Veterans Welfare Services

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Tuesday 21st November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Johnny Mercer]

I am just looking over my statement again and at no stage have I said that this is a rebranding exercise. The Veterans UK brand is being retired, absolutely, but that is not a rebranding exercise, because then we would have come forward with something else that would be exactly the same. The overarching organisation is being removed, as well as the interrelationships under that between the bereavement services, the compensation services and the welfare services that operate out of Norcross. Look, if people want to take it as a rebrand, that’s fine. I have not said that and that is not what it is going to mean for veterans, but if it fits their narrative, that’s fine by me.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

I welcome the statement, but not as much as I welcome my right hon. and gallant Friend’s role and his enthusiasm to continue to undertake it. That role did not exist under previous Administrations. We all know there is nothing worse than seeing a veteran on the street begging. Recently, I came across a man called Danny at Edgware Road tube station and he was indeed begging. I wrote to the Minister with Danny’s contact details and I am eternally grateful that Danny is now getting the support he deserves, but I do not believe that he should have had to beg for that. I look forward to the Government’s response to the review to ensure that it does not take a Member of Parliament to write to a Minister in the Cabinet Office to get the support that people not only deserve but require.

[Johnny Mercer]

First, I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for bringing that case to us. I also pay tribute to those in my private office who work on individual cases like that for veterans every single day and change lives. That is what has happened in Danny’s case.

I do not want to see any veteran sleeping rough because of a lack of provision. Under this Government, we will end that by this Christmas through Op Fortitude, a dedicated pathway out of homelessness, with 910 supported housing placements and £8.5 million. We are incredibly proud of it.

On the point about this position not existing before, I welcome any political debate around veterans. There is a new shadow Minister talking about veterans today; the other one is not here any more. There is no commitment to follow through on what we have done with the Office for Veterans’ Affairs. I have no idea why the Labour party would want to seek a fight on veterans’ affairs. We just want the country to look after them and I think Labour needs to have another look at that tactic.

Israel and Gaza

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Monday 23rd October 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The biggest risk on escalation comes from Iran and its destabilising behaviour. We have seen worrying rocket attacks from the Houthis over the past few days, but also increasing rocket fire from Hezbollah. It is important that those are restrained. Our engagement, particularly with Arab leaders, has focused on them putting pressure on those who have influence in the region to de-escalate those tensions. We have also sent Navy assets to the region to help, and to make sure that arms shipments are not getting to those nefarious actors.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

Events in Israel and Gaza have a direct influence upon my constituents. In May 2021, a convoy for Palestine drove through north London with loudspeakers advocating that people raped Jewish girls and mothers. On Saturday, as the Prime Minister said, “jihad” was called for on the streets of London, and a London underground driver said the same over the tannoy. Only yesterday, a long-term resident of my constituency has been identified as a Hamas operative. Indeed, two further names have been drawn to my attention. The Prime Minister says that action will be taken, but it simply is not. My constituents do not expect the law to be enforced; they demand it.

[The Prime Minister]

May I thank my hon. Friend for everything he does to champion particularly his Jewish constituents and the community more broadly? I can let him know that, at this point, I am aware of over 38 arrests that have been made by the police over the past week or two on this particular issue.

On the other issue that my hon. Friend mentioned, the British Transport police are actively working with Transport for London to look into it. Of course, that is an operational matter for the police, but the Government are clear that everyone should have the right to travel safely and without intimidation. I would also hope that the Mayor of London and others responsible for transport will take steps to make sure that that is the case.

Israel and Gaza

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Monday 16th October 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Both the Foreign Secretary and I are speaking extensively to all our partners in the region to urge everybody to put pressure on those who would seek to take advantage of the situation not to. As I said, we have deployed surveillance aircraft to the Mediterranean, not least to ensure that Hezbollah is not in receipt of extra arms shipments, because that would be damaging to regional stability. We will continue to make sure that that does not happen.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

In 2013, I took a group of schoolchildren from the Beit Shvidler Primary School in Edgware to the Hanukkah party at No. 10. A leading voice of the choir was Nathanel Young, one of the first people to be killed in the terrorist attack in Israel. Will the Prime Minister advise the House what actions have been taken for the bereaved families and the families of the 17 hostages who remain in Gaza, and what consular support that will entail?

