Departure of Previous Home Secretary

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Thursday 20th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I think I will decide that, though.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

My constituents were informed yesterday that 200 economic migrants will be accommodated in a hotel in Ipswich town centre, at great cost to the taxpayer, putting pressure on local public services and also putting local jobs at risk. Will the Minister confirm to me that the new Home Secretary will prioritise the unsustainable practice of accommodating illegal immigrants in hotels and throw support behind things like the Rwanda scheme, which the Labour party opposes? That is potentially the only way that we can nip this problem in the bud.

[Brendan Clarke-Smith]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. In terms of reassurance, we have seen the Prime Minister acting swiftly to get a new Home Secretary in place yesterday afternoon. That is because the Government are committed to pushing ahead with our agenda and important issues that need attention, such as those that my hon. Friend highlighted. That is why it is so important that we have that stability and why the Prime Minister took the action that she did.

Tributes to Her Late Majesty The Queen

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Friday 9th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

If one wanted an example of how much affection the people of Ipswich had for Her late Majesty, they would need to have been in Ipswich on the weekend of the jubilee. We have heard today that, apparently, more parties were held in Twickenham than anywhere else in the country, but I am not entirely sure about that. I am not sure what the measurement was, but I think Ipswich was definitely strongly up there. All communities came together. I remember my jubilee card competition—I thought my Christmas card competition was popular until I had the jubilee card competition. We had more than 1,000 entries. The winner from Ranelagh Primary School was incredibly proud to have her card go to the Queen.

Her late Majesty visited Ipswich many times, but there are two visits that really stand out for me. One of them was in 1961 to Chantry. At the time, it was a fledgling housing estate. It became the largest housing estate in Europe. It is now a community of 15,000 to 20,000 people, and it is the beating heart of Ipswich and our town. I also think of 2002, her golden jubilee, when she visited the Ipswich waterfront. That just indicates how much the town has changed in her reign, and also her uncanny ability to time her visits. It gave a sense to the people of Ipswich that she was monitoring closely the town’s development and cared passionately about her subjects who lived there. That care and love was reciprocated.

I must admit that I am a big fan of “I Vow To Thee My Country”. I am also a big fan of “Jerusalem”. I have, on occasion, speculated that perhaps one of those hymns should have been our national anthem. But right now there is nothing I would not give just to have sung “God Save the Queen” a few more times—perhaps for a few more years. There is nothing that I would not have done. Right now, we need to ask ourselves what Her late Majesty would want us to do. What she would want us to do is unify as a country and face the challenges ahead, and proudly say, God save the King.

Bill of Rights

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd June 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point, which is why I hope I can squarely give him the reassurance that we are not only remaining a state party to the convention but that it is properly enshrined in the Bill of Rights. That ought to answer all the consequential questions he raises.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

From what I can see, this very focused intervention is about making it easier to kick out rapists and people who have broken the law and to stop people arriving here illegally. The elephant in the room is border control, which the people of this country have repeatedly voted for and is bitterly opposed by the Opposition, whatever they say.

Does the Lord Chancellor agree that the Bill of Rights is so important because it will enable us to control our borders and deliver the Rwanda policy, and that it should be expedited? I do not mind doing all-nighters, and I do not mind staying up until 2 am. I think most people in this country who want border control would want this Bill of Rights because they can see how it links to that.

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I share my hon. Friend’s restlessness to proceed with all due speed, because we have been talking about this for a long time. I wrote about it in a book in 2009, and it was in our 2010 manifesto. The consultation process is important, and we had a 12-week consultation on the consultation document, which included clauses. We are publishing it now, but there will be space for further scrutiny by the Joint Committee on Human Rights, the Justice Committee and others, including Lords Committees. It is important to garner cross-party support to ensure we have the scrutiny that will make our reform more robust when it enters into force.

