UK Energy Costs

Dean Russell Excerpts

Thursday 8th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Dean Russell (Watford) (Con)]

Given the announcement earlier, I also send my best wishes and the best wishes of all those across Watford to Her Majesty the Queen.

The announcement on energy costs today was very important. Over the summer, I spent lots of time volunteering with organisations, from the citizens advice bureau to working in the British Heart Foundation shop, and I heard at first hand about the challenges and fears that people have about the fuel crisis and their bills. We heard today about a significant package that will not only help people immediately, but deal with the long-term challenges, and we are making sure that the proposals work economically. As we all know, windfall taxes are a one-off—potentially a two-off, if we can call them that. However, once we get to the third or fourth try, they will not work, so we need something that works immediately and in the long term and which puts us on a competitive footing around the world.

We heard an important point about the fact that, by 2040, we want to be a net energy exporter. That means many things, including not just, importantly, our fuel security, but investment in jobs, investment in education, investment in skills and investment in business to make sure that we look ahead to the long term, so that we are not in this situation again—we do not want to be—and to help other countries around the world not to be in this position again.

I will make a final point, because I am conscious that you would like short speeches, Madam Deputy Speaker—and if anything, I am short. I studied physics at university—I am probably one of the few MPs who studied nuclear physics as part of my course, not that I was that great at it—and I think that the talk of moving forward with nuclear is so important. There has been a negative image of nuclear over many decades. The opportunity to have small modular reactors across the country that enable us to have safe, green energy that entire communities can rely on is essential. That is also about an infrastructure of skills and education.

I massively welcome this package and think it is the right one. There is more to do, of course—as always—but I welcome this debate. We can be certain of one thing, which we need to say to all our residents who are fearful of what may come: this will support them in the short term. Although people may disagree about the long-term approach, this will support them now and in winter and they should feel reassured that they are going to be okay.

Oral Answers to Questions

Dean Russell Excerpts

Wednesday 20th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am sad to say that I think a lot of people made money out of covid in a way that perhaps they should not have done. We deplore that and we are trying to recoup as much as we possibly can, but I remind the hon. Gentleman of the constant clamour from the Opposition and from the country for us to equip our country with PPE and medicines as fast as possible, and that we did.

[Dean Russell (Watford) (Con)]

Will the Prime Minister join me in thanking the brilliant staff and volunteers at Watford General Hospital for their tireless work for our community over many years? Does he agree that we should get started as soon as possible on the ambitious plans put forward by West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust as part of the new hospital programme to transform healthcare across our whole community, so that staff and patients can access world-class health services and facilities fit for the 21st century? I will add, if I may, that these ambitious plans are truly shovel-ready, and I will gladly go and buy a shovel today to get started.

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is a fantastic champion for Watford. I know, because I have been to see him several times, that he has been campaigning to get this hospital in Watford ever since he was triumphantly elected, and he is going to be successful, because there will be a new hospital scheme in his local area as part of our plan to deliver 48 new hospitals in this country by 2030.

Debate on the Address

Dean Russell Excerpts

Tuesday 11th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dean Russell (Watford) (Con)]

It is a true privilege to follow the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who always gives such eloquent and heartfelt speeches. It is an honour, and I will do my best to follow him.

It is also an absolute honour to speak today. Watching the Queen’s Speech earlier, one forgets that, just a few weeks ago, she sadly lost her lifetime partner. I remember that the last time I spoke here was to pay tribute to him. What the Queen often shows through her tenacity, her stoicism and her absolute belief in this country is something that came through in the speech today. There was a sense of optimism, a sense of hope and an absolute belief in the people of our great nation.

Over the past year, in the challenges we have faced—they may have seemed like impossible challenges at times—we have seen how our community across all our country and all our great nation came together to work together to save lives, to change lives and to support each other, whether that be the incredible work of the vaccination programme, helping carry bags of shopping for our neighbours, volunteering at local hospitals, or simply standing up and helping somebody who was in trouble.