[The Prime Minister]

I express again my sympathies to all those families who have been impacted by the appalling situation in Israel in this terrorist attack. I was in my hon. Friend’s constituency this morning and saw at first hand the impact that this was having on the community there. I assure him that the Foreign Office is providing extensive consular support to all families who are impacted, and we will continue to do so throughout this crisis.

Civil Service Impartiality

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Monday 6th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Quin]

We are conducting analysis to find out the facts that led up to the resignation of Sue Gray and to ensure they can be set out. It would help dispel concerns, worries and problems if the Labour party could simply set out the facts itself. There is no reason why it could not do that today.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

The permanent secretary at the Department for Education recently highlighted the detail of the civil service code to all her staff. She said that

“if anybody receives contact from the Leader of the Opposition or a member of the Shadow Cabinet you should tell your Permanent Secretary right away”.

Is the Minister aware of when Sue Gray informed her permanent secretary of the initial discussion she held with the Labour party before announcing her resignation?

[Jeremy Quin]

As I have said, there is work in progress to ensure that all the facts are identified, but I am not aware that there were any such discussions prior to Thursday last week.

Tributes to Her Late Majesty the Queen

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Saturday 10th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

It really is an honour to speak on behalf of my constituents in Hendon. The Queen was no stranger to my constituency, which she visited on more than 12 occasions. In 1945, three Dakota aircraft, bearing Their Majesties the King, the Queen and Princess Elizabeth, and a press entourage, left RAF Hendon for the first royal visit by air, to Northern Ireland. That was followed by a visit by a pregnant Her Majesty to the drapers’ cottages in Mill Hill. She subsequently planted a cedar tree to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of Mill Hill School. She formally opened the RAF museum in Hendon. She opened the Peel Centre at Hendon Police College. She performed a royal review at the Hendon Police College as part of her silver jubilee.

In 1982, as colonel-in-chief of the Royal Engineers, the Queen spent the day at Inglis barracks, visiting the Home Postal Depot, Royal Engineers, and unveiling a commemorative statue called “Letter from Home” to mark the centenary of the British Forces Post Office. In 1985, she opened the Central Public Health Laboratory in Colindale. In 2001, she laid a wreath to inaugurate the Metropolitan Police memorial in the grounds of the Metropolitan Police training establishment in Colindale.

The golden jubilee north London celebration was held at Copthall Stadium, Mill Hill. I was pleased to be one of the newly elected councillors who was able to be there to meet the Queen in person. In 2005, she visited the emergency call centre at Hendon Police College after the tsunami disaster. In 2012, in her final visit, the north London diamond jubilee procession of Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh came through Edgware.

In my constituency, the regard in which Her Majesty is held by ethnic minorities is second to none. As we have already heard today, the people of Hendon hold the Queen in high regard, and it still impresses me that, at the end of every sabbath service, without exception, my constituents in synagogue say a prayer for the Queen and the royal family. They have been saying that prayer since 1952 when Her Majesty ascended to the throne. There have been more than a dozen versions to reflect changes through marriages and deaths, but the one constant in the prayer throughout the last 70 years has been our sovereign lady, Queen Elizabeth.

I have often said that none of us in politics is very important, and it is my belief that there is only one person who is important in politics, and that is the monarch. As we have seen in the last few days, Prime Ministers and Members of Parliament come and go but the monarch remains. Each and every one of us have made sacrifices to be here in this place, but the Queen made even greater sacrifices for over 70 years. That commitment to public service is unimaginable to us.

A friend left a message on her Facebook page that really summed up what I would say to the Queen right now, if I had the opportunity:

“Good night, God bless, and thank you for everything.”

Long live the King.

Functioning of Government

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Thursday 7th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Ellis]

I can only say that the Prime Minister will make a statement shortly.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

The hollow resignations by those who enthusiastically supported decisions such as voting for Owen Paterson show how they were unfit to serve as Ministers in the beginning. But the governance of this country cannot be allowed to fail, so when are these vacancies going to be filled? They must be filled immediately and we cannot allow decisions to be made by other Secretaries of State from other Departments. The country deserves better than that.

[Michael Ellis]

The Government will continue to function, and I have spoken to the head of the civil service to that effect.

