Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Mims Davies and Yvette Cooper(2 months ago)
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Yvette Cooper
My hon. Friend makes an important point. I know that she has championed that issue over many years. The Young Futures programme will include youth hubs to draw together services around young people—I used the concept of a teenage Sure Start to bring young people’s services together. We also need youth prevention programmes across all areas. She is right to highlight that this must be about young girls as well as young boys to ensure that we tackle the threats to young people’s safety from violent crime.
Mims Davies (East Grinstead and Uckfield) (Con)
Helping young people to stay safe, and to have somewhere to go and, crucially, someone to talk to, is key to their transition in life, particularly to prevent them from being drawn into antisocial behaviour, retail crime and knife or gang-related crime. Could the Home Secretary confirm that, through devolution, there will be continued support for police and crime commissioners, such as Katie Bourne in Sussex, who can provide a direct link between residents’ concerns about their young people and work with local police to take preventive measures?
Yvette Cooper
Police and crime commissioners have a crucial role to play as part of the mission to reduce serious violence, as do local authorities. The hon. Lady is right that local partnerships will best be able to target young people who are at greatest risk, and ensure that proper prevention programmes are in place. As we know, many of those services have been hollowed out over a long period, and it is important that we have partnership working to rebuild them. I hope that we can work cross-party on that—not just with police and crime commissioners but with MPs across the country.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Mims Davies and Yvette Cooper(4 years, 9 months ago)
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Mims Davies
I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this issue, which came through to us in jobcentres after the collapse of Thomas Cook. I am happy to take it away as a learning point. We are doing all we can on the Flybe issue, and I urge anybody affected to go to their local jobcentre and ask for support and benefits.
Yvette Cooper (Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) (Lab)
Four out of 10 older people say that the TV is their main source of company, yet as a result of Government decisions, millions of older pensioners are about to lose their free TV licences. The Budget is the last opportunity for the Chancellor to step in and overturn this unfair policy. Will the Secretary of State urge him to do so?