Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Grant Shapps and Judith Cummins

Monday 25th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

19. What steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs to increase the number of aid shipments to the middle east.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Grant Shapps)]

There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. The UK, including the Ministry of Defence, is working collectively with allies, partners and international organisations to deliver desperately needed aid to the Gazan population.

--- Later in debate ---

[Grant Shapps]

I inform my hon. Friend that we have already delivered 74 tonnes of humanitarian aid via the RAF, and 87 tonnes through the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. In addition, we are pursuing land, air and maritime routes.

[Judith Cummins]

With half of Gaza already starving and the rest teetering on the edge of famine, and the UN Security Council voting for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, access to humanitarian aid is crucial. This month, the Foreign Secretary stated that the UK would support the building of a temporary pier in Gaza to allow hundreds of extra daily truckloads of aid into the strip. Will the Secretary of State outline what steps he is taking, along with the Foreign Secretary, to ensure that the pier is constructed as quickly as possible?

[Grant Shapps]

The hon. Lady will be pleased to hear that I have sent teams both to Tampa to work with US Central Command and to the region to help with planning and constructing that pier. In addition, right at the beginning of the conflict, I ensured that we did hydrographic research, to aid in exactly this kind of situation, when the conditions were right to get a pier built. This is not a trivial endeavour, but we are working to deliver the pier as quickly as possible; there is the potential to get 2.5 million meals a day to Gaza.

Integrated Rail Plan: North and Midlands

Debate between Grant Shapps and Judith Cummins

Thursday 18th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

It is worth saying that 97% of HS2 companies are UK-registered. More than 2,000 businesses are involved in the delivery; as my hon. Friend knows, many are bidding for things like the train delivery. There will be further announcements on that side of things soon.

On improvements, I know that Darlington has had capacity constraints—I have been to see them for myself—that will be massively improved as a result of our plans. All in all, it is very good news for my hon. Friend’s constituents in Sedgefield.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

I have to say that the Secretary of State’s upbeat statement does not really chime with reality. It represents missed opportunities for the people and businesses of Bradford. The short-sighted decision puts at risk the more than £30 billion in economic benefits that would have flowed from a full NPR with a city centre train stop for Bradford. The disparity in the statement is huge: it is big on rhetoric and short on delivery. Just how long has it been known that the promises on HS2 and NPR would be broken, letting down the people of Bradford and the people of the north?

[Grant Shapps]

For the hon. Lady’s constituents who want to travel to Leeds, I think the journey at the moment is 20 to 22 minutes. The good news is that after today’s announcement, it will take 12 minutes. That will bring real connectivity between two great northern cities, which is incredibly important.

It is also important to say that the Government have always said that we will look at the best ways to improve efficiency and reliability. Should the hon. Lady’s constituents need to travel down to London, as she does, I am pleased to say that once work has been completed, they will be able to get here 30 minutes faster. Again, that is a very significant delivery. As we have been saying, these things will not happen in decades’ time, in the 2040s; they will be happening this decade. That is incredibly important as well.

I believe that this is a plan that will deliver for the hon. Lady’s constituents in Bradford. Of course, there are always more things and there is always the future. It is important that people know the current plans so that they can plan for those things. Right now, the connectivity between Bradford and Leeds is improving so much that I am sure it will make many people think about how fortunate they are to be able to get to another major city so fast after these plans are in place.