Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Thursday 2nd March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Dr Coffey]

The advance of plastic packaging reflected consumer desire for on-the-go, safe products that individuals can carry. I welcome instances of manufacturers introducing their own recycling schemes. When we were children, we perhaps got pocket money on some of the deposit-return schemes, but we now have kerbside recycling, which has successfully increased the amount of recycled plastics.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

The Minister has shown real leadership on the issue and I applaud the Government’s efforts so far. However, for us to make a genuine difference we need other countries to get on board. Will my hon. Friend say more about what she is doing to ensure that we work collaboratively across borders to tackle the problem?

[Mr Speaker]

But not too much more.

--- Later in debate ---

The right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, was asked—

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

1. What progress has been made on identifying parish churches suitable for wi-fi and broadband in rural areas.

[Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

7. What progress has been made on identifying parish churches suitable for wi-fi and broadband in rural areas.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Dame Caroline Spelman)]

I would certainly like to welcome the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South (Bridget Phillipson) to her position and I look forward to working with her at these question sessions.

There has been a lot of interest from colleagues in this question of how to provide the internet to parts of the country that currently have poor provision. Churches play an important role in supporting community infrastructure, and the Diocese of Norwich has led the way. Since 2011, it has been the majority shareholder in WiSpire, which provides wi-fi internet signal boosters to churches across the diocese. We are in early discussions to expand that provision into the St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and Ely dioceses.

[Andrew Stephenson]

May I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer? Can she explain how the Church is engaging with communities that live in particularly rural and sparsely populated areas to enable them to receive high-speed broadband?

[Dame Caroline Spelman]

Obviously, the topography of Lancashire is challenging, so I am very sympathetic to my hon. Friend’s case. In fact, I went to see an example of a wi-fi booster signal, and as long as there is a line of sight between a church tower and another church tower, or a high building, it is possible to provide internet coverage in remote rural areas that currently have no signal. I encourage him to speak to the Bishop of Carlisle and I will give every support in his endeavour to ensure that his constituents are not digitally divided.

Future Flood Prevention

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Monday 27th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Neil Parish]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The evidence that the Committee took, and what we heard from people who came to talk to us, suggested that it is very helpful when communities are able to get together and warn each other about exactly what is happening. The Environment Agency and others can give the warnings, and the agency, the fire brigade and local authority staff are there to help, but the flooded communities themselves have built up a resilience that will help them in the future.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

Will my hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to flood wardens? Earby, in my constituency, was badly affected by flooding, and is now waiting for three different schemes to be introduced by the Environment Agency this year. Flood warnings, local flood plans, floodgates, and all the work that those volunteers do is extremely important to the response when flood waters start to rise.

[Neil Parish]

My hon. Friend is right. Local authorities, the Environment Agency and the drainage boards can do a great deal, but when local people come together, they know exactly what is happening on the ground, and flood wardens can react very quickly.

In Axminster, a shopping trolley went into a culvert and became full of wood. The whole place flooded, including three or four bungalows. If someone local had been there to hoick—I am not sure whether that is a word in the English language—the trolley out of the culvert, the flood would have been stopped. Such actions also ensure that resources go further. We are learning all the time.

One of the Committee’s most important recommendations was for a more holistic approach. It sounds obvious, but we need to work with nature rather than against it. If we slow the flow of the water by using natural remedies such as planting more trees, restoring wetlands and improving soil management, we are likely to see more and better flood prevention. We must allow water to flood fields naturally sometimes if they are on a natural flood plain rather than in an urban area. That would be a much cheaper and more cost-effective way of preventing floods.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Thursday 14th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

On the subsidies for renewables, we have made it clear that we must balance the need to keep costs down for consumers with the need of new technologies to be subsidised in order to deploy and keep their costs down. On offshore wind, we have made it clear that we see huge potential for the cost trajectory to go down. The offshore wind industry already has a target of 50% UK content, and I am certainly encouraging it to be more ambitious. That would absolutely include the use of British steel.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

Hinkley Point is expected to be one of the largest construction projects this country has ever seen, and it will require more than 200,000 tonnes of steel. Does my hon. Friend agree that this will provide a huge opportunity for the British steel industry?

