Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Wednesday 1st May 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank and commend the hon. Lady for raising that case, and I pay tribute to Georgina for what she is doing. I often say that one of the most incredible things about doing this job is meeting people like Georgina, who have suffered tragedy in their lives but used that to campaign, inspire and bring about a better life for everyone else. She is a prime example of that, and she deserves nothing but our praise and admiration. I am so pleased that she has brought comfort to so many other people, too.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

Q12. Since I was elected in 2010, Rugby has seen employment grow by nearly 6,000, with 10% more of my constituents in work. Much of that has been driven by investment in advanced manufacturing in places such as Ansty Park, where we have got the Manufacturing Technology Centre, which the Prime Minister visited, the High Temperature Research Centre, Rolls-Royce, Parker Meggitt, Fanuc and the London Electric Vehicle Company. Given that every Labour Government have left office with unemployment higher than when they came in, can the Prime Minister see any reason why anybody would want to put this fantastic progress at risk?

[The Prime Minister]

On a recent visit, I was pleased to see for myself that my hon. Friend is a great champion for his constituents. I was very pleased to see the thriving local technology and manufacturing industry, which will help us deliver on our ambitions to make the UK a science and technology superpower. He is right that we have a record 1 million fewer workless households, and unemployment near record lows. He is also right that we need to stick to the plan, because that is how we will deliver the long-term change that our country needs and a brighter future for families up and down the country, including in his constituency.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd June 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I cannot think of a better use of public funds than making sure that the whole of the UK fights the covid pandemic together, and that is what we are doing. Thanks to the UK Treasury, we were able to spend £407 billion supporting jobs and families in Scotland. We were able to use the British Army to send vaccines throughout the whole of the UK. I believe that the story of this last two years has shown the incalculable value of our Union and the strength of our Union, and that we are better together.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

  The Prime Minister’s groundbreaking 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution has ambitious targets for a switch to zero-emission electric vehicles, and the UK’s automotive manufacturers are ready to deliver, with vehicle manufacture taking place close to where batteries are made, because of the high proportion of an electric vehicle’s cost and weight being made up by the battery. Coventry is the historic home of the car industry and the headquarters of Jaguar Land Rover, who made the car in which the Prime Minister travelled to Parliament today, so will he give his support to the proposal to build a gigafactory at Coventry airport?

[The Prime Minister]

I have fond memories of visiting my hon. Friend’s constituency and using an electric taxi. They thought that was impossible 15 years ago, but we got it done and we will make sure that his constituency and constituencies across the country are in the lead in building new electric vehicles for this country and for the world.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Wednesday 7th October 2020 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on supporting job retention in Scotland during the covid-19 outbreak.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

What estimate he has made of the number of self-employed people in Scotland who have not received support from the Government’s covid-19 financial support schemes.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alister Jack)]

I have regular discussions with my Cabinet colleagues, including the Chancellor, on all aspects of how the UK Government continue to support Scotland’s economy. The Chancellor recently announced a package of measures that will continue to support jobs and help businesses through the uncertain months ahead.

[Mark Pawsey]

At the height of the biggest economic downturn this country has seen in our lifetime, the UK Government stepped up and protected nearly 1 million Scottish jobs through the job retention scheme and the self-employment income support scheme. Does the Secretary of State agree that those measures show that the UK Government have done everything possible to support people’s livelihoods across the entirety of the United Kingdom?

[Mr Jack]

Yes, I do. The might of the UK Treasury has supported all parts of the United Kingdom, including Scotland.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd July 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The cancer drugs fund has been a huge breakthrough not just in making available drugs but some important treatments, too. I hope that other parts of the United Kingdom will take up what we are doing with the cancer drugs fund. Another thing we can do is to make sure, by working with Genomics England, that we are sequencing genomes as fast as we can so that we can carry out the research necessary to see which cancer drugs will be effective on which patients in accordance with their DNA. This will be the modern way to do tailored medicine, and I am very pleased to say that Britain is well ahead of the pack when it comes to investing in our universities and science base as well as in our NHS.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

Q13. Jack Gayton and Hannah Fountaine are two young constituents who now own one of the 108 properties in Rugby bought as a result of this Government’s Help to Buy scheme. Does the Prime Minister agree that the fact that Jack and Hannah now enjoy their own home and have made a start on the housing ladder demonstrates this Government’s support for those who want to work hard and get on?

[The Prime Minister]

I join my hon. Friend in congratulating his constituents. The Help to Buy scheme is working to get people on to the housing ladder. It is enabling people who do not have rich parents, and who cannot afford a big deposit but can afford a mortgage, to go out and buy the flat or house that they want. We have seen 30,000 people taking advantage of the scheme already, and it has also helped to kick-start investment in housing and raise the level of housing starts in our country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Wednesday 27th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady makes a fair point. We need to see an independent investigation of what happened. Everyone has read the papers and seen the TV footage, but we need an independent investigation to work out whether what she suggests is right.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

Q10. The development of land without planning permission for use as Gypsy and Traveller sites is of concern to many communities, including the villages of Barnacle and Bulkington in my constituency, where local residents have had to put up with illegal developments on their doorstep, although they are pleased with the proposals of the coalition Government to give additional powers to local authorities to deal with the matter. Will the Prime Minister acknowledge the wish of my constituents to see those powers made available at the earliest opportunity?

[The Prime Minister]

As my hon. Friend probably knows, we will bring forward the localism Bill. It is important, as I have said before, that everyone obeys the law of the land, including that on planning. That should apply to Gypsies and Travellers as well. In the localism Bill we will make sure that it is worth while for local authorities to go ahead with development—they should see a benefit when houses are built, whereas at present there is so little benefit for local areas in getting businesses in and getting homes built. There should be a benefit where they make available sites for Gypsies and Travellers, but that should not be done on the basis of lawbreaking, which it all too often is at present.