Easter Recess: Government Update

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Tuesday 19th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I might add to the hon. Lady’s list fixing social care when Labour did absolutely nothing, rolling out the fastest vaccine programme anywhere in Europe and thereby accomplishing the fastest economic growth in the G7, and leading the world in standing up to Putin.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

I appreciate the Prime Minister coming here today and taking full responsibility and apologising. It is clear that President Zelensky has repeatedly identified the Prime Minister as Ukraine’s greatest ally. He has also been identified, I think, by President Putin as enemy No. 1. Does the Prime Minister agree that that is not a bad accolade to have? Does he also agree that months of psychodrama in this place will play into the hands of the latter, not the former?

[The Prime Minister]

It is very important that the people in this country should understand that, although the country is faced with massive issues that we have to deal with, in the aftershocks of covid and the war in Ukraine, I in no way minimise the importance of the fine I have received and I apologise wholeheartedly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Tuesday 8th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[James Cartlidge]

Legal aid for domestic abuse is primarily a civil legal aid matter, but in relation to criminal legal aid I am pleased to confirm to the hon. Lady that I am meeting the CBA later this week and engaging with the association through the all-party parliamentary group on legal aid in a webinar tomorrow. I am engaging with all stakeholders because I think that is the right and constructive approach to drawing up this important policy so that we achieve our aim, which is better reform of the criminal justice system.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

Lighthouse Women’s Aid in Ipswich does huge work in the area and across Suffolk, as the Minister knows. I hope that Ipswich being one of the seven outposts for Ministry of Justice civil servants will mean that we are at the forefront of new initiatives to tackle domestic abuse. Will the Minister update me on the timeline for these jobs coming to Ipswich and the strategy to ensure that as many of them as possible go to Ipswich people?

[James Cartlidge]

My hon. Friend and neighbour is a great champion of his constituency. We will set out further details of our plan to move staff out of London. It is entirely right that we do that as part of the Government’s levelling-up agenda. I should also say that I welcome his championing of what the voluntary sector can do to support victims of domestic abuse.

Covid-19 Update

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Wednesday 5th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Of course kits need to be approved—[Interruption.] Perhaps the hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) wants kits that are not approved to be on the market. They have to be approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and that is the right thing; but my understanding is that we have been up at 15% of lateral flow tests in this country being supplied in the UK, from zero.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

I congratulate the Prime Minister on sticking to his guns and not bringing in additional restrictions over the festive period and threatening to charge people £60 for going to work, like they did in Wales. However, the mental health damage done by even the threat and fear of restrictions has been significant. Some of my constituents have actually said it was worse this time than it was when the lockdown happened, because then they thought there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and their fear now is that this could be a never-ending nightmare. Could the Prime Minister give me assurances that mental health is at the heart of the decisions on covid that we will make in the future?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an incredibly powerful point, which I think should be heard in all parts of the House. As for those calling for restrictions—as the hon. Member for Ilford North, who I think speaks on health matters, did repeatedly before Christmas—lockdowns have an effect on people, and particularly on mental health.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Wednesday 8th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am of course sorry to hear about the troubles that the hon. Lady’s constituent is experiencing, but I remind her that under the EU settlement scheme we have helped almost 6 million people to settle in this country, which is double the number that was expected at the time of the Brexit referendum. That is a tribute to the compassion of this country and its willingness to help those who come here and make their lives here.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

St Francis tower in Ipswich has been a beneficiary of the building safety fund. However, Oander and Block Management, which manage the building, have shrink wrapped the entire tower and it will be on the building for up to 12 months. Many desperate tenants are living in darkness for 12 months, and bars have been put on the windows so that they can barely be opened.

Does the Prime Minister agree that, yes, this vital work needs to take place but that we need balance and that we need to do this quickly for the lives and mental health of the desperate people in that tower right now?

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Wednesday 13th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I agree with my hon. Friend—these comments are appalling. They reflect an attitude on the left of politics that says, “If you’re not from an oppressed group, you’re not entitled to an opinion”, and I think that is fundamentally wrong. I believe that equality is for everyone, and I am not going to let this debate be dominated by a few campaign groups.

Topical Questions

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Elizabeth Truss)]

As we recover from covid, we need to make sure that everyone in Britain has a chance to succeed and is being treated fairly in the workplace. We are broadening the focus of the Equality Hub from protected characteristics to equality for all and, in particular, tackling the scourge of geographical inequality. I will shortly be saying more about our new fight for fairness, delivering a better deal for everyone and standing up for fundamental human rights and freedoms across the world.

