Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Lucy Allan

Wednesday 30th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Gentleman very much. I think he is referring to the strategy that we have for food waste. As far as I know, we continue to support it, but I would be happy to update him by letter.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

I thank the Prime Minister for his earlier remarks concerning the Donna Ockenden report into avoidable maternity deaths and injuries at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. The report makes for devastating reading, the more so because women’s voices were ignored. My constituent Hayley Matthews begged staff for a C-section throughout her 36-hour labour, but was forced into a natural birth. Her son Jack arrived blue and floppy and, within hours of his birth, he tragically died. Will the Prime Minister join me in offering heartfelt sympathies to all the families affected and grateful thanks to the 1,862 women who shared their experiences with the Ockenden review to ensure that maternity care is safer, kinder and more compassionate for the women who come after them?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question. I think everybody will thank the women concerned for taking up the issue in the way that they have and we extend our heartfelt sympathies to the victims and their families for what they have suffered. It is very important that people get the answers that they deserve and that we have the right approach to the issue in the future. That is why we are investing very substantially in maternity services and also, of course, very substantially in midwives and in our NHS altogether.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Lucy Allan

Wednesday 16th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I really think that these constant attacks on Australia, its standards and its animal welfare standards will be very much resented by the people of Australia, and will not be recognised. Australia is marked five out of five, which is the highest possible, for animal welfare by the World Organisation for Animal Health performance of veterinary services evaluation team. This deal that we have done is the first ever to incorporate high animal welfare standards, as part of the package that Australia has agreed.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to assisted dying campaigner Noel Conway, who has died after taking the decision to have his breathing support removed, and does my right hon. Friend agree that it is now time for Parliament to properly consider the law on assisted dying?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend, and I know that the whole House will be in sympathy with Noel Conway’s family and friends. There are very deeply and sincerely held views on both sides of this matter, and a change in the law would obviously be one for Parliament to consider.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Lucy Allan

Wednesday 24th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I sympathise very much with the right hon. Gentleman’s desire to see freedoms restored, and I want to do that as fast as we possibly can. That is why we have set out the cautious but, we hope, irreversible road map that we have, which I hope he supports—and I hope the right hon. and learned Member for Holborn and St Pancras also supports, although you can never tell. What we also want to do is make sure that we are able to deal with the very considerable backlog that we have faced because of the pandemic: making sure that we have powers still to accelerate court procedures with Zoom courts; making sure that we allow volunteers to continue to help in the NHS and retired staff to come back to the colours; and making sure that we have powers that are necessary in education. It is important to be able to continue with those special measures for the months ahead, and that is why we have set out the Bill as we have.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

  My constituent Tracy Felstead is at the Court of Appeal today, along with 41 other sub-postmasters. She is seeking to clear her name in a grotesque miscarriage of justice: the Post Office Horizon scandal. The Court has heard about the “institutional imperative” to back a flawed IT system and to convict sub-postmasters, destroying the lives of decent men and women in a ruthless determination to protect the Post Office come what may. Taxpayers will be picking up the bill for this multimillion-pound reckless wrongdoing. Does the Prime Minister agree that, in order for justice to be truly done, those responsible for this failure and its cover-up must be held to account? Does he agree that heads should roll?

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly understand my hon. Friend’s strong feelings on this issue, and her campaign is shared by many Members across the House. That is why we launched the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry, which has made quite fast progress. Yes, we do want to learn the lessons. Yes, we do want to make sure that the right people are held to account for what happened and that the Post Office never repeats a mistake like this.

Covid-19

Debate between Boris Johnson and Lucy Allan

Wednesday 6th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

One of the consolations of the previous lockdown was that we did succeed in helping so many people off the streets—I think it was about 29,000—and we will continue to do everything in our power. The hon. Gentleman raises a very important issue. We will do everything in our power to prevent people from finding themselves sleeping rough or homeless during this winter, and that remains the policy of the Government.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

The vaccine is a massive achievement of which we are right to be proud, and the Prime Minister should be congratulated on all his efforts in that achievement. We must cut away all barriers to speeding up the roll-out: bin bureaucracy, incentivise 24/7 working by PHE, pay bonuses, use drive-throughs and pharmacies, and mobilise troops and volunteers. Will my right hon. Friend make this roll-out a dynamic, can-do, logistical British miracle, saving lives and livelihoods and not wasting a single day in taking us out of this lockdown hell?

[The Prime Minister]

I think that my hon. Friend perfectly captures the mood of the country about the vaccine roll-out. That is what we all want to see. We want to see a great national effort now, and she is right to call attention not just to the role of the NHS, GP clinics, GP services and hospitals, but to the vital role that can be played by pharmacies and the armed services. We want to bring them all together to roll out this vaccine as fast as possible. The picture she paints is entirely correct.

