Oral Answers to Questions

Joy Morrissey Excerpts

Wednesday 9th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) (Con)]

I thank the Minister for taking up the recommendations of the Cass review. Children struggling with their gender identity deserve our protection and a holistic, understanding approach via our new NHS centres, rather than irreversible medical and surgical intervention. Will the Minister confirm that the British Medical Association’s original position that the Cass review contained unsubstantiated recommendations will not delay that protection being put in place for vulnerable children?

[Karin Smyth]

I cannot reiterate any more strongly than I have that this Government are absolutely committed to implementing the Cass review’s evidence-based recommendations in full.

Anniversary of 7 October Attacks: Middle East

Joy Morrissey Excerpts

Monday 7th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Let me give that reassurance. I think we are all shocked by the sharp rise in antisemitism, and we need to work with all communities to bring down hate crime, whichever community it is aimed at—whether it is the Jewish community, the Muslim community or any other community.

[Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) (Con)]

I thank the Prime Minister for clarifying the Government’s position on Israel’s right to defend itself. Will he and the Home Secretary clarify to the House what steps are being taken to tackle violent disorder and antisemitism in London? Many members of the British Jewish communities here in London feel under threat, and this weekend we saw violent protest. What will the Government do to tackle that and to make our British Jewish communities feel safe again?

[The Prime Minister]

We have to support the right of freedom of protest but, at the same time, be absolutely clear that support for terrorist organisations is not to be tolerated. We will work with the police and other law enforcement agencies to ensure that we tackle it and stand very firm on it.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report

Joy Morrissey Excerpts

Wednesday 4th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I place on record my gratitude to the firefighters on the night. Having been to Grenfell Tower, I can only begin to imagine what it must have been like to have been confronted with the situation that they faced, and to deal with the circumstances they had to deal with. Time and again, our first responders are asked by us, rightly, to do very challenging things. They do it, and we should thank them for that.

[Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) (Con)]

I thank the Prime Minister for taking the recommendations so seriously, and for raising concerns about the parity of esteem for social housing tenants. We have seen problems in that area so many times, so I thank him for taking those recommendations forward. Will he join me in paying tribute again to the volunteer organisations, including the founding members of Grenfell United, as well as members of other charities and churches who worked tirelessly in the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy?

[The Prime Minister]

A passage in the report highlights two groups: one group is the TMO, the businesses and those charged with responsibility, and the other is those who lived in the tower. Those groups were treated differently before, during and after the tragedy, which relates to the question of esteem that the hon. Lady rightly touches on. We must stop talking about the issue and act on it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Joy Morrissey Excerpts

Wednesday 12th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Gentleman from the SNP, and I repeat the point I made earlier: I do not think that he should pre-empt or anticipate the inquiry.

[Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) (Con)]

The Colne Valley regional park runs through my constituency and that of the Prime Minister. Will my right hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to the volunteers who tirelessly work to preserve that precious green space, and will he work with me to create better protections for that park moving forward?

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly will, and I join my hon. Friend in thanking the wonderful volunteers. I will do what I can to assist her in protecting that beautiful green space.

COP26

Joy Morrissey Excerpts

Monday 15th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The City of London is already the global centre of green investment, and its lead is continually growing.

[Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) (Con)]

Will the Prime Minister join me in thanking the COP26 President’s Parliamentary Private Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for South Ribble (Katherine Fletcher)? There could have been no better Back-Bench champion to gently corral and encourage us all to fight for the environmental issues she holds so dear.

Will the Prime Minister give further information on the £210 million for small nuclear technology? If we had left it to the Opposition, we would have no nuclear technology or nuclear capacity to speak of.

Oral Answers to Questions

Joy Morrissey Excerpts

Thursday 23rd September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Steve Barclay]

There is a clear process set out in the ministerial code. I am not aware that any ministerial colleague has breached that. Obviously, a due process is applied through PET—the propriety and ethics team—in the Cabinet Office where concerns have been raised, but to date there is no evidence to suggest that that is the case.

[Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) (Con)]

T4. I welcome the Government’s speedy response and short-term arrangements with CF Fertilisers to ensure the immediate restart of carbon dioxide production. Will my right hon. Friend reassure the House and the people of Beaconsfield that everything is being done across Whitehall to ensure that we safeguard ourselves against global gas price increases?

[Steve Barclay]

My hon. Friend raises an important point, and I reassure her that the Government are working to manage the impacts of gas price rises affecting the UK. We are confident in the security of supply this winter, and we are working with industry to address any potential risks in an appropriate way. Indeed, together with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, I had a call earlier this morning with those chief executives involved in our supply chain, looking at some of these issues and at how we can work closely together.

Health and Social Care

Joy Morrissey Excerpts

Tuesday 7th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I leave it to the hon. Lady to speculate on that time, but it is very bizarre that yet again the Scottish nationalists—I think she is a Scottish nationalist—seem to be rejecting the Union dividend that this produces. I hope, and the people of Scotland deserve, that this money is spent on health and social care in Scotland; let us hope it is so spent.

[Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) (Con)]

Many in this House have discussed the burden placed on councils, and I echo the concern that this money must be ring-fenced for the local authorities, who take the lion’s share of the burden for adult social care. Can the Government give greater assurances as to how the funding streams will be safeguarded and directed towards local authorities?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is spot on, and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will set out later how we will ensure local councils get the support that they need.

Ministerial Code

Joy Morrissey Excerpts

Monday 26th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

Let me deal with this. I was in the meeting that afternoon, with the Prime Minister and other Ministers, as we looked at what was happening with the virus and with the pandemic, and we were—[Interruption.] We were dealing with one of the most serious decisions that this Prime Minister and any Government have had to face. People have been pointing out, quite rightly, that tens of thousands of people were dying. The Prime Minister made a decision in that meeting to trigger a second lockdown. He made a subsequent decision to trigger a third lockdown. This is a Prime Minister who was in hospital himself, in intensive care. The idea that he would say any such thing, I find incredible. I was in that room. I never heard language of that kind and I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman, by seeking to make the points in the way that he does, I think diverts attention from the fact that so many people who have been affected by this pandemic rely on the Government, the NHS and others to strain every sinew. These decisions are never easy, but the Government made the decision, and the Prime Minister made the decision, to have a second and third lockdown, and I think we can see the evidence of the leadership that he showed then, not just in the courage that he showed, but also in the success of the vaccination programme, from which people across this whole United Kingdom have benefited.

[Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that people in glass houses should not throw stones? Does he also agree that there is an election next week and as the Labour party is behind in the polls, Labour Members have chosen to wheel out a mantra from 20 years ago that they thought worked then and perhaps works now? And if we are talking about wheeling out glass houses, may I mention the Member under criminal investigation for fraud, the Liverpool mayor arrested for fraud, and a past Labour Prime Minister who pocketed millions from advising big businesses and foreign Governments?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes an important point—that we all have a responsibility to learn lessons, learn from the past, do our best to make sure that we collectively maintain high standards in public life, acknowledge that there are human frailties in individuals who represent all the parties in this House and do our very best to learn from the past.

Covid-19 Update

Joy Morrissey Excerpts

Wednesday 27th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I congratulate the hon. Lady on being so much more sensible than her party leader, who is saying that he wants to interrupt the vaccine roll-out for the vulnerable groups and decide politically who should get the vaccine. I think we should leave it to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to decide the most vulnerable groups. That is what we are going to do. That is the fastest way to deal with those who are most likely to die. I saw that she was shaking her head; she perhaps disagrees with the suggestion that she has just made, but I think that it is an excellent suggestion, and she should stick to it.

[Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) (Con) [V]]

I thank the Prime Minister for his commitment to reopen schools as soon as possible and for the vaccine roll-out. I am asking this question on behalf of children everywhere. As the mother of a nine-year-old, I can see that young children are struggling. Their cognitive development is determined at this age. We are storing up a lifetime of problems—anxiety, mental health issues and obesity—by having all our primary-age children at home. May I urge the Prime Minister to have courage in these final months and bring children—particularly primary-age children—back to school as quickly as possible?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is completely right, and I know that she speaks for millions of mothers and millions of parents across the country who want our kids to be back in school and who are anxious about the gaps in their learning that may be arising as a result of this pandemic. We are going to do everything we can to plug those gaps. She has heard what I have said about catch-up funds and the investments we are making in one-to-one tutorials, and that will go on not just this year but next year and throughout this Parliament, until we have made up the ground for those kids, because they deserve it. We will, of course, work as fast as possible to get schools open, but we must do it in a way that is cautious and proportionate.

Elections: May 2021

Joy Morrissey Excerpts

Wednesday 13th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Chloe Smith]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his words; it is good to see him, and I look forward to being back. I also thank him for making sure that our House is kept informed of what is going on in Holyrood. It is important that we have that mutual awareness, but may I gently pick him up on the idea that this Parliament and this Government are in some way less prepared? That is simply not the case.

There is a very full record of preparation that has gone on to ensure that the elections for which we are responsible will be a success. I laid that out in my statement and, as I undertook, I will be keeping the House further updated with more as it comes forward, for example in terms of guidance. However, I can certainly assure the hon. Gentleman that I am aware of those parallel plans and, as I said in an earlier response, I also intend to continue working collaboratively with my opposite numbers in the two other Administrations to ensure that, wherever sensible, we have the right kind of co-operation.

[Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) (Con) [V]]

Over the past year, as the Minister mentioned in her opening remarks, elections have successfully been held in the United States and across Europe, and indeed Germany is set to hold its elections in a few months’ time. Does my hon. Friend therefore agree that if these countries are able to successfully hold their elections, there is no reason for us not to do so?

[Chloe Smith]

That is a very important point. We have these examples going on, and elections have successfully been held both inside our country and around the world. It is important therefore to remember that people have that appetite to cast their vote and that it can be done safely, and that is what we are working towards.