Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia)

Louise Haigh Excerpts

Thursday 26th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

As I have said, errors were made and that is why we have asked the director general at the Department for Work and Pensions to conduct a full review of how this process is being operated.

[Louise Haigh (Sheffield, Heeley) (Lab)]

Are any sanctions available for the companies involved in these mistakes, some of which presumably know full well that they should not be applying for the licences in the first place?

[Elizabeth Truss]

The issue is the issuance of licences. That is the issue I look at as Secretary of State and make sure that it is in place properly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Louise Haigh Excerpts

Thursday 25th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Lady raises an important issue, although it is slightly separate from the very narrow remit of the Gender Recognition Act. Every Department is facing all sorts of issues in relation to trans people, so we have brought together a team of Ministers and officials across Government to make sure that policy is where it needs to be. I have also had separate meetings with the Minister for Sport to discuss both elite and community sport. Many of these decisions, particularly at the elite level, are for sporting bodies to lead on, although there are safety issues as well. I can assure her that these will be ongoing meetings across all Departments and that we will make sure that every Department provides services and support and has the right policies in place for modern times.

[Louise Haigh (Sheffield, Heeley) (Lab)]

Will the Minister confirm the Government’s position on whether the automatic parental right of men who have fathered children through rape should be removed?

[Lucy Frazer]

I know that the hon. Lady is passionate about this, and I am pleased she has taken up this very important campaign. The Ministry of Justice is looking very closely at it. I have mentioned before that the civil procedure rule committee is looking at the issue she has raised in the past about applications to court. It will have a further meeting at the beginning of May, and I will be very happy to update her on that when the meeting has taken place.

Oral Answers to Questions

Louise Haigh Excerpts

Thursday 9th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Karen Bradley]

My right hon. Friend raises a very important point. We all know that the voluntary sector has the ability to bring greater social value to our public services, but we also know that it can sometimes face barriers when up against more established providers. That is why we announced a new programme of measures in this area in December and why an implementation group chaired by Sir Martyn Lewis and attended by my hon. Friend the Member for Reading East (Mr Wilson), the Minister for Civil Society, met for the first time yesterday to lead our work on this issue.

[Louise Haigh (Sheffield, Heeley) (Lab)]

Keeping our children safe online is one of the Government’s most important responsibilities. That is why section 67 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 rightly made it a criminal offence for adults to send sexual messages to children, yet the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children says that, two years on, the law is still not enforced and the police cannot enforce it. Will the Minister explain to the House why the Government are dragging their feet on this and ensure that this legislation is implemented immediately?

[The Minister for Digital and Culture (Matt Hancock)]

It is very good to see a member of the shadow team who has been voting with the rest of the shadow Front Bench this week.

On the important issue that she addresses, ensuring internet safety is, as she knows, at the top of the Government’s agenda. It has been a crucial part of the Digital Economy Bill, and the proposal she makes is also something we are considering very seriously.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Fox]

My hon. Friend has made an important general point in his specific question. An open trading system is a win-win: our economy, as well as other economies, can gain from sharing the same open system.

[Louise Haigh (Sheffield, Heeley) (Lab)]

T4. How many trade negotiators has the civil service now managed to recruit?

[Dr Fox]

The entire departmental strength is now some 3,000. We are adding some 50 extra staff to our trade policy group this week, and the process will continue. We will increase the numbers further in the months ahead as we look to our WTO obligations, the transposition of our EU free trade agreements, and the FTAs that we have. The current number of about 200 staff will be augmented as we proceed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Louise Haigh Excerpts

Thursday 15th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Trade and Investment (Greg Hands)]

I know that my hon. Friend takes a huge interest in Korea and his Korean community in Kingston. He knows that I visited Seoul, as did Lord Price, in September and saw for myself what natural allies we will be in the global future of free trade. I had excellent meetings with Samsung and with other interlocutors. We look forward to working very closely with South Korea in the future in developing free trading relationships, and I will make sure that my hon. Friend is very involved.

[Louise Haigh (Sheffield, Heeley) (Lab)]

T3. Recently, the hon. Member for North East Somerset (Mr Rees-Mogg) said in relation to emissions standards that what is good enough for India is good enough for us. May we have a firm assurance that no emissions standards will be watered down as part of any free trade deal?

[Dr Fox]

The Government take very seriously their environmental obligations and will continue to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Louise Haigh Excerpts

Thursday 3rd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Louise Haigh (Sheffield, Heeley) (Lab)]

Yesterday, Facebook made the welcome announcement that it would not be allowing Admiral to use its data to determine insurance premiums. While the Government have been dragging their feet and refusing to update data protection legislation, private companies have been harvesting our personal data, against our knowledge, without our consent and to our detriment. When will the Government act?

[Karen Bradley]

I know that the hon. Lady, who is on the Digital Economy Bill Committee, is doing considerable work in this area. I look forward to working with her to ensure that we achieve all that we want to. May I make the point that the Investigatory Powers Bill, which is an incredibly important part of our law enforcement around data protection, is currently being hijacked and prevented from making progress and receiving Royal Assent because of press regulation? It is important that we get that matter of national security on the statute book to protect us all.