Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Andrew Turner

Tuesday 7th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

20. What her plans are for unused land on the prison estate on the Isle of Wight.

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Elizabeth Truss)]

We are working on potentially transferring the former Camp Hill site to the Homes and Communities Agency. This is an opportunity to develop the site, build new homes and regenerate the local area.

[Mr Turner]

That is most impressive. Will the Secretary of State meet me and Councillor Richard Hollis to discuss the possibility of a car park near Albany prison?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend, as indeed would my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. As I have said, we are seeking to transfer the site to the Homes and Communities Agency. Yesterday, I had a meeting with officials to urge them to get on with it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Andrew Turner

Tuesday 6th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

23. Given the recent attack on a prison officer in my constituency, what will the Secretary of State be doing to ensure the safety of prison officers at work?

[Elizabeth Truss]

Making our prisons safer places is my No. 1 priority. That is why we are dealing with drugs, drones and phones, and it is why we are investing in additional prison staff across the estate.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Andrew Turner

Thursday 12th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question. Since 2009, we have seen a 50% increase in dairy exports. There is still more to do, however, which is why we have appointed our first ever agriculture and food counsellor at the Beijing embassy—China will be the world’s largest importer of food and drink by 2018. There is, of course, more work to do, and we have given the Groceries Code Adjudicator further powers, including the power to impose fines of 1% of turnover.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

A key plank of the Government’s assistance to dairy farmers is the LEADER programme. After the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs failed to answer pleas for advice on the Isle of Wight’s application, will my right hon. Friend agree to an urgent meeting, so we can discuss this matter with Ministers?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question, and he is right about the vital support the LEADER programme brings. DEFRA Ministers are already looking at this issue, and I would be delighted to discuss it with him.

Child-care Ratios

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Andrew Turner

Thursday 9th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

Does the Minister agree that there are two kinds of help with nursery schools? There are those who advocate socialism—that is, they want there to be expensive nursery places, but very few of them—and there are those who make decisions for themselves. They can stand on their own feet and make their own decisions about what they want for their children.

[Elizabeth Truss]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question, and he is absolutely right. What the Opposition are effectively saying is that a lot of parents should be priced out of the market and should not have the opportunities of parents in other countries to access high-quality and affordable child care. The previous Labour Minister, Beverley Hughes, admitted that Labour had got it wrong on child care, so perhaps the Opposition need to think again.