Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Holly Mumby-Croft

Wednesday 20th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Actually, I think more people have got compensation. I renew my apologies to the Windrush generation for what they have suffered, but we have greatly increased the compensation available. We have paid out, I think, more than £51 million. We are working with voluntary groups to ensure that people get what they are entitled to. I may say that Labour has never apologised for its own part in the Windrush scandal.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister for all the work he has done for Scunthorpe, but I give particular thanks to him for the work that he has done for steel. He has shown his understanding both of the challenges that steel faces and of its importance to this nation. He has kept every promise he has made to me on steel, and I thank him very much for his work on that. Does he agree with me that the future of steel is always safest under a Conservative Government?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, and I thank my hon. Friend for everything she has done to champion UK steel, a vital national industry.

Easter Recess: Government Update

Debate between Boris Johnson and Holly Mumby-Croft

Tuesday 19th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I repeat my apology and direct the hon. Gentleman to what I said earlier. The people of this country need us to focus on their issues and their priorities, and that is what the Government are going to do.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

I thank the Prime Minister for his update on the energy security strategy, in particular the support offered for steel. It is the latest in a long line of support that he has brought forward, and it also sets out plans for wind, solar and nuclear. Does he agree that the best possible place to make the steel needed for those projects is right here in the UK?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, my hon. Friend is completely right. That is why our energy security strategy is vital not just for consumers, but for British industry.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Holly Mumby-Croft

Wednesday 23rd March 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Gentleman very much. I am not going to comment on the travel arrangements for the particular match—[Interruption.] The deputy Leader of the Labour party shouts for me to secure her a train. I am sure the FA will have heard the message that the hon. Gentleman has given.

What I can say is that I do agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch), who has just conducted a review on the matter, that we should indeed have an independent regulator for football.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

Q12. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is a great champion for steel, and we have just had brilliant news on the removal of the US steel tariffs. Will he reaffirm the commitment he made at the Dispatch Box on 31 January that the Chancellor will bring forward a package of measures on our steel energy costs? If the Chancellor is not able to make good on that commitment today, will he ensure that he does so as soon as he can?

[The Prime Minister]

I agree with my hon. Friend passionately, and I think that it is vital that we undo the damage done by the insane policies of the previous Labour Government, which whacked up the cost of energy for British industry, including steel. I will be bringing forward a British energy security strategy that will address the needs of British steel, British ceramics and the whole of British industry.

Living with Covid-19

Debate between Boris Johnson and Holly Mumby-Croft

Monday 21st February 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We have already secured more antivirals and therapeutics per head than any other country in Europe. We need to ensure that the clinically extremely vulnerable have access to them, and 1.3 million of them have already been sent tests.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

While the threat from covid has changed—thanks in no small part to the outstanding vaccination efforts led by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister—he will know that the effects on local hospitals will last for years to come. Does he agree that now is the right time to invest in upgrades to hospitals such as Scunthorpe’s?

[The Prime Minister]

Now is exactly the right time to invest in hospitals such as Scunthorpe’s and across the country. I cannot commit to the particular project that my hon. Friend describes, but that is the kind of project, 48 of which we are progressing across the country.

Sue Gray Report

Debate between Boris Johnson and Holly Mumby-Croft

Monday 31st January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

This is the Government who took this country out of the European Union—did what was necessary—and who are bringing the west together to stand up against Vladimir Putin. Those are the important considerations. As for the rest of what the hon. Gentleman said, it is nonsense but he should wait for the police inquiry.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

My constituents in Scunthorpe are very keen to see industrial energy prices fixed, so will the Prime Minister reassure me that he will not be distracted by any of this, and that he will get on with the job and come forward with a solution to that issue?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, my hon. Friend is completely right; we need to address not only consumer energy costs, but business and industrial energy costs, and I know that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will be bringing forward a package of measures as soon as he can.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Boris Johnson and Holly Mumby-Croft

Wednesday 5th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, and that is why we have the NHS and social care fund. That is why we are putting that measure through. How unbelievable that you guys did not vote for it—not you, Mr Speaker.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

I was fortunate to visit our new vaccination hub in Scunthorpe and speak to the healthcare professionals and staff who are doing a tremendous job, not just of jabbing people in the arm very efficiently but of reassuring the small number of residents who are still nervous about joining the rest of us in having our vaccinations. Will my right hon. Friend thank the wonderful volunteers and staff across my constituency for the important work that they are doing and their contribution to the national effort that he is leading?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Holly Mumby-Croft