I believe that the Queen’s Speech showed that, because it was about levelling up people and levelling up opportunity for each individual in this country. It is not about saying that because you come from one part, you will get less. It is not about saying that, because you have a certain background, you should not have that opportunity to succeed. It is about saying that every single person, however diverse the thinking and however diverse our backgrounds, belongs to one equal nation. That comes back to the Union.

I am, proudly, the Member of Parliament for Watford, but I am also a United Kingdom Member of Parliament. The word that sings through that phrase is “United.” We will consider our future over the coming years and decades, and we have the opportunity to build a stronger Union, through our work, our words and our efforts. Weakening that weakens us all as individuals, as nations, as a community.

Over the past year, especially as a member of the Health and Social Care Committee, I have seen the importance of our incredible NHS and care staff. I truly welcome the integrated approach that has been put forward to support our NHS and care staff. I truly believe that one aspect we must consider is the use of technology. Innovation came through in the Queen’s Speech. Innovation in technology, health care, the way we look at our integrated systems and at the future will be something we can build on, not just for this country, but to lead as global Britain around the world. That health care approach looks not only, in some instances, at ancient systems and at how we have treated ourselves over the past 100 or 200 years, but at how we look at the future. That has to include mental health, and I am proud that this Government have invested huge amounts in mental health and wellbeing. That has been an absolute focus in my constituency over the past few years.

One way to ensure people’s mental wellbeing is by them knowing that they will never be seen as second class for being a victim. For me, the measures on crime in the Queen’s Speech are critical. We should not be a country in which the victim of a crime is seen as lesser than the perpetrator of crime. That goes back to the way we look at ourselves as a nation and as a community. Victims of crime need to be put first, and today’s announcements will do that.

One aspect of that is ensuring we look forward in terms of skills. Skills are how we will not just level up this country, but power ourselves around the world. The way we look at each other and the opportunities will come from skills. The idea—it is rather archaic if we think about it—of saying that someone can get new skills only if they are young, seems rather crazy. The Queen’s Speech provides an opportunity for us to state that, whatever age someone is, whatever background they have, and whichever part of the country they came from, they will be able to skill up, change their life, and improve their life and that of their family.

I am particularly proud that the Queen’s Speech was optimistic. It was about hope and the future, and I fully endorse all its aspects. As the details come out over the coming weeks and months, we must, of course, scrutinise those details to ensure that we deliver on its ambitions on the ground, but the Queen’s Speech is ambitious because it believes in us as the people of our great United Kingdom. It believes in my constituents in Watford, and in all of us. We need that hope right now, after a tough year. We need that light at the end of the tunnel, and I believe we are at the end of that tunnel. The vaccination programme has enabled us to do that, and we can look forward once again.

Oral Answers to Questions

Dean Russell Excerpts

Wednesday 14th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Prime Minister, I think we ought to at least try and address the question.

[Dean Russell (Watford) (Con)]

It is a year this week since I had the privilege of starting to volunteer at Watford General Hospital, and over that time I have been fortunate and privileged to work alongside some inspirational and selfless volunteers. As the nation reflects this week on the importance of schemes to support young people, may I ask the Prime Minister whether he will meet me to explore the creation of an NHS cadet scheme to pay tribute to those who have volunteered over the past year and also create a lasting legacy for generations to come?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, indeed. I thank my hon. Friend for what he is doing. I thank everybody at Watford General Hospital for the support they have given throughout the pandemic, particularly the volunteers, who play a massive part in our vaccination roll-out programme. I fully support the NHS cadet scheme—part of our work to establish a volunteering legacy for young people following the pandemic.

His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Dean Russell Excerpts

Monday 12th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dean Russell (Watford) (Con)]

I would like to begin by joining the House in paying tribute on behalf of myself and the people of Watford to the life of Prince Philip. I would also like to send our condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and to the royal family. Although I never had the honour of meeting His Royal Highness personally, from afar I often felt that he could be described by two phrases: his sense of duty and his sense of humour. Prince Philip dedicated his entire adult life to his duty: duty to his wife, his queen and to all of us.

