Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Mary Robinson

Wednesday 26th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady makes an important point. The emphasis in the national health service that we are putting on dealing with mental health and on improving the support that is available is a part of this issue. I held a roundtable to look at the outcomes of our review of the Mental Health Act 1983, at which the types of circumstances in which people are provided for were raised. The NHS is looking at this matter very carefully, and we are ensuring that funding is available for further facilities to be provided.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)]

This afternoon, I will meet my Cheadle constituents who have travelled down to Westminster as part of the Christian Aid climate change lobby. With her world-leading commitment to a net zero target by 2050, the Prime Minister has shown that we are already leading the way. As we leave the EU, will she urge her successor to put the environment at the heart of the Brexit negotiations?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important issue, and congratulate her Cheadle constituents who are coming down to Westminster today to discuss it. As she says, the Government have made a major step by legislating for net zero, and I hope that the Labour efforts to stop it in the House of Lords will not be successful, so that we can ensure that the legislation is signed. We will make every effort as we leave the European Union, working with our European partners and others, to ensure that we put this issue at the forefront of discussions and that the right approach is taken to it by countries around the world.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Mary Robinson

Wednesday 4th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am sure people will. I visited the constituency of the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Chi Onwurah) in February, and I am still fizzing with excitement about the matter five months later.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)]

Popular Bramhall hairdressers Ed and Mike are visiting Parliament today. Like many other small businesses, it is because of their skills, expertise and hard work that they are successful. Will the Prime Minister join me in praising small businesses up and down the country for the work that they do, and does she agree that is by building a strong economy that we provide the best conditions for them to survive and thrive?

[The Prime Minister]

I am happy to join my hon. Friend in recognising the vital role that small businesses play in our economy and, indeed, in our local communities. They provide valuable services, products and jobs for local people, and we should never fail to recognise the great work that they do. Government’s role is to ensure that there is a strong economy in which those businesses can thrive, and that is exactly what the Conservative Government are doing.

Syria

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Mary Robinson

Monday 16th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)]

There should be no acceptance of and no place in this world for the use of chemical weapons. However, there seems to have been worrying increase in tolerance of their use. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is vital that we send a clear collective message that the use of chemical weapons will not be tolerated?

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that that is an important message for us to send. Our action with the US and France has sent that message, and it is an important message for this House to send, too.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Mary Robinson

Wednesday 26th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

What is important for the steel industry in this country is that this Government have taken action to support it. I was very pleased, when I visited Wales yesterday, to be able to visit a company that works with the steel industry galvanising steel products. The company talked about the greater amount of work that it is seeing and the improvements in the steel industry. This Conservative Government have taken steps to support the steel industry and will continue to do so.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)]

Q8. With the consultation on the Greater Manchester spatial framework now closed, I would like to thank the 3,600 Cheadle residents who signed my petition. It called for the green belt in Cheadle Hulme, Heald Green and Woodford to be protected and for much needed homes to be built on brownfield land instead. Does my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister agree that we must press for brownfield sites to be identified and redeveloped, and that protections for our precious green spaces can only be maintained under a strong Conservative Government?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right on this issue. I know that she has been a strong campaigner and a strong champion for her constituents in Cheadle. I can assure her that we are very clear that the green belt must be protected. What we have set out in the White Paper is that boundaries should be altered only when local authorities have fully examined all other reasonable options, such as making use of brownfield sites, as she herself has suggested. I know there was a great deal of interest in the consultation on the Greater Manchester spatial framework. I commend my hon. Friend for the work she did to gather the views of her constituents in Cheadle, and I am sure that those views will be taken into account as the response is developed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Mary Robinson

Wednesday 19th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

First, may I say to the right hon. Gentleman that one of the crucial things we have in this country that underpins our democracy is a free press? I believe that is important and I believe that people in this Chamber should stand up for the freedom of the press. As to the TV debates, I can assure him that I will be out there campaigning in every part of the United Kingdom, taking out there our proud record of a Conservative Government who have delivered for every part of the United Kingdom.

