Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Alicia Kearns

Thursday 2nd May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

Mr Speaker, I am sure you will agree that there is no need for the hon. Gentleman to apologise. I hope he heard all our good wishes to him and his family while he was away.

I thank the hon. Gentleman again for advertising the forthcoming Backbench Business debates. The Women Against State Pension Inequality Campaign is a topic that many Members will welcome, and they will want to attend and take part.

I also thank the hon. Gentleman for being greatly responsible for the new Westminster Hall start time, which he has also advertised today.

[Alicia Kearns (Rutland and Melton) (Con)]

Transport for the East Midlands has found that 60% of drivers feel unsafe driving on the A1, and over half report either being in an accident or knowing someone who has been in one. In 2022, there were 500 collisions on the A1, which is 26% more than on the A5 and 16% more than on the A2. Can we please have a debate in Government time on safety upgrades to the A1? This affects dozens of constituencies, as the A1 is the longest road in this country. Will my right hon. Friend also kindly advise on when we can expect to see the next review of upgrading A roads to motorways? This is the No. 1 issue for my constituents. I have sat in traffic on the A1 on many a school run after appalling accidents that take one or two days to clear.

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for her work on this issue, which is of huge importance to her constituents, and for her diligence in consistently raising it with the Government. She will know that the next draft of the road investment strategy, covering 2025 to 2030, will be published shortly, and I will ensure that the Secretary of State for Transport has heard what she has said today. I also understand that the roads Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman), is happy to meet her to discuss these specific concerns.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Alicia Kearns

Thursday 22nd June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Gentleman is always flexible and helpful, and I thank him for the helpful advert of his Committee’s deliberations. He makes a good suggestion. I want to ensure that Members have time to debate matters, particularly legislation, but if they do not want to take it up, we should still use our time well in this place. I will follow up his suggestion with him.

[Alicia Kearns (Rutland and Melton) (Con)]

Canadian Solar and Windel Energy are proposing to build a solar plant in Rutland and the Stamford villages. This week, the Planning Inspectorate published my response, but they redacted the words “Modern Slavery Act”, all mentions of the Uyghur and even quotes from the Energy Secretary. On top of that, The Times has reported deeply inappropriate approaches from those companies, asking me to drop my opposition in return for a school, a playground, a swimming pool or something I might like. They say that it has been done before. Who can I go to in Government to ask for advice on whether the Planning Inspectorate can make those redactions and for support in dealing with a deeply inappropriate approach?

[Penny Mordaunt]

That does sound inappropriate. I have some experience of dealing with similar companies in my constituency. It is difficult for colleagues when some of our concerns refer to, for example, issues of national security or other matters that are slightly outside the Planning Inspectorate’s direct lane. I will write to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and ask for some advice. It is difficult for colleagues—we do not wish to put Ministers who may make decisions further down the line in a position that they cannot be in, but we also need advice. I shall see what advice I can get for my hon. Friend so that she can ensure that the right thing happens.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Alicia Kearns

Thursday 27th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am very proud of my bellyflop on “Splash!”: I have a lido to show for it, and although it has a considerable number of views on YouTube, that is dwarfed by the number of views I get for my exchanges with the Scottish National party every Thursday. I have no objection to democratic outcomes; I object to the Scottish National party’s objection to democratic outcomes.

[Alicia Kearns (Rutland and Melton) (Con)]

We in Rutland and Melton were recently successful with our £23 million levelling-up bid. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] I know colleagues are very happy for me that that went ahead. As part of that, we will be building a medi-tech hub to build the technologies of the future to support our older loved ones to live safer for longer. Rutland County Council is currently Conservative and is also the No. 1 rated council in the country for social care, despite being a very small council with a significant elderly population. Will my right hon. Friend advise me on how to secure a visit from the Minister for Social Care, because I am very keen that our model is rolled out around the country to improve social care for all?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on all she has secured for her community through the levelling-up fund and her work with her county council leader Lucy Stephenson to bring that £23 million into her constituency. I am very pleased to see that her local community is not resting on its laurels and is pressing forward with further innovation in this area, and she is right that it is wonderful to share best practice; it is one of the strengths we have in this place, and I shall certainly make sure that the Minister for Social Care has heard her invitation.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Alicia Kearns

Thursday 16th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising this issue again. My office has spoken to the Department about this matter on a number of occasions. I will do so again after this session, and I will also ask that a Minister contact the right hon. Gentleman’s office.

[Alicia Kearns (Rutland and Melton) (Con)]

Sexual orientation is not a pathology, and it does not need treating. Conversion therapy is quackery by charlatans, who package it up to try to hide their bigotry. The Leader of the House has been incredibly supportive of my proposed ban on conversion therapy. First, does she share my horror that only one of the three SNP leadership candidates was willing to say that they would ban it? Secondly, following my amendment to the Online Safety Bill, the Government promised to finish pre-legislative scrutiny by the next King’s Speech. Can we please have an update on where we are with getting the Committee set up and the PLS finished?

[Penny Mordaunt]

We want to end this barbaric quackery, as my hon. Friend is right to call it. They are appalling practices, and the Minister will very shortly bring forward measures to do exactly that. She is considering all the consultation responses, but we are on schedule to have pre-legislative scrutiny by the Joint Committee in this parliamentary Session, with a view to bringing forward a Bill in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Alicia Kearns

Thursday 21st July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Alicia Kearns (Rutland and Melton) (Con)]

I have always been struck by the quiet diligence with which the Minister for Trade Policy, my right hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Penny Mordaunt), does her job. Can she please update me on progress on signing individual deals with US states, which my farmers in Rutland and Melton are particularly interested in?

[The Minister for Trade Policy (Penny Mordaunt)]

This week we have continued our negotiations with Utah; yesterday, we also signed the second state-level memorandum of understanding with North Carolina, which will be based on green growth. We are currently negotiating with half of all US states. The first eight deals that we will sign will cover 20% of the US economy and that will open up procurement, enable mutual recognition of qualifications, and enable British businesses to take a larger share of exports of both goods and services.