Business of the House

Craig Tracey Excerpts

Thursday 21st March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

Like many hon. Members from across the House, I have cases of this kind in my constituency, and have been working to support the individuals involved. I reiterate the Government’s position, which is that I am sure the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions will want to update the House at the earliest occasion. He will clearly have to read the report and reflect on it, but I know that he is keen to do so swiftly.

[Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) (Con)]

This week, I had the privilege of meeting the inspirational Hannah Gardner, who has incurable secondary breast cancer at the age of just 37. Recently, Hannah and thousands of other women received the devastating news that the life-extending drug Enhertu, described by oncologists as a game-changer, has been rejected by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for use by the NHS in England, despite being approved in Scotland and 45 other countries worldwide. She brought a campaign to Parliament, because it is the only realistic treatment available for her, and time is not on her side. Can we have an urgent debate on getting all parties, including the drug companies, NICE and NHS England, back to the table, and urgently approving Enhertu, so that Hannah can at least realise her modest wish of seeing her three-year-old daughter Lilah attend her new school?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for all his campaigning in this area, and for all his work with a number of all-party parliamentary groups. I also thank him for arranging for me to meet Hannah when she visited Parliament. She is an inspirational woman, and the fact that she is campaigning so hard, not just for herself but for other people, is testament to that. I also thank the Breast Cancer Now team, who also visited me and are doing tremendous work in campaigning to ensure that not just Enhertu but other life-extending drugs can be approved.

I am sure that the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will have heard about the campaign and will want to set up meetings to discuss it. I think that about 1,000 women a year in England could benefit from the drug, and given that it is widely available and deemed to be clinically and cost-effective elsewhere, I hope that NICE will reflect on that, and that a patient access scheme might be established. I will ensure that the Secretary of State has heard what my hon. Friend said.

Business of the House

Craig Tracey Excerpts

Thursday 10th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am sorry to hear that the hon. Gentleman’s constituents are concerned about potential cuts, which of course are decisions for local councils to make. What I can say is that councils have access to over £200 billion to deliver local services up to 2020. In areas such as social care, which we know are under pressure, the Government have provided more money. I encourage him to seek an Adjournment debate so that he can raise his particular concerns directly with Ministers.

[Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) (Con)]

Last week, eight-year-old Penelope Jones from Bedworth visited my regular surgery, having written me a letter about improving her local play area. I appreciate that it is not in the gift of my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House to provide the zip-line and extra swings that Penelope asked for, but it served as a timely reminder that we represent all our constituents, not just those who are old enough to vote. May we therefore have a debate on how we can better engage with young people and encourage constituents of all ages and backgrounds to engage more positively with their local representatives?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I think that is a really good idea. I congratulate Penelope on getting involved and trying to improve her local community—hopefully she will keep up her interest for many years to come, and perhaps even stand for Parliament one day. As part of last year’s suffrage centenary, the Cabinet Office has developed various resources for use with young people by teachers, or indeed by representatives, which are designed to educate and encourage them to participate in our democratic society.

Business of the House

Craig Tracey Excerpts

Thursday 28th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am deeply sorry that the hon. Lady has lost her stake. I am sure it was not too great a stake, but she probably had high hopes after drawing Germany in that sweepstake.

The hon. Lady raises an incredibly important point. Men’s sheds do amazing work to try to improve men’s mental health. This is often forgotten, but as we know, a key reason for death, particularly in young men, is suicide due to mental health problems. I absolutely join her in congratulating all those involved in the men’s shed work in her constituency, and I wish them every success with it in the future.

[Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) (Con)]

Nether Whitacre Parish Council in my constituency has highlighted the challenges its rural villages face from non-compliance with planning regulations in the green belt, saying that regular abusers of the planning system ignore requests from the local planning authority to remove temporary buildings. Following the recent Government consultation, can we have an urgent debate on how planning enforcement powers can be strengthened to further protect our countryside from unauthorised development?

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend is a strong campaigner for his area. As he knows, local planning authorities have a wide range of enforcement powers and strong penalties for non-compliance available to them to tackle unauthorised development. It is for them to decide how and when to use those powers, but as we have discussed, the recent consultation sought views on what, if any, further powers might be useful, particularly to help bring proceedings to quicker conclusions. We are looking at the responses to the consultation, and an announcement on the way forward will be made as soon as possible.

