Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gavin Williamson and Jim Cunningham

Monday 9th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

I assure my hon. Friend that we will be writing to him in due course with full details of the national funding formula—we hope this will be in early October—and the impact this will have on individual schools .

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

T4. As a result of the introduction of universal credit in Coventry, 25,000 children are below the poverty line. What is the Secretary of State doing, or what are other Ministers doing, to fund school meals properly—not just in the holiday period, but generally?

Continuous At-Sea Deterrent

Debate between Gavin Williamson and Jim Cunningham

Wednesday 10th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

I thank the Secretary of State for the way in which he is introducing the debate. The question about other countries possessing nuclear weapons takes me back to the old arguments where we used to ask people to name a single country that would either acquire nuclear weapons because we had got them, or get rid of them if we decided unilaterally to get rid of ours. Do you know what? They never came up with the name of one country.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

rose—

[Gavin Williamson]

I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman is going to mention such a country, but I give way to him.

[Mr Cunningham]

I am certainly not going to mention such a country. I was going to ask the Secretary of State about the welfare of the ex-submariners and how they are looked after. Specifically, is it covered by the covenant, which a Labour Government introduced?

[Gavin Williamson]

I think we on the Government side of the House can be duly proud of the work that has been done since 2010 on ensuring that veterans of all three services are properly looked after; submariners are equally covered by that.

It is important to understand the remarkable engineering that goes into these remarkably sophisticated submarines, whose level of sophistication matches that of a spacecraft. It is only fitting that this debate marks the start of a series of events designed to commemorate such dedicated and continuous service not only from the submariners, but from the industry and the communities that have supported the deterrent.

RAF Centenary

Debate between Gavin Williamson and Jim Cunningham

Monday 26th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

I will touch on the great future of our aircraft manufacturing industry later in my speech, but the hon. Gentleman is right to say that we have an amazing heritage. We have wonderful RAF museums in London and in Cosford, Shropshire, which are brilliant examples of the ingenuity we have in this country. That is certainly something that, as a Department, we are very much trying to encourage and to foster, working hand in glove with industry.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

Most people in this House will have a relative who served in the RAF one way or another over the past 100 years. I am sure that the Secretary of State will also recall that Coventry, for example, was a target during the war for German bombers because aircraft engines were manufactured in Coventry. I am sure that he knows that, as in the rest of the west midlands, there were targets in Birmingham—the supply chain was a target there. All in all, people have paid a heavy price and we owe a lot to the RAF, particularly during the war and, in relation to some of the wounds that those pilots sustained, in the development of plastic surgery.

[Gavin Williamson]

What we have always been so incredibly successful at is harnessing the whole of industry for our war effort, and there is no greater example of that than in the second world war. My grandfather was a machinist in Coventry during those bombing raids. Coventry was heavily targeted because of its manufacturing expertise and prowess, which were so vital to our war effort. That expertise is something that we very much continue going forward. Let me take the opportunity to comment—

--- Later in debate ---

[Gavin Williamson]

I had the great privilege of being in Stoke-on-Trent with my old friend, Councillor Abi Brown, to look at what has been done in celebrating Stoke-on-Trent’s contribution to the Spitfire. I am personally of the view that, if there is a funding source that is separate from the Ministry of Defence, there should be monuments to the Spitfire right across the nation and also monuments to the Lancaster, the Hurricane and to the many other great aircraft.

[Mr Jim Cunningham]

rose—

[Gavin Williamson]

I feel there is a bid from Coventry here, so I will give way to the hon. Gentleman.

[Mr Jim Cunningham]

When we talk about the development of the aircraft, we must not forget that Sir Frank Whittle, who developed the jet engine, came from Coventry.

[Gavin Williamson]

It is true that Sir Frank Whittle came from Coventry, and I think there should be many more monuments to him in Coventry.

Combat Air Strategy

Debate between Gavin Williamson and Jim Cunningham

Tuesday 17th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

What is absolutely critical is that we embrace these new technologies and we lead the world in using these technologies on the new platforms that we introduce for the RAF and the other services. By leading in terms of the defence of the UK, we end up leading the world, and that creates new opportunities for British industry to export. This is a massive vote of confidence in Britain, by industry—by Leonardo, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and MBDA. They are saying that they want to invest in Britain, British skills and British technology because they believe in this country.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

I have worked in the defence industry. In fact, I worked at Rolls-Royce and a lot of people there probably welcome this statement. So that we can all welcome the statement, will the Secretary of State tell us who will fund it, how it will be funded and who are these new partners he is thinking about outside of Europe? If he is thinking about the United States, I am sure that many people in the defence industry will tell him that we always come off second best when we are up against them.

[Gavin Williamson]

We are looking at a range of different international partners. We see this as an opportunity to offer something that is different and alternative to the offerings that the United States has traditionally brought forward. We see this as an opportunity to collaborate with new nations that have not usually been involved in such collaborations before. The initial indications are exceptionally positive.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gavin Williamson and Jim Cunningham

Monday 9th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

In answer to the last bit of that question, I am very confident that the answer is no. I had regular discussions with the former Foreign Secretary about exports, and I will continue to work very closely with the Foreign Office. I pay tribute to the way in which the Department for International Trade and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, especially the high commission in Canberra, have worked with the Ministry of Defence to land this vital order.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

What discussions has the Secretary of State had with Rolls-Royce regarding the shedding of power generation to other companies, because there could be jobs at stake?

[Gavin Williamson]

We have constant discussions with not just Rolls-Royce but many other companies because of the importance of our whole industrial partnership. We will continue to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gavin Williamson and Jim Cunningham

Monday 11th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

We will be examining what capability our fisheries protection fleet needs. Three offshore patrol vessels are currently engaged in this work, so we will be considering whether that needs to be expanded and how to fund it properly.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

2. What recent assessment he has made of the affordability of his Department’s equipment plan 2017 to 2027.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gavin Williamson and Jim Cunningham

Monday 5th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

Yes, I can.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

12. What assessment he has made of the effect of the delayed pay increase on retention in the armed forces.