Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Sharon Hodgson

Wednesday 17th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my right hon. Friend for those comments and for the support he has shown me and the Government in our work. I was very pleased to be there for the whole world cup final on Sunday. It was nerve-racking and nail-biting, but our team brought it home, and many congratulations once again to them.

[Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)]

Q4.   When the Prime Minister made her first speech in Downing Street, she said she would fight against the burning injustices of inequality. Three years on, nothing has changed. As schools wind down for the summer holidays, many children will be excited about the fun and the joy to come, but thousands of families whose children receive free school meals will be worried about how they are even going to feed their children, let alone take them on holiday. If she wants a meaningful, lasting legacy, will she extend the holiday activity funding to ensure that all children who receive a free school meal during term time are fed in the holidays?

[The Prime Minister]

We had a successful £2 million programme in the summer of 2018, and this year we are more than quadrupling this funding. About 50,000 disadvantaged children in 11 local authority areas will be offered free meals and activities over the summer holidays. That is going to be funded by £9 million from the Department for Education. We had a good programme last year, and we are expanding that programme this year because we want to help children, wherever they are, receive the right support in school and out.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Sharon Hodgson

Wednesday 15th May 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises an important point about British Steel. Obviously, I cannot comment on the speculation about the future of Greybull Capital-owned British Steel. I realise this is a worrying time for those employed there and their families. As everybody across this House would expect, the Business Department is in regular contact with a wide range of sectors and companies. Of course, last month the Government entered into a commercial agreement with British Steel relating to its obligations under the EU emissions trading scheme, which has provided support to that company.

[Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)]

Q9. Three weeks ago, the Prime Minister received a copy of the children’s future food inquiry report, delivered to No. 10 by Dame Emma Thompson and six young food ambassadors who all experienced food poverty. The End Child Poverty coalition has found that, on her Government’s watch, half a million more children are having their lives blighted by food poverty than at the start of this decade. Will the Prime Minister meet those young food ambassadors to discuss the #Right2Food children’s charter as soon as possible?

Exiting the European Union

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Sharon Hodgson

Monday 10th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Two of the things that will be delivered by this deal are coming out of the common agricultural policy and coming out of the common fisheries policy. Those are both important, for our agricultural sector and for our fishermen, because we will be able to deliver improvements for both those sectors in the future.

[Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)]

Even by this Government’s standards, the events of today have been extraordinary. My constituents will be looking on today in horror at what the Prime Minister is doing. There are just 109 days to go until we are due to leave the EU and the Prime Minister does not have the confidence to put her own deal to a vote of this House. Every day this chaos continues, it damages the country. As the Prime Minister does not command a majority in this House any longer, will she step aside?

[The Prime Minister]

No. What we are doing is ensuring that we can have a deal. For the confidence and certainty that the hon. Lady’s constituents want, I believe that it is important that this country agrees a deal that delivers for them on their jobs and livelihoods in the future, and that is what this deal does.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Sharon Hodgson

Wednesday 5th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I suggest that my hon. Friend looks at the remarks that were made in the Chamber yesterday following the Government’s announcement that they would publish the final advice given by the Attorney General that was asked for.

My hon. Friend has referred again to the repeal of the European Communities Act 1972. As I have said in answer to him on more than one occasion in this Chamber and in the Liaison Committee, it was always clear during the passage of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, which did indeed repeal the 1972 Act and bring the EU acquis—EU law—into UK law, that in the event that there was an implementation period in which we were to operate much as we do today as a member of the European Union, it would be necessary to ensure that any necessary changes were made, and those changes will be made in the withdrawal agreement Bill, which will be brought before Parliament.

[Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)]

Q7. The Prime Minister may recall that, last week, I asked her about the terrible funding settlement for Tyne and Wear fire and rescue service. Well, I was not happy with the answer, so I am going to try again. In the light of the fact that funding local services such as police and fire through the council tax precept just does not work in areas such as mine, will she look again at this funding formula, which will leave such areas perilously close to having unsafe fire and police services very soon?

[The Prime Minister]

I understand that, in Home Office oral questions this week, the Minister for Policing and the Fire Service undertook to get back to the hon. Lady. As he made clear this week, the authority’s core spending power has increased this year. I am also informed that the Tyne and Wear service holds £25 million of reserves, which is equivalent to 52% of its core spending power.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Sharon Hodgson

Wednesday 28th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

First—I might say this in answer to a number of questions—my hon. Friend should not necessarily believe everything he reads in the papers. The position that the Government take is very clear: our prime concern must be the safety and security of Asia Bibi and her family, and we want to see a swift resolution of the situation. Obviously, there is a primary function for the courts and Government in Pakistan. The Prime Minister, Imran Khan, has publicly supported the Supreme Court and has promised to uphold the rule of law, while providing continued protection for Asia Bibi.

We could approach this in two ways. We could go out there and say something, just to show that the UK is doing that, or we could ask what is right for Asia Bibi. We are working with others in the international community and with the Pakistani Government to ensure that our prime aim—the safety and security of Asia Bibi and her family—is provided for.

[Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)]

Q12. This morning, in the Westminster Hall debate on the proposed plan for the Tyne and Wear fire and rescue service, the Minister for Policing and the Fire Service finally admitted, in relation to funding, that “Tyne and Wear has had a more challenging settlement than other fire authorities”. How will the Prime Minister right this wrong?

[The Prime Minister]

It sounds to me as if the hon. Lady has already raised her concerns in relation to this matter, with the debate in Westminster Hall, and we have—[Interruption.] Yes, we have been looking at the issue of fire authorities, and what we have seen over time is, actually, that sometimes plans are attempted to be put forward, on which money has been spent, which have not worked for fire authorities. It is important that we make sure that the level of protection and support that they provide is there, and obviously she has had a response from the Minister this morning.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Sharon Hodgson

Wednesday 18th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)]

Q6. The Bunny Hill and Washington urgent care centres in my constituency, and the Houghton urgent care centre in my neighbouring constituency, are under threat of closure by the Sunderland clinical commissioning group. It is not good enough for the Prime Minister just to say that these are simply local decisions, because local people certainly do not want those closures. What will she say to my constituents who rely on those vital urgent care centres, and to the staff at Sunderland Royal A&E who are going to have to deal with the aftermath of the closures?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady complains to me that we want decisions to be taken at local level by the NHS, but I believe it is absolutely right that decisions are taken at local level. When the NHS takes those decisions, the important thing is that it puts the interests of patients, the safety of patients and the treatment of patients first. She has raised this particular issue, and I continue to believe that it is right not for politicians here to make a decision like that but for actual clinicians and others working in the national health service to do so.