Oral Answers to Questions

Gordon Marsden Excerpts

Wednesday 24th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about this Government’s record. I congratulate him on the work he has done and pay tribute to his work with the charity HaVinG—Having a Voice in Gloucester—alongside Bishop Rachel. The charity is doing important work in Gloucester.

My hon. Friend is right that, overall, we see employment at a near record high, youth unemployment at a new record low and real wages rising. That is the benefit of a Conservative Government taking a balanced approach to our economy. The one thing we do know is that the Labour party would undo all that good and leave our economy in a mess once again.

[Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

Q4. May I give the Prime Minister some brief relief from Brexit and ask her about dogs? Last week, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said that the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, with its specific breeds definition, was not fit for purpose, as hundreds of pit bull-type dogs are confiscated yearly and destroyed, with no impact on dog bite numbers. Will she ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to act urgently on the Committee’s recommendations and not take the approach of the Lords Minister, who told the Committee that even a good-tempered dog had to be put down as “collateral damage”? My wonderful bull terrier-type dog was rescued from the streets, and to think of her being destroyed because her face did not fit in court is chilling.

[Mr Speaker]

We have heard quite a bit about the dog situation, but I think we are going to hear more.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gordon Marsden Excerpts

Wednesday 16th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend of course raises an important point. As she says, we have put a focus on the mental health of children in schools because we know that a significant proportion of mental health problems start before a child reaches the age of 14. She makes an important point about university students, and that is certainly something I will look into.

[Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

Q9. Erasmus+ is the EU programme that, for 30 years, has given 600,000 people from the UK—apprentices, students, businesses and workers—the chance to train, study or volunteer abroad. The Government have said that Erasmus+ is safe until 2020 but have made no commitments to keep it thereafter. Erasmus+ is being forgotten about. Keeping all those benefits, especially for younger people, many in Blackpool, is one thing that unites both leave and remain. Will the Prime Minister make sure that Erasmus+ is now a top-line item for her Ministers and give us this pledge today?

[The Prime Minister]

We have not forgotten about Erasmus, or indeed a number of other programmes that give opportunities for universities and students here in the United Kingdom. We have said there are certain programmes that we wish to remain part of when we leave the European Union, and Erasmus is one of those we have cited that we may wish to remain part of, but of course we are in a negotiation with the European Union and we will be dealing with these matters in that negotiation.

Contaminated Blood Inquiry

Gordon Marsden Excerpts

Monday 29th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chloe Smith]

I welcome the fact that the hon. Lady raises that point because, along with the comments of colleagues from Scotland and Northern Ireland, it allows us to begin to get the full picture of what is required across the devolved nations. I do not think that I can speak for the judge in saying how he or she will constitute the inquiry or select those who will conduct the inquiry alongside him or her, so I am unable to answer the question whether there will be a Welsh voice. However, I reiterate that I certainly expect the judge to be able to listen to Welsh victims, and I say that with no hesitation whatsoever, because it is absolutely the right thing to do. As I have said to other colleagues, if it would be helpful, I will be happy to get back to the hon. Lady should there be more detailed questions about the relationship with the devolved nations.

[Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

Like the Minister, I have constituents who are affected by this terrible situation. I welcome the letter I received today from the Prime Minister confirming, as the Minister has today, that the families will be consulted on the terms of reference before they are set.

A constituent, whom I had not met before but who had written to me, stopped me in the street back in the autumn and tellingly said, “We have been victims once. We don’t want to be victims again because of prevarication or other circumstances.” Will the Minister take that on board and, particularly thinking of my constituent in Blackpool, will she take on board the need, as some have suggested, for regional hubs so that people who either are not able to come to London—or, frankly, are not capable of coming to London—will have a proper opportunity to have their voice heard?

[Chloe Smith]

I very much sympathise with the hon. Gentleman’s point, and I am glad his constituent has been able to have his voice echoed in the Chamber today.

The hon. Gentleman makes his point for many of us. We can all think of constituents who are too ill to travel and have been too ill for too long. It has taken too much time to put this right over the many years since the 1970s and ’80s. It is a good thing that it is now being put right and that there will be a judge-led inquiry. I will ensure that the judge who is appointed hears that reflection from the hon. Gentleman’s constituent.

