Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Amanda Solloway and Karen Bradley(7 years, 9 months ago)
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Amanda Solloway (Derby North) (Con)
I add my excitement to that of my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton Deane (Rebecca Pow), because the women’s cricket world cup will actually launch in Derby. I recently discovered my inner warrior when playing rugby with England Rugby and my local Derby team—in fact, I made my first tackle—so will the Secretary of State tell me what we are doing to encourage more women to play sports?
Karen Bradley
I know from personal experience that Derby has fantastic sporting opportunities for everyone. It is incredibly important that more women play sport and feel that they can take part. The “This Girl Can” campaign, for which I am sure my hon. Friend has seen the television advertisements, is part of that, as is the fantastic women’s cricket world cup. I know that one of the matches is in Derby, but I have to confess that I am going to the one in Leicester.
Hate Crime
Debate between Amanda Solloway and Karen Bradley(8 years, 5 months ago)
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Karen Bradley
The Chair of the Home Affairs Committee asks detailed technical points, and it will be for police forces to gather information on some of those. If he will allow me, I will write to him with the specific details on some of those technical points. His point about internet companies is incredibly important. We have seen and worked with internet providers to combat indecent images of children online, and I pay tribute to them for the work that they have done and the progress made. However, companies and individuals simply have not yet done enough. We say that what is illegal offline is illegal online, but we need companies and businesses to take responsibility for the actions of some people whom they allow to appear anonymously and get away with saying things that are unacceptable.
Amanda Solloway (Derby North) (Con)
Like many Members I am so saddened by recent events. Derby is a wonderfully diverse city with a great richness from all its cultures. What assurances can the Minister give that that will be taken into account in order to protect those minorities and embrace those cultures?
Karen Bradley
I agree that Derby is a wonderfully diverse and great city. I do not live too far away from Derby, so I get the pleasure of visiting it, although not as frequently as I would like. We are working with communities on the point raised by my hon. Friend. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but we must work with local communities and police forces to ensure the right response.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Amanda Solloway and Karen Bradley(8 years, 10 months ago)
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Karen Bradley
May I start by congratulating Katy Bourne, who has been an excellent police and crime commissioner in Sussex? I met her recently, and we discussed the many steps she is taking to deal with crime. Obviously, the deployment of operational resources is a matter for the chief constable, in consultation with the police and crime commissioner. However, the hon. Gentleman should remember his vote in this House to cut police resources by 10%—something that Government Members disagreed with.
Amanda Solloway (Derby North) (Con)
Recently in Derby, a young man lost his life following a fatal stabbing in the city centre. Last year, knife crime rose across the UK for the first time in four years. What steps is the Department taking to tackle the issue and to discourage young individuals from carrying knives?
Karen Bradley
My hon. Friend is absolutely right: we need to educate young people and show them that carrying knives is not cool and not something they should be doing. They should understand that it is dangerous and that it can result in the loss of life. That is why we legislated in the last Parliament so that someone caught with a knife twice has a mandatory prison sentence. We are doing more work, and I would be more than happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the specific issues in Derby, where I know there are concerns.