Fleur Anderson
Main Page: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)Department Debates - View all Fleur Anderson's debates with the Northern Ireland Office
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Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Fleur Anderson)
Happy Lancashire Day to you as well, Mr Speaker. The Secretary of State and I were deeply saddened by the recent passing of former UTV political editor Ken Reid, who was a close follower of Northern Ireland oral questions. Our thoughts are with his family and his many peers across journalism.
I recently attended the launch of Invest NI’s business innovation grant, which received £440,000 of UK Government funding. This will complement the Government’s work to target high-growth sectors in Northern Ireland, including the digital and technologies sector, through our industrial strategy.
Chris Murray
My constituency in Edinburgh has two universities, both of which do excellent work with our counterparts in Northern Ireland. Can the Minister tell us how the Government are working with universities to support innovation in Northern Ireland?
Fleur Anderson
It is fantastic to hear of those close links, which are so important for innovation and business growth, in combination with the university sector. Northern Ireland’s universities are key partners in boosting innovation and growth; for example, through the UK Government’s new deal for Northern Ireland, £11 million of funding is helping Queen’s University Belfast’s centre for secure information technologies to deliver a cyber-artificial intelligence hub—a leading cyber-security research centre. This investment is unlocking a further £4.5 million of investment from the private sector.
Dan Aldridge
Free trade across the UK single market, from major tech hubs in London, Edinburgh and Cardiff to smaller towns such as Weston-super-Mare, is vital to supporting innovation in Northern Ireland and across the UK. What steps is the Minister taking to streamline Northern Ireland’s ability to trade with all corners of the UK, and vice versa?
Fleur Anderson
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that point and the connection to Weston-super-Mare. There is a lot of work that we can do to support innovation across the whole country, including through the business innovation grant that I mentioned, which is especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. It offers grants of up to £20,000 to enable those enterprises to come into the market.
Matt Western
Beyond its excellent universities, Northern Ireland is home to major innovative businesses such as Wrightbus, Spirit AeroSystems and Harland & Wolff, which specialise respectively in hydrogen vehicles, composite wing and aerostructure manufacture, and modular construction and shipping. Given the economic importance of those businesses, can I ask the UK Government to look again at the future of the whole-site operation at Spirit, as well as at Harland & Wolff, to ensure that those investments and jobs stay in Northern Ireland?
Fleur Anderson
I thank my hon. Friend for raising the important aspect of business innovation and for mentioning those businesses, which are important to Northern Ireland’s economy. We are working with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure the best outcome for Short Brothers and its staff in relation to Spirit. The Department for Business and Trade remains in contact with Spirit, Airbus, Boeing and other potential buyers. We want to see an outcome that includes a commitment to develop Short Brothers and its supply chain as part of any acquisition and that provides the best possible opportunity for growth in Northern Ireland. The Department for Business and Trade continues to provide over £13 million of support for Short Brothers’ research and development activity.
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)
Across these islands, Northern Ireland is at the forefront for fibre broadband due to our confidence and supply deal with the previous Government. Can the Minister indicate what is being done to promote this golden innovative opportunity nationally, which would help small businesses right across Northern Ireland?
Fleur Anderson
This Government are working across the whole of the UK to promote those businesses, and the industrial strategy provides an excellent opportunity to have this discussion. The UK Government are working with businesses, trade unions, local and devolved leaders, experts and international partners to develop that international strategy, which will cement this work and growth. Eight growth-driving sectors have been identified, including some that my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western) has already identified—advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, creative industries and so on. The transition to net zero also provides huge opportunities, and we will make the most of them.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
Has the Minister yet studied the national semiconductor strategy for Ireland published by the Irish Government? If so, can she say how Northern Ireland will be able to exploit that strategy, and how the whole of the United Kingdom will be able to compete with Ireland, which has plainly identified this as an important growth sector?
Fleur Anderson
I thank the right hon. Member for raising that issue. This is an excellent opportunity to raise something that I have not yet looked at. I will go away and study it, because it sounds like a very important aspect of our joint working. We have many international business opportunities to work with our counterparts in the Republic of Ireland, and I will take it up with them as well.
Jim Allister (North Antrim) (TUV)
May I associate myself with the condolences to the widow and family of the late Ken Reid? The family are constituents of mine in North Antrim, and Ken was such a part of the political architecture.
On innovation, there is no greater trailblazer in Northern Ireland than Wrightbus in my constituency, which has really set the pace on hydrogen. How far have the Government invested in advancing that, and in ensuring that public funds, when they are needed, are there to build the hydrogen infrastructure that is so key to advancing that matter?
Fleur Anderson
I thank the hon. and learned Member for rightly singing the praises of Wrightbus. The transition to net zero presents huge opportunities, as he has identified, for businesses like Wrightbus in Ballymena. It is producing 1,000 low-carbon buses, securing 500 jobs in its factory and creating 1,500 additional jobs across the UK supply chain. This shows that Northern Ireland is leading the way, and we will continue to work on such opportunities through our industrial strategy.
Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Fleur Anderson)
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. I would like to start by paying tribute to Anna Lo, who passed away earlier this month. As the first ethnic minority politician elected to the Assembly, she was a trailblazer, and I extend my sympathies to her family and friends.
The Northern Ireland Assembly currently has no Members from ethnic minorities or ethnic minority backgrounds. I have met many community groups that have raised this matter with me. The key to changing it is the membership and selection processes of the political parties in Northern Ireland, and we should think about what we can all do as Members to speak with people from ethnic minority backgrounds and represent them.
Adam Jogee
I wish the Secretary of State a happy birthday for yesterday—[Interruption.] And a happy Lancashire Day to you, Mr Speaker.
