Oral Answers to Questions

Jamie Wallis Excerpts

Wednesday 28th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We support the United States’ draft resolution that was discussed with colleagues at the United Nations last week. But just calling for an immediate, full ceasefire now, which collapses back into fighting within days or weeks and does not include the release of hostages, including British ones, is not in anyone’s interests. We must work towards a permanent ceasefire. That starts with an immediate humanitarian pause, to get aid in and hostages out. I agree about the suffering of the people in Gaza; in this country we should be proud of everything we are doing to help them and to provide them with the lifesaving aid they deserve.

[Dr Jamie Wallis (Bridgend) (Con)]

Q3. I am sure that we are all proud of our open Government, the availability of information and our open data, but with machine learning and artificial intelligence becoming more prevalent, does the Prime Minister agree that now is the time to look at licensing this information where it is to be used for commercial gain and to inform intelligence that will disrupt society and our economy?

[The Prime Minister]

I join my hon. Friend in his passion for AI. Like him, I am proud of our record at the forefront of the AI revolution, having created one of the world’s first AI safety institutes, established the “State of AI” report and hosted the world’s first ever global AI safety summit. I will ensure that he meets the relevant Minister to discuss his proposals to ensure that we can harness the opportunities of AI and protect ourselves against the risk that it poses.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jamie Wallis Excerpts

Thursday 24th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

That is a matter for the Department of Health, but I would defend the procurement of PPE because we needed PPE urgently, as we needed a vaccine urgently. We have heard constant criticism from the Opposition of something that had to be done urgently and had to break through the slowness of normal procurement timescales. Normal procurement takes three to six months, but we needed PPE tomorrow so we had to act urgently, as we did.

[Dr Jamie Wallis (Bridgend) (Con)]

7. What steps the Government are taking to strengthen the UK’s cyber-resilience.

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Steve Barclay)]

Our national cyber strategy sets out how we will ensure that the UK remains a leading democratic cyber-power that is more resilient and able to counter cyber-threats. This and the Government cyber-security strategy are supported by £2.6 billion of taxpayers’ money over the next three years.

[Dr Wallis]

I welcome the Government’s pledge to create regional cyber-clusters across the UK as part of their levelling-up agenda, but does my right hon. Friend agree we need to be conscious that, if we attempt to standardise security protocols across multiple organisations, the overall effectiveness of the security of each individual organisation must improve and not be weakened as a result?

[Steve Barclay]

I take my hon. Friend’s point, but having the 12 regional clusters will help businesses that want to do the right thing and know how best to protect against the risks of cyber. Our aim is to help businesses improve their cyber-security. Given events in Europe today, it is particularly pressing that businesses take this seriously.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jamie Wallis Excerpts

Wednesday 5th January 2022 Commons Chamber

The Prime Minister was asked—

[Dr Jamie Wallis (Bridgend) (Con)]

1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 5 January.

[The Prime Minister (Boris Johnson)]

May I start by wishing you, Mr Speaker, and all Members a happy new year?

Thanks to the heroic efforts of our vaccination programme and people coming forward up and down the country, we managed to ensure that families could still celebrate Christmas. With more than 34 million people now boosted, I want to take this opportunity to say that anybody who has not yet done so should come forward and get boosted now.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

[Dr Wallis]

With Sadiq Khan’s Transport for London in tatters and the Welsh Labour-nationalist coalition in Cardiff Bay an unfunded devolved disaster, does the Prime Minister agree that the great British public do not need to look back at the last UK Labour Government to see what the Opposition’s answer to all our problems is? It is to bang at the doors of the Treasury and demand that the taxpayer bail them out of their own ineptitude and incompetence.

[The Prime Minister]

It is not just Labour’s record in London or in Wales: every Labour Government in history since the second world war has left office with unemployment higher than when they came in. That is because only Conservatives can be trusted to deliver on the economy and on the people’s priorities, which is why, thanks to the policies that we have pursued, this country now has the fastest economic growth in the G7.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jamie Wallis Excerpts

Tuesday 14th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Kit Malthouse]

I have not visited a drug consumption room, although I did have a very illuminating meeting with Ruth Dreifuss, the former President of Switzerland who has been promoting the policy, to discuss the issues they have faced in Switzerland and elsewhere. While I understand that repetition is not uncommon in this place, the hon. Lady will not elicit from me an answer that expands on the ones I have given to her previously.

[Dr Jamie Wallis (Bridgend) (Con)]

Foreign-born criminals have long used human rights legislation to avoid deportation to their country of origin. Can my right hon. Friend confirm whether recent announcements to reform human rights will include the introduction of a British Bill of Rights?

[Mr Speaker]

Sorry, that question is unrelated to Question 1; it relates to Question 2. I call Peter Grant.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Tom Pursglove)]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady, with whom I have worked closely on other matters that the House is considering at the moment. The Government continue to be a global leader in tackling child sexual exploitation and abuse. The tackling child sexual abuse strategy that we launched is the first of its kind and very much cutting edge. I would be happy to have a conversation with her, and I encourage her to make her views known as part of the victims Bill consultation.

