Oral Answers to Questions

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Chris Skidmore]

The hon. Gentleman is right to say that we have increased funding for women’s refuges. The Prime Minister has set out very clearly that she wishes to make domestic violence one of her personal priorities, and a review is ongoing. When it comes to registration, let me be clear: this issue was raised with me, through Women’s Aid, by a lady called Mehala Osborne. She is a survivor of domestic abuse, and she has fought bravely by putting her name out in the public domain to campaign for other women. There are potentially 12,000 women who, by virtue of their circumstances, cannot take the step of registering to vote, and we are determined to give them their voice so that they are heard.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

3. If he will make it his policy to include in national insurance notification letters to 15 and 16-year-olds information on being able to register to vote from the age of 16.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Chris Skidmore)]

Although this matter falls within the responsibility of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, I am pleased to confirm that the Cabinet Office and HMRC officials are working together to identify how best to promote electoral registration further in relation to national insurance numbers, including notification letters.

[Owen Thompson]

Clearly, any steps to improve voter registration have to be welcomed, but does the Minister agree that a far more efficient and cost-effective way to do so would be simply to introduce a system of automatic voter registration?

[Chris Skidmore]

The Government have been clear in their determination to ensure that we have individual electoral registration. Voting is not just a right; it is a responsibility. I am delighted that the Electoral Commission said in a report published last year that the number of 16-year-olds registering to vote increased by 17.7%.

Prime Minister

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Wednesday 14th September 2016 Commons Chamber

The Prime Minister

- Hansard - - Excerpts

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. We want our universities not just to be places of learning, but to be places where there can be open debate which is challenged and people can get involved in that. I think everybody is finding this concept of safe spaces quite extraordinary. We want to see that innovation of thought taking place in our universities; that is how we develop as a country, as a society and as an economy, and I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend.

Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)

- Hansard -

Q5. Nine-year-old Mohammed is one of thousands of child refugees alone in Syria. His parents fled the country believing he was dead and have resettled in my constituency. In March, Mohammed was identified as being alive, but has since been kidnapped, badly beaten and left for dead, before being found again. He now lives in fear of daily attacks or sexual violence and assault. Will the Prime Minister agree to meet me urgently to review the steps the Government could take to reunite Mohammed with his devastated family and provide him with the support required to overcome his ordeal? (906343)

The Prime Minister

- Hansard - - Excerpts

Obviously, I am not as aware of the details of the individual case as the hon. Gentleman is. The Home Secretary has heard him, and if he would like to write to her with the details, I am sure this case will be looked at. Of course, there are rules that do enable family reunion to take place, and we as a country have committed to take a number of children who are particularly vulnerable—potentially vulnerable—to sexual violence from the region around Syria to ensure that we can resettle them in the UK and take them out of that fear that they are experiencing. But my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will look at the case if he cares to write to her.

G20 Summit

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Wednesday 7th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development will certainly be looking at the sort of issues he has raised. I can assure him that, in looking at these trade deals, we will consider every aspect to ensure that what we get is the right deal for the UK. I think that the sort of trade deals we are talking about will be the right deals not only for the UK, but for the countries that we deal with as well.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

Given the Prime Minister’s refusal a number of times to answer direct questions from my right hon. Friend the Member for Moray (Angus Robertson), among others, on whether or not we would remain members of the single market, when will this House be presented with any kind of detail—beyond the soundbites—of what Brexit actually means?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman is not going to get any different answer from me to the one that I have given on numerous occasions throughout this afternoon. I will simply say this: if we are going to negotiate the right deal for the United Kingdom on trade in goods and services, it would be quite wrong for this Government to give away all our negotiating position in advance of starting those negotiations.

UK's Nuclear Deterrent

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Monday 18th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

Some of the speeches that we have heard today have given me the feeling that the cold war is still going on, and “Come On Eileen” should be number one in the charts. At the other extreme, it has seemed that we are sitting here waiting for Mars to attack. A number of the arguments have struck me as slightly bizarre. However, this is a hugely serious issue.

We hear a great deal about the cost and the finances, but let us take a step back from that. Let us consider the worst-case scenario. Nuclear weapons have been fired in this country. There has been an attack. It has gone off. Are we really saying that our very first action would be the ultimate act of vengeance—that we would fire a nuclear weapon at those who had attacked us?

[Alberto Costa]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Owen Thompson]

No.

It is absolutely beyond belief that, at a time of national tragedy, the first thing that we would want to do would be to strike out.

[Alberto Costa]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Owen Thompson]

No. I think we have heard enough from the hon. Gentleman.

We need to think about how we actually present ourselves as a country. We cannot simply sit here saying, “Vengeance is the answer to all the problems that we face.” Some call it deterrence, but to me it is vengeance. We would be carrying out a revenge attack.

Earlier today, my hon. Friend the Member for East Lothian (George Kerevan) asked the Prime Minister whether she would fire, and kill hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children. Let us consider that question, because it is the question that we should be considering. That is what these weapons do.

[Alberto Costa]

rose—

[James Cartlidge]

rose—

[Owen Thompson]

I will not take interventions. I am keen to make my speech as quickly as possible, because a number of other Members wish to speak.

