Business of the House

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 8th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I do not think the Scottish people are confused; I think the Scottish National party is confused. If it is not keen on levelling up, why is it applying for levelling-up funding from the UK Government?

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Yesterday, the Taliban introduced public executions at a grotesque, evil ceremony in a sports stadium in Afghanistan. This came only a few weeks after the introduction of a harsh interpretation of sharia law that is increasing pressure on women, on religious minorities and on human rights defenders. Does the Leader of the House agree that more needs to be done to protect these vulnerable groups in Afghanistan? She is always very helpful, so may I ask for a ministerial statement on this increasingly worrying trend, which illustrates that Afghanistan is guilty of some of the world’s worst human rights abuses and persecutions of ethnic and religious minorities?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this extremely sad situation. I am sure many Members will have seen the escalation in public punishment beatings and executions, with particularly horrific examples levelled against women. The House has deep ties with Afghanistan and this will be of immense concern to many Members. I will write to the Foreign Secretary to make sure he hears what the hon. Gentleman has said today. He can also raise it directly with the Foreign Secretary on 13 December.

Business of the House

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 1st December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am very sorry to hear again about this ongoing issue in my hon. Friend’s constituency. We recognise how important bus services are to people, which is why we have provided more than £1 billion in support to local authorities to help deliver bus service improvement plans. The next questions to the Department is not until 19 January, so I will write to the Secretary of State on her behalf and ask the Department to check in with her following her meeting with the bus company. I thank her for her tenacity and her determination to ensure that her constituents have a decent bus service.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Today we have a debate in Westminster Hall, as hon. Members will know, marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. To quote one example, women in Colombia are at the forefront of protecting human rights and fighting for justice, which we all welcome. However, they are experiencing an unprecedented wave of violence: in the first 10 months of this year, 156 women have been killed. Will the Leader of the House, and this House as a whole, join me in condemning these horrendous attacks and praising the incredible courage of these women, who are truly an inspiration to us all?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for drawing attention both to the plight of those women and to the very brave women and organisations trying to alleviate that suffering. He will know that we recently hosted an international conference on preventing sexual violence against women, particularly in conflict situations. There is a further Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office questions before the Christmas recess, and I encourage him to raise the issue there too.

Business of the House

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 3rd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

On the issues that the hon. Lady mentions, I ask her to wait until 17 November when the Chancellor will bring forward his statement. We want to ensure continued stability and make sure that we are balancing the books and protecting the people who need it through what will be a very difficult winter. The Chancellor will do all those things.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Last month, Chanda Maharaj, a Hindu girl from Hyderabad in Pakistan was kidnapped and forcibly married to an older man. She is one of an estimated 1,000 under-age girls kidnapped from Christian and Hindu minorities in the last year in Pakistan. She was rescued from her abductor but is still in legal limbo. Will the Leader of the House join me in expressing concern for her and the many hundreds of girls in similar situations? Will His Majesty’s Government work with Pakistan to help to tackle that abusive issue?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that appalling case. I understand that the initial trauma and tragedy of what Chanda Maharaj has been through will be exacerbated by the legal wranglings that he points to. In such cases, where hon. Members are unable to support their constituents, they should raise them with the FCDO, which will clearly be speaking to the high commission. We must do everything we can to ensure that people can start to rebuild their lives and to reduce the number of times that such appalling things happen to young women and girls.

Business of the House

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 27th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that. I will raise it straightaway with the Department for Transport. It is absolutely vital. We know that there are occasional disruptions to services, but to have so many will have caused my hon. Friend’s constituents a huge amount of difficulty. I thank him for raising the issue, and shall help him to get it resolved with the Department for Transport.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I am very pleased to see the Leader of the House back in her role, and I look forward to business questions every Thursday. The Chinese embassy in London is currently looking to move to the former Royal Mint building. Yesterday the BBC reported that the Chinese Communist party had established unofficial police stations operating out of embassies and consulates in Europe. Does she agree that steps should be taken to ensure that the Chinese Communist party does not use that building to establish a clandestine police force to intimidate or threaten Hongkongers and Chinese nationals living in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman—or any building, for that matter. Another colleague raised the same issue earlier. These reports are appalling. People need to be protected, and this needs to be stopped.

Replacement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Monday 17th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Gentleman will know that the Prime Minister has Prime Minister’s questions every single week. He can put questions to her then. There was very good reason, as I have repeatedly explained to the House, why she could not be here. He will notice that she is present now, and I will begin listening to the hon. Gentleman on democratic mandates when he honours the result of the Scottish referendum.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Leader of the House for her answers. I am not in the business of point scoring. Does she not agree that the face behind a Budget is much less important than what the Budget outlines? Is there confidence that the Chancellor can help business, help people stay in work and ensure that funding is available for the NHS—Government Departments cannot take further austerity—so that all of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland truly can be better together?

