Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mel Stride and Lord Hague of Richmond

Wednesday 20th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

The hon. Gentleman’s region will benefit from the regional growth fund, including through £235 million from the fund. It is, of course, important that the money is spent effectively, and my ministerial colleagues will do their utmost to ensure that that happens, but it is also important to remember that his region benefits from many other things that the Government are doing, including infrastructure projects to support growth in the west midlands, and enterprise zones for Birmingham city centre and for the black country. These measures are much more likely to get regional growth going than the excessive tax and spending of the Labour party.

[Mel Stride (Central Devon) (Con)]

Q6. My constituent Ian Tapp has now lost 300 cattle to bovine TB, and that scourge has been exacerbated by the fact that the previous Government did precisely nothing about the problem. Although I recognise the sterling work that this Government have done, will my right hon. Friend reassure my livestock farmers that, when it comes to disease control regulations, there will be proportionality and nothing that is likely to detract from their livelihood?

[Mr Hague]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. Bovine TB is a devastating disease and one of the most serious challenges facing the British cattle farming industry. Last year, around 26,000 cattle were compulsorily slaughtered in England alone. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will make an announcement tomorrow about how it intends to proceed on this subject. Cattle measures continue to be the foundation of our TB control programme, but it is clear that those alone are not sufficient in some areas, so I invite him to stand by for a further announcement tomorrow.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mel Stride and Lord Hague of Richmond

Tuesday 14th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

As I have said before, I stress that there is no change in policy. The Prime Minister has also reiterated what he has said before. However, that very much depends on the conditions prevailing on the ground. There are improvements in Helmand; there is no doubt about that. There are security improvements. There are places in Helmand where vastly more people are going to school, where more roads are working, and where health centres are open, which was not the case one year or two years ago. What we do in Helmand, and any withdrawal of troops from Helmand, will continue to be dependent on those improvements in conditions.

[Mel Stride (Central Devon) (Con)]

T9. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has spoken out against the dreadful plight of Sakineh Ashtiani, who was convicted in Iran of having so-called illicit relationships and now faces the prospect of death by stoning. Will he update the House on what recent steps the Government have taken to press the Iranian authorities to stay this barbaric execution?

[Mr Hague]

The Government do press the Iranian authorities. Indeed, our ambassador in Tehran has recently been sharply criticised by the Iranian Government for raising human rights issues so clearly in his own comments. What is even more striking is that far beyond Government, the people of this country—the civil society of this country, and those of so many other countries around the world—are appalled that the barbaric and mediaeval punishment of stoning can still be contemplated, and are additionally sickened by the idea that a pretence can be made of releasing this lady only to make a film that is then meant to assist the Iranian state in saying what it wants to about her case. We believe that the punishment should be set aside and that Iran would do itself a great deal of good in the world if it did so, and we call upon Iran again today to do so.