Oral Answers to Questions

Angela Richardson Excerpts

Wednesday 20th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am very sorry to hear about the experience of the hon. Lady’s constituent, and I am sure she will be raising it with the local NHS trust as well. The NHS is, of course, recovering from a difficult two years, but it has received considerable backing from this Government, including record investment, as was acknowledged by the NHS chief executive officer just the other week, and a plan to improve productivity in the future. We have invested in 5,000 new beds over the last year and more ambulances. All of that is contributing to lower waiting times, waiting lists coming down and an improved A&E performance over the last year.

[Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con)]

Q8. The people of the eastern villages of Guildford—the Clandons, the Horsleys, Effingham, Ripley, Send and Ockham—have had enough. Unwanted development and villages taken out of the green belt without promised infrastructure is why I have been calling for an immediate review of the local plan for the last three years. Does my right hon. Friend agree that Labour’s promise of concreting over the green belt, even against the wishes of local MPs, would simply add insult to injury?

[The Prime Minister]

Unlike both the Liberal Democrats and the Labour party, who believe in top-down targets that decimate the green belt, we believe in local people having a say over their local communities. That is why we are committed to protecting and enhancing the green belt. The national planning policy includes strong protections to safeguard this important land. I note that my hon. Friend’s local plan is currently under review by the council, which has indicated that it will be updating it, and I hope my hon. Friend and her constituents engage with that process to help shape Guildford for future generations.

Oral Answers to Questions

Angela Richardson Excerpts

Wednesday 26th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Kemi Badenoch]

As I have said in almost every discussion about equality—and I am prepared to say again—mandatory ethnicity reporting is not the appropriate tool. Ethnicity pay gap reporting cannot be compared to gender pay gap reporting. Gender pay gap reporting is binary; ethnicity pay gap reporting goes across at least 19 groups. It is dependent on geography, among other things, as well as representation within the workforce.

We need to do what we can to make sure that employers do the right thing, but the sorts of interventionist policies that the hon. Lady raises are not helpful and they make things worse. They obscure the data and do absolutely nothing to address the issues around ethnicity pay gap reporting that she describes.

[Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con)]

4. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the definitions of protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010.

[The Minister for Equalities (Stuart Andrew)]

The Equality Act 2010 covers a number of protected characteristics, including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnerships, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Women and Equalities has written to the Equality and Human Rights Commission to understand whether the Act is sufficiently clear in the balance that it strikes between the interests of people with those different characteristics.

[Angela Richardson]

What assessment has the Minister made of the importance of protecting single-sex spaces?

[Stuart Andrew]

We are committed to maintaining the safeguard that allows organisations to provide single-sex spaces. It is important to uphold the principle of being able to operate spaces reserved for women and girls. The Government are committed to tackling harassment and abusive behaviour by all individuals and to ensuring that single-sex spaces are safe. The EHRC has published guidance on the legislation. That clarity is there to help those who provide those spaces; it does not change the legal position or the law.

Ministerial Appointments: Vetting and Managing Conflicts of Interest

Angela Richardson Excerpts

Monday 23rd January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Quin]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. As he knows, there was a very robust process in place for the appointment of the chairman of the BBC, including a pre-appointment hearing. I read the transcript this morning, in which he played his usual prominent role in grilling the appointee, pre-appointment. It was an incredibly robust process, with an independent panel of five members going through that process. To reassure the House, I understand that the Commissioner for Public Appointments is going to double-check that that process was absolutely consistent with the proper governance expected of these appointments. I know that the chairman of the BBC has invited the BBC’s senior non-executive director to discuss the matter with the board to make certain that all relevant conflicts of interest were properly disclosed. So there are two processes ongoing. But this was a very robust process.

[Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con)]

I am astonished, though I should not be, at the brass neck of the shadow Leader of the Opposition in suggesting that the Prime Minister did not need to ask his independent adviser about the matter when the Opposition spent months calling for an independent adviser to be appointed. Is my right hon. Friend the Minister aware of any plans that the independent adviser has to publish an updated list of ministerial interests?

Oral Answers to Questions

Angela Richardson Excerpts

Wednesday 30th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I believe very strongly in local public broadcasting, and indeed the Government have taken steps to support local media. I will be happy to look at the specific issue the hon. Gentleman raises, and to bring it up with the BBC when I next see them.

[Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con)]

Q8. The people of Guildford tell me they want women and girls to feel safe, and I am delighted to have had some success in getting lights turned back on, including on Yorkie’s bridge on behalf of concerned students at the University of Surrey. Does my right hon. Friend agree that, even in difficult times, we cannot take a single step back from the brilliant work that this Conservative Government are doing to tackle violence against women and girls?