It is incredible to think that it was as long ago as 1955 that Prince Philip first visited Watford, opening Woodside Playing Fields, which he described at the time as an “excellent and first-class example” to all of the towns and cities in the UK of what a town of 70,000 people can do. The following year, he created the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, which has since inspired millions of young people over the years.

I often think of Prince Philip as having a twinkle in his eye. Sadly, today, many of us have a tear in ours, but the many stories of his dedication to our country will shine on, and his legacy will live on through the millions of people he has inspired.

Prince Philip has often been described as the nation’s grandfather, but I think it would be more fitting to say that he was this nation’s great-grandfather. To paraphrase his own statement, Prince Philip was an “excellent and first-class example” to all of the people in the UK and around the world of what one man can do. My prayers are with Her Majesty the Queen, and the royal family. Rest in peace, Prince Philip. Thank you for your service.

Covid-19 Update

Dean Russell Excerpts

Wednesday 27th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, indeed. The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the problem of differential learning. Unquestionably, some kids, and some families, in some parts of the country have suffered more of a break in their education than others; there is absolutely no doubt about it. That is why we are going to focus so much on the catch-up funds that I have identified. Of course, Greater Manchester will be targeted for all the measures that we have outlined this morning and more to come.

[Dean Russell (Watford) (Con) [V]]

Across Watford we have incredible teachers. Will the Prime Minister, like me, thank them for the incredible work they have been doing in keeping schools open for key workers’ children? Will he also confirm his priority to make sure that schools can reopen as soon as it is safe to do so, in line with the advice from our scientific and medical advisers?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend and I have visited wonderful schools in his constituency together; we know the fantastic job they are doing. I know from talking to those teachers and those pupils how much they will be looking forward now to getting back into school. I can tell my hon. Friend that we will do everything we can to speed it up, but we must be cautious; we must make sure that we do it in tandem—pari passu—with the roll-out of the vaccine.

European Union (Future Relationship) Bill

Dean Russell Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons
Wednesday 30th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge and Malling) (Con)]

After sharing many conversations with friends around the House and on various Benches, I am sorry to say that I disagree with the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Dr Whitford) and many on the Opposition Benches. I am going to vote, alongside Members of the Dáil and Parliaments around Europe, to back this treaty. I am going to recognise that the European Union has made an offer and we have accepted it, and that we have made one and they have accepted it, and I am going to respect that. That is why I am going to vote with the Government today.

After the last four years, nobody can claim that breaking up is easy, so I am delighted that I was here to hear my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Sir William Cash) speak, because what he said, he said with his usual candour. He respects our interdependence, and he respects that that interdependence comes at a cost when we assert independence from it. I respect that; he is right. He also made it clear that sovereignty is deeper than deals: it is in the Government’s robustness and preparedness and in their willingness to defend our interests with vigour. Great Britain, as he rightly said, has guarded its sovereignty in this agreement.

After years of acrimony and anger, it is time to end the constitutional Kama Sutra that has left us all bruised, exhausted and distracted from our families, our friends and our communities. It is time to move on.

[Dean Russell (Watford) (Con)]

In constituencies such as mine there was great division around Brexit and the referendum. Does my hon. Friend agree that when the Division bell rings today and the deal goes through, it is time to heal those divisions and to move forward together as one Union?

[Tom Tugendhat]

I absolutely agree. We have been in the EU for only 47 years—that is the lifespan of a Hohenzollern empire. We are leaving the EU, just as Germany left that empire, and we will find a new way of working together. This deal is but the first step on that journey; it is just the concordat that bridges the channel and looks to future co-operation.

Many areas are overlooked; many people have mentioned them, and I know will build into them. Building on the rule of law, our close partnership with like-minded democracies, our new alliances with European countries and other countries around the world, and our global ambition—in many ways that was the building block for the Union of our four nations, which still lives in the hearts of our people today—we can see our people prosper in security and peace for years to come. Indeed, we have achieved that as an island nation for longer than almost any other nation.