[Dr Jamie Wallis (Bridgend) (Con)]

Foreign-born criminals have long used human rights legislation to avoid deportation to their country of origin. Can my right hon. Friend confirm whether plans to reform human rights laws will include the introduction of a British Bill of Rights?

[Dominic Raab]

My hon. Friend is right about the problem that he has diagnosed, and in the not-too-distant future I shall make a statement about our plans for reform.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jamie Wallis Excerpts

Wednesday 24th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Maclean]

I can assure the hon. Lady that we are taking the views of campaigners on board, and I and other Ministers meet with them regularly. As I have said, we are looking at whether there may be some specific legislative gaps, but it will always be a pleasure for me to meet her.

[Dr Jamie Wallis (Bridgend) (Con)]

I thank the Minister for her response, but what specific discussions has she had on the recent increase in spikings that has unfortunately affected women and girls in south Wales?

[Rachel Maclean]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue on behalf of young women and girls in his constituency. Drink spiking and needle spiking are horrific and frightening offences, and we are taking steps, led by the Home Secretary herself, working with Maggie Blyth, the chief of police leading the response to violence against women and girls across police forces, to ramp up our response and tackle them effectively.

Gurkha Pensions

Jamie Wallis Excerpts

Monday 22nd November 2021 Westminster Hall

[Fay Jones (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Dr Huq. I declare an interest in that my partner is a serving member of the armed forces, although not a Gurkha. I thank the Petitions Committee for introducing the debate and my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) for a typically energetic opening contribution.

The Gurkha community is a treasured and valued part of my constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire, so I am not surprised that 253 constituents signed the petition. We share a long history with the Gurkhas who, as we know, have played a critical role in aiding our British Army for the last 200 years. I was struck by the comments of the hon. Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury) about the Commonwealth history of our soldiers, which is not well understood. Perhaps we need to do more on that.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak once again about my support for the Gurkhas, having described my strong affection for them in my maiden speech. The debate is in good hands, as I know that the Minister for Defence People and Veterans very much values the Gurkha community whom he represents. I thank him for his consistent engagement with the Gurkha community nationally. The hunger strike earlier this year was extremely difficult to watch but drew national attention to this important issue. There is no doubt that all in this place are extremely sympathetic to the Gurkhas’ campaign, and I know that the Minister will later give reassurance that he is doing all that he can.

Brecon is not only home to hundreds of Gurkha families but twinned with the beautiful village of Dhampus in northern Nepal.

[Dr Jamie Wallis (Bridgend) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that places with high proportions of Gurkha veterans, such as my Bridgend constituency in Wales, should be incredibly proud of that, and that removing the financial liabilities on Gurkha veterans who want to resettle in the UK—especially in Wales—is the right thing to do, provided, of course, that they meet the criteria?

[Fay Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. I agree and will talk about that later in my speech. The Gurkha soldiers I have met in my constituency tell me that they love living in Wales, that they have a strong connection and that it very much reminds them of life back at home in Nepal. Those in my constituency are valued members of the community, with many volunteering with the Brecon Beacons national park and many heavily involved in hospitality. I think of Khusiman Gurung who runs the New Gurkha Inn in Talgarth—I highly recommend its curry. Many are also active soldiers who work at the Infantry Battle School in Brecon.

As we have heard, pensions rights are an extremely emotive issue, but Britain has a strong history of protecting its soldiers and veterans. I will always campaign for us to do more, and I refer again to my campaign for the Welsh Government to create a veterans commissioner in Wales so that veterans across the UK can count on consistent support from all their Governments. I echo the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgend (Dr Wallis) and very much support the recent proposal to waive settlement fees for non-UK service personnel. I hope that the Minister will say more about that.

I cannot support the accusation made in the debate that the Gurkha pension scheme is less satisfactory than the armed forces pension scheme. The majority of Gurkhas residing in the UK who qualified for the GPS received an immediate pension after 15 years’ service. That is different from British soldiers on the armed forces pension scheme, who mostly do not serve the 22 years necessary to qualify for an immediate pension; instead, they have a preserved pension payable at the age of 60. Gurkha veterans are quite rightly well looked after in line with their years of dedicated service to the British armed forces.

I was delighted that, in 2019, the previous Minister for the Armed Forces—now in the other place—provided a £15 million increase to the Gurkha pension scheme, increasing pensions by upwards of 34%. That was a welcome and deserved increase. The Government have met and, I believe, protected cultural norms by ensuring that in the event of the death of a Gurkha pensioner, the surviving spouse, children, parents and dependent siblings are eligible for that benefit. It is very difficult to introduce improvements to public service pensions retrospectively, so I hesitate to call for amendments to the Gurkha pension as it stands. The large majority of Gurkhas in the UK qualify for the 1997 threshold and therefore are, most critically, eligible for the armed forces pension scheme, in addition to qualifying for the full range of welfare benefits, including pension credit.