[Andrea Leadsom]

Yes, and I would expand that to include opportunities for the supply chain right across the UK. The Government are working with the industry to develop a demand model that will provide a capability and capacity picture for the UK against the demand. Part of the aim is to identify the forward requirement for the components, which will include steel. We are working closely with new nuclear developers to create that supply chain right across UK businesses.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Thursday 7th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Rory Stewart]

Fundamentally, the answer to these issues is to ensure that we have good flood defences and that we build resilience in housing, but it is absolutely correct to say that we need to ensure that transparency is part of that. Somebody buying a house needs to know that it is at flood risk so that they can make an intelligent decision—ideally, it would be not to buy that house.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

T7. The excellent annual Trawden show takes place on Sunday 14 August. Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating Trawden and District Agricultural Society on organising the event, and does she agree that agriculture shows in communities play a key role in promoting agriculture to a wider audience?

[Elizabeth Truss]

Agriculture shows are fantastic. I have been to a large number this year, culminating in the fantastic Norfolk show last week. I want to give my compliments to the Trawden show and wish it all the best for 14 August.

--- Later in debate ---

[Oliver Colvile (Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) (Con)]

1. What discussions the Church of England has had with the Government on plans to regulate out-of-school education settings.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle)]

3. What discussions the Church of England has had with the Government on plans to regulate out-of-school education settings.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Mrs Caroline Spelman)]

Representatives of the Church of England have taken part in detailed consultations with the Government over the proposals to regulate out-of-school settings. I recently led a delegation of Back Benchers to a meeting at the Cabinet Office and we learned that this policy remains under review. I am hopeful that something will emerge that meets the key concerns that many of us have voiced.

[Mrs Spelman]

This is important because the Church of England provides 500,000 children with out-of-school education activities, which involves 80,000 volunteers. However, as hon. Members will know, anyone who works with children in out-of-school settings has to be subject to a careful check—the Disclosure and Barring Service check. There is no suggestion that our representations to Government in any way undermine our determination that children should be well protected, but we believe that they are in what the Church of England provides.

[Andrew Stephenson]

Religious organisations across Pendle, including Islamic education centres in Brierfield and Nelson, and the Barnoldswick Gospel Mission, which currently runs a Sunday school, have expressed concerns that the Government plans will be restrictive and prevent them from expanding their current educational work. In my right hon. Friend’s discussions with Government, has she received any further indications of a time scale for when these proposals may be brought forward?

[Mrs Spelman]

I am as anxious as my hon. Friend to have a rapid outcome on this decision, but, until a new Prime Minister is in place, Ministers are saying clearly that the final decision cannot be made. We received an assurance from the Minister for Schools that the Government have no intention of seeking to regulate religion or to interfere in parents’ right to teach children about their faith and their heritage.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Thursday 17th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Rory Stewart]

I should be delighted to take up that offer. Worcester is showing real leadership, but we would like many more towns and cities in the United Kingdom to engage in planting more trees. As my hon. Friend has pointed out, it is fantastic for tackling air pollution, fantastic for biodiversity and great for our leisure and health. In particular, I pay tribute to the work in Worcester at Laugherne Brook and Perdiswell.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

In addition to the development of new woodland, the maintenance of existing woodland is equally important. What steps have the Government taken to promote and maintain our existing woodlands?

