UK Trade Performance

Debate between Miriam Cates and Kemi Badenoch

Wednesday 1st May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Kemi Badenoch]

Yes, that is right. With our FTAs, we are trying to ensure that we deliver for businesses; if businesses are not happy, those FTAs will not work. The FTAs are going to be used by businesses, not by politicians—it is not about the photos that are taken.

I thank my hon. Friend for the meeting he organised yesterday with representatives of the ceramics industry and ceramics producers in his constituency. We understand the difficulties that they face, with energy costs having risen following the war in Ukraine, and we are doing everything we can; I talked about the supercharger, which should help to deliver for those who are electricity users. We understand the changes and burdens that net zero is placing on those businesses, and are doing everything we can to mitigate them as we try to deliver that target.

[Miriam Cates (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Con)]

Like all of my colleagues, I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement, and very much welcome her focus on the balance of trade. We do not talk enough about that; we forget that until 1997, this country had a broadly neutral or positive balance of trade, but between 1997 and 2010, that balance went very negative. We have struggled to restore that balance, which has made us dependent on foreign debt and our economy fragile, so I very much welcome these figures—it looks like we are turning the tide.

I also welcome my right hon. Friend’s focus on manufacturing, which has a very important part to play in our balance of trade, but we must not forget about the small manufacturers. She has rightly focused on the larger ones, but nearly 6,000 jobs in my constituency are dependent on export. What help is available from the Government to help smaller manufacturers, which often face more barriers to exporting, to also be part of this excellent recovery?

[Kemi Badenoch]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. Through our export strategy, we are doing a lot to provide support for businesses that may not be familiar with exporting or that need additional help. We do that work with our trade commissioners in every region around the world, as well as with international posts.

One thing we have said in the Department for Business and Trade is that this is the year of the small and medium-sized enterprise. Quite a lot of the time, the news that we give is about the big billions for the FTSE 100 companies, but most people who work in this country work for small and medium-sized businesses. That is one reason why we want to reduce the threshold at which they count for the purposes of corporate reporting and regulations, which should make their lives easier and give them fewer barriers to trade. It will help them to improve their exports, as well.

Bill Presented

Russian State Assets and Reconstruction of Ukraine Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Rehman Chishti, supported by David Morris, Afzal Khan, Dr Matthew Offord and Henry Smith, presented a Bill to make provision about the seizure, freezing and transfer of Russian state assets; to require the Secretary of State to publish proposals for the use of such assets for the reconstruction and rebuilding of Ukraine, including an assessment of the needs of Ukraine; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time Friday 17 May, and to be printed (Bill 211).

Gender Recognition

Debate between Miriam Cates and Kemi Badenoch

Wednesday 6th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Kemi Badenoch]

The hon. Lady is right; we did carry out extensive consultations, but remember, this is something that we do repeatedly and periodically. The fact that we have not carried this out since 2011 shows that we have been remiss in our duties, and that is something that I am fixing. One of the issues is that a lot of people do not understand the law when it comes to self-identification. We are providing clarity there. We have engaged with numerous LGBT groups, but the fact of the matter is that many of them support self-ID. That is not this Government’s policy. Stonewall does not decide the law in this country—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] Whatever it is that people want to campaign on, we will listen and we will hear, but we have been very clear about this. This is something that we are not budging on. We are updating the law in accordance with Government policy, and we will continue to do so.

[Miriam Cates (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Con)]

I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement, which provides some much-needed clarity, because self-ID does threaten the dignity and safety of women and girls. She is absolutely right to say that the UK should not recognise GRCs from countries that operate policies of self-ID. Sex matters, in life and in law, and it is right that the UK has its own rigorous processes for gaining GRCs, but these safeguards do not apply to the process of changing sex markers on passports and driving licences, which are far more commonly used for identification in everyday life. Will my right hon. Friend look again at the Passport Office’s 2021 review and decide whether we can stop this self-ID by the back door through driving licences and passports?

[Kemi Badenoch]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question. It is a good one. This is one of the things that came to light as we looked at Government policy across the board and it is an example of how the law needs updating. The reason that we have this is not that the Government supported self-ID but that before the same-sex marriage law came into being we wanted people to be able to change their legal documents so that they could get married. Now that we have a law that has fixed that, we should again look at some of the measures we put in place earlier, and that is why my hon. Friend is right to raise this. It is a Home Office issue, but I will raise it with the Home Secretary and see what we can do to repair it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Miriam Cates and Kemi Badenoch

Wednesday 30th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kemi Badenoch]

The hon. Lady may not be aware of the extensive, 18-month piece of work that I produced on covid disparities. Some of the things that she mentioned were picked up in that report and the recommendations. One was about the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and that work is ongoing. That body will look at many of the issues that she raised.

[Miriam Cates (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Con)]

T5. The Government’s research demonstrates a clear link between viewing violent pornography and violence against women and girls. More and more online pornography depicts gratuitous violence against women and 50% of 12-year-olds have seen it. What assessment has my right hon. Friend made of the current and future impact of online pornography on the safety of women and girls, and does she think that the Online Safety Bill goes far enough to prevent children from seeing it?

[Kemi Badenoch]

My hon. Friend raises an extremely important point, and I agree with her. Protecting women and girls and preventing children from accessing harmful content, such as online pornography, is a priority for the Government. The Online Safety Bill will introduce new protections for women and girls online. Under the Bill, all services will need to proactively remove and prevent users from being exposed to priority illegal content. That includes the appalling illegal content that affects women and girls, such as revenge and extreme pornography.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Miriam Cates and Kemi Badenoch

Wednesday 23rd February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kemi Badenoch]

The Government take the issue very seriously; I know that my colleagues in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are working very hard on it. I expect that we will hear very much more on the matter shortly.

[Miriam Cates (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Con)]

12. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has an important role to play in supporting women in the workplace through its statutory duty to enforce the Equality Act 2010. What support are the Government giving the EHRC as it faces attacks from those who seek to undermine its independence?

[Kemi Badenoch]

I thank my hon. Friend for that really important question. I have to say that I have been shocked by the really disgusting remarks that have been levelled at the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in particular. It is a disgrace that people are attacking the body that is supposed to be furthering equality in this country. No good can come of that.

I am sure that colleagues across the House share my desire for more people from minorities to take part in public life. That is one goal that we all share, but it is in jeopardy when the EHRC chair, an experienced parliamentarian from an ethnic and religious minority, can be subjected to vile, horrific personal abuse simply for encouraging others to comply with equality law. We support her. It is not healthy for our democracy for online smears and falsehoods, especially the ones that have been put forward by Vice News, repeated by those in the mainstream media who should know better, and deliberately designed to undermine public confidence in the independent regulator responsible—