All 3 Debates between Ben Wallace and Alex Cunningham

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ben Wallace and Alex Cunningham
Monday 7th November 2022

(2 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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Alex Cunningham Portrait Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)
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10. If he will take steps to build the fleet solid support ships in the UK.

Ben Wallace Portrait The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Ben Wallace)
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The initial phase of awarding the contract for fleet solid support ships is due very soon. As that is market-sensitive, I will limit my response to saying that what I expect from whoever is successful is investment in our yards, in British jobs and in British supply chains.

Alex Cunningham Portrait Alex Cunningham
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As a reporter for Radio Clyde in 1979, I remember standing underneath the two ships built for the Polish navy as they were launched into the river—I needed to catch the sound effects. In those days, the UK and other Governments had tremendous pride in our shipbuilding industry, but the Thatcher Government devastated it. Why do today’s Tory Government not restore that pride? Why do they not commit, as the Secretary of State suggested, to building those ships in British yards, as the Labour party would do, to provide those 6,000 jobs that could benefit communities across the country?

Ben Wallace Portrait Mr Wallace
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I will certainly ignore the rewriting of history other than to say that we still take pride in the ships that we build in this country. Some of our ships are the very best in the world. We will continue that, unlike the Scottish Government, who seem to think that they cannot make their own ships in Scottish yards and make them in foreign yards.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ben Wallace and Alex Cunningham
Monday 3rd February 2020

(4 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Ben Wallace Portrait Mr Wallace
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The Government’s strategy towards China is that we treat it in a way that befits its actions but measure our response when China does things that we do not like. For example, we test freedom of navigation in the Pacific but also seek to listen to the experts when it comes to issues such as Huawei. That is why the Government made the choice last week to allow Huawei to have a limited amount of the 5G market. Our policy towards Huawei is to cap it, to ban it in other parts of the network, and to reduce over time our dependency on that company and others like it.

Alex Cunningham Portrait Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)
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7. What recent assessment he has made of the quality of service provided under contracts outsourced by his Department.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ben Wallace and Alex Cunningham
Wednesday 24th June 2015

(9 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Ben Wallace Portrait Mr Wallace
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That absolutely is the key, and our long-term economic plan will deliver a rebalancing of the economy and new jobs. I am delighted to say that 40,000 more people are employed in Northern Ireland than was the case in May 2010. Giving people jobs is the fastest way out of poverty, and ensuring that the Northern Ireland economy converges with and improves alongside that of the rest of the United Kingdom is our No. 1 priority.

Alex Cunningham Portrait Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)
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15. Some 89,000 working families in Northern Ireland receive an average of £4,000 a year from the child element of tax credit. How will the Minister help them to restore the money that they will lose when the Prime Minister implements his welfare cuts?

Ben Wallace Portrait Mr Wallace
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The best way to help those people is to ensure that there is an economy that allows them to work, rather than forcing them to rely on the benefits system. It is interesting to note that ours is the party that wants to give people a hand up, while the hon. Gentleman’s party seems to want to give them a handout.