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Gentleman is held in great affection by all Members of the House, and he is often the finale at urgent questions because he is full of common sense. I think that what he says is absolutely right, and I hope that we will hear from the Chancellor very shortly.

Business of the House

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 13th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Yesterday, some 1,000 people joined the “stop Hazara genocide” solidarity march outside Westminster, which was organised following the attack on the Kaaj education centre in Kabul that killed 53 people. That attack happened just one week after the publication of the Hazara inquiry report on the risk of genocide in Afghanistan. Will the Leader of the House arrange for a statement on the “stop Hazara genocide” campaign and on what conclusions His Majesty’s Government have made from the report’s findings?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that matter. I shall certainly write to the Foreign Secretary to ask him whether he will update the House on that.

Voting by Proxy (Amendment and Extension)

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 12th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

We want to get on with these measures. There has been careful consideration from a number of Committees in arriving at them. We want to get cracking with them, but the evaluation will be a matter for the Committee.

In addition, if agreed, this motion will make changes to the existing proxy voting arrangements by removing the bar on participation in proceedings while in possession of a proxy vote; providing equal rights in relation to proxy voting for parental absence for Members who are biological fathers, the partner of a person giving birth or an adoptive parent; and incorporating complications relating to childbirth into the main body of the Standing Order.

Any changes to the system of voting in the House of Commons should always be given careful consideration. I am grateful to the Procedure Committee and its Chair, my right hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Karen Bradley), for their work on this issue over recent years.

In February 2018, the House agreed that MPs

“who have had a baby or adopted a child should for a period of time be entitled, but not required, to discharge their responsibilities to vote in this House by proxy.”

That was followed by the agreement of a pilot scheme in January 2019 that was made permanent in September 2020. Since then, we have taken further important steps to meet the needs of new mothers, fathers and adoptive parents. In January 2021, the House endorsed a Government-proposed Standing Order change to expand the scheme to allow MPs who have had a baby or adopted a child to be entitled, but not required, to cast votes in the House by proxy. That system is currently in place.

Members will remember that the scheme was expanded for reasons of the pandemic for long periods in 2020 to good effect. When the system of proxy voting for baby leave was introduced, the House discussed the scope of the scheme in great detail. It was felt, on balance, that the anonymity of slipping and pairing was preferable for Members who were ill or had caring responsibilities, rather than declaring personal circumstances to qualify for a proxy vote during a difficult time. I understand that some Members will retain that view. That is why I agree with the Procedure Committee that the expansion of the proxy voting scheme should not affect the pairing and nodding-through mechanisms, which will remain available to Members.

Pairing has been, and continues to be, a valuable practice that allows Members to be absent from votes, whether that is as a result of ill health or other reasons. The Whips Offices on both sides of the House work hard to ensure that the system functions as well as possible for individual Members.

Nevertheless, since the earlier conversations about the scope of the scheme, there have been growing calls for expanded proxy voting to include those suffering from serious illness or long-term medical health conditions. That was the overwhelming evidence in the Procedure Committee’s inquiry, and the Government have a great deal of sympathy with Members in that position.

The Government welcome the Procedure Committee’s consideration of the evidence relating to the expansion of the scheme. In establishing a pilot to trial the expansion of the proxy voting scheme, the House would be recognising the importance of creating a more inclusive culture and working environment in Parliament and continuing the progress made in this area.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I hope, as I think we all do, that the pilot scheme will become a reality in its entirety, because society is changing. There is maternal leave and paternal leave, and other businesses understand that special conditions can be in place for people who are disabled. We as the mother of Parliaments—I say that collectively—should also move with modern changes in society and understand that we must have a workplace that endorses all the things that happen to our constituents out there in Strangford and elsewhere.

[Penny Mordaunt]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. I know that many Members of the House gave evidence to the inquiry. This is not about the merits of those individual cases but, clearly, this needs to be trialled and we want to ensure that that is brought forward as swiftly as possible.

It is important that all Members of this House can participate in our votes. Divisions here change people’s lives across the country, so the legitimacy of the system must be above reproach to ensure that we maintain the full confidence of our constituents. Proxy voting meets that test. It has worked well for Members who are new mothers or fathers, allowing them to continue to serve their constituents while dealing with their family obligations. We have confidence that extending its scope under these pilot arrangements will work well.

I do not wish to detain the House for too long. However, the motion proposes one or two other changes that hon. Members will wish to consider carefully. I am grateful to the House authorities for providing an explanatory note ahead of the debate.

I wish briefly to cover one proposed change. The motion removes the requirement that Members be absent from the House to exercise their proxy vote. That follows representations from Members who might wish, for example, to participate in an urgent question or statement for which the suspension of a proxy vote with notice is impossible. The House will note the concerns raised both by the Government and by the Procedure Committee that this measure is likely to be of most benefit to Members who are based relatively close to London, and that it could introduce pressure on Members to participate in proceedings while on leave for parental duties or because of matters of ill health.

