Sanctions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Lisa Cameron

Monday 28th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I thank my hon. Friend for her very innovative idea and I will certainly have a look at it.

[Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP)]

Will the Government be looking to address the fact that cryptocurrency may be utilised to try to mitigate the impact of some of the sanctions imposed? The all-party parliamentary group on crypto and digital assets, which I chair, is very keen to play a responsible role and support the Government in moving forward in that realm.

[Elizabeth Truss]

We have worked very closely with the Treasury on this package of sanctions, and we are certainly looking at tackling every possible route that could be used to undermine the sanctions, one of which is cryptocurrency.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Lisa Cameron

Thursday 18th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I completely agree about the fantastic products such as Wensleydale, Yorkshire beef and lamb and all these opportunities. In fact, the first cargoes of British beef will be leaving UK ports this summer destined for America, now that the beef ban has been lifted. That is worth £66 million to the industry over the next five years. Of course, there is nothing nicer than a Sunday lunch and a nice bit of beef and Yorkshire pudding.

[Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP) [V]]

From the continuity agreement, exports to Chile have grown on average by 16% a year and consumers in the UK have benefited from lower prices on fruit, nuts and excellent Chilean wine. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group for Chile, I ask the Secretary of State what further progress will be made to ensure that that trading relationship with Chile goes from strength to strength?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I thank the hon. Lady for her positive question about Chile. Chile is an important trade partner of the UK. Of course, it is a key member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which we want to join. We want to have a better trading relationship with Chile and the 11 fast-growing members of that agreement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Lisa Cameron

Thursday 23rd January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

Starting a business is a fantastic opportunity. It provides people with power and control over their life, and it helps contribute to the economy and their family. We are expanding the start-up loan scheme, which has a particularly high take-up rate among female entrepreneurs. I strongly encourage my hon. Friend to talk to his constituents about this excellent scheme and make them aware of it.

[Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP)]

Young women with disabilities face double the barriers to becoming entrepreneurs. Will the Department work with my all-party-group on disability to look closely at this issue? We will be holding a series of sessions on it to ensure that we have a truly inclusive economy.

[Elizabeth Truss]

I know that the employment Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex (Mims Davies), has already agreed to meet the hon. Lady to talk about this issue. She is absolutely right that opportunities to start one’s own business are particularly good for people who need additional freedom and flexibility. I commend the scheme that the hon. Lady is running.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Lisa Cameron

Tuesday 24th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

First, I congratulate my right hon. Friend on her work to promote these issues that she did as Women’s Minister. It would be great to see other professions, such as legal services, looking at the success of the women in finance charter and seeing what they could do. I will urge my colleague to reply to my right hon. Friend’s letter asap.

[Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP)]

In addition to the gender pay gap, the disability pay gap remains extraordinarily high, yet disabled people are not mentioned in the Government’s industrial strategy. When will we harness the potential of disabled people in our economy and create policies that effectively show that?

[Elizabeth Truss]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to highlight the issue of making sure that disabled people have a full opportunity to participate in the economy. The fact is that we are missing out on huge amounts of talent—the talent of disabled people, women and older people—in our economy. We need to unleash that to help our country to become more productive, and also for the sake of those people, who have so much to contribute.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Lisa Cameron

Tuesday 24th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to get the data and make sure that they are much more linked up. By giving governors more power we will enable them to work with local employers in making sure that jobs are available. We are training people in prison and getting them into apprenticeships so that they can continue those apprenticeships and that work when they leave prison.

[Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP)]

What steps are the Government taking to ensure that mental health problems are picked up as part of the rehabilitation process, not just to reduce suicide rates in prisons but to ensure that services are streamlined on release?

[Elizabeth Truss]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right that mental health is a major issue. We are giving governors more power over the commissioning of mental health services in prison. I also want to see better diagnosis of mental health issues earlier in the criminal justice system, when people appear in court and when they are on community sentences.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Lisa Cameron

Tuesday 1st November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are working very closely with the Department for Education, and we will shortly produce our paper on youth offenders, which will talk about how we intervene earlier before people end up with custodial sentences.

[Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP)]

My constituent, Mrs Fleeting, tragically lost her son, Robert, when he was serving honourably on an English base. The family cannot gain closure, as there is no automatic inquest by jury, and they are understandably distraught. Will the Minister meet Mrs Fleeting and me to discuss the case and access to justice for the late Robert Fleeting?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Lisa Cameron

Thursday 10th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

Earlier this year, we announced that she will have fining powers, which is giving her the teeth she needs. We have also announced a working group looking at contracts, through AHDB Dairy, which will talk about how we share risk better along the supply chain so that it is not just farmers who are facing the consequences of low prices in the global markets.

[Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP)]

16 . Will the Minister support calls from the Scottish Government for retailers and food services to buy, and therefore support, local dairy produce?

[Elizabeth Truss]

We are working on that with the supermarkets, and I recently met my Scottish counterpart to discuss it. It is an important issue. It is also important that the public sector shows leadership so that we show where we source from and give transparency to new contracts that come up in order that local farmers can bid to supply these public sector contracts.