Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chris Heaton-Harris and Simon Baynes

Wednesday 28th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

We have ended the presumption of automatic alignment with EU law by making it clear that the very narrow set of goods rules that apply in Northern Ireland are subject to the democratic oversight of Stormont, including the Stormont brake. Once the brake is triggered for a rule, or where an entirely new rule is brought forward, it will be for the UK to determine at the Joint Ministerial Committee whether that provision should apply in Northern Ireland. Here again, the Government have established the protections available through statute. We believe that there are very strong reasons for saying that we have ended the presumption of automatic alignment.

[Simon Baynes]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend and the Minister of State on their very impressive achievement in restoring the Northern Ireland Executive. Does the Secretary of State agree that good cross-border transport links are vital to safeguarding all parts of our Union? In my border constituency of Clwyd South, Iusb think of the electrification of the north Wales main line, which links to north-west England, and improved road links, such as the proposed Pant-Llanymynech bypass between Wales and north Shropshire.

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

I have to congratulate my hon. Friend on making some excellent constituency points as well as highlighting the importance of good transport links across our Union. The need for those links was recognised in the “Safeguarding the Union” Command Paper, and more recently, earlier this week, when we talked about the reinvestment of money that would have been spent on the northern sections of High Speed 2 into ensuring good connections across our country. Those connections include the A75, which is a vital connection between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chris Heaton-Harris and Simon Baynes

Wednesday 17th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

Yes, that is actually part of the review and one of the questions we are looking at.

[Simon Baynes (Clwyd South) (Con)]

6. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to strengthen Northern Ireland’s place in the Union.

[The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Chris Heaton-Harris)]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I wish to reassure him that the UK Government are fully committed to protecting and upholding Northern Ireland’s place in the Union. I regularly discuss matters of the Union, and the importance of Northern Ireland within it, with Cabinet colleagues and frequently meet the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland.

[Simon Baynes]

Would my right hon. Friend agree that the Union is now stronger than ever, particularly with the decline of the SNP, and that its vital importance can be seen not only in Northern Ireland but in border constituencies such as mine, Clwyd South, particularly in shared services across the border with neighbouring North Shropshire, such as the Gobowen to Wrexham line, the A5/A483 and the Chirk-St Martin’s GP partnership?

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

As we can see, all politics is local, and I congratulate my hon. Friend on the success of shared cross-border services in his constituency; he is absolutely right. I know he is a great champion of connectivity across the United Kingdom, and I am sure that his constituents appreciate his efforts on those matters.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chris Heaton-Harris and Simon Baynes

Wednesday 21st June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

The Government recognised in the Budget, as I have just mentioned, how important childcare is for all the reasons the hon. Lady gave, and we do work with the Department of Education as much as we can. According to its figures, in the 2022-23 academic year there were 22,715 pupils in funded pre-school education in Northern Ireland, which is 91% of three-year-olds in the population. However, she makes a very valid point about how this needs to go further, as it will do across the other parts of the United Kingdom.

[Simon Baynes (Clwyd South) (Con)]

2. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the performance of the health service in Northern Ireland.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chris Heaton-Harris and Simon Baynes

Thursday 3rd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

Warwick and Leamington is a truly beautiful constituency, and I agree that it is almost perfect for an e-bike trial. We have £257 million of funding in 2021-22, which will enable key actions from the long-term plan, and we can look forward to more announcements on this shortly.

[Simon Baynes]

Will the Minister join me in praising Denbighshire and Wrexham councils and the Canal and River Trust for their work in encouraging walking and cycling by the Llangollen canal and for promoting those activities in the newly announced master plan for the Trevor basin and surrounding area, in our world heritage site in Clwyd South?

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

Cycling and walking policy is a devolved matter for the Welsh Government, but I am happy to congratulate those councils and the Canal and River Trust on their work in and around this globally significant site and the canal world heritage site. We will follow in the steps of Thomas Telford, who designed the beautiful aqueduct there, to deliver high-quality cycling and walking infrastructure for future generations with the £2 billion that I just mentioned.