Do we genuinely want to renew this weapon of vengeance? That is what the debate boils down to. We are talking about rogue states. We are talking about situations that we cannot yet begin to comprehend. The threats that the country currently faces are not posed by states with nuclear weapons; they are posed by terrorist attacks and cyber-attacks. Nuclear weapons are not the answer to those problems.

Let me take this opportunity to pay tribute to the many members of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Scottish CND who have come from all over the country to lobby us. They came to Parliament last week, there were events throughout the country over the weekend, and more came here today. Some Members will know that last year I presented a ten-minute rule Bill on the nuclear convoys that regularly travel through my constituency. Sadly, the Bill ran out of parliamentary time and could not be given a Second Reading, but to me the answer seems simple. If we do not have the nuclear weapons, we do not need the nuclear convoys, and we can reduce the risk to those in our communities.

Let me end with a thought for Members to ponder. At the weekend, a friend said to me that if 50 nuclear warheads were set off—which is not impossible; we certainly have that capability—the result would be worldwide famine. That is the reality of the weapons that we are dealing with. There can be no place for them in the world in which we live today. It is time for the country to take a lead, to make a stand, and to say, “We are taking the first step.” By doing that, it could genuinely make the other countries follow its lead, and we could get rid of nuclear weapons throughout the world.

Report of the Iraq Inquiry

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Wednesday 6th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think that our foreign policy should always have an ethical dimension and always has. The advice I would give to my successor is to build on the processes and procedures that we have put in place, so that we better handle intelligence information and legal advice, better discuss and debate these things in the National Security Council, and listen to expert opinion in the proper way. The worst lesson to learn would be to say that, because these things are difficult, we should withdraw from the world, fail to intervene when it is in our interests to do so and retreat in the way that I have set out. That would be the wrong thing to do, and I do not think it is what Robin Cook would have wanted.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

My constituent Ben Shaw is a veteran of the Iraq conflict, in which he was blinded. He will never be able to see his family again. Ben has been eagerly awaiting the publication of the Chilcot report, but he is concerned that the lessons will not be learned and that it might be brushed under the carpet. Will the Prime Minister give assurances to Ben as to what actions will be taken, including ensuring that veterans like him will be able to access the full report?

[The Prime Minister]

First, through the hon. Gentleman, may I thank Ben for his service to our country and for everything that he did? We must continue to help him throughout his life. Ministry of Defence Ministers have offered meetings with veterans, and they are going ahead. The assurance I can give is that I think we have already learned a lot of very important lessons. Whitehall is a very different place and the way in which decisions are taken is different, as is the use of legal advice. Do not underestimate the extent to which Whitehall has already taken on board so many of the lessons and changed its practices and culture. Clearly, there will be more to do, and that is why we should study the report and have a two-day debate.

Voter Registration

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Wednesday 8th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

We will make that clear when the legislation, should there be any, is brought forward. My answer is absolutely precise: let us encourage people to register now. We are doing all we can to ensure that people who register now can vote on 23 June.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

I would like to echo the comments of the hon. Member for Norwich North (Chloe Smith). The “Missing Millions” report made many recommendations, including on automatic registration. May we have a commitment today that following this example of poor practice and failure, automatic registration proposals will be brought before the House?

[Matthew Hancock]

We will look into the use of alternative sources of data, but we are not yet persuaded on the case for automatic registration. Most importantly, right now we are concentrating on ensuring that people who want to and are eligible to vote will be able to.

Oral Answers to Questions

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Wednesday 4th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[David Mundell]

As the hon. Gentleman well knows, a statement has been published after each meeting of the Joint Exchequer Committee. I take John Swinney and the Scottish Government at face value—that they want to reach a fair agreement for Scotland. The United Kingdom Government want to reach a fair agreement for Scotland. That is in all our interests and I am confident that that will be achieved.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

4. What recent discussions he has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on changes to the Scotland Bill.

[Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)]

11. What recent discussions he has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on changes to the Scotland Bill.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)]

I have regular discussions with the Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, and our officials are in close contact on provisions in the Scotland Bill. I have now tabled changes to strengthen the Bill in delivering the Smith commission agreement in full.

[Owen Thompson]

Having twice failed to acknowledge the question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Moray (Angus Robertson), will the Secretary of State disassociate himself from the financially illiterate comments of his hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) who suggested that Scotland is subsidised? The fiscal framework will allow the Scottish Government the flexibility to pursue separate fiscal policies to those damaging policies progressed by the UK Government, thereby ensuring the highest levels of transparency. Will the Secretary of State provide the House with a timetable for the publication of a draft fiscal framework?

[David Mundell]

Monday’s written statement set out that the fiscal framework agreement is likely to come after the comprehensive spending review and once the draft Scottish Budget has been completed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Wednesday 21st October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

There are many occasions when multiple Government Departments are involved in different parts of a single issue. I well remember visiting my hon. Friend’s constituency to discuss shale gas, and I would be delighted to meet him further to take these issues forward.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

T5. Given that in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh East (Tommy Sheppard) the Minister seemed to suggest an endless budget for the Chilcot inquiry, how much does he think it is reasonable for the public to spend finally to get the answers they desire?

[Matthew Hancock]

Until the end of the year 2014-15, the amount spent on the Chilcot inquiry was £10,375,000. We have said that budget is available to make sure that this inquiry can be brought to a swift conclusion.