For the benefit of the House, I reiterate what was in the Prime Minister’s written ministerial statement:

“We can assure…everyone who contributed that the findings will be passed to the proposed chair to help inform the discussions regarding the draft terms of reference, on which we expect there will be further consultation.”—[Official Report, 21 December 2017; Vol. 633, c. 63WS.]

I reassure the House that there will be that further level of involvement, which is appropriate and important.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gordon Marsden Excerpts

Wednesday 19th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. and learned Friend is absolutely right. As a very successful former Chancellor of the Exchequer, he speaks with expertise on this issue. He is right that we need to get a good Brexit deal, but he is also right that the policies of the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow Chancellor, were they ever to get the opportunity to put them into practice, would not lead to more money for nurses, our national health service or our public sector; they would lead, through higher spending and higher borrowing, to jobs going, higher prices, higher taxes for people, less money available for our health service and less money available for our nurses.

[Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

Q10. Does the Prime Minister know that her universal credit process is failing my constituents? The Salvation Army and Streetlife report that vulnerable Blackpool people are juggling a month’s money without help, that there are unfair sanctions for people with mental health issues, that a six-week wait for money is causing more stress, and that there is a phone helpline that Citizens Advice says can cost claimants 55p a minute and take 39 minutes to answer. Can she start by getting them a freephone number?

[The Prime Minister]

The importance of the universal credit scheme is that it is ensuring that being in work always pays. With the universal credit scheme, we are seeing more people getting into the workplace. The DWP is constantly looking at the scheme and how it is operating around the country to ensure that any problems that people raise are addressed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gordon Marsden Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Chris Skidmore]

When it comes to the voter registration process, I am delighted that the Electoral Commission reported last week that we now have a record 47.3 million people on the register. Our democracy is more engaged than ever before. We have had 24 million applications online using the national insurance number, but, as I have said, there are alternatives for those who do not have national insurance numbers, including the attestation process, which works very effectively.

[Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Ben Gummer)]

The Cabinet Office is the centre of government. The Department is responsible for the constitution, for supporting the design and delivery of Government policy and for helping government to deliver the finest public services through more efficient working and attracting and developing the finest public servants.

[Gordon Marsden]

The House of Lords has amended the Higher Education and Research Bill to ensure that HE institutions give their students the option to go on the electoral register. What will the Minister do to assist that process as statistics suggest that only 13% of students are registered at present? It would save both them and councils money.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Chris Skidmore)]

As I stated in an earlier answer, I met Baroness Royall to discuss her amendment. I am committed to ensuring that more students are able to register easily, which will save money for electoral registration officers. I am working on looking at this process. The Cabinet Office funded the pilot in Sheffield in the first place, and we are determined to ensure that we carry on this work.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gordon Marsden Excerpts

Wednesday 18th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The important issue is the level of service that is available to people in any particular local area. That is why the sustainability and transformation plans that are being considered and have been published are being taken into account and being considered at a local level, so that local clinicians and local people will be able to agree what is best in their particular area.

[Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

Q12. Last Friday I went to Blackpool Victoria hospital where the number of people waiting 12 hours or more in A&E doubled last year, with 100 of them aged 90 or over. Trust managers told me that the biggest factor in delays is discharging patients who cannot get community care, and my local paper said that Government cuts have eroded support for them. Will the Prime Minister stop waffling about her shared society, listen to her own budget watchdog saying that we will need £30 billion for older people in the next 10 years, and put that money not into corporation tax cuts but into local adult care and the NHS?

[The Prime Minister]

Just looking at the figures on what has happened in health in the hon. Gentleman’s area, I see that there are more doctors in his NHS foundation trust and significantly more nurses, but the—[Interruption.] I know what the hon. Gentleman is talking about and I am about to comment on it, but the hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner), who is shouting from a sedentary position, might have recognised that he started off talking about the NHS, which is what I am also commenting on. [Interruption.]

Oral Answers to Questions

Gordon Marsden Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am very pleased to endorse my hon. Friend’s comments. I have met representatives of the Medaille Trust and talked to some of the victims they have helped. It is absolutely right that we continue the momentum in our fight against modern slavery. This country is leading the world and we should continue the fight because, sadly, too much slavery is still taking place on the streets and in the towns and villages of this country. That is why the taskforce I have set up will continue that momentum. We will be relentless in our pursuit of eradicating modern slavery.

[Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

Q15. In July, the armed forces charity SSAFA published an in-depth survey of nearly 1,000 working-age veterans. Some 85% of them thought the UK did not give them enough support and only 16% thought the armed forces covenant was being implemented effectively. What is the Prime Minister doing personally to change that?

[The Prime Minister]

We absolutely recognise the debt we owe to our veterans. That is why, through the armed forces covenant and throughout the work the Ministry of Defence is doing, we increasingly recognise the support that is necessary for veterans. The hon. Gentleman talks about what we can do. One thing we can do is to help people who come out of the armed forces to find their way into the world of work. That is why it is important both that we have a system that helps them to find the support that is necessary to get into the world of work and that we have an economy that is providing the jobs that people need.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gordon Marsden Excerpts

Wednesday 4th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right that the 3 million target is essential, and I believe that we can achieve it. To go back to the question asked by the right hon. Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart), one way we can achieve that is by making sure that more of our young people have the qualifications necessary to apply for an apprenticeship. Many firms find that lots of people apply, but when we knock out the people who do not have a qualification in English or maths the number comes right down. I am delighted to announce today that my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi) will take the place of my hon. Friend the Member for Watford (Richard Harrington), who has moved on to other things, as my adviser on apprenticeships to help me ensure that businesses deliver on this agenda.

[Mr Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

Q7. Does the Prime Minister realise that my constituents in Blackpool face a double whammy on police cuts from his spending review and from the Home Office formula, which chops 14%, or £25 million, off Lancashire’s police? With letters from a cross-party group of Lancashire MPs, from my neighbourhood watch group, from our police and crime commissioner and six others, mostly Tories, and from our chief constable all saying that the process is flawed, how many blue lights does he need before we hit meltdown?

[The Prime Minister]

The reforms to the police funding formula are in consultation and no decisions have been taken. Through the hon. Gentleman, may I congratulate Lancashire police, as crime is down in Blackpool by 5% over this Parliament? Funding for Lancashire police is £180 million, the same in cash terms as in 2003, and Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary

“found that Lancashire Constabulary is exceptionally well prepared to face its future financial requirements.”

That is the view of HMIC in a country where crime, however we measure it, has fallen significantly since the Government took office.

European Council

Gordon Marsden Excerpts

Monday 30th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. The fact is that the leaders of the principal parties in Britain agreed that this person was the wrong one, but as soon as things get difficult the weak give up the chase.

[Mr Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

Does the Prime Minister remember the wise advice of Theodore Roosevelt when he spoke of the need to

“speak softly and carry a big stick”?

If he does, how did he manage to end up speaking so loudly and carrying such a small one? The worst of it is that everyone knows that this Prime Minister is not only ropey on strategy but useless on tactics.

[The Prime Minister]

As Prime Minister I have secured a cut in the European budget, vetoed a European treaty, secured progress for the single market, and got us out of the euro bail-out schemes that the hon. Gentleman’s party signed up to in government. That is a track record of achievement in Europe, but there are times when you are making a stand on a principle when you are going to be outvoted. There are two reactions to that: you can either give up and go along with the majority, which is, I suspect, what the Leader of the Opposition would have done, or you stick to your principles, make your arguments and stick to your guns.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Gordon Marsden Excerpts

Tuesday 19th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I can absolutely confirm that. The decisions that we make through this process will clearly have impacts on Portsmouth and on Plymouth Devonport, and we shall have to work through those because of the different lay-down of ships and forces. However, I can confirm my belief that fundamentally, for the long term, this is good news for both Plymouth and Portsmouth.

[Mr Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

Thousands of aerospace workers across Lancashire, including hundreds in my constituency who work at BAE Warton and Samlesbury, will want to know the practical implications of these warm words about a Typhoon fleet, the joint strike fighter and a growing fleet of unmanned air vehicles. Incidentally, all those were previously Labour Government policy. As the Prime Minister has already given us an ambiguous answer on the issue of Eurofighter Typhoon, will he now give us a more substantive answer on whether he will support research and development and investment in Taranis?