[Rory Stewart]

We have a series of schemes on this. The countryside stewardship scheme gives grants to improve woodland. We also have new projects worth millions of pounds working on under-managed woodland to make sure it is managed better, and we have a £1 million scheme to help people to plan and develop new woodland across the north of England in particular.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mrs Spelman]

That is one of many examples of where the Church’s social action really makes a difference to the most vulnerable. In respect of the earlier question about the role of the local council, it is significant that Horsham council ran a social inclusion working group bringing together churches, charities, the citizens advice bureau and debt advice organisations to support and advise the most vulnerable.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

2. What discussions the Church Commissioners have had with the Church of England on supporting the Government’s See Potential initiative.

[Mrs Spelman]

The Church of England is fully supportive of the See Potential initiative and all efforts to help employers recognise the potential within people regardless of their background.

[Andrew Stephenson]

The See Potential initiative focuses in part on helping people with criminal convictions to get an opportunity in the jobs market. Churches are a vital presence within the prison system and are often key to people’s rehabilitation. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Church can play an important role in spreading the message to other employers that there is a benefit to them in exercising the Christian value of forgiveness?

[Mrs Spelman]

I could not agree more with that example, as it is incumbent on Christians to visit people in prisons. I have been very struck by an initiative from my own parish church, whereby volunteers mentor ex-offenders before they come back into society to help them prepare to go straight and to live a life in which they can sustain themselves. These are excellent examples that can be replicated in all constituencies.

Flooding

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Tuesday 5th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

The hon. Gentleman is right about the importance of involving local communities, and I should be very interested in looking at that scheme myself. Similar schemes are being delivered in areas such as Pickering, and by the Cumbrian Floods Partnership and the Somerset Rivers Authority. I think that we should give local communities more power over decisions and involve them more in building up resilience, as well as paying attention to our national risk.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

Throughout Pendle, most rivers rose to record levels. The town of Ireby, on the Lancashire-Yorkshire border, was worst hit. A number of homes and businesses were flooded, and I shall be holding a special advice surgery with councils this weekend to meet affected residents and business owners. Although a number of parts of Pendle have benefited from flood defences in the recent past, Ireby suffered once again. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss what more can be done to help the town?

[Elizabeth Truss]

Either the Floods Minister or I should be happy to meet my hon. Friend.

Climate Change and Flooding

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Tuesday 15th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Kerry McCarthy]

That is certainly an issue. Cockermouth has had planning permission approved for new houses, yet we have seen from the recent floods that the defences, which people thought were safe enough to withstand what was described in 2009 as a once in a lifetime or a once in a century event, were not good enough. The Government need to reassure me, therefore, that any defences around new housing in those areas would be sufficient to protect people and deal with the issue of insurance.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

The hon. Lady is making an eloquent case about Cumbria, but did she take any time to visit Lancashire, because we have had really bad floods as well? In the same year that Labour-run Lancashire County Council has voted to increase councillors’ allowances—they now cost the taxpayer more than £1.2 million a year—it has admitted that the timescale for regular inspections of storm drains has been increased from every 12 months to every 18 months, which undoubtedly contributed to the flooding. Do local councillors not need to get their priorities right?

[Kerry McCarthy]

I have not yet had the opportunity to visit Lancashire, although during the floods I spoke to my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood (Cat Smith) about the situation there. It is a bit cheap to bring in details of councillors’ allowances, when we are talking about people’s homes being under water and their perhaps being homeless for the next 12 months. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman needs to speak to his Front-Bench team about the massive cuts they are imposing on local government before he starts raising such details.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2015 Commons Chamber

The right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, was asked—

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

1. What plans the Church Commissioners have to improve the sustainability of church buildings.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Mrs Caroline Spelman)]

rose—

[Mrs Spelman]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Of course we must briefly pay tribute to my predecessor, who fulfilled this role with great aplomb and will be for ever remembered as enabling the legislation on women bishops.

The Church faces a great challenge in terms of its sustainability, particularly in rural areas. The Church Commissioners will be helping to support those churches that want to come back to the heart of the community by opening their doors to a wide range of uses that serve the community.

