Stop and Search

Debate between Nick Hurd and Andrew Bridgen

Monday 12th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hurd]

I do, and the hon. Gentleman is echoing exactly the argument I have made at this Dispatch Box. Stop and search is a vital tool and we want to see it used; we continue to want to see it used lawfully, in a targeted, intelligence-led way, but we want to see it used.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend remind the House as to which community’s members are predominantly the victims of the violent crime that these measures are designed to address?

[Mr Hurd]

My hon. Friend makes and important point, one that has been echoed by people such as Trevor Phillips. It is clear to us—I speak as a London MP—that the tragic faces staring at us out of the pages of London’s Evening Standard are almost overwhelmingly those of young black boys.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Hurd and Andrew Bridgen

Monday 16th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hurd]

I agree with the right hon. Gentleman completely; it is hard not to feel a huge amount of sympathy for Hannah Deacon and Drew Dingley, not least having met them with Alfie. We have said that we want to explore every option within the existing law. The right hon. Gentleman talks about a cumbersome licensing process. In fact, we are waiting for someone to make an application. We cannot process a licence application until we receive one, and we are waiting for that.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

9. What steps she is taking to tackle organised crime through the National Crime Agency.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Hurd and Andrew Bridgen

Monday 3rd July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hurd]

The Grenfell tragedy, which should never have happened, and subsequent events, in terms of what we are learning about the fire safety of buildings, mean that there is a system failure, which has been allowed to build up over too many years. It is imperative that we do not just wait for a public inquiry, but that we get on with the work of reviewing not just regulation, but the whole system of enforcement and management of risk, and that we lead on that and are informed by an inquiry.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

I, like all Members, have been inundated with emails from constituents demanding immediate changes to fire regulations. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is important that we look at what changes are needed to the fire regulations, but also at what changes are needed in the implementation of existing regulations, so that tragedies such as Grenfell do not happen again?

[Mr Hurd]

I do agree with my hon. Friend, and his question allows me to build on what I was saying before. There has been a system failure, built up over many years, and we need to address it as a matter of urgency and with rigorous analysis underpinned by evidence. As part of that we will of course look at whether the regulations are effective, but my instinct is that the biggest failure has been in the system of enforcement, inspection and risk management.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Hurd and Andrew Bridgen

Tuesday 14th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hurd]

I am not aware of hiding anything. I am trying to make a point about diversity of energy supply. I would make a further point about prices, in answer to the hon. Gentleman’s question. One of the most encouraging things is the progress we have made in our policy structure on driving greater competition, through contracts for difference, in order to get better prices for consumers and for the taxpayer from the public subsidies that are available. I hope that that will be evident very soon in the results of the forthcoming auctions.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

2. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of funding for the UK science base.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Hurd and Andrew Bridgen

Wednesday 3rd February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

3. What steps her Department is taking to improve energy access in Africa.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Nick Hurd)]

Two-thirds of Africa does not have access to electricity. The Department for International Development wants to play a leading role in changing that, including through the Energy Africa campaign, which will accelerate the market for transformative household solar systems and so contribute to the global goal of universal access by 2030.

[Andrew Bridgen]

Will the Minister outline for the House what opportunity he sees for British entrepreneurs and companies to help the Department achieve its ambition of ending fuel poverty in Africa?

[Mr Hurd]

One of the things we are most excited about in the Energy Africa campaign is that some of the most effective leadership on the continent is coming from companies that are British, that were set up by British people or that are backed by British people, such as Azuri Technologies and M-KOPA. DFID’s commitment to ongoing research through the Mission Innovation initiative, which is worth about £100 million, will create opportunities for many British companies to be involved in that important research.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Hurd and Andrew Bridgen

Wednesday 29th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hurd]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his leadership in setting up the Early Intervention Foundation and on the work that it published today on domestic violence. He is entirely right that part of the value of social investment is its ability to create space to finance early intervention. That is where a lot of the social impact bonds that I mentioned are focused. I know from my conversations with Big Society Capital that it is very interested in engaging with What Works centres, including the Early Intervention Foundation. Following the hon. Gentleman’s question, I will write to the chief executive, asking him to update me on his engagement with the Early Intervention Foundation and other What Works centres.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the social impact of the delivery of public services should be taken account of during the procurement process, as well as the purely economic impact?

[Mr Hurd]

Yes, the Government agree with that. That is why we put the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 on the statute book. Later this month, we will publish a one-year-on review of that Act, because it matters to us. We are keen for commissioners—the people who spend public money—to think intelligently about how money can be stretched as far as possible.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Hurd and Andrew Bridgen

Wednesday 19th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hurd]

It is for the Department for Work and Pensions to respond to that report; my role is to ensure that the relevant Minister understands the concerns of the voluntary sector. We should recognise that more than 350 voluntary sector organisations in the supply chain are doing incredibly valuable work to get long-term unemployed people back into work. My other role is to ensure that we learn the lessons from that programme in forthcoming payment-by-results programmes, not least in the transforming rehabilitation and probation programme.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Has my hon. Friend noted the figures from the Department for Work and Pensions that show that voluntary and community based organisations, such as Whitwick Community Enterprises in my constituency, make up the largest proportion of workplace providers under the Work programme at 47%?

[Mr Hurd]

My hon. Friend is right that almost 50% of the supply chain is in the voluntary sector. We all know from our experience of such organisations what extraordinarily valuable work they do to get people ready for work and into work. We want to make the programme work.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Hurd and Andrew Bridgen

Wednesday 6th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr Nick Hurd)]

The Government are doing a great deal to encourage giving in this country. The Treasury has introduced new tax incentives for giving, and is working hard to make gift aid work better for the charity sector. The small donation scheme is looking at how gift aid can work with digital giving, and we are looking at how we can make payroll giving work much more effectively. Across a range of areas, the Treasury and the Cabinet Office are working hard to make sure that charities get the support that they need in these difficult times.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

T9. What monitoring arrangements for taxpayer-funded trade union representatives did my right hon. Friend discover after the general election, and what is his policy on this matter?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Hurd and Andrew Bridgen

Wednesday 13th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hurd]

All I know is that it is incumbent on Government to get out of the way as much as they can. Many areas of regulation are too intrusive and take up too much time and money that could be better used. I think that there is cross-party support for wanting to encourage more people to get involved, and if the Government can get out of the way, then we should.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

6. What progress he has made on his plans to place civil service pensions on a sustainable footing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Hurd and Andrew Bridgen

Wednesday 15th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

3. What steps he is taking to encourage increased levels of giving.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr Nick Hurd)]

The Government are anxious to encourage more giving. On 23 May, we published a White Paper that set out a range of ways in which we can help to make giving easier and more compelling, and offered better support for charities, community groups and social enterprises.

[Andrew Bridgen]

Although people in the UK are very generous compared with Europeans, the rate of UK charitable giving remains only half that of the rate in America. What further steps will the Minister take to encourage us to give up to the level of our American cousins?

[Mr Hurd]

My hon. Friend is right—we are a generous country—but giving has flatlined, despite substantial interventions from previous Governments. We do not accept that as being inevitable, and we want to help people to give more. He will know that the Chancellor announced generous incentives in the last Budget. The White Paper contains many ideas, including a social action fund to support creative, new models that incentivise people to give.