Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Sheryll Murray

Wednesday 12th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

Q4. I want to see growth and jobs in east Cornwall, and I believe an investment zone could help. Will the Prime Minister back me and my hon. Friend the Member for North Cornwall (Scott Mann) in supporting an investment zone for the Liskeard and Bodmin area?

[The Prime Minister]

I want to see more jobs, more opportunities and more homes for local people in Cornwall, which I know my hon. Friend is working towards with her colleagues. I am delighted that we are bringing forward these investment zones, which will give those opportunities to local people.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Sheryll Murray

Thursday 3rd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for International Trade (Elizabeth Truss)]

We are making good progress on negotiations with the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and on accession to the CPTPP. We are also intensifying our negotiations with Australia. We want a gold standard deal that pushes new frontiers in trade and advances British interests in vital areas such as financial services, telecoms, tech, and food and drink. We want to work with like-minded friends and allies who believe in free trade and fair play.

[Mrs Murray]

Cornwall prides itself on its excellent food and drink produce. Will my right hon. Friend please promote this fantastic Cornish and British produce during her trade negotiations around the world?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is right. Cornwall is renowned for its fantastic food from clotted cream to the Cornish pasty. I am going to be in Cornwall in a couple of weeks’ time, visiting the Saputo creamery, which exports Cathedral City to the United States—there is currently a 26% tariff on that cheese, which I am seeking to get removed—and I would be delighted to visit her in her constituency and see some of her great food businesses as well.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Sheryll Murray

Wednesday 11th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

We are determined to ensure that we protect our fantastic food safety standards in any trade deal that we do. The hon. Gentleman will welcome, as I do, the fact that the US has lifted its ban on British beef, benefiting British beef farmers—particularly the Ladies in Beef group, which represents women beef farmers.

[Mrs Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

T5. Does my right hon. Friend think that those from the left constantly attacking our fantastic first female Prime Minister, saying female Ministers should be lynched or constantly attacking our superb female Home Secretary help to encourage women into politics?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There was a despicable cartoon about the Home Secretary in the weekend’s Guardian. She is doing a brilliant job—fighting crime, getting our new immigration system in place—and it is the hypocrisy of those on the left that, when it is not a woman they agree with, they do everything they can to undermine her.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Sheryll Murray

Tuesday 5th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

19. What recent progress he has made on creating jobs and reducing unemployment.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss)]

The economy has grown every year since 2010, and there are now 3.5 million more people in work.

[Mrs Murray]

Can my hon. Friend confirm that under the Conservatives, in addition to a record number of jobs, wages are growing at their fastest rate in over a decade, meaning that more people have the security of a regular wage to provide for their families?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is right, and this has not happened by accident; it is because of the decisions that this Government have made to cut taxes and to reform employment and welfare, unlike the Opposition’s approach, which is to say that business is the enemy and damage our economy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Sheryll Murray

Thursday 30th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

This Government have a very good record on the environment. We have seen carbon emissions and air pollution go down and our rivers and water are cleaner. The problem with the hon. Lady’s point is that she does not seem to understand how important food and farming is to the rural economy. Under her Government, she failed to deal with animal diseases and the problems in that industry. The reality is that under this Government, we are seeing production expanding and overseas markets opening, and food and farming is now a much bigger success.

[Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

T3. Handline mackerel is a superb, sustainably caught fish, and many fishermen from my constituency have been struggling to secure a realistic price during the summer. How are the Government helping Cornish mackerel fishermen, and mackerel and herring fishermen throughout the UK, to combat the Russian trade embargo?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Sheryll Murray

Thursday 17th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I will look into the hon. Gentleman’s campaign. In my previous role as an Education Minister, we introduced the subject of food into the curriculum, both where it comes from and practical cooking, as well as bringing horticulture and agriculture into the design and technology curriculum, precisely to help more children and young people understand where our food comes from and to build the skills they need to work in the food and agriculture industries.

[Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

Small-boat fishermen in South East Cornwall and throughout Cornwall are concerned that a discard ban, along with their tiny share of the UK quota from the EU total allowable catch, will affect their economic viability. Does the Minister agree that repatriation of UK waters should have preceded a discard ban? Will he take forward a request to include repatriation of UK waters in future negotiations?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Sheryll Murray

Monday 16th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I agree with the need for very good teachers in maths, which is why we offer the highest levels of bursaries and scholarships in the subject. We have also set up a new programme of maths and physics chairs, sponsored by organisations such as Samsung and GlaxoSmithKline. I can report that a high number of people with PhDs in maths are already applying for the programme, and they will be in our schools from September.

[Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

16. What steps he has taken to reduce absenteeism in schools.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Sheryll Murray

Monday 24th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

5. What steps he is taking to improve mathematics education.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Elizabeth Truss)]

We are raising expectations in mathematics, in line with top-performing countries. We are strengthening the primary school curriculum to focus on core arithmetic and removing calculators from primary school tests this summer. We expect secondary schools to increase teaching time, with a more challenging maths GCSE that will, for the first time, be double-weighted in the performance tables. We are also providing £11 million to build a network of maths hubs across the country.

[Sheryll Murray]

Will my hon. Friend join me in praising my constituent Mr Kevin Bennett, who is helping local schoolchildren to learn maths through real-life applications, using astronomy at his Caradon observatory in South East Cornwall?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I congratulate my hon. Friend’s constituent, Kevin Bennett. It is really important that young people understand not only how to do maths, but how it can be applied, from astronomy to business. We know that maths qualifications command the highest earnings in the workplace, and it is really important that all our young people understand how valuable they are.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Sheryll Murray

Monday 17th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

4. How many local authorities have published online details of their spending over £500 to date.

[Elizabeth Truss (South West Norfolk) (Con)]

9. How many local authorities have published online details of their spending over £500 to date.