Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Maria Miller and Pat Glass

Thursday 12th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that there are very few communities in our country that do not possess a memorial to those who fell in the first world war, although there are, of course, a few thankful villages that had no need for one and might commemorate the event in different ways. We already have a good funding level for the restoration of memorials, but this is something that we continue to look at. If there is an indication that further support is needed, we will of course look at it further.

[Pat Glass (North West Durham) (Lab)]

4. What assessment she has made of the potential effect of a greater focus on competitive sport on the number of women aged between 14 and 25 participating in the Sportivate programme.

--- Later in debate ---

[Maria Miller]

My hon. Friend is right to say that every corner of the country needs to be in our targets when it comes to rolling out superfast broadband. I am delighted to tell him that that is exactly why the Government are investing more than £1 billion of public money in rolling out rural superfast broadband. We are making rapid progress in his area. As of the end of last month, more than 11,000 premises had been passed, and Ofcom data now show that Lancashire county council has more than 67% availability of superfast broadband. We are making progress, but we need to ensure that that continues.

[Pat Glass (North West Durham) (Lab)]

T4. I listened carefully to the Minister’s earlier response on ticket touting. I remind her that it is some years since the Government and the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport looked at the issue. Operation Podium, which policed the Olympics, reported earlier this year that ticket touting is rife with criminality and money laundering and said that now was the time for regulation. Why will the Minister not act now to protect rugby fans from that criminality?

Specialist Disability Employment

Debate between Maria Miller and Pat Glass

Tuesday 10th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments. As for the factory in his constituency, I spoke to the Scottish Government this morning. They are keen to try to continue with their support, as they have been working with us throughout the process. We will of course take forward any lessons from the first stage of factories into the second stage, but I think the process has been handled well and thoughtfully, and with the right level of professionalism.

[Pat Glass (North West Durham) (Lab)]

The Spennymoor Remploy factory is not in my constituency, but it is just a mile over the border and it employs severely disabled people from the Crook and Willington area of my constituency. Is the Minister seriously telling me that severely disabled people—three members of the same family in one case—will get alternative employment in a constituency where unemployment has more than doubled since this Government came to power?

[Maria Miller]

The hon. Lady obviously wants to ensure that people in her constituency are well provided for, and I hope that she will be reassured by the comments I have made today about the employee support plan and the £8 million that the Government have put in place. Spennymoor is not in her constituency, but she will know that in the constituency of Bishop Auckland, where it is located, there are more than 13,000 disabled people, compared with the 40 disabled people who work in the factory. We have to work together to ensure that more disabled people are supported into work. We know that more than 500 disabled people in the area were supported into mainstream work by Remploy employment services in the last year alone. The jobs are there if people get the right support.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Maria Miller and Pat Glass

Monday 18th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Pat Glass (North West Durham) (Lab)]

I recently met constituents in my local Leonard Cheshire home in Crook who are very concerned about losing the mobility element of DLA. The Minister subsequently wrote to my local newspaper, The Northern Echo, advising that those people were wrong to worry about this and that they would not lose it. Is that the Government’s position or is it subject to the review? Are the Government just not sure yet?

[Maria Miller]

I, too, have visited Leonard Cheshire homes, and I have met Leonard Cheshire representatives to discuss this issue. I assure the hon. Lady, as I just said to the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman), that we are not removing the DLA mobility component in October 2012. We will look at the needs of care home residents alongside the needs of all other recipients of DLA as part of the broader PIP reform. Perhaps she can take that message back to her constituents. It would be great to get some good information out there.