I join the Minister in paying tribute to Anna Lo. Anna was the first non-white Member of the Assembly, but she cannot be the last. I urge the Minister to encourage all parties in the Assembly to redouble their efforts to ensure that all the people of Northern Ireland can look to their Assembly and see someone like them.
Fleur Anderson
I recently met Lilian Seenoi Barr, the first mayor in Northern Ireland from an ethnic minority background, who is showing the way for others. I agree that people must see themselves represented, so I join my hon. Friend in urging all parties across Northern Ireland to look at their selection processes and their invitations to meetings, and to make sure that all parties welcome everyone from every background.
Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)
Jay Basra is a 20-year-old Ulster Unionist candidate who ran in Mid Ulster at the last general election. Jay describes himself as Punjabi-British. When he announced his candidacy, he received a torrent of online abuse, which he described as “dehumanising” and “abhorrent”. He said:
“It reduces me down to my skin colour rather than myself as a person.”
However, he has also said:
“If anything I’m even more determined to run again and increase the Ulster Unionist vote like I did in the general election.”
What words of encouragement does the Minister have for people such as Jay?
Fleur Anderson
I am horrified to hear of that online abuse, and I am horrified to hear of any abuse that any politicians receive. I commend Jay for his courage in saying, “Actually, this is not putting me off. I want to stand again.” The hon. Member is quite right to raise this matter, as we would all want to do, and to show support for Jay and others who want to be able to say that they can stand and not receive such abuse. We should call it out whenever we see it.
Bambos Charalambous (Southgate and Wood Green) (Lab)
Chris Bloore (Redditch) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Fleur Anderson)
White Ribbon Day this week marks the start of 16 days of activism against violence against women and girls. The scale of this violence in our country is unacceptable, and this Government is treating it as the national emergency that it is. Every woman and girl deserves to feel safe wherever she is. That is why the Labour Government have set out our ambition to halve violence against women and girls within a decade. The Government want to take a joined-up approach across the UK, and I have discussed this issue with the First and Deputy First Ministers and the Deputy Prime Minister. We will continue to work collaboratively with the Executive—
Mr Speaker
Order. We want to get to PMQs, but we will not achieve it at this rate.
David Smith
According to Women’s Aid, a fifth of all crime in Northern Ireland is domestic abuse. We know that paramilitary organisations make reporting, confronting or escaping such abuse even more difficult. How are the Government working with the Northern Ireland Executive to break down those coercive barriers to support for women and girls?
Fleur Anderson
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that question. Alongside the alarming femicide statistics, there are other factors that add to the complexity of gender-based violence in Northern Ireland, and it is important to recognise and take action to prevent these factors—paramilitarism is one of them. We need to tackle the grip of paramilitaries to end this abuse.
Alistair Strathern
The theme of this year’s White Ribbon Day is, “It starts with men”. Does the Minister agree that it is incumbent on us all, especially men, to play our part in stamping out violence against women and girls wherever we find it? How is she working with the Executive in Northern Ireland to deliver on our shared mission and do exactly that?
Fleur Anderson
I am delighted to see so many men raising this issue today at Northern Ireland questions. Yesterday, I met with Tahnee McCorry from White Ribbon Northern Ireland, who is working with men in football and Gaelic Athletic Association teams and in prisons. We absolutely all have a role to play to have those difficult conversations and really change our society.
Chris Bloore
The Northern Ireland Executive’s strategic framework to end violence against women and girls acknowledges the rise of online influencers who have a toxic influence on men and boys. Will the Minister provide an update on discussions she has had on sharing best practice on how to challenge these influencers and promote healthier and safer attitudes towards consent and relationships across the UK?
Fleur Anderson
I am very supportive of the Executive’s strategic framework to tackle violence against women and girls. I am in constant dialogue with organisations such as White Ribbon NI to learn and share best practice. That is how we are going to achieve this—in partnership with the Executive. The Government are committed to tackling online abuse and violence against women and girls with the Online Safety Act 2023 and further work we will be doing on this matter.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
Last year in Northern Ireland, six women were murdered by men. All the men have been arrested, and their cases are pending. Last year, some 800 women and children stayed in a Women’s Aid refuge, and 10 babies were born in a refuge. There is an epidemic of violence against women in Northern Ireland. What can the Minister do in discussions with the Northern Ireland Assembly to make that better?
Fleur Anderson
I pay tribute to all the Women’s Aid organisations across Northern Ireland, which do absolutely fantastic work. It is about prevention and provision of services. Tackling online abuse and violence against women and girls wherever we see it—by everyone in this House and across the UK—is the only way that we will change this situation.
Sir Ashley Fox (Bridgwater) (Con)
Does the Minister agree that the low number of police officers in Northern Ireland hinders the fight against violence against women and girls? Will she work with the Executive to ensure that the number of officers is increased to the 7,500 recommended?
Fleur Anderson
Action by police officers is fundamental, and we are looking at how we can change the justice system, as we are doing across the UK, as our target to halve violence against women and girls is essential. It is, however, about much more than that—it is about a whole-of-society change and tackling misogyny wherever we see it. Every organisation needs to get involved in this. Action by the police is one part of it, but it is about so much more than that.
Mike Wood (Kingswinford and South Staffordshire) (Con)
Following on from my hon. Friend’s question, the key to reducing violence against women and girls is, of course, effective policing, which was a clear commitment in New Decade, New Approach. When does the Minister expect policing numbers in Northern Ireland to reach the levels set out in that commitment?
Fleur Anderson
In the Budget, this Government provided a record-breaking devolution settlement of £18.2 billion, with £640 million this year and £1.5 billion next year. It is now up to the Chief Constable to spend those figures.