that she will listen to survivors, but will she also ensure that Nottinghamshire police have sufficient resources to conduct their ongoing criminal investigations in a timely manner so that the survivors secure justice?

[Mrs May]

I recognise that a number of forces around the country are conducting investigations both into current issues of child abuse and historical cases. I have been discussing matters relating to resources with the national policing lead on such matters, who is Chief Constable Simon Bailey from Norfolk.

Child Abuse

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lilian Greenwood

Thursday 17th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I repeat what I said in the House when I gave my statement on this matter on 7 July. The Government are making it clear that we will make papers available to the inquiry panel. I would expect others to make available such information as they hold. It is for various bodies—whoever is approached by the inquiry panel—to decide what information they wish to make available. However, as I have made clear, if the chairman of the panel gets to a point where they believe that a statutory inquiry is the best route, the Government are committed to ensuring that we turn the investigation into a statutory inquiry.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Does the Home Secretary recognise that there have been allegations about historic abuse in a wide range of institutions, including the former Beechwood children’s home in Nottingham? Will she assure my constituents and those of other Nottinghamshire MPs that if they approach the overarching inquiry, their cases will receive a fair and impartial hearing and they will have access to the proper help and support they need?

[Mrs May]

I think it important to recognise that the inquiry panel will not itself be able to investigate individual allegations that come forward. It will be looking at what happened in a number of settings such as residential care homes and trying to learn the lessons from that. Individual allegations against a perpetrator, will be handed on to the police for them to investigate, which is entirely proper. We are working across Government to look at people’s ability to raise cases, the manner in which they will be able to do so, and how those cases will be passed on as appropriate, along with the support given to victims. Together with a number of other MPs, my hon. Friend the Member for Wells (Tessa Munt) raised this matter with me earlier this week, and made a number of suggestions about how to take it forward.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lilian Greenwood

Monday 25th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

T4. Following the Secretary of State’s Government’s 20% cuts, Nottinghamshire has lost more police officers than any county in the east midlands and police morale is badly hit. After cutting police numbers and bungling the police and crime commissioner elections, will she apologise to areas such as Clifton in my constituency, where crime and antisocial behaviour are a real problem?

[Mrs May]

We have published a draft Bill on antisocial behaviour, the aim of which is to make it easier to deal at a local level with the issues of antisocial behaviour that sadly blight too many communities across the country. The hon. Lady talks about reductions in officer numbers, but she might also reflect on the fact that in the past year, recorded crime in Nottinghamshire has gone down by 13%.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lilian Greenwood

Monday 24th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Nottinghamshire is set to lose more than 300 police officers over the coming four years. What guarantee can the Minister give my constituents that crime in our city will continue to fall?

[Mrs May]

We have answered a similar question on a number of occasions, both today and previously. First, there is no simple link between the number of officers and the level of crime. Secondly, the decisions that the hon. Lady’s local force is taking about the deployment of particular police officers and about the number of officers and staff it has are operational matters for the police to address, within the resources available to them. We know that it is possible for significant savings to be made from the back and middle office without affecting front-line policing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lilian Greenwood

Monday 6th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question, which concerns an issue that he raised with me on the Floor of the House on 13 July. I am grateful for the letter that he sent me to follow up on that exchange, and I have passed that correspondence on to the Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for considering the publication of trial transcripts and is examining the possibility of making available more information—more transcripts—about remarks made by judges when sentencing. The Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Reigate (Mr Blunt), will be in touch with my hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis) on this matter shortly.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Police community support officers have become an essential part of local communities in Nottingham and elsewhere, so what reassurance can the Minister offer on this matter to my constituents, who are worried that the cuts in policing proposed by the Government will lead to a reduction in their number?