Business of the House

Darren Henry Excerpts

Thursday 3rd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Her Majesty’s Government are deeply concerned by the deteriorating security situation in northern Mozambique and the increasing attacks by groups with links to Islamic extremism. On 10 November, the Foreign Secretary and the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), publicly condemned the recent attacks. The Government are working with the Government of Mozambique to address the root drivers of this conflict and instability in northern Mozambique, including through engagement with the Government of Mozambique’s regional development authority in Cabo Delgado and by providing targeted technical assistance under the framework of a defence memorandum of understanding.

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his tireless campaigning on this issue. As with the issue raised earlier about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, it is a matter that the Government take very seriously, and I encourage him and other Members to keep on raising it on the Floor of the House.

[Darren Henry (Broxtowe) (Con)]

I welcome the Government’s efforts to increase funding for mental health, but as we see the light at the end of the tunnel with the pandemic, it is critical that we do not have a new crisis. Mental health is a subject that many in Broxtowe have raised with me, and they are right to do so. We must consider a long-term and targeted approach to support those experiencing crisis.

Will my right hon. Friend find time for a debate on how this Government can ensure that those in need are not reduced to breaking point before they gain help, but that early intervention is there to support those who are experiencing crisis, not least our extraordinary medical staff who have seen inordinate pressure this year and the scores of people in my constituency who are experiencing loneliness, isolation and anxiety during the pandemic?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am particularly grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this point, because all of us as constituency Members of Parliament see constituents who need help, and we try to get it for them. That is therefore a subject at the forefront of many Members’ minds. More money is being provided and more action taken on mental health. There is going to be an overall increase in funding to £13.3 billion in 2019-20, and there is a long-term NHS plan that has at its heart the largest expansion of mental health services in a generation, with further funding support to 380,000 more adults and 345,000 children. My hon. Friend is so right that this is ultimately about individuals and trying to get them support at the right time so that they can get through difficult periods in their lives. I will therefore pass his comments on to my hon. and right hon. Friends at the Department of Health and Social Care.