Zika Virus

Huw Irranca-Davies Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hurd]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for paying tribute to DFID’s work on malaria, which is incredibly important given that it is estimated that a child dies of malaria every minute. I refer him to my previous answer on research through the Ross Fund and to other pots of funding created, which means that this country is in a position to show genuine leadership on the issue.

[Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore) (Lab)]

I simply seek the Minister’s assurance that he is working hand in glove with Ministers in the devolved Administrations, not least the Welsh Government, so that there is a fully co-ordinated response.

[Mr Hurd]

Yes, that is incredibly important, and I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that the advice has been shared. In fact, calls are in place to follow it up this very afternoon.

Sustainable Development Goals (Education)

Huw Irranca-Davies Excerpts

Thursday 2nd July 2015 Westminster Hall

[Carolyn Harris (Swansea East) (Lab)]

It is an honour to serve under your excellent chairmanship, Mr Walker.

Send My Friend to School was brought to my attention by two very articulate youngsters—Lauren and Aiden, from Bishop Vaughan school in my constituency. So involved were they with that wonderful project that they came to Westminster last week to a reception hosted by the hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mr Williams),whom I congratulate on securing this important debate.

I will re-read the list of statistics that the hon. Gentleman has already shared with us, because they are important. In 2012, 58 million children of primary school age were out of school, half of them in conflict-affected countries; the number had decreased from 100 million in 2000. Some 63 million young adolescents around the world are not enrolled in primary or secondary school. More than four out of 10 out-of-school children will never enter a classroom. Some 250 million children are not learning basic skills, even though half of them have spent at least four years in school. An additional 1.6 million new teachers need to be recruited to achieve universal primary education by 2015. In a third of countries, fewer than 75% of primary school teachers are adequately trained.

Those figures caught the imagination of the young people in my constituency. They get up every morning to go to school. They understand the benefits of education, and even when issues hinder them from attending school, such as illness or caring responsibilities, there are mechanisms to help them to receive an education. For the pupils of Bishop Vaughan, the statistics I just read were a shocking reflection of the fact that life in other parts of the world is very different from theirs. That stark reality check led to their involvement with the Send My Friend to School campaign, which works tirelessly to do just that—send young people across the globe to school. We talk about helping and supporting countries with fewer resources and less wealth than ours, but the basis of that support should be about doing all we can to help young people have an education. There is yet another statistic about lack of education: 774 million illiterate adults—a decline of just 1% since 2000. Almost two thirds of those people are women.

The UK is one of the largest bilateral donors for basic education, and the largest contributor to the Global Partnership for Education. In June 2014, developing country partner Governments pledged a $26 billion increase in domestic financing for education. Donor countries pledged $2.1 billion of support for the GPE, but we still need to do more.

Last Friday, I visited Bishop Vaughan school and was welcomed by a class of year 7 students who, although not yet old enough to start their GCSE courses, are already acutely aware that the lack of global education is causing great disadvantages. They had each made a cardboard figure that represented a world leader, and each spoke as if they were world leaders. The speech from each leader had different words but the same message: let us get all kids into education.

I promised the class two things. First, I would deliver their message today and ask their question: when will world leaders be able to ensure that every child has access to and the opportunity for an education? Secondly, I promised that I would ask the Minister whether he would meet them to receive their cardboard world leaders—at a convenient time, of course.

[Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way in the middle of a very good speech, and I also thank the hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mr Williams) for introducing the debate. Does my hon. Friend agree that there is a great deal of hope in these parents, governors, school teachers and children—such as the year 6 pupils at Garth primary school who have sent me their information—because, on a deep, human, personal level, they understand the importance of reaching out? If we could convey that message to many of our constituents on their doorsteps, that would be a great cause for optimism.

[Carolyn Harris]

I entirely agree. We could indeed learn great lessons from the children of our country.

Members present know that reality and principle can be very different. On principle, we would all wish for children globally to be educated. The young people at Bishop Vaughan, as well as at the other schools involved in the project, have a valid point. As politicians, it is our duty to ensure that we provide them with an answer that shows that we share their maturity in acknowledging and understanding the issues. We must do more—everything that we can—to ensure that their principle is a global reality.

Oral Answers to Questions

Huw Irranca-Davies Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd June 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly give my hon. Friend that assurance. He talks about the strength of the Yorkshire economy. The claimant count in his constituency —the number of people claiming unemployment benefit—has come down by 74% since 2010. We see the northern powerhouse as the linking of the great northern cities as a counterpoint and a counterpoise to the strength of London. We are making good progress on that, but we certainly want more money, resources and powers to be devolved to those cities. The York, North Yorkshire and East Riding local growth deal, for example, is creating at least 3,000 jobs and allowing 4,000 homes to be built. We have made good progress, but there is more to be done in this Parliament.

[Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore) (Lab)]

Q3. In March, the Prime Minister rightly apologised for successive Governments who had failed to address properly the claims and the righteous indignation of the families whose lives were torn apart and of those who lost their lives in the contaminated blood scandal. He also said in response to a question that he would deal with this matter as a priority if he was re-elected. Can he update us now on his commitment to and progress on that issue, so that it is dealt with finally and fully for all those people who have lost their lives and for those who live with the damage caused by this scandal?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this issue. All of us as Members of Parliament have come across people who, through no fault of their own, were infected with blood with either HIV or hepatitis C, which has had very serious consequences for them.

In terms of what we are going to do about it—as the Scottish National party Member, the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart), shouts from a sedentary position—I said very clearly before the election that we have made available £25 million to help those families, and there will be a full statement by the Government before the summer recess to make sure that we deal with this issue in the best way we possibly can.

Oral Answers to Questions

Huw Irranca-Davies Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd January 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I commend my hon. Friend for his consistent campaigning and speaking out on this issue. We are taking the tough action needed on payday lending, but, as he says, the positive side of this is that we need to expand credit unions faster, and we should be looking at all the ways that can be done, including through other organisations partnering with credit unions and encouraging their work.

[Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore) (Lab)]

A report on the food aid crisis in the UK was commissioned by the Government last February, was given to Ministers early last summer, and yet is still being suppressed. What is the Prime Minister afraid of, and why does he not now publish and be damned?

[The Prime Minister]

What the Government are publishing today is the fact that hundreds of thousands more people are getting into work and able to provide for their families and get the peace of mind and security that people in this country want. That is what we are publishing today, and that is real progress for our nation.