Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Amy Callaghan

Thursday 6th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my right hon. Friend for raising that important matter. It is raised very regularly in business questions so I know how vital and valuable local news services are. The next questions to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport will be on 20 July and I encourage him to raise that matter with her.

[Amy Callaghan (East Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

The deputy leader of the SNP has said that she will not stand again at the next election because of the toxic nature of this place. The Leader of the House would do better than to make a joke at her expense over that.

Sunscreen products are too expensive. Research from Melanoma Focus has shown that two thirds of people surveyed would use sunscreen products if they were 20% cheaper. Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on my VAT Burn campaign, which has cross-party support both in this place and in the Scottish Parliament, to reform the VAT charged on sunscreen and to raise awareness on melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. Other Members have also raised that matter. As a consequence, I have written to the relevant Departments—the Treasury and the Health and Social Care Department. Of course, we can only consider these options because we are now outside of the EU.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Amy Callaghan

Thursday 29th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for all the work he does on those issues. As I know from my International Development Department days, he is right that road traffic accidents are one of the biggest killers and causes of trauma around the world. It is important to remind people of their obligations under the law and that such measures are a very good idea. I congratulate him on all he has done to secure those laws.

[Amy Callaghan (East Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

I add my condolences to the families of Winnie Ewing and Craig Brown.

I thank the Leader of the House for her commitment and her dedication to ensuring that there is proxy voting in this House.

Having had a recent issue of a dangerous dog in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire, which attacked and killed another dog, will the Leader of the House prioritise animal welfare and make Government time for the recently dropped Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for what she says about the proxy voting scheme. I thank her for the efforts that she has taken to ensure that the scheme is available to Members and their votes can be secured, and for sharing her experiences in the debates leading up to the scheme coming to fruition.

On her question, several hon. Members have raised the matter of the escalating number of attacks. The hon. Lady will know that we are committed to the measures in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, but we will be bringing them forward in a different way, and I will announce that in the usual way.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Amy Callaghan

Thursday 23rd February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am very sorry to hear about that. When we talk about the NHS, we often talk about patient-centred care. We should be thinking about the easiest, swiftest and most effective ways to serve the needs of patients and prospective patients. It sounds as though what the hon. Gentleman has described goes completely against that fundamental principle about what good care looks like.

The hon. Gentleman will know that Audit Scotland has a report out today on the state of the NHS in Scotland. Improvement is needed. There are big opportunities from using data and from innovation that Audit Scotland is urging the Scottish Government to take. I stand absolutely shoulder to shoulder with the hon. Gentleman and other Members of Parliament—Liberal Democrats and Conservatives—in wanting the Scottish Government to focus on those matters, which the people of Scotland need them to do. They are paying for a health service that they are being prevented from accessing.

[Amy Callaghan (East Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

Cases of melanoma are rising across these isles. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on skin protection from the sun, to raise awareness of skin cancer?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady, who has a track record of raising awareness on a variety of issues, to the benefit of us all. I shall certainly make sure that the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has heard her keenness to promote these important health messages. She will know how to apply for an Adjournment debate—we might be having more of those if I follow the suggestion from my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Sir Christopher Chope)—or she can apply to the Backbench Business Committee to secure the debate she wants.