Business of the House

Debate between Helen Morgan and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 25th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for taking the time to meet Madi, and I thank the Youth Parliament, which has made that issue its campaign focus for this year. My hon. Friend will know that around 2 million pupils currently have free school meals, but we are also doing much more outside of term time through our holiday activities and food programme—about £200 million is invested in that every year. I thank my hon. Friend for raising this matter. She will know that the next Education questions are on the 29th.

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

At the beginning of the month, I had a meeting with a veteran who came to my advice surgery, who was gay. In what was a genuinely upsetting and moving meeting, he described the profound impact on his life of having lived in fear of being convicted and of the genuinely horrifying, homophobic environment at his work. We have had a statement and an apology in the House, which is welcome, but we have not had a debate in which the voices of LGBT veterans can be heard and their compensation scrutinised, so please may we have that debate in Government time? This is a very important issue.

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising this matter. I am sure that many Members would want to attend such a debate—she will know how to secure one. Last week, the hon. Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Dame Meg Hillier) raised the issue of those serving in particular parts of our armed forces or our intelligence agencies who were unable to give evidence to that investigation because of the nature of the work they were doing, so there are still some unresolved matters that need an airing, and I encourage the hon. Lady to apply for that debate.

Business of the House

Debate between Helen Morgan and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 22nd June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question and the campaign she is running to ensure that her local residents have access to those vital services. I am sure that she could apply for a debate, and I know that she has taken part in many debates touching on this matter. She will also be interested to know that the next Business and Trade questions are on 29 June and, with regard to DVLA services, the next Transport questions are on 13 July.

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

Diabetes UK estimates that in 2022 there were 7,000 excess deaths because of diabetes, and there is huge regional variation in the care provided to diabetes patients depending on the effectiveness of their integrated care board. Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin is the worst performing ICB in England, with only 25% of patients receiving all eight recommended checks in 2021 and 2022. That is a serious problem—people’s health is at stake—so may we have a debate in Government time on improving preventive care for diabetes patients, which would ultimately save lives and save the NHS money?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I should say that I used to be a director of Diabetes UK, which does fantastic work. As I mentioned in an earlier answer, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is looking into the data. Previously, we had to rely on organisations such as Diabetes UK to collect such data on local services in their area. He is doing that, and I have been in discussion with him about how to make that data available to Members so that we can track the performance of our local health boards. The hon. Lady is absolutely right: if people get the good year of care that they should for diabetes, we will save the NHS a fortune. I thank her for raising that point.

Business of the House

Debate between Helen Morgan and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 2nd March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the issue. He tried to get an urgent question on it. He will know that I have raised the matter on his behalf with the relevant Departments. I would just say to him that it is not unusual—there are reasons for it—for those funding allocations to be published this month and sometimes later. I will again make sure that the Department has heard his concerns, but it is not an unusual situation. Of course, we want to make sure people have information in a timely way to make those decisions.

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

My right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) has already raised the issue of access to the alternative fuel payment and some of the chaos around its application. It is the second day of meteorological spring. People who are off grid, and people who do not have a direct relationship with their electricity supplier, are still waiting for the portal through which they can apply for a payment to go live. These are some of the most vulnerable people—in some cases, they are in park homes or canal boats—and they have not had any help with their fuel bills for the whole winter. So can we ask for a statement from the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on how and when these people can expect some help with their energy bills?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for that question. Again, I would refer her to the gov.uk website. I will certainly follow up after this meeting and ask someone from the Department to get in touch with her office and her caseworkers to make sure she has the answers.

Business of the House

Debate between Helen Morgan and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 26th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for again raising that vital issue and mentioning some of the countries where it is a particular concern. He will know that the Foreign Office takes such matters incredibly seriously. That is why we have an envoy, why this is baked into the core work, and why there is activity in our embassies and high commissions in those nations. There is time next week if he can tempt the Backbench Business Committee to take up the issue. I thank him again for raising these incredibly serious matters, and for giving me the opportunity to send a message on behalf of the whole House of Commons that we will always keep our eyes on what people are having to endure, and we will always stand up for freedom of religion.

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

North Shropshire is proud to be the home of RAF Shawbury and the Tern Hill barracks, but in the past week or so I have received a number of complaints from residents of those bases, complaining about the contractor, Pinnacle, which is responsible for maintaining their housing. One resident had a burst pipe on 17 December that was not fixed until 10 January, and there are reports of empty houses being left with leaks for so long that ceilings have collapsed. One constituent said:

“It is by far the worst experience of service and response issues (and previously we lived in service accommodation in Cyprus that had cockroaches and gas leaks!)”

This is clearly a serious issue, and I know it has been raised by a number of colleagues across the House. Will the Defence Secretary make a statement on what is being done to improve the performance of the contractor that is looking after our servicemen and women?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am very sorry to hear about that situation. It should not be the case, and we owe our servicemen and women decent homes. The hon. Lady will know that we have Defence questions on 30 January, and I happen to know that the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff is coming to Parliament next week, and she might also wish to collar him. In addition to holding these companies and contractors to account, we want to give bases such as the one she mentions flexibility to resolve such situations themselves, because quite often they are prevented by bureaucracy from getting a plumber out. I hope that the hon. Lady will raise the issue with the Secretary of State at Defence questions.

Business of the House

Debate between Helen Morgan and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 13th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising that important and timely issue. The Secretaries of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are aware of it and very much focused on it. We will want to give reassurance to people in those circumstances as swiftly as possible. I will write to all three Departments on her behalf to raise the matter.

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

As far as I can see, Shropshire has been plagued by rogue developers who build small numbers of homes with shared ownership of communal spaces. When the developer sells the last house on the development, it liquidates its company before critical infrastructure such as roads and sewage pumps are complete. Shropshire Council does not as a matter of course take a financial bond that would secure the section 104 and 106 agreements that would allow that infrastructure to be completed. May we have a debate in Government time to consider making it mandatory for councils to secure that financial bond so that homeowners are not left picking up the pieces when their developer leaves them in the lurch?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for that suggestion. I shall write to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up to ensure that he has heard her words and encourage him to get in touch with her office.