[The Prime Minister]

Like my hon. Friend, the Government are committed to tackling violence against women and girls, and to making our streets safer. We created the safer streets fund, which funds additional patrols, extra lighting and more CCTV. The StreetSafe online tool allows users, including those in her constituency, to pinpoint locations where they feel unsafe so that local police can take appropriate action. I will continue to support her in her efforts.

COP27

Angela Richardson Excerpts

Wednesday 9th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Lady is right that we need to ensure that we invest in our grid to enable the transition. That is an absolutely fair point and I know it is something the National Grid is focused on. I would be happy to get more into it and discuss it with her in the future.

[Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con)]

The UK is proof that one can achieve growth and slash emissions at the same time. Does the Prime Minister agree that we have an enduring commitment to go for clean and sustainable growth?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Our record on this is a 44% reduction in climate emissions and 76% GDP growth. That shows it is possible and that is what Britain is delivering.

Papers Relating to the Home Secretary

Angela Richardson Excerpts

Tuesday 8th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for calling me so early in the debate. When it comes to standards in public life and adhering to the ministerial code, my constituents are very quick to let me know if they think that something is not right, and my record on issues that have happened in the last couple of years shows that I would be the first in line to make a statement on that. I have had nine emails in my inbox on this issue—not the hundreds that I would normally expect to receive—and some of them are supportive of the Home Secretary. The Opposition are allowed to have a number of Opposition day debates. I am disappointed that they have not used this one for something that really matters to my constituents.

What really does matter to my constituents in terms of what the Home Secretary is trying to tackle is the small boat crossings, which we talked about yesterday in the Chamber. They want to see that dealt with so that those who need our help and support can have it and we have the capacity to offer safe and legal routes. My constituents want the Home Office to ensure that asylum claims are processed fairly and efficiently and that we can stop the criminal gangs taking advantage of vulnerable people with those unsafe boat crossings.

Today and this week, on the M25 not far from my constituency, Just Stop Oil protesters have been climbing gantries. My constituents are concerned about having their journeys disrupted as they go about their business. They want the Home Secretary to be providing our police with the powers they need to ensure that the protesters who have chosen to sit on motorway gantries can be removed swiftly and the roads reopened.

My constituents care about antisocial behaviour. I know of the widespread distress of individuals who have been affected by antisocial behaviour in neighbourhoods in my constituency. I welcome the addition of 155 new police officers in Surrey, which will help to combat crime and make our community safer. They are visible. A young girl had someone expose themselves to her on a local bus. She sat at a bus stop in distress and tears. Two female police officers saw her, pulled over and helped and supported her. We are improving policing and I am seeing the results in my community.

My constituents care about violence against women and girls being tackled and want our Home Secretary to get on and deliver the strategy to tackle that. They welcome the safer streets fund and the safety of women at night fund. I also welcome that almost £1 million of funding has been provided by the Home Office to Surrey police as part of the what works fund to provide a package of support for—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

Order. I have given a bit of latitude, but speeches should be about the motion before us. This is not a general debate on home affairs.

[Angela Richardson]

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. As a result, speeches will be short. It is not appropriate for the Government to publish information relating to confidential advice, which is sought by the Opposition’s motion. Were they fortunate enough to be in government, that advice would need to be given to them. They are asking us to publish these papers. They have to accept that we would ask the same of them if we were in opposition. On that note, I will not support the motion.

Oral Answers to Questions

Angela Richardson Excerpts

Wednesday 26th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kemi Badenoch]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising that subject, which I would be happy to meet with her to discuss in due course. As she knows, I returned to this role only a few hours ago, so I do not have a full answer for her now, but I am happy to work with her on this issue.

[Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con)]

What is the Secretary of State’s response to the allegations made yesterday, following her appointment, by Ben Cohen of Pink News?

Oral Answers to Questions

Angela Richardson Excerpts

Wednesday 12th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We have taken action on helping families to heat their homes. That has been very important, and I would love to see more support on delivering the energy security we need. Interest rates are rising globally— that is a fact—and interest rates are a decision for the independent Bank of England. But I want to do all I can to help families across Britain. The way we are going to help them is by delivering economic growth, and by making sure we have the jobs and opportunities in Scotland and right across the UK. What independent forecasters have shown is that, following our intervention, economic growth is going to be higher than it would have been if we had not acted. That is vital for jobs, opportunities and livelihoods, and helping to make sure that people are able to put food on the table.

[Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con)]

Q8. The Wey Navigation winds through the heart of Guildford and is a much-treasured part of our local environment. I welcome the announcement by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs last week that the Environment Agency will be able to increase fines on water companies for serious breaches of the rules to up to £250 million per breach. Will the Prime Minister confirm that no MP voted to discharge sewage into our waterways, and that it is beneath the Opposition parties and their activists to keep repeating that outright lie?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about our support for cleaner water. [Interruption.] The right hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner) has asked from a sedentary position what we are doing about it. The Environment Secretary has increased the fines on water companies 100 times should they discharge sewage into waterways in an illegal way. We have acted.

Tributes to Her Late Majesty the Queen

Angela Richardson Excerpts

Saturday 10th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con)]

It is a privilege to speak on behalf of my constituents. I will focus my remarks on Her Majesty’s role in marking the milestones of Guildford throughout her reign.

Queen Elizabeth first visited Guildford in 1957 with His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh to mark the 700th anniversary of the town’s charter. She was presented with a traditional gift for royal visitors to Guilford, on the balcony of the Guildhall, which was a plum cake—although I am not sure whether she partook of it, given her fondness for chocolate cake instead. The Queen then visited the half-completed Guildford cathedral, signing, with the Duke, two bricks to be incorporated into the structure. There they remain, along with many thousands of others signed by Guildfordians. She will be indelibly with us in Guilford for centuries to come.

Four years later, in May 1961, Her Majesty attended the consecration of the cathedral. It was the first new Anglican cathedral to be built in 500 years. In 2011, she returned with the Duke to mark 50 years since that consecration.

During the second world war, Her Majesty served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service in and around the Surrey area, and retained her connection to the successor Women’s Royal Army Corps during her reign. In 1964, she opened the WRAC barracks in Guildford, which, I am glad to say, cast off its nickname of the “powder puff barracks” to become the Queen Elizabeth barracks; today, this is the community of Queen Elizabeth Park. Her Majesty returned 15 years later, in 1979, to mark 60 years of the WRAC Association, unveiling a plaque to mark the occasion. In February 1981, she opened the Royal Surrey County Hospital and spent time touring the new facility, speaking to staff and patients. She returned in 1997 with the Duke to open the amazing St Luke’s cancer centre.

Her Majesty was also a visitor to the University of Surrey, attending the service of thanksgiving for the university’s silver jubilee in 1992 and opening the Surrey Space Centre in 1998. In October 2015, the Queen returned to open a school of veterinary medicine with the Duke of Edinburgh, when, as well as touring the facility, she spoke to Professor Noel Fitzpatrick about prosthetic limb use for dogs.

Her Majesty was a monarch who retained an interest in the lives of her people. She returned to cathedrals she had inaugurated, hospitals she had opened, organisations of which she had been a part and universities where the future scientists, artists and leaders of her nation were being educated. That interest and warmth drew so much affection from her people. Her investment in this country and its people was total and unwavering. It was the greater part of her and she an irreplaceable part of us all. May she rest in peace and may God save the King.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Before I leave the Chair, Mr Speaker has asked me to remind Members and staff that there is a service tomorrow at 6 pm at St Margaret’s church for the parliamentary community to remember Her late Majesty the Queen. Those wishing to attend should please contact Mr Speaker’s Office.

May I also say that it has been an honour to hear so many moving tributes to Queen Elizabeth II? I know that I speak for my constituents of Doncaster Central when I say thank you to our late Queen for her lifetime of public service. May she rest in peace, and long live the King. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”]

Oral Answers to Questions

Angela Richardson Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd March 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I remember the hon. Gentleman when he was doing planning at Islington Council, and a complete cock-up he made of that. What I can tell him is that this Government made sure that we got the personal protective equipment and the supplies that were needed in record time. That was absolutely vital, at a time when the Opposition were calling on us to go further and faster. Never forget that under the last Labour Government, there was £23 billion lost in fraud every year.

[Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con)]

I welcome the important interim report from Dr Hilary Cass in which she highlights the need for more research into why so many young girls are presenting with gender distress. Will my right hon. Friend agree to meet me and other concerned colleagues to discuss how we can constructively support those young people who are experiencing gender distress?

[The Prime Minister]

I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend. This is one of those issues that the whole House is coming to realise requires extreme sensitivity, tact, love and care. We must recognise that when people want to make a transition in their lives, they should be treated with the maximum possible generosity and respect. We have systems in this country that allow that and have done for a long time, and we should be very proud of that, but I want to say in addition that I think, when it comes to distinguishing between a man and a woman, the basic facts of biology remain overwhelmingly important.