I might also suggest to the Scottish nationalists that now is the time for them to put aside—[Interruption.] Wait for it: now is the time for them to put aside their tunnel vision on independence and actually explain to the Scottish people why the SNP Government are not putting as much money into the health service as they have been given from the UK, they are not exercising the powers they have been given and Scottish education is getting worse. It is time they got back to the day job.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)]

Q4. I too welcome the announcement from the Prime Minister yesterday, and I look forward to the general election and to taking my positive message to my constituents in Cheadle in June. Over the past two years, I have pressed for first-class transport infrastructure for Cheadle, and this week I launched my transport survey so my constituents can have their say on what is needed to keep Cheadle moving and be at the heart of the northern powerhouse. Does my right hon. Friend agree that residents in Cheadle need to vote Conservative on 8 June to ensure that we get continued investment in transport and infrastructure, not only in Cheadle but across the north-west?

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend on that point. I know she has been working very hard for her constituents in Cheadle on transport and other issues. Of course, it is under this Government that the Department for Transport is investing £290 million to improve transport links to Manchester airport through Cheadle, and £2.1 million has been committed to improving walking and cycling routes around the Cheadle Hulme district centre. That is why the choice is so clear. As my hon. Friend says, if she wants to see that funding for infrastructure, we need a strong economy, which only the Conservatives can deliver.

Prime Minister

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Mary Robinson

Wednesday 14th September 2016 Commons Chamber

The Prime Minister

- Hansard -

The issues of climate change, reducing emissions, and our energy policy are very important to this Government. We have a fine record in this area, and we will be continuing with that. The issue of carbon capture and storage has been looked at carefully in the past. One of the key issues is the cost. We will continue to invest in the development of CCS. We are investing over £130 million to develop the technology, through innovation support, with the aim of reducing its costs, and so we will continue to look at the role that it can play.

Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)

- Hansard - - Excerpts

Q13. As a governor at Nevill Road Infant School in Bramhall, I know that schools have to make the best use of their resources. I was therefore shocked to learn that schools in the north-west are charged £27 million for their water. Does the Prime Minister agree that schools are important community hubs? Will the Government make representations to Ofwat to change the banding guidance so that schools are considered to be community assets rather than classified in the same way as big business? (906351)

The Prime Minister

- Hansard -

I commend my hon. Friend and others in this House who play a role as school governors—a very important role. She is right that schools need to think carefully about how they are using their resources. The approach taken by water companies does vary. However, we are looking at the guidance to water companies in relation to how they can deal with schools and whether they could be looking at using more concessionary rates for schools.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Mary Robinson

Wednesday 14th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The issues of climate change, reducing emissions, and our energy policy are very important to this Government. We have a fine record in this area, and we will be continuing with that. The issue of carbon capture and storage has been looked at carefully in the past. One of the key issues is the cost. We will continue to invest in the development of CCS. We are investing over £130 million to develop the technology, through innovation support, with the aim of reducing its costs, and so we will continue to look at the role that it can play.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)]

Q13. As a governor at Nevill Road Infant School in Bramhall, I know that schools have to make the best use of their resources. I was therefore shocked to learn that schools in the north-west are charged £27 million for their water. Does the Prime Minister agree that schools are important community hubs? Will the Government make representations to Ofwat to change the banding guidance so that schools are considered to be community assets rather than classified in the same way as big business?

[The Prime Minister]

I commend my hon. Friend and others in this House who play a role as school governors—a very important role. She is right that schools need to think carefully about how they are using their resources. The approach taken by water companies does vary. However, we are looking at the guidance to water companies in relation to how they can deal with schools and whether they could be looking at using more concessionary rates for schools.

Draft Investigatory Powers Bill

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Mary Robinson

Wednesday 4th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

It is important that Members of the House make clear to people exactly what the Government are proposing, and the strength and safeguards in the Bill. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the review by David Anderson on these matters, in which he cited polling that showed that the majority of members of the public wanted the authorities and agencies to have the powers they need to keep us safe.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)]

We often hear about the rights of criminals not to have their privacy intruded on. Will the Home Secretary inform the House about the perspective she has heard from the victims of crime?

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I met representatives from groups who support and campaign for victims of crime, including child sexual abuse, rape and stalking. They made it very clear that the Government must ensure that the police and others are able to use the powers necessary to bring the perpetrators of these terrible crimes to justice.