Same-sex Marriage in Churches
Debate between Maria Miller and Susan Elan Jones(11 years, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Maria Miller
My hon. Friend is right—we do not believe that any religious organisation should be forced to do something that is beyond their belief and faith. I direct him to case law of the European Court, which has made it clear that those are issues for individual countries and not something on which it will rule centrally.
Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)
Some Churches in our country allow marriages only of members of their fellowships. Equally, some Churches will not allow the remarriage of divorced people. Many different faith groups have different rules. If that has not been seriously challenged in the past 10 years, does the Minister agree that it is highly unlikely that there will be such a challenge to same-sex marriages?
Maria Miller
I could not have put it better myself; the hon. Lady makes an extremely strong point.
BBC
Debate between Maria Miller and Susan Elan Jones(11 years, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Maria Miller
My hon. Friend speaks of ensuring that contracts are correctly put together. I join him in saying that any reward for failure is inappropriate not only for the BBC but for any organisation.
Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)
Last week, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales made it clear he had had some contact with members of the public who had been abused in children’s homes in north Wales but had not come forward before. I am sure we welcome people feeling that they can do so, but many of us fear that certain events will make them nervous, especially given the current media reaction. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is spectacularly unhelpful when people who should know better refer to such people as “weirdos”?
Maria Miller
The hon. Lady talks about the language we use, and in this place we know it is incredibly powerful. She rightly counsels caution and I share her desire that individuals should be able to raise such issues in the most supportive environment possible.
Employment Support
Debate between Maria Miller and Susan Elan Jones(12 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Maria Miller
As the hon. Gentleman will have heard in my comments earlier, I understand the value of residential training colleges and I will be delighted to accept his invitation.
Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)
Can the Minister tell the House when she envisages that the factories will start closing? I know that there will be a great deal of distress about this in north-east Wales. We do not see it as a state-subsidised industry. We see it as to do with disabled people in a very challenging economic situation.
Maria Miller
I understand the hon. Lady’s commitment to supporting disabled people in her constituency. There is a 90-day consultation period, so that will be completed and then we will talk to disabled employees about their futures. I hope we can continue to keep her up to date on that progress.