Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
Prioritise teachers, school and childcare staff for Covid-19 vaccination
Gov Responded - 23 Feb 2021 Debated on - 11 Jan 2021 View Craig Williams's petition debate contributionsAdvice from the JCVI on the priority groups for a Covid-19 vaccine does not include school/childcare workers. This petition calls for these workers, who cannot distance or use PPE, to be kept safe at work by being put on the vaccine priority list when such a list is adopted into government policy.
Pet Theft Reform: Amend animal welfare law to make pet theft a specific offence.
Gov Responded - 16 Jul 2019 Debated on - 19 Oct 2020 View Craig Williams's petition debate contributionsWe propose to amend the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to make pet theft a specific offence, distinct from that of inanimate objects; and in sentencing, the courts must consider the fear, alarm or distress to the pet and owners and not monetary value.
Make pet theft crime a specific offence with custodial sentences.
Gov Responded - 31 Mar 2020 Debated on - 19 Oct 2020 View Craig Williams's petition debate contributionsPet Theft Reform 2020: Revise the sentencing guidelines in the Theft Act 1968 to reclassify pet theft as a specific crime. Ensure that monetary value is irrelevant for the categorisation of dog and cat theft crime for sentencing purposes. Recognise pet theft as a category 2 offence or above.
These initiatives were driven by Craig Williams, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Craig Williams has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Craig Williams has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Supply of Drugs to Children Under 16 (Aggravated Offence) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Kevin Hollinrake (Con)
Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Virginia Crosbie (Con)
Events and Festivals (Control of Flares, Fireworks and Smoke Bombs Etc) Bill 2015-16
Sponsor - Nigel Adams (Con)
Under the first two iterations of the Recovery Loan Scheme, all applicants had to self-certify that they had been impacted by Covid-19 to access finance through the scheme. This requirement no longer applies to most applicants. Charities can continue to access finance through the scheme where they can self-certify they have been impacted by Covid-19. This exempts them from the requirement to derive at least 50 per cent of their income from trading activity that they would otherwise need to meet to access the scheme.
This provision will cease at the end of the year. All aspects of the Recovery Loan Scheme are under constant review to ensure that the scheme meets its policy objectives.
Charities are currently able to access the Recovery Loan Scheme by self-certifying that they have been impacted by Covid-19. Otherwise, they must derive at least 50 per cent of their turnover from trading activity to access the scheme.
All aspects of the Recovery Loan Scheme are under constant review to ensure that the scheme can meet its objectives.
The Government strongly supports the social enterprise sector’s contribution to society and the economy.
Social enterprises create jobs for those excluded from the labour market, directly address social challenges and build social capital within communities.
Policy relating to social enterprise is devolved. In England the government will continue to support the sector through access to finance including social investment, growing participation in public services and effective regulation.
Work is also underway to meet the commitments made in the Levelling Up White Paper around:
encouraging social organisations and entrepreneurship to flourish in left-behind places and generating evidence on what works;
building on and augmenting existing support for the sector;
encouraging the next generation of social entrepreneurs.
We recognise that COVID-19 has significantly impacted the tourism sector across the UK, including in Mid Wales. I hold regular discussions with my counterparts in the Welsh Government, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to assess COVID-19’s impact on tourism across the UK. We will continue to engage with the Devolved Administrations to assess how we can most effectively support the sector’s recovery from COVID-19.
As tourism is devolved, the Welsh Government is responsible for how and when lockdown restrictions are eased for the tourism sector in Wales, and for targeted financial initiatives to support the sector.
We are introducing a range of measures to deliver this ambition. The Leasehold Property Bill will make it easier for operators to deploy broadband in blocks of flats. We announced that we would be legislating to mandate gigabit connectivity in new build homes, and that we will be investing £5 billion in bringing gigabit broadband to the hardest to reach areas of the UK. To improve mobile coverage, we are investing £200 million into the 5G testbeds and trials programme. We have also announced the £1 billion Shared Rural Network deal with the mobile network operators to increase 4G coverage throughout the UK to 95% by the end of 2025.
