Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Thelma Walker

Wednesday 6th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. I was pleased to see the maquette of the war horse memorial, which will be unveiled in his constituency this weekend. I am pleased to say that that model is now in Downing Street. We have recognised the important role played by animals in warfare, and I am sure that when the memorial goes up in his constituency, it will remind many more people that we should never forget the part that animals have played.

[Thelma Walker (Colne Valley) (Lab)]

Q12. I am sure that the Prime Minister will join me in congratulating my hon. Friends who are this week celebrating the first anniversary of our election.In December, the four remaining members of the Social Mobility Commission resigned, with the chair citing the Government’s inability to“devote the necessary energy and focus to the social mobility agenda”.Does the fact that several key roles on the commission were left unfilled for almost two years reflect this Government’s lack of commitment to achieving not just social mobility for the few but true social justice for the many?

[The Prime Minister]

I congratulate all Members who came into this House after the 2017 general election, including colleagues on this side of the Chamber, and I hope they will not take it amiss if I mention in particular the 12 Scottish Conservatives who came in after that election.

This Government takes very seriously the issue of social mobility. We take it seriously through the policies we are implementing to help ensure that our young people get the skills they need, as my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Alex Chalk) mentioned in the first question, so that they can take the jobs of the future. I want a country where how far somebody gets on is a reflection not of their background or where they come from, but of their abilities and willingness to work hard.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Thelma Walker

Wednesday 16th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This House has voted to uphold the freedom of the press, which is an important underpinning of our democracy. Of course we expect high standards from our press and, as he will know, arrangements have been put in place to ensure there is that opportunity, through various bodies, to deal with the issue. It is important that everybody in this House is ready to accept—although we do not always agree with what the press say, and sometimes what they say is uncomfortable—that the freedom of the press is an important part of our democracy.

[Thelma Walker (Colne Valley) (Lab)]

Q8. I welcome the fact that the Health Secretary is in listening mode and has referred the plans for downgrading Huddersfield Royal Infirmary back to the trust. Now, here is the challenge. Nationally, how will the Government fill the 34,000 nursing vacancies, recruit the 47% of vacancies in GP surgeries, increase funding for community NHS services, fix Kirklees Council’s social care funding gap of £9 million a year and protect our NHS so it is free at the point of use in its 70th year?

[The Prime Minister]

It remains true that, to uphold its principles, we are putting more money into the national health service. In November 2017 my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced that a further £10 billion is going into the national health service. I have said that we will have a review for a long-term plan for the national health service, which will include multi-year funding. The hon. Lady refers to the numbers of doctors and nurses, and we have more nurses and more doctors in our national health service today than we did when we came into government.

Syria

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Thelma Walker

Monday 16th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right. Information will be available to the Government that it is not possible for them to make available to the House on all occasions, and it is important to be able to operate in a timely fashion to protect the safety and security of our armed forces when that is done on a legal basis that is accepted.

[Thelma Walker (Colne Valley) (Lab)]

Children escaping from war and terrible atrocities in Syria have been refused asylum and protection by this Government in the past. Let me be clear: Britain is better than that, and this military action has not been taken in my name. May I ask the Prime Minister whether bombing a country, then refusing to give asylum to children seeking refuge, reflects the Government’s idea of British values?

[The Prime Minister]

We have been granting asylum to both children and adults from Syria, through a number of schemes. However, we have also been supporting and maintaining, and providing food, medical assistance and water for, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in the region. Members of this House, including the hon. Lady, should be proud of the fact that we are the second largest humanitarian bilateral donor.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Thelma Walker

Wednesday 7th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

At the time when the Maastricht legislation was going through this House, I suspect that there would not have been many thinking that my hon. Friend would stand up to recognise the anniversary of the signing of the Maastricht treaty. I suspect that he feels able to do so only because we are coming out of the European Union. I assure him that we will be robust in our arguments. As I have said right from the very beginning, we will hear noises off and all sorts of things being said about positions, but what matters is the position that we take in the negotiations as we sit down to negotiate the best deal. We have shown that we can do that; we did it December and we will do it again.

[Thelma Walker (Colne Valley) (Lab)]

Q14. Kirklees Council, which serves my constituency of Colne Valley, has already had its budget cut by nearly £200 million, with a possible £45 million of cuts still to come. Which of the following things would the Prime Minister recommend that it cuts next: care for an older person with dementia; emptying the bins; providing hot school meals for vulnerable children; libraries, leisure centres and museums; or supporting the 24% of children living in poverty? Your choice, Prime Minister.

[The Prime Minister]

I would have thought that the hon. Lady should be welcoming the improvements that have taken place in her constituency, welcoming the many more children who are in good or outstanding schools as a result of this Government, welcoming the extra health funding, welcoming—[Interruption.]

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Thelma Walker

Wednesday 10th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

First, I congratulate my right hon. Friend on becoming a Dame in the recent new year’s honours—it is very, very well deserved. I assure her that we are committed to maintaining the strongest protections for AONBs and other designated landscapes. As regards the Chilterns AONB, I have to say to her that I enjoy walking in the Chilterns. I recognise the value of that particular environment, and we are committed to protecting AONBs.

[Thelma Walker (Colne Valley) (Lab)]

Q6. I was a teacher and a headteacher for 34 years, so I know that I speak on behalf of thousands of teachers and support staff when I ask the Prime Minister this: in the light of the recent announcement of a fall in teacher training application numbers by a third, will the Government listen to professionals and fully and fairly fund our schools and colleges; end the toxic culture of targets and tests; deliver a broad and balanced curriculum; and, most of all, return the joy of teaching and learning to our classrooms?

[The Prime Minister]

We are putting record sums into our schools. More than that, we are ensuring that we are seeing increasing standards in our schools. That is why today there are 1.9 million more children in good or outstanding schools than there were in 2010, and I hope the hon. Lady would welcome that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Thelma Walker

Wednesday 25th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am very happy to join my hon. Friend in wishing the Bloodhound team well; indeed, I have met some of the members of the team in the past. I also agree with my hon. Friend’s other point: this continues to show what a world leader in science and innovation the United Kingdom is. We have some of the world’s best universities, with four of them in the world’s top 10, and we have more Nobel prize winners than any country other than the United States. This is a record of which our country can be proud, and I am sure we will all be proud of the Bloodhound team and its achievements.

[Thelma Walker (Colne Valley) (Lab)]

Q10. Does the Prime Minister agree that the potential downgrading of Huddersfield Royal Infirmary— 479 professionals lost, over 300 hospital beds cut, and a 90-minute journey to the nearest A&E—is not in the best interests of my constituents? Will she meet me to discuss the detrimental impact this will have on Colne Valley and the surrounding area?

[The Prime Minister]

The principle that we want to base all these decisions on is that service changes should be based on clear evidence and led by local clinicians who best understand the local healthcare needs. I understand that Calderdale and Kirklees Councils have referred the proposed changes to my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary, and I know he will be considering the issues very carefully, and will be coming to a decision in due course.