As the Committee points out:

“Absence from the Estate serves a dual purpose: it explains why a Member is able to vote by proxy but also affords a degree of protection to Members taking care of very young children.”

Members will be able to make use of proxy votes on a voluntary basis and in the same spirit. It will be entirely voluntary, and it will be for each Member to determine whether they wish to participate in a debate at short notice. I assure Members that, in introducing this change, the Government do not envisage any change to the role of MPs, or how they perform in this place their duty to their constituents. Nevertheless, there may be circumstances in which this change will serve a helpful purpose by enabling Members to participate in proceedings without suspending their proxy. Of course, Members should not attempt to vote in person in those circumstances.

The Government believe that a pilot scheme in which the effect of this expansion is carefully measured is a sensible first step, as it is imperative that the voting process remains robust and transparent and that the personal accountability of each Member’s vote is not lost. The review conducted by the Procedure Committee will be essential in determining whether the changes to the scheme are made permanent.

As Members of this House, we all have a duty to ensure that Parliament is inclusive for all Members and their circumstances, be they parental responsibilities or long-term illness, which the proposed pilot scheme would cover. The Procedure Committee found that the

“overwhelming balance of evidence…was in favour of an extension of proxy voting”

to include those areas. Ultimately, it is for the House to consider whether it thinks it right that the proxy voting system be expanded. For my part, I hope that the House will support the Procedure Committee’s recommendations. I commend the motion to the House.

Business of the House

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 22nd September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Lady will know that the Chancellor will be here tomorrow to take questions from all Members in this House. In addition to the very considerable support packages that have been put in place for both households and businesses, the answer to the problems she raises is about getting growth back into our economy. That is what the Government will be focused on and what she will hear from the Chancellor tomorrow.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I know the Leader of the House shares my appreciation and gratitude for the life of service given by Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth. She was a lady of great faith who greatly respected people of other faiths. Will the Leader of the House provide time for a statement on what our Government plan to do to advance the rights to freedom of religion or belief, the interconnectedness of freedom of religion or belief to all human rights and its relevance to foreign policy and trade?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that important matter. Yes, Her late Majesty the Queen was a beacon for that not just within the United Kingdom but throughout the Commonwealth and the wider world. I shall certainly encourage the Foreign Secretary to get in touch with him on how we can continue the work of the envoy we have appointed on religious freedom and the FCDO’s other programmes.

Business of the House

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 8th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising the matter. I will happily pass on her concerns to the new Secretary of State. Questions to the Department for Work and Pensions are scheduled for 17 October; I encourage the hon. Lady to raise the issue then as well.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I declare an interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary groups for the Pakistani minorities and for international freedom of religion or belief. I note with concern the horrific floods, devastation and loss of life in Pakistan over recent weeks. I am glad to hear of the various initiatives from this Government to deliver aid to alleviate the impact of the damage on people’s lives. Will the Leader of the House allow a statement on the importance of that aid reaching all those in need in Pakistan, particularly those who belong to other religious groups such as Christians and Ahmadis, who face systemic challenges in receiving the aid that they very much need?

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Gentleman will know that historically the largest share of our aid budget has gone to Pakistan. As a consequence, we have a deep and well-informed relationship with respect to how that aid money is utilised; I know that our high commission there will ensure not only that it is distributed to give the maximum positive impact for everyone, but that there is no discrimination in how it is distributed.

Business of the House

Ordered,

That, at this day’s sitting, the Speaker shall put the Question necessary to dispose of proceedings on the motion in the name of the Prime Minister relating to UK Energy Costs not later than three hours after the commencement of proceedings on the motion for this Order; proceedings may continue, though opposed, until any hour, and may be entered upon after the moment of interruption; and Standing Order No. 41A (Deferred divisions) shall not apply.—(Joy Morrissey.)

Business of the House

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 7th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I reiterate that we have made that very clear to the lead Department. Again, this is a debate that will give all Members of the House the chance to contribute and help to raise issues that they and their constituents are concerned about. This will also not be the only opportunity that Members get to help to shape that legislation.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

On behalf of my party, I also welcome the right hon. Lady to her position as Leader of the House and I look forward to her contribution. She will be aware that the former Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi), visited Northern Ireland in the past month to get the process in place for the moneys that were coming through for each and every household across Northern Ireland. Decisions were made with the then Chancellor and the Minister for the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Leader of the House will know that the Northern Ireland Assembly is not meeting. With that in mind, will we get an indication tomorrow from the Prime Minister or the Minister responsible of how Northern Ireland’s households will be allocated the money? That would be helpful for us in this process. We are ever mindful that the Assembly is not working, and the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill is very much part of our thoughts.

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his very kind remarks. I understand that we will spend a lot of quality time together—such is his reputation. I assure him that the proposals that are introduced will be UK-wide.