[Andrew Stephenson]

May I join you in paying tribute to my right hon. Friend and welcoming her to her new role, Mr Speaker? Brierfield Methodist church recently secured much-needed Heritage Lottery funding support for roof and masonry renovations, but Nelson United Reformed church is having to close next month, after 150 years of worship. Will my right hon. Friend set out how she will work with the Heritage Lottery Fund and other bodies to help preserve the church buildings, for which the Church Commissioners are responsible?

[Mrs Spelman]

My hon. Friend has just mentioned the Methodist Church and I am sure you would agree that it is right that we should all record our sympathy to the Methodist Church in South Carolina, which has suffered a terrible shooting tragedy.

I intend to work very actively with the Heritage Lottery Fund, which dedicates about £25 million a year to essential repairs for all listed places of worship. Given the urgency of my hon. Friend’s specific case, I suggest we work on it together immediately.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Thursday 11th December 2014 Commons Chamber

The hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, was asked—

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

4. What progress has been made by the Electoral Commission on its work in the 16 parts of the country it identified in January 2014 as vulnerable to voting fraud.

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

5. What steps the Electoral Commission is taking to reduce electoral fraud.

[Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon)]

The Electoral Commission has targeted 17 areas where there is a high risk of allegations of electoral fraud to ensure that returning officers and police forces have developed appropriate responses to address specific local risks for the May 2015 elections. The Electoral Commission has also worked with the College of Policing to publish detailed guidance for police forces on preventing and detecting electoral fraud. The Electoral Commission has worked with political parties to agree a code of conduct for campaigners and is developing a simple guide for voters about how to protect their vote and how to report electoral fraud.

[Andrew Stephenson]

Sadly, in Pendle, allegations of postal vote fraud are nothing new, with the dubious actions of certain Labour councillors being reported to the national press as far back as 2002. Serious questions were asked earlier this year on the letters page of the local paper about the rigging of Labour’s own parliamentary selection. What reassurance can my hon. Friend give me that fraudulent postal votes will not determine the outcome of the general election in Pendle?

[Mr Streeter]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight the threat of electoral fraud in his area. He will be pleased to hear that the Electoral Commission has called a meeting tomorrow for representatives of the 17 high-risk areas, including Pendle, to review progress on anti-fraud measures and to ensure that the May elections are as secure and as transparent as possible. The message must go out in Pendle and elsewhere that electoral fraud in this country will not be tolerated.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Thursday 30th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

4. What steps the Church of England is taking to help tackle extremism in the UK and overseas.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

9. What steps the Church of England is taking to help tackle extremism in the UK and overseas.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Sir Tony Baldry)]

The Church of England is taking a significant role in tackling extremism by supporting the work of the Government and by working through its own networks of local communities and the wider international Anglican communion.

[Sir Tony Baldry]

I fully agree with my hon. Friend. This is a terrible, grim and desperate case. I fear that it is a stain on the reputation of Pakistan that this young woman should have been in prison for such a long time.

Far too often around the world, cases of apostasy and the way in which blasphemy laws are used in some cases, as in Pakistan, are a complete offence against the principles of the United Nations charter on freedom of religion. We all need to take every opportunity to express to the Pakistani high commissioner in London and the Government of Pakistan how desperate and sad the world is to see that Pakistan has not managed to resolve that case more swiftly.

[Andrew Stephenson]

One of the biggest concerns of the Christian Churches in Pendle at the moment is the persecution of Christian communities by ISIS. Has the Church of England made any assessment of the threat of ISIS to religious minorities in the region?

[Sir Tony Baldry]

Only the other day, the Archbishop of Canterbury commented that Christianity is at risk of being completely eliminated from the whole of the Levant. I know that he is in discussions with faith leaders from across the middle east to see how we can work together to try to ensure that some religious tolerance returns as swiftly as possible.

The situation is desperate: the world appears to be going backwards, away from the high principles of the United Nations charter of 1945 and towards a situation in which intolerance, rather than tolerance, is increasingly becoming the norm.