Oral Answers to Questions

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Wednesday 14th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I normally have a great deal of respect and interest in what the right hon. Lady says, but in this case she has missed what the Government are doing for transport connectivity in Wales and to Wales—something about which I know she is as passionate as I am. Look at what we are doing in the Union connectivity review with the A55, the north Wales railway corridor into Liverpool and the M4. Never let it be forgotten that it was the Welsh Labour Government—not the right hon. Lady’s fault, of course, because she is Plaid—who spent £144 million on a study and then did not even do the diversion.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con) [V]]

The circumstances of Jewish burials around the world are a sensitive and important issue to my constituents and, as such, to me. In January 1942, the Nazis built two concentration camps on British soil, on the island of Alderney. Conditions were appalling, with multiple deaths. However, there are just 397 recorded graves on Alderney, just 6.6% of a total population of 6,000 internees. In 1961, a British delegation undertook an inquiry into the atrocities that occurred on Alderney. Today I ask the Prime Minister to authorise the release of all documents and information residing in the archives into those investigations, so that we know what happened to thousands of people on the island of Alderney during world war two. To quote Elie Wiesel,“to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.”

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point about the victims on Alderney. We must never forget those on the Channel Islands who suffered under occupation between 1940 and 1945. I am told that the documents in question have been transferred to the National Archives, but I will ensure that the relevant Minister meets my hon. Friend to discuss the matter further.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Wednesday 30th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his point; indeed, I was coming to that very matter in my explanation of what happened. All I can say is that he is quite right. We cannot afford to wait for the full conclusions of the report. That is why, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has just pointed out to me, we have allocated a further £600 million to the removal of such cladding. It is essential that we remove similar cladding on all buildings as soon as possible, which is why we have established the fund to pay for the removal of such cladding systems from tall residential buildings.

I know that progress is not as fast I should like, but I am pleased to say that all such buildings owned by central and local government have now had their cladding removed, are undergoing work to remove it, or, at the very least, have such work scheduled. In the private sector, progress is slower, and too many building owners have not acted responsibly.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

What action will be taken against private building owners who fail to remove or replace the cladding by the June 2020 deadline?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. We propose to name the businesses and companies that own those buildings but are failing to comply, to encourage them to get on with this vital work. While the people living in those privately owned buildings are safe—and, as the House will know, round-the-clock fire patrols and other temporary measures ensure that that is the case—I am in no doubt that they need a long-term and lasting solution.

Prime Minister's Role in Creating a Safe Environment

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Thursday 26th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Yes. That would be totally unacceptable. I am not aware of the particular circumstance to which the hon. Gentleman is referring, but I can confirm that that is totally unacceptable.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker—

[Mr Speaker]

No, I am not going to take a whole series of points of order—[Interruption.] Sorry, no, I am now going to proceed with the statement from the Secretary of State—[Interruption.] Order. I do not require assistance from the hon. Gentleman. We come now to the statement by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. [Interruption.] Order. If people who are leaving the Chamber would please do so quickly and quietly, we can attend to the terms of the statement from the Secretary of State. I think there is now something approaching calm.

Oral Answers to Questions

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Wednesday 6th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Chloe Smith]

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster set out an important package of measures last year to improve transparency in contracting. However, I do not think there is evidence that the collapse of Carillion could have been anticipated by the reforms in the report. Indeed, the relevant Select Committees said that Carillion’s directors were responsible, not the Government.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

4. What assessment he has made of trends in the level of intimidation faced by those in public life.

[The Minister without Portfolio (Brandon Lewis)]

The increasing prevalence of intimidation in public life can seriously damage our democracy, which is why the Government have consulted on a new electoral offence of intimidating candidates and campaigners. We are currently analysing the contributions to the consultation, with a response due to be published soon.

[Dr Offord]

What progress is the Department making with online platform providers to ensure that they develop and implement automated techniques for content removal and address take-down times for offensive material?

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend makes a good point that he has made strongly before, which is to his huge credit. We have been clear that much more needs to be done to tackle online harm. Too often, online behaviour fails to meet acceptable standards, with many users powerless to address such issues. A joint Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Home Office White Paper is expected to be published in the near future and will set out legislative and non-legislative measures detailing how we can tackle online harm and set clear responsibilities for tech companies to keep UK citizens safe. We want to ensure that we do that in a fair and proper way.