Oral Answers to Questions

Patrick Grady Excerpts

Wednesday 1st March 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is a powerful advocate for his ceramics industry, and rightly so. It has been a pleasure to meet him and his businesses in the past. He will know that our energy bills discount scheme will support businesses with their energy bills through to March next year, and we have a range of other funds to support energy-intensive industries. There is the scheme that he mentioned, and also the industrial energy transformation fund, which provides capital grants to businesses such as his to help them decarbonise. I look forward to discussing this with him and his businesses in the near future.

[Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP)]

Q13.   It has been announced that on 7 May, a coronation choir will perform at Windsor castle, comprised of some of the UK’s keenest community choirs and amateur singers, including refugee choirs, NHS choirs, LGBTQ+ singing groups and deaf signing choirs. If it turns out that any of the refugees taking part in that choir have arrived here on small boats or from a safe third country, should they be deported to Rwanda before or after they sing for the King?

[The Prime Minister]

It is amazing, when we have had a question about the awful tragedy of illegal migration that happened recently, that the hon. Gentleman cannot accept that there is absolutely nothing compassionate about tolerating illegal migration when people are dying. That is why the Government will bring forward legislation to improve the system here. It is absolutely right that if people come here illegally, they should be sent to a safe alternative, because that is the only way we will break the cycle of these criminal gangs and stop people dying needlessly.