Wednesday 24th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister was bang on when he spoke on Monday about ending the unfairness of our high energy-intensive industries paying more than is paid overseas. We know that he is a friend to steel in Scunthorpe, so will he continue to do all he can to ensure that my world-class steelmakers are on a fair footing?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for everything she does for steel and for Scunthorpe. I can tell her that I do believe British steel has suffered, as a result of decisions taken years and years ago, from unfair energy costs—we need to fix it. This Government are getting on with making another of the long-term changes we are instituting: we are putting in the nuclear base-load that this country has long been deprived of.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Holly Mumby-Croft

Wednesday 27th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

First of all, I must absolutely contest and deny what the hon. Member has said about action. She talks about coalmines, and she may not know that in 1970—I was alive; she may not have been alive—this country got 90% of its energy from fossil fuels, from coal, and we now get 5%. That is thanks to the green, active, technologically optimistic policies driven by Conservative Governments, and I am very proud of it. I am also proud of what we are doing to ban plastic and ban the export of plastic waste around the world, which is in our Conservative party manifesto, which we will fulfil.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con) [V]]

My constituent David Hopkins lives with grade 4 glioblastoma. The pioneering immunotherapy treatment he needs is not yet available in the UK. He and his wife Nicki continue to fundraise for his treatments in Germany, and I know that the wonderful people of Scunthorpe have been incredibly supportive in this. Will the Prime Minister join me in wishing the Hopkins family well, and will he work with me and the Brain Tumour Charity to improve research and treatments for patients like David?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, indeed. I thank my hon. Friend for what she is doing to campaign for such an excellent charity and, indeed, for her constituent David. I can tell her that the Department of Health is working with Tessa Jowell’s Brain Cancer Mission, announcing £40 million over five years on brain tumours of the type that she describes. I would encourage my hon. Friend to continue the excellent work that she is doing in this area.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Boris Johnson and Holly Mumby-Croft

Tuesday 23rd June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend will know that many people have been unable to attend routine hospital appointments throughout the lockdown. The reasons for that are many and varied. As the lockdown eases, what measures can be put in place to support hospital trusts as they work hard to catch up? Will he work with me to secure an upgrade to Scunthorpe General Hospital, which is needed now more than ever before?

[The Prime Minister]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on the way she represents her constituency. We will do whatever we can for Scunthorpe General Hospital. I have no doubt that it is on one of the lists of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. As she knows, we are investing record sums: £34 billion into the NHS—the biggest ever cash boost for the NHS. We are going to do 40 new hospitals—that remains an undimmed ambition. If anything, we are going to double-down on our ambitions for the NHS, so she should watch this space, particularly as regards Scunthorpe General Hospital.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Holly Mumby-Croft

Wednesday 3rd June 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. We are certainly looking at all sorts of packages—creative ideas—to help the tourism industry over the winter period so that its winter, as it were, can continue to be a kind of summer once we can get things open again. There are all sorts of packages that we will be bringing forward, but I do not want to extend some of the schemes that we currently have.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

Q14. I am very proud to tell the House that we have 2,500 world-class steelworkers in Scunthorpe. Like steelmakers across this land, they stand ready to make steel for High Speed 2. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said in the House that he wants to see that happen. Will he reassure me that he will press for HS2 to sign the UK steel charter, and that steel for HS2 will be made in Britain?

[The Prime Minister]

We are doing everything we can to support the UK steel industry and to make sure, as HS2 goes forward, that it maximises the use of UK steel. I am proud to say that 98% of the companies that have signed up to deliver for HS2 are based in this country.

Transport Infrastructure

Debate between Boris Johnson and Holly Mumby-Croft

Tuesday 11th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

On the contrary, HS2 will shorten journey times across the whole United Kingdom, in particular Scotland. Indeed, as I said earlier, there will be Barnett consequentials following the fantastic announcements that we have made today about buses and other modes of transport.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

I am grateful to the Prime Minister for his statement and vision to power up the north through transport. Historically, Scunthorpe steel has been used for many national infrastructure projects such as the two HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers. Does he agree that we should use our world-class steel such as that we produce in Scunthorpe for such projects?

[The Prime Minister]

I pay tribute to the workers of British Steel for what they do. Most of our train tracks come from British Steel, whether in Scunthorpe or elsewhere, and we will do our utmost, notwithstanding the difficulties that the plant faces, to ensure that that remains the case in future.