Ofqual, the independent qualifications regulator, has put in place arrangements that will enable students to receive a grade wherever possible.
The calculated grades awarded this summer will be formal grades, with the same status as grades awarded in any other year. They will therefore be accepted by all institutions.
University representatives have already confirmed that they expect universities to do all they can to support students and ensure they can progress to higher education.
Students who cannot get a grade or would like the opportunity to improve their grades will be able to sit exams in the autumn.
The UK will donate 100 million vaccine doses over the next year, with 80% to go to COVAX. As of 9 August, the UK has donated 10.3 million doses, of which 4 million have been given bilaterally. We are aware of the challenges associated with storing and distributing COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in hard-to-reach communities. Resilient supply chains are essential, and cold chain equipment can bring capacity to this critical global challenge.
The UK's direct funding on COVID-19 vaccines has focused on vaccine development and procurement. For delivery, the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) has been engaging Multilateral Development Banks to make funds available to countries as part of a combined $29 billion COVID-19 financing envelope that can support vaccine procurement. Gavi has also raised $775 million to support vaccine delivery. The FCDO is also active in the UNICEF-convened Country Readiness and Delivery Working Group to drive coordination across donor and international organisation delivery programming. We are specifically engaging through our humanitarian networks to ensure that delivery planning and financing addresses the challenges of delivery in fragile environments.
The UK has stood up for Israel when it faces bias and unreasonable criticism, and has been clear that the existence of a dedicated agenda item ('Item 7') damages the prospect for a two-state solution and does little to advance dialogue, stability or mutual understanding. As such, at the 40th session of the Human Rights Council in March 2019 we moved to voting against all resolutions under Item 7. However, the UN and its member states have every right to address issues of concern in a measured, balanced and proportionate way. We will continue to support scrutiny of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the Human Rights Council, so long as it is justified, proportionate, and not proposed under Item 7.
Publication of the interim report is not currently foreseen by the EU. The UK has repeatedly lobbied the EU to push for publication, but this is ultimately a decision for the EU.
The Extended Area Sites (EAS) are being built in the most remote and rural areas of Great Britain to supplement the infrastructure provided for the Emergency Services Network (ESN) by EE.
When an Extended Area Site (EAS) site is activated, it will be able to handle Emergency Service Network calls and data transmission. On the majority of sites, it will also be available for EE’s commercial customers to use.
Wherever possible, the design of mast structures will be future-proofed so they can easily be upgraded to offer a commercial service. We will make all 292 EAS sites available, where possible, for mobile network operators to deploy on them as part of the Shared Rural Network although we recognise that, in some cases, upgrades may not be possible due to technical, financial, or other reasons. I can confirm that 117 sites meet the criteria to be utilised as part of the shared Rural Network with work ongoing on the status of the remaining sites.
The Carrier Strike Group (CSG) will deploy for the first time in 2021, providing tangible reassurance and security to our friends and credible deterrence to those who seek to undermine global security. During this autumn the CSG will be tested through a series of increasingly demanding exercises with allies so that by the end of this year we can declare with full confidence that the CSG has met Initial Operating Capability and is ready for operations.
I have had many online meetings with Welsh Government ministers over recent months, including several discussions with Ken Skates, the Welsh Government Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales.
These discussions have covered multiple topics, including the support that is being made available through Local Authorities to support businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The finances of local authorities in Wales is devolved and is a matter for the Welsh Government.
We have worked closely with the Welsh Government to enable the UK’s armed forces to play a vital role. Our servicemen and women have worked tirelessly to help build hospitals, drive ambulances and get PPE where it is needed most. This is testament to how strong we are as a United Kingdom.
I met Ken Skates, Minster for Transport and Economy for the Welsh Government last week and we discussed opportunities to improve transport across the border.