[Tom Hunt]

I very much welcome the fact that the equality agenda will be looking beyond simply protected characteristics. One key problem has been white pupils eligible for free school meals and how they have underperformed academically compared with other low income groups. Does the Minister feel that the equality agenda we have been working with, which has been almost exclusively focused on protected characteristics, may be an explainer in why that is the case?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. The attainment score at GCSE for white British children who receive free school meals is lower than the equivalent for black and Asian children. At the Equality Hub, we are conducting a life path analysis to understand where the real issues are, and we are working closely with the Department for Education to take action on this issue.

Covid-19

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Wednesday 6th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I do not think anybody in this House takes any pleasure or satisfaction whatever in what we are being forced to do, but the right hon. Gentleman should know that lockdowns like this are being conducted and have been conducted across much of western Europe, basically because we all face the same phenomenon and because we have to protect our NHS and stop it being overwhelmed. That is what the previous lockdowns did: they stopped the NHS being overtopped by the waves of the pandemic. Had that happened, the death toll would have been unconscionable. That is why, when the right hon. Gentleman looks at what his constituents and the public think, he will see that they know overwhelmingly that we are right to protect them, protect the NHS and save lives.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

I asked the people of Ipswich to come up with ideas for this question and what I decided to go for was the importance of grassroots sports clubs in Ipswich, particularly boxing clubs. In the summer, I visited Patrick’s Boxing Club, which got help in the first lockdown but at the moment is struggling. It has still got fixed costs—rent, utility bills—that add to the burden. There is also Unity FC and Ipswich Kick Boxing Academy, which has a fantastic “Jab Not Stab” scheme to help combat crime and antisocial behaviour. Will the Prime Minister promise me that, when he considers any further support for these crucial clubs, which are based in the most deprived parts of the town that I have the honour of representing, he takes into account not just the benefits for physical and mental health, but the key role they play in keeping kids on the straight and narrow, out of harm and out of trouble, and in making a fantastic contribution to our wonderful town?

[The Prime Minister]

Ipswich will benefit from not just kickboxing jabs, but vaccination jabs. That will enable us to get through this crisis all the faster. I am delighted by what my hon. Friend says, but we are supporting clubs such as the one he so eloquently describes by an extra £210 million to help wonderful community sports institutions such as Ipswich Kick Boxing Academy throughout the pandemic.

Covid-19: Winter Plan

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Monday 23rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, I will absolutely take the hon. Gentleman’s points on board in the conversations that Ministers are having across the devolved nations of the United Kingdom, including his point about the enormous number of ties, including family ties, between the UK and Republic of Ireland. As he knows, the common travel area is there between the UK and the Republic, so travel to the Republic from the UK side has never been restricted. That is a point of principle and policy, and I know that it is important for the people of Northern Ireland.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

It is welcome news that Ipswich Hospital found out on 11 November that it would be receiving £5.2 million for a new molecular laboratory. This will allow the hospital to ramp up rapid testing to almost 3,000 a day by the end of March. We have also heard reports that Suffolk’s first site for delivering vaccinations will be ready in two weeks’ time, with the NHS proposing the Gainsborough sports centre in Ipswich. Testing and vaccinations are two crucial ways to beat the virus, so does my right hon. Friend agree that having Ipswich at the forefront of both these key issues will be a real boost to Ipswich residents?

[Matt Hancock]

We have put millions of pounds into Ipswich Hospital, and I know that my hon. Friend supports Ipswich Hospital very strongly indeed. I am glad that across Suffolk and across the whole of the country we are now putting in place the vaccination hubs that will be there and ready, should the regulator sign off a new vaccine. I do not want to intrude on the rigorous independence of the medical regulator—the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, which will make the decision on the safety of these vaccines—but should it be approved, the NHS will be ready to begin the roll-out and I set the NHS the challenge of ensuring that it can roll out at the speed at which these vaccines can be manufactured and produced.