Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Cat Smith

Tuesday 21st June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right; that is a vital issue. We are seeing attempts by Russia to destabilise the western Balkans. I recently visited Sarajevo, as has the Minister for Europe and North America, to do what we can to support the country through greater investment, so that there are alternatives to malign investment, and to make clear our support for security in the nation.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

T5. Last week marked the 15th anniversary of Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which has caused a humanitarian crisis in the region. Will the Minister condemn the ongoing blockade and outline what steps the UK is taking to try to bring it to an end?

Sanctions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Cat Smith

Monday 28th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

My right hon. Friend is correct. We know that Putin does not just want to take over Ukraine and restore Russian hegemony over it; he wants to turn the clock back to the mid-1990s, when vast swathes of eastern Europe were under Russian control. That is one of the many reasons why it is so important that his ambitions stop in Ukraine. It is why we are not only supporting the Ukrainians but increasing our strength on the eastern flank. We have doubled the number of troops in Estonia and our allies are also stepping up to support the Baltic states, who are vital allies of the United Kingdom.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

I welcome the sanctions that the Foreign Secretary has set out and her words about getting Putin’s dirty money out of UK finance, but can we also get it out of UK politics? Would she support the Conservative party’s handing back its £2 million from Russian oligarchs?

[Elizabeth Truss]

There is a big difference between Russian people and supporters of the Putin regime. It is important that we do not tar every single Russian, many of whom have gained British citizenship and are part of our political process, with the same brush.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Cat Smith

Thursday 19th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

The answer to the hon. Gentleman is that we are seeking to roll over the Ghana deal, as we are other deals, but with Japan, we have gone through the process of producing a scoping assessments. [Interruption.] No, we were very clear that Japan was a deal that would go further and faster than the EU deal, alongside the new deals that we are negotiating with the US, Australia and New Zealand. There is a deal on the table for Ghana to agree to. It has already agreed to the same deal with the EU. There should be no block on Ghana being able to get tariff-free, quota-free access to the UK, and we are very happy to talk to its representatives at any time of the day or night.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

What recent discussions she has had with UK trade partners on including provisions on human rights in future trade deals.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Cat Smith

Thursday 8th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I hugely enjoyed my visit to Grange Hill farm with my hon. Friend. Our deal means that British beef going into Japan will have lower tariffs. We also announced last week that the first beef for 24 years was shipped from Britain to the United States. In the United States trade deal, we will seek to remove the 26% tariff on British beef so that we can get even more of that great product into that market.

[Cat Smith]

I have been contacted by many constituents who are concerned about the animal welfare standards in a US-UK trade deal. They ask me why the state of California can ban imports of products that do not meet its animal welfare standards but the UK Government are not willing to do the same.

[Elizabeth Truss]

We are absolutely clear that we are going to stand up for our high standards in any deal we strike, including with the United States, and make sure that the high standards our farmers operate to will not be undermined.

Gender Recognition Act Consultation

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Cat Smith

Thursday 24th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is right that under the Equality Act 2010, service providers can restrict entry on the basis of biological sex. Of course, there are cases, such as women’s refuges and prisons, where that is an important issue.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

It has taken the Government nearly three years to respond to this consultation and, in that time, the trans community have had their hopes raised and now dashed. If my inbox is reflective of the inboxes of other Members, the trans community feel bitterly let down by the Government’s actions this week. This has to be seen in a context of rising hate crimes, and the Government’s response—I will pull the Minster up on this—is not in line with what other nations are doing. We can look to Argentina or the Republic of Ireland, our near neighbour, which is doing things very differently. The Republic of Ireland has had a de-medicalised, self-determined system for gender recognition since 2015, and it is working. I urge the Minister to look again and not to let down the trans community, who are some of the most vulnerable constituents we represent in the House.

[Elizabeth Truss]

In my statement, I outlined the work we are doing to improve transgender healthcare. In all the research work and engagement we have done, that comes out as the No. 1 issue for transgender people. Focusing on improving those healthcare services is the way to help people lead better lives.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Cat Smith

Thursday 18th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I know that my hon. Friend is committed to Canada, having served as trade envoy and done a fantastic job. As part of our ambitious free trade agreement programme, we announced yesterday our intention to accede to the CPTPP, which is an advanced trade agreement covering chapters such as data and digital and goes far beyond what the EU has been willing to agree. Canada is one of the key players in the CPTPP, alongside countries such as Australia and New Zealand.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

What discussions she has had with UK trade partners on maintaining environmental protection standards in future free trade agreements.

NHS Pensions: Taxation

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Cat Smith

Monday 8th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

Constituents have been raising this issue with me. Not only have clinicians been affected, but patients have been left waiting longer for treatment, which seems totally unnecessary, given that the problem is that clinicians who are willing and wanting to work are in a position where they would not be earning money for working. They are not prepared to sacrifice that family time to come in to do those extra hours that they have been doing for many, many years. This problem could be fixed very quickly if urgent action was taken by the Treasury. I am glad the Health Secretary is meeting representatives from the BMA, but will the Chief Secretary make a commitment that someone from the Treasury will meet the BMA? After all, this was a problem created in the Treasury.

[Elizabeth Truss]

I would be interested to hear precisely what the hon. Lady is suggesting the Treasury does. The Treasury has to look at the pension tax system for all professions and occupations, and it is right that the Health Secretary speaks specifically to those operating in the medical sphere and the Treasury looks at the broad overview.

Flooding

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Cat Smith

Tuesday 5th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Under our six-year plan, we will be protecting more farmland. In fact, between 2010 and 2021, we will be protecting an additional million acres of farmland.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

Between 2011 and 2015, Lancashire fire and rescue service saw a reduction of 241 firefighters. Will the Secretary of State commit to creating a statutory duty, and with it the relevant investment, to enable our firefighters to tackle flooding in future?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I pay tribute to the fantastic work of the fire service and all the emergency services, the Environment Agency and the Army for what they did on the ground. We deployed those personnel as early as possible. We deployed the assets and I think they did a fantastic job in responding to the flooding.