Business of the House

Margaret Ferrier Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I will maintain an interest in this as a member of the House of Commons Commission. I think that this is a serious job. Those Members will be able to make their own judgments, but, clearly, that body has more than my delegates on it. The shadow Leader of the House also has a delegate, and there are external experts to help form a collective judgment.

Most importantly, in the coming weeks we will be asking all Members of the House their views about the priorities. We will be ensuring that we have a solid schedule of works, which currently has not really been visible to Members of this House, and that we can be pragmatic about how we approach the R and R project, both to reduce the cost to the taxpayer and to minimise the disruption to the business that we conduct in the House.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

My constituent Sophia Martin from Cambuslang, who plays for Glasgow City FC, is believed to be the youngest female player to sign a three-year professional contract, having just turned 16. Sophia has already impressed with her performance, hard work and commitment, and I wish her well. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Sophia on her achievement, and can we have a debate in Government time on the contribution of young women in professional sport?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I very happily give the best congratulations a Portsmouth supporter can possibly give to the hon. Lady’s constituent by saying, “Play up, Sophia Martin!” She has achieved a great deal, and we should all be very proud of those achievements. I wish her well, and I thank the hon. Lady for telling us that fantastic news.

Business of the House

Margaret Ferrier Excerpts

Thursday 26th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sorry to hear that those providers are leaving my hon. Friend’s constituency. He will know that we have put additional funding into dentistry: about this time last year, an additional £50 million was made available to assist with the catch-up job that we had to do to get everyone dentally fit after the covid pandemic, and further funds have also been put in. It is also vital to have flexibility in commissioning to ensure that the money can be used to ensure that every dental chair and every dentist is occupied for the longest possible time. I had a meeting with the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough (Neil O’Brien), yesterday and I know that he is looking at bringing forward further measures shortly to assist with that. I will make sure that he has heard the concerns of my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Peter Gibson).

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

People’s Past People’s Future, a community group in Rutherglen, recently organised a hugely successful event aimed at helping people to make new friends. Will the Leader of the House join me in thanking the organiser, Geraldine Baird, and VASLan for providing funding? Will she schedule a debate in Government time on the value of community groups in tackling loneliness in isolated groups?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I happily join the hon. Lady in praising Geraldine and the organisation VASLan. We know that by ensuring that people have that social engagement, we also ensure that they are healthier and we improve their quality of life. It is fundamental that everyone has a social network and support, and I thank her for her work to ensure that that is the case for all her constituents.

Business of the House

Margaret Ferrier Excerpts

Thursday 19th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Gentleman raises a very serious situation. The LGBT+ survey carried out a number of years ago by the Government to get a clear view of what it was like to live in the UK and be LGBT+ pointed to the increasing amount of abuse and hate crime that individuals were suffering, which was causing people to be concerned about holding hands with their partners in public places. The Home Office has done a huge amount of work on the issue, and will continue to do so. He will know that Home Office questions will take place on 6 February, but I think this is an excellent topic for a debate, and I encourage him to apply for one.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

My team are dealing with several cases in which constituents are not being given timely support by their energy providers because phone lines are heavily oversubscribed. One problem is that providers are struggling to credit accounts with Government support, and customers are not paying by direct debit. Will the Leader of the House schedule a debate, in Government time, on how energy support schemes could be improved for households?

[Penny Mordaunt]

During last week’s business questions a great many energy issues were raised, from prepayment meters to support not being passed on. We have seen, historically, particular energy companies hanging on to people’s credit and not transferring them to a new provider. As well as writing to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy—I will do that again on the back of the hon. Lady’s question—I have spoken to the relevant Minister and emphasised that this suite of issues is of particular concern to Members. I will keep the House abreast of work that the Department is doing to resolve these serious issues, which will have an impact on people’s ability to afford household bills and on their personal liquidity.

Business of the House

Margaret Ferrier Excerpts

Thursday 12th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

Happy new year, Madam Deputy Speaker.

As co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on liver disease and liver cancer, I am pleased to be able to draw the House’s attention to a British Liver Trust FibroScan event in Portcullis House next Tuesday to raise awareness of liver disease. Will the Leader of the House join me in encouraging all Members to attend this important free event, and perhaps make time to drop by herself?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for what she is doing to raise awareness of this issue. If she will give my office the details I will endeavour to call in, and I shall certainly encourage all Members to do likewise.