The history of that stability is one reason why the Foreign Affairs Committee has heard from people such as the King of Jordan and the former President of Liberia, Nobel peace prize winners, former Foreign Ministers, business leaders and diplomats that British leadership has been missed for too long. They recognise that what we offer is worth having. We need now to invest in our foreign services and co-ordinate our Departments to deliver abroad, and we need to do more than roll over trade deals.

Wars are not won by defence but, as NATO doctrine puts it, by offensive action. We need to be bold if we are to chart a different future and we need to build on the Prime Minister’s coming visit to India and the wider alliance that is coming together in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. We would be welcomed hugely, and I have been told clearly by many, particularly by the Pacific democracies. We have a chance to renew international co-operation and commit ourselves to the environmental revolution that is so essential as we chair the G7 and COP26. This Government have the chance to set the agenda that the world needs to protect democracy at a time of autocracy and to defend the rule of law. We can make Glasgow the next milestone after Paris in the path to a greener world. Britain will succeed if we remember our friends in Europe, the Commonwealth and the world, if we renew our alliances and build new partnerships, and if we develop new, greener markets and industries, innovate and invest in ourselves. This is a new beginning and we alone are responsible for seizing it.

Covid-19 Update

Dean Russell Excerpts

Monday 12th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am proud of this Government’s record in raising the living wage by record sums. The hon. Lady will have heard what I said earlier about continuing with our support for universal credit—continuing with the uplift in universal credit—for the whole of this financial year.

[Dean Russell (Watford) (Con)]

While I was volunteering just this morning at Watford General Hospital, where it happens to be Think Clean week, the wonderful specialist infection prevention and control support worker Cheryl Atkins used an ultraviolet system to show me how easily this or any virus can spread through poor hand hygiene. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is incumbent on us all to fight covid by washing our hands regularly and by following the incredibly simple yet tremendously powerful guidance of “Hands, face, space”?

[The Prime Minister]

I agree totally with my hon. Friend, and it should be Think Clean week in Watford and across the whole of the UK.

UK-EU Negotiations

Dean Russell Excerpts

Tuesday 16th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I had not heard that. I have not heard any such submission from the Department of Health, but I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising the issue and I will ask my good friend the Health Secretary about it.

[Dean Russell (Watford) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend assure my fantastic business community in Watford and the chamber of commerce, which I speak with regularly, that we are trying to get the best deal we possibly can, that it is not the case that we are trying to chase no deal and that we are working incredibly hard to make sure that we get the best deal for this country?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. One of the reasons why the Prime Minister wanted to have the high-level meeting yesterday—one of the reasons why the three presidents wanted it as well—was precisely in order to accelerate progress towards securing a deal. We are ready for life outside the single market and the customs union, come what may, but it is our devout intent to secure a deal. I hope my hon. Friend can tell businesses in Watford, whom he represents so effectively, that their voices are heard loud and clear in Downing Street and the Cabinet Office.

Oral Answers to Questions

Dean Russell Excerpts

Wednesday 6th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dean Russell (Watford) (Con)]

What recent assessment she has made of the trends in the level of uptake of STEM subjects by girls.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Elizabeth Truss)]

Since 2010, there has been a 31% increase in girls’ entries to science, technology, engineering and maths A-levels in England, and a 34% increase in the number of women accepted on to full-time STEM undergraduate courses in the UK. Increasing the number of women in STEM industries is vital for our country’s economic success and also for equality of opportunity.

[Dean Russell [V]]

In Watford we have incredible, inspirational women and girls across the area. Watford girls school, for example, does incredible work in this space. How are we are supporting women, including those who are learning at school at the moment, into STEM roles, so that we can continue to showcase how Britain is playing a leading global role in science for all?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. It is still the case that women make up only 25% of those employed in manufacturing and 30% of those in information technology. We need more women in those fields to use their amazing talents. We are committed to removing the barriers to success for women and to celebrating those who have achieved, such as Ruth Amos of StairSteady, who has invented new areas of engineering, which we should continue to celebrate.