Business of the House

Craig Tracey Excerpts

Thursday 29th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

There are very clear rules around citizenship status. The hon. Gentleman raises an important constituency matter that I am sure Home Office Ministers will look at. If he wants to write to me, I can take it up on his behalf. I also say to him that Home Office oral questions are on the first day back—16 April—and he might want to raise his specific point then.

[Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) (Con)]

On Tuesday I was delighted to host, along with my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Mr Jones) and the Sikh Channel, a “Respect the Turban” event here in Parliament. It was fantastic to see many right hon. and hon. Members hearing of its significance. Sadly, the event was required due to a recent mindless attack on a Sikh gentleman outside Parliament. Will my right hon. Friend join me in thanking the Sikh community for their valuable contribution to the UK over many decades, and may we have a statement on what more the Government can do to prevent hate crimes in our society?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I join my hon. Friend in thanking the Sikh community for the fantastic contribution that they make to the United Kingdom. I absolutely commend him for hosting the recent event, and I was so sorry to hear about the unacceptable attack on a guest of the hon. Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi) just outside this Palace. All hate crime is condemned by all hon. and right hon. Members across the House. I can tell my hon. Friend that since 2010 we have published a hate crime action plan. We are working with the police and communities to tackle all forms of hate crime, including by improving police recording of such crime so that forces now capture data on all five monitored strands and can deal with it accordingly.

Business of the House

Craig Tracey Excerpts

Thursday 1st March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The Government’s red lines are that we are leaving the European Union in March 2019, in line with the result of the referendum. That means that we are leaving the single market and the customs union, and it means that we are taking back control of our borders, our laws and our money.

Everything is a negotiation. The Government have made it clear that we want low-friction trade and zero tariff and non-tariff barriers wherever possible. The Prime Minister will make a speech tomorrow on our negotiating position, but the hon. Gentleman must realise that there are no hard and fast answers at the moment. This is a negotiation, so what someone from the European Commission or the European Council may have said does not make it necessarily the fact.

[Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) (Con)]

Last week saw yet another abuse of leaseholders in my constituency, this time in Coleshill, where some one-bedroom flat owners received bills for up to £8,000 a year in ground rent. May we have a statement on how the important Government work on leases with short review periods and doubling clauses is progressing?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I met the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government this week to discuss that subject, in my role in connection with policy. My hon. Friend has raised a very serious matter. Abuses of this sort need to be stopped, and we are committed to stopping them through our programme of leasehold reforms. That means, for example, legislating to prevent the sale of new-build leasehold houses except when necessary, making certain that ground rents on new long leases for both houses and flats are set at zero financial value, working with the Law Commission to support existing leaseholders, and making the process of purchasing a freehold or extending a lease much easier and cheaper.

Business of the House

Craig Tracey Excerpts

Thursday 18th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I echo the hon. Lady’s tribute to the work of volunteers in food banks. They do a fantastic job. With the roll-out of universal credit, the Government have listened to Members across the House and to Citizens Advice. We have raised the value of advances. We have also ensured that people can get their universal credit on day one. We have reduced the waiting time to nothing and enabled transitional funding for people who are in private housing accommodation. People are always better off in work, but these measures will ensure that, as they transition to universal credit, the transition is made easier for them.

[Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) (Con)]

Following the publication of the motions on restoration and renewal, may we have a statement to update the House on what lessons have been learned following the reported cost overruns on the current Elizabeth Tower project?

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. I was extremely concerned to hear about the cost overrun on the Elizabeth Tower. The House authorities were certainly also disappointed, and they have learned lessons. They have tried to ensure that the proposal for an Olympic-style delivery authority to oversee the restoration and renewal of the Palace will reflect the absolute need to ensure that the project, if it happens, is done with the best value for money for the taxpayer in mind and the tightest possible control on costs.

Business of the House

Craig Tracey Excerpts

Thursday 30th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am very sorry to hear about that. If the hon. Gentleman writes to me, I will be very happy to take it up with the Business Secretary.

[Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) (Con)]

I recently had the honour of becoming patron of the Mary Ann Evans Hospice, which is a charitably funded hospice that provides really valuable services to my constituents and reduces pressure on the NHS. The hospice has made me aware of funding challenges that it and many others face, so can we have an urgent debate on the options available for hospices to make it easier for them to apply for NHS funding?

[Andrea Leadsom]

Huge congratulations to my hon. Friend on his new role. Hospices right around the country, including Cynthia Spencer Hospice and Catherine House that serve my own constituents so well, deliver excellent care and contribute to the well-being of their local communities. Millions of families benefit from them. I am sure that I can speak for all Members when I say how grateful we are to them. NHS England has developed a new payment system for end-of-life care, which is designed to be fairer and more transparent, and that will further improve care for patients.

Business of the House

Craig Tracey Excerpts

Thursday 13th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady will be aware that the business for next week has already been announced.

[Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) (Con)]

The exploitation of leasehold agreements by house builders and management companies is a national scandal that is leaving homeowners in my constituency in financial difficulty. May we have an urgent debate to explore an industry-wide solution to address the actions of such companies across the board?

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend is right to raise that important issue. The Government are working with partners who have an interest in reforming residential leasehold, as outlined in our housing White Paper, to try to improve fairness and transparency for leaseholders. The White Paper responded to leaseholders’ concerns that were raised by MPs in a debate on reforming leasehold in December 2016, and we will be consulting on what more needs to be done to promote greater transparency and fairness for leaseholders, including whether all developers and managing agents are acting in the best interests of those thinking of buying and living in a leasehold property.

Business of the House

Craig Tracey Excerpts

Thursday 9th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight this challenge and the appalling abuses of human rights that have been taking place in Iraq and Syria. Victims of abuse and religious minorities are among the categories that we have identified as the highest priorities under the scheme to admit 20,000 people to the UK, which the previous Prime Minister announced; that will also apply in respect of the 3,000 children we are taking in from the region, in addition to those 20,000.

[Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) (Con)]

Following the point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Amanda Milling), I wish to highlight the huge increase in fly-tipping across North Warwickshire and Bedworth in recent months. A recent episode near the village of Austrey led to an entire road being blocked by the rubbish deposited on it. The clear-up costs for just one council are estimated at £650,000, so may we have an urgent debate on this issue to see what more can be done to protect our countryside from this terrible scourge, which sadly seems to be on the increase across the country as a whole?

[Mr Lidington]

Many of us will have experience of what my hon. Friend rightly terms this “scourge” in our constituencies, and he is right to speak out today. Where fly-tipping involves hazardous waste or organised crime the Environment Agency has a role to play, so he might want to make representations to it. The Government last year gave councils the power to issue fixed penalty notices for small-scale fly-tipping incidents, and his local council might wish to explore that.

Business of the House

Craig Tracey Excerpts

Thursday 25th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

Labour’s policy has been, I think, to be supportive of universal credit, so I am not sure how the hon. Gentleman’s comment fits in with that. The reality is that universal credit creates a new structure that means that people are better off in work than sitting at home on benefits doing nothing. If people are going to get away from the benefits environment that many of them live in and get into the workplace, as we all want them to, they will need knowledge of, access to, and the ability to use technology, which is available through jobcentres, public libraries and other facilities. I think we have got this absolutely right and that universal credit will make a transformational difference to people’s lives.

[Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) (Con)]

My constituency has a growing problem of heavy goods vehicle drivers parking overnight on industrial parks and in neighbouring residential areas, such as Coleshill. They are predominantly drivers from eastern European countries. Hams Hall distribution centre is seeing up to 70 trailers a night. As a result, there is an increase in accidents and antisocial behaviour. May we have an urgent debate on the provision of adequate lorry parks and on the need for consideration to be given to this matter when granting planning on industrial parks?

[Chris Grayling]

By coincidence, the Secretary of State for Transport has just walked into the Chamber, so he will have heard my hon. Friend’s remarks. I understand the nature of the challenge and there are things that could be done to address it. I would like service station providers to cater more for this need, which is clearly present. It should not be imposed on local communities and estates. I know that the Department for Transport will be happy to listen to his comments.