Business of the House

Margaret Ferrier Excerpts

Thursday 8th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

The next Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office questions will be on 13 December, and I would encourage the hon. Gentleman to take up that case then. However, I will also write to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on his behalf, as I am sure that many Members will want an opportunity to talk about the tournament, FIFA and its future.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

During Home Office questions on 14 November, I raised a case that my office and I have been dealing with for over a year. The Immigration Minister committed himself to looking into it, but despite my team following this up more than once, we have heard nothing since his office’s initial contact. Will the Leader of the House please remind her colleague about this case, so that my constituent can be reassured that it is being looked into as a matter of urgency?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sorry to hear that that has been the hon. Lady’s experience. If she passes the details to me, I shall make sure that someone from the Home Office is in touch with her office this afternoon.

Business of the House

Margaret Ferrier Excerpts

Thursday 1st December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

As Leader of the House, I must be fiercely neutral and not favour one Bill over another, but I am particularly keen for the Bill of Rights to come back swiftly to the Floor of the House. A huge amount of work has been done on it, and it will—among many other things—clearly enhance our ability to remove dangerous foreign-national offenders from the UK and better protect the public. I will announce business in the usual way. I am sure that the Deputy Prime Minister will be pleased that my hon. Friend has raised the importance of the Bill of Rights.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

The National Lottery Community Fund has allocated grants of up to £5.9 million over the last five years to a number of excellent community groups in my constituency, including Overton Tenants and Residents Association; Chatty Crafters; Project 31; People’s Past, People’s Future, and Whitlawburn Community Resource Centre, to name just a few. Will the Leader of the House schedule a debate in Government time on the need for funding streams for such essential community projects in our communities?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I extend my congratulations to all those organisations on their successful bids to the lottery and wish them well in spending that funding—it sounds as if they provide some amazing services. I thank the hon. Lady for raising the importance of those vital funding streams.

Business of the House

Margaret Ferrier Excerpts

Thursday 24th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

They are traditionally for Members to raise issues and concerns that affect their constituents. Alas, when SNP Members have had Opposition days, they have tended to focus not on matters of concern to the Scottish people, but on their obsession with having another referendum.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

Healthy n Happy, a community trust in my constituency, is running the “Give a Gift of Joy” campaign in Rutherglen and Cambuslang until this Saturday, gathering gifts for children and young people who face a difficult Christmas. Will the Leader of the House join me in thanking the trust for its great work, and schedule a debate in Government time on the pressures faced by families this festive season?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am very happy to put on the record my thanks to that organisation. This is an incredibly important issue, and there will be many opportunities, in debates and in oral questions, to raise matters of concern for families under pressure this festive season. I hope that the hon. Lady will make use of all such opportunities.

Business of the House

Margaret Ferrier Excerpts

Thursday 17th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. Clearly, the NHS and healthcare is under tremendous pressure in all parts of the UK, but while one in 20 people in England are waiting over a year for treatment, it is one in four in Wales. I know that primary care and the excellent services he has described are critical for diagnostics and prevention to tackle that issue. He has raised the issue today on the Floor of the House, and I know he is campaigning hard about it. He can gather the support of Ministers by raising it at parliamentary questions on 6 December and, in the meantime, I will ask the Department what more it can do to encourage the Welsh Government and local stake- holders to bring forward the new services his constituents need.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

Tomorrow, I will be meeting the Scottish Showmen’s Guild in Glasgow. The guild has raised with me its concerns about the rising costs of electricity and gas for both site tenants and landlords, for which they receive no financial assistance or grants. Will the Leader of the House ask the Business Secretary to give a statement to the House and ask him to meet me to discuss energy support for showpeople?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising the issue. The next business questions will be on 29 November, and I know that the hon. Lady will want to raise that issue there, but I will also alert the Department to her concerns.

Business of the House

Margaret Ferrier Excerpts

Thursday 3rd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[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.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

My local authority, South Lanarkshire Council, has submitted a bid to the levelling-up fund. It is an excellent proposal to remediate the hexavalent chromium issues at the brownfield site at Shawfield. As part of Clyde Gateway’s continued redevelopment, it would see untold economic and environmental benefits for my constituents, and it has my full support. Will the Leader of the House ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to provide an update to the House on the fund’s progress?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady and wish her well in that bid. Clearly, decontaminating land is key to unlocking its use and her community will be keen to see that happen. Round one delivered more than £170 million for eight projects and I am sure that further funding will be brought forward. I thank her for championing her project today.

Business of the House

Margaret Ferrier Excerpts

Thursday 27th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my right hon. Friend for placing his views on the record. He will understand that they are not a matter for me, but they will have been heard. Hopefully we will be keeping His Majesty rather less busy on other matters.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Bonnie Blantyre and pals on their community horticulture gold award from Keep Scotland Beautiful for their tireless campaign to brighten up the local area with flowers and plants? May we have a debate in Government time on the importance of biodiversity at a local level?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sure that all Members would congratulate the Bonnie Blantyre team for this huge achievement. The hon. Lady is right that this is vital for wellbeing, and for the look and feel of our communities. I thank her for getting that on the record.