Covid-19

Debate between Boris Johnson and Lucy Allan

Tuesday 22nd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman is spot on about what has been happening in schools. Sadly, in many cases we have seen a rise in demand for tests because people are, reasonably, unable to distinguish between the symptoms of covid and a seasonal cough or cold. We are trying to address the situation as fast as possible. The one consolation we have is that children are much less likely to suffer seriously, if at all, from the disease, and it seems that they are much less capable of spreading it.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and for his steadfast service to our country during this very difficult time. He understands the long-term harm that a second lockdown would cause to people across the country—to their health, their lives and their livelihoods—as they try their best to get back on their feet. Will he consider targeting protective measures at those who are most at risk, rather than deploying the blunt instrument that is lockdown, which causes so much suffering and offers no hope of a cure?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right. We are doing everything we can to protect people, particularly those in care homes, who are so vulnerable, as we saw during the early stages of the pandemic. We have massively increased the winter action plan for care homes: putting in another £546 million; stopping movement between care homes; and taking the tough decision to stop visits to care homes in lockdown areas, which is very difficult for elderly people in care homes. The reason that we are taking those and other difficult measures now is that we want to avoid another national lockdown of exactly the type that my hon. Friend also rightly wants to avoid.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Boris Johnson and Lucy Allan

Tuesday 23rd June 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, my hon. Friend is completely right; as I said earlier, people should avoid public transport if they can. In determining whether they need to go to work, it is important for employers to discuss it with their employees as we go forward, but of course people should work from home if that is possible.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

On behalf of my constituents in Telford, I welcome this fantastic statement, and I am grateful to the Prime Minister. Will he devote his wonderful energy, enthusiasm and optimism to ensuring that we now have a bold, confident recovery plan so that we can rebuild our economy and safeguard jobs, opportunities and livelihoods in Telford and across the country?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her description of the plan that we are about to unveil. In the next few weeks, she will be hearing a lot more about how the UK intends not just to bounce back, but to bounce forward.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Lucy Allan

Wednesday 20th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Perhaps I can just say that I continue to be very happy with the level of co-operation, in spite of what we sometimes hear in this Chamber, between the Governments of all four nations, particularly Scotland. I just remind the hon. Lady, of course, that Scotland has benefited from about £1 billion of coronavirus funding in the last period and will get about £3 billion overall, which is perhaps a material consideration on which she might like to reflect.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

Unemployment in the under-24 age group has already doubled in Telford compared with this time last year, and it is clear that the aftermath of the pandemic will hit our young people hardest, with disruption to education and training, as well as job losses. I know that my right hon. Friend is passionate about opportunities for young people, particularly in areas such as Telford, which has suffered disproportionately in previous recessions. Will he ensure that the recovery strategy focuses on young people and equipping them with the skills they need to survive in a post-pandemic economy and, indeed, thrive in the longer term?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Lucy Allan

Wednesday 23rd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The BBC has the funds, as the hon. Gentleman knows full well, and it should be funding those free TV licences. We continue to make that argument vigorously with the BBC. The hon. Gentleman asks me to put the screws on the BBC. Believe me, we certainly will.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

Telford needs its A&E and its women and children’s centre. The town will have a population of 200,000 within the next 10 years. It is a new town—a former mining town—with pockets of deprivation and poor health outcomes and, while funding is being pumped into the affluent county town of Shrewsbury some 20 miles away, Telford is losing vital services. Will my right hon. Friend reverse the decision of the Health Secretary to approve this plan, and urge him to listen to the needs and concerns of my constituents and the representatives of the local area?

[The Prime Minister]

As I have seen myself, my hon. Friend is a battler for the people of Telford; she does a great deal of good work for them. As a first step, my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary has called on the A&E at the Princess Royal Hospital to stay open as a local A&E, but has asked the NHS to come forward with further proposals for better healthcare in Telford. However, I will certainly take up my hon. Friend’s further points with him.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Lucy Allan

Wednesday 4th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am a democrat, because I not only want to respect the will of the people in the referendum but want to have an election—or I am willing to have an election—if the terrible Bill goes through.

There is a reason why the separatists in Scotland drone on and on about breaking up and smashing the oldest and most successful political union, and that is to detract from their appalling domestic record. They are a total shambles. They have the highest taxes anywhere in Europe. Their educational standards are falling, for which they are responsible. Their signature policy—[Interruption.] This is a useful point. Their signature policy is to return Scotland to the European Union after Brexit, complete with the euro, the full panoply of EU laws and, as I never tire of saying, the surrendering of Scottish fish just when they have been taken back by this country.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

Q13. I warmly welcome the Prime Minister to his place. My constituents sent me here to speak for them, and what they care about is better hospital care, more police on our streets, and good schools for their children. Does the Prime Minister agree with people in Telford that those are the issues we should be discussing in this place? Will he commit to building on his welcome spending announcements to deliver great public services for my constituents?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend very much. We love Telford, of course, and it is going to see even more when my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announces his spending review shortly. There will be investment in the NHS, more police officers to keep our streets and the hon. Lady’s streets safe, and more money for every school in this country. Conservatives are delivering on the priorities of the British people.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Lucy Allan

Tuesday 18th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

I defer to my hon. Friend’s knowledge of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is important that we keep open all lines of communication. Archbishop Kirill may have some interesting points to make. It would be even more important if he took back a message from the UK that we do not tolerate what is happening in Crimea, in eastern Ukraine, and, above all, in Syria. I hope that his visit will be a factor for change in the Kremlin.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

3. What recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the outcome of the EU referendum.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Boris Johnson)]

Since becoming Foreign Secretary, I have engaged with many of my counterparts across Europe and beyond, including partners as far afield as Turkey and Japan. Those discussions have of course touched on the outcome of the referendum and the Government’s plans to enact the result.

[Lucy Allan]

My right hon. Friend kindly visited my constituency last year, so he will know that there are many Japanese employers in Telford. Will he please tell the House what assurances he has given to his Japanese counterpart that post-Brexit global Britain is still a great place to do business?

[Boris Johnson]

My hon. Friend will know that since the referendum result there has been a £24 billion investment from Japan in this country from SoftBank alone, and Japanese investment continues to come into this country. I think that all Japanese investors, and indeed investors around the world, can be secure in the knowledge that we will get the best possible deal for goods and services that will allow their companies to flourish and to prosper in this country as never before.