Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Elizabeth Truss

Thursday 15th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is right that we need to tackle unfair market practices, such as subsidies by state-owned enterprises in industries such as steel and aerospace. On Tuesday, I met my US counterpart, Katherine Tai, and we agreed to work together on this issue.

[Ms Ghani]

In the G7 Trade Ministers communiqué, issues around free and fair trade were balanced on transparency and supply chains being free of slave labour. Can the Secretary of State provide us with an update on the conversations that she has had with G7 leaders and, in particular, can she possibly let me know whether she will be congratulating the US Senate on passing a law last night that will ban all imports from Xinjiang because, of course, they are full of Uyghur slave labour?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I agree with my hon. Friend that forced labour is an abhorrent practice. We have already taken action in the UK to ensure that there is no forced labour in our supply chains and G7 Trade Ministers are committed to tackling this issue. We are working on best practice to prevent, identify and eliminate forced labour in global supply chains ahead of the G7 October trade ministerial.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Elizabeth Truss

Tuesday 24th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Ms Nusrat Ghani (Wealden) (Con)]

7. What comparative assessment the Government have made of the level of spending on public services in the UK and other developed countries.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss)]

Last year, public spending was 38.9% of GDP, which equates to about £28,500 per household. This is comparable with other leading countries.

[Ms Ghani]

Does the Minister agree that it is due to this Government’s responsible management of the public finances that we are able to spend more on education than Germany and Japan, and more on defence and policing than any other European country?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We spend more per student on education than Germany or Japan. Because of our management of the public finances, we have been able to push £1.3 billion more of education spending to the frontline, where it is going to make the most difference in classrooms.

Public Sector Pay Cap

Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Elizabeth Truss

Wednesday 5th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

We have good rates of pay across the civil service. We need to make sure that that is sustainable, so we can carry on making sure that we have good services in both the civil service and the wider public sector.

[Ms Nusrat Ghani (Wealden) (Con)]

The public are rightly fed up with politicians playing politics with the NHS, so let us listen to what the NHS pay review body has evidenced and said. Is my right hon. Friend aware that the NHS pay review body stated:

“We do not see significant short-term nationwide recruitment and retention issues that are linked to pay”?

[Elizabeth Truss]

That is exactly why we have independent pay review bodies: they give us impartial advice and make recommendations. We accepted in full the recommendation of that body.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Elizabeth Truss

Tuesday 24th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Nusrat Ghani (Wealden) (Con)]

The use of psychoactive substances, especially Spice, was highlighted in a Home Affairs Committee report last year. Will the Secretary of State tell me what links can be highlighted between the rise in psychoactive substances and levels of violence in prisons?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that psychoactive substances have had a serious effect in our prisons: the prisons and probation ombudsman described them as a “game changer”, which is why we have now rolled out testing to deal with those substances. We have extra sniffer dogs to deal with them as well, and we are making progress.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Elizabeth Truss

Tuesday 6th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Karen Lumley (Redditch) (Con)]

3. What steps the Government are taking to improve safety in prisons.

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Elizabeth Truss)]

Last month, we launched the White Paper “Prison Safety and Reform” and we are already implementing measures to track all drugs, drones and phones. This major overhaul of the prison system will include the recruitment of an extra 2,500 front-line officers. Our reforms will empower governors to make the changes that they need.

[Nusrat Ghani]

I warmly welcome the Government’s decision to invest £555 million to recruit 2,500 extra guards, and I hope that Lewes prison in East Sussex, where staff had to deal with a serious incident involving threats of violence a month ago, will benefit from that. The Home Affairs Committee, of which I am a member, released a report on psychoactive substances and their increased availability in prisons. Given the aggressive and violent behaviour that they cause, what is the Secretary of State doing to clamp down on drugs of all types available in prisons?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about psychoactive substances. They have been a serious issue in our prison system. That is why we have developed tests, which we have rolled out across the prison estate, to detect these substances and why we have trained up 300 sniffer dogs.

--- Later in debate ---

[Elizabeth Truss]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. While the vast majority of prison officers are hard-working and dedicated, there is a small minority that is an issue. We acknowledge that in the White Paper, and we are reporting early next year on our corruption strategy. We are also considering options for a prison-specific offence of corruption to crack down on that scourge.

[Nusrat Ghani (Wealden) (Con)]

I have previously raised my concerns with the Lord Chancellor about the rise of gangs promoting extremist ideology within prisons. Will she update the House on how her Department is cracking down on extremist behaviour?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is right about our concerns. We launched our response to the Acheson review in the summer. I am pleased to say that all prison officers are currently being trained—and will be by the end of the year—in tackling extremism, but I would be very pleased to have a meeting with her to discuss what further measures we can take to deal with this issue.