Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Daniel Zeichner

Thursday 14th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

The Government responded positively this week to Professor Abdel-Haq’s report on taxi and private hire licensing. Will the Leader of the House look at reintroducing my private Member’s Bill, which would do exactly what the Government want to do but was chopped by one Member of this House?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am aware of the hon. Gentleman’s private Member’s Bill, and that was a shame. He will be aware that the Government have launched a consultation this week on robust new rules for licensing authorities, outlining how they should use their powers to protect vulnerable passengers from harm. These rules would ensure that drivers were fit to carry passengers, keeping people safe while preventing those with bad intentions from getting behind the wheel of a taxi or a minicab.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Daniel Zeichner

Thursday 24th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising this issue. It is incredibly important that we consider all the issues around pension changes. She will be aware that the Government have sought to ensure fairness between pensions for different types of workers, while recognising that as we live longer, affordability needs to be taken carefully into account. She may be aware that there is a debate next week, on Thursday 31 January, on pensions, and she might like to participate in that.

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

Tomorrow is the third anniversary of the disappearance in Cairo of the Cambridge PhD student Giulio Regeni. His body was subsequently recovered. He had been brutally tortured and murdered. The case has attracted international attention to issues of human rights and academic freedom. Can we finally have a debate in this place on the work the Government have done to put pressure on the Egyptian authorities to reveal the truth about what happened to Giulio?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am sorry to hear that it is nearing the third anniversary—it is extraordinary how fast time passes—and I am sympathetic to the hon. Gentleman’s request for further clarification. I would encourage him to raise the matter directly with Ministers at the next Foreign Office questions, so that they can prepare an update for him on exactly what steps they have taken.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Daniel Zeichner

Thursday 6th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I know my hon. Friend was the incident commander that night and lost many of his own men. He reminds the House of the dreadful events of the Ballykelly bomb in 1982. As with all acts of terrorism, this was an act of unspeakable evil for which there can be no possible justification. We all owe a vast debt of gratitude to the heroism and bravery of the soldiers and police officers who upheld the rule of law. Our thoughts today remain with the families of those who lost loved ones in this appalling attack.

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

Conservative-run Cambridgeshire County Council has sent a miserable Christmas present to their staff this year by demanding they take three days unpaid leave at Christmas—effectively a 1.2% pay cut. May we have a statement from a Minister to explain the mess they have made of local council finances?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am sorry to hear about the situation for the staff in the hon. Gentleman’s local area. I wish them all a very happy Christmas in spite of it. He will be aware that the local government finance statement will come forward soon. I suggest he raises it with Ministers then.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Daniel Zeichner

Thursday 25th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady often raises issues around youth violence, and she is absolutely right to do so. Tackling knife crime is absolutely a priority of this Government. It has devastating consequences on victims’ families and, of course, our communities. Under Operation Sceptre, the Government continue to encourage police forces to undertake a series of co-ordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime. We hosted an all-force briefing event on Operation Sceptre on 23 January, and a record 38 police forces have signed up to take part in the next week of action, which is planned for February. The operation includes targeting habitual knife carriers, weapons sweeps, test purchases of knives from identified retailers and the use of surrender bins. The Government launched a consultation on 14 October 2017, which has now closed, and we are looking at what more can be done to get rid of this appalling crime.

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

Two years ago today—on 25 January 2016—University of Cambridge PhD researcher Giulio Regeni went missing in Cairo. His brutally battered body was recovered a week later; he had been tortured and murdered. The crime sparked international outrage and has called into question very basic academic freedoms. May we have a statement from a Minister on what the Government are doing to mark the event, and on what pressure is being exerted on the Egyptian Government to find the truth about what happened to Giulio?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I think that that appalling case horrified everybody who read about it in the press, and the hon. Gentleman is quite right to raise it. May I suggest that he takes it up at Foreign Office questions, when he can get a proper answer to his question?

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Daniel Zeichner

Thursday 29th June 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Gentleman raises another important local point about a local hospital service, and I encourage him to seek an Adjournment debate on that topic. As for the broader point about the performance of NHSI, if he writes to me, I can raise it with the Department of Health.

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House has heard pleas from both sides of the House for the Secretary of State for Education to come here to explain what she is doing to tackle the funding crisis in schools, but we still do not seem to have had a firm assurance about when that will happen. When it does, can we get the Secretary of State to talk about the opaque accountability procedures in education as well? The regional schools commissioners are a particular anomaly in a country where the Government have abolished the regional structures.

[Andrea Leadsom]

Yes, the hon. Gentleman is right. Several colleagues have raised concerns about education, which the Secretary of State will have heard. I will certainly discuss that with her. She is of course looking closely at some of the issues, and the Government are determined to ensure that more children have the opportunity of a good school and a decent education. She is looking closely at the funding formula not only to make it fairer, but to try to ease the burdens on schools. I am sure that she will be making statements on all those issues in due course.