To conclude—with just a few seconds remaining to me—I believe this to be a fair and just scheme that protects our most valued Gurkha veterans, ensuring that they enjoy a well-deserved retirement, but I urge the Minister to continue his engagement with Gurkha veterans and, above all, veterans right across the UK.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jamie Wallis Excerpts

Wednesday 7th July 2021 Commons Chamber

The Minister for Women and Equalities was asked—

[Dr Jamie Wallis (Bridgend) (Con)]

What steps the Government are taking to support victims of conversion therapy.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Elizabeth Truss)]

Conversion therapy is an abhorrent practice that this Government will ban. We are launching a consultation in September to ensure the action we take is informed and effective.

[Dr Wallis [V]]

Will my right hon. Friend outline what she is doing to promote LGBT safety not just in the UK but abroad?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his campaigning work on this issue. I am proud that we have announced the UK’s first ever global LGBT conference, Safe To Be Me. It will take place in June next year, and it will bring the world together to end persecution, violence and discrimination against LGBT people everywhere.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jamie Wallis Excerpts

Thursday 25th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I absolutely will. I can think of no better contribution to raising morale, not just in Newcastle but in the European Union, than ensuring that people in the EU can enjoy beer brewed in Newcastle rather than the stuff that they brew elsewhere.

[Dr Jamie Wallis (Bridgend) (Con) [V]]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is excellent news to hear of so many Government Departments setting up offices outside London and the south-east? Is he aware of any plans for the UK Government to bring anything to south Wales from which my Bridgend constituency may benefit?

[Michael Gove]

Bridgend’s position—brilliantly, close to Cardiff but with good transport links to Swansea as well—gives it the perfect opportunity to benefit from the additional investment that my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has put into a new trade hub in Cardiff. Of course, it is already the case that Swansea is the home not only to an outstanding university, but to the DVLA. We continually keep under review how we can support civil service relocation, not just to north Wales, as I mentioned earlier, but to south Wales as well, making sure that, not just in Cardiff and Swansea but in communities such as Bridgend, people can benefit.

Covid-19 Update

Jamie Wallis Excerpts

Wednesday 27th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I wonder whether the hon. Lady is proud of attacking the vaccines taskforce for spending £675,000 on whether vaccines would reach the most vulnerable people in our society.

[Dr Jamie Wallis (Bridgend) (Con) [V]]

Will the Prime Minister join me in thanking the British military personnel who have performed an incredible service in helping to roll out the vaccine at pace across every part of the UK, including the 92 personnel helping in Wales, and does he agree that their service shows how the UK is stronger when all four of our nations work together in the fight against this pandemic?

[The Prime Minister]

As I say, it has been one of the few consolations of this pandemic to see the way the country has come together to fight it, particularly to see the way that great national institutions—great UK institutions—such as the British Army have been absolutely indispensable in Wales, in Scotland and around the whole of the UK in fighting this pandemic. I know that it is appreciated across the whole of the UK.

United Kingdom Internal Market Bill

Jamie Wallis Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons & Money resolution & Money resolution: House of Commons & Programme motion & Programme motion: House of Commons
Monday 14th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dr Jamie Wallis (Bridgend) (Con)]

I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. This is an important debate for me, considering that I represent Bridgend, a constituency in Wales, which stands to benefit greatly from ensuring that our internal market within the UK remains intact, as it has for hundreds of years. I am proud to say that if the pollsters are to be believed, Wales is now the most Unionist part of the UK, and my constituents voted leave in 2016 and, of course, backed the “get Brexit done” party at the last election. On those bases, and as a staunch Unionist myself, I will support the passage of the Bill through this place.

On the issue of one single internal market, I just cannot imagine a scenario where a Bridgend-based business is unable to export its goods or services, or faces difficulty in exporting its goods or services, to England, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The internal market is vital to the whole of the Welsh economy, and illustrative figures from the White Paper show that any contraction to the GDP of Wales will be five times greater than that of the UK average. I pledged to my constituents to help to make a success of Brexit, and allowing economic barriers between any parts of the UK clearly runs contrary to that.

The people of Bridgend have two Governments: the Welsh Government and the UK Government, and I am particularly pleased that the Bill will facilitate the latter to invest in businesses and communities across Wales as we recover from covid-19, and I look forward to meeting Ministers to talk about my ideas on how that could be done. To those who argue that somehow the Bill undermines devolution, I remind them that many of the powers ceded to the EU, many of which were ceded before devolution existed, will be transferred to the devolved Administration. Around 60 to 70 new policy areas will now be decided in Cardiff Bay, making the Welsh Government more powerful than it has ever been. For those reasons, I will support the Government tonight, and do so wholeheartedly.