Future Relationship with the EU

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Cheryl Gillan

Tuesday 9th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

Our civil servants have been working on the personnel, training and recruitment aspects of this, and on the many other aspects that will need to be put in place. There are regular updates on readiness with our partners and with the devolved nations. I am leading on that aspect. Where there are additional costs to be borne, there is work that needs to be done, and the Treasury is aware of that fact. I am personally keen to see that where we are making investments, whether in personnel or in additional facilities that need to be created, we are also looking at the economic opportunities that will come with that for particular areas. I know that the Treasury is very keen on that, too.

[Dame Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham) (Con) [V]]

With both sides being confident that a deal can take place by the end of year, the EU ratification process means that, in practical terms, agreement probably needs to be reached by the end of October. Ratification in the UK can take place relatively quickly. What guarantees has the Minister received from Michel Barnier that the EU will not allow a deal to fall because of the time it would take to complete the complex EU ratification processes?

[Penny Mordaunt]

All sides are very aware of the timetable we have to operate in, which is why we want to increase the pace of discussions and focus on those remaining tough issues, but we will not extend the negotiations. We are determined to ensure that any ratification or other practical measures needed can be done by the end of the year. That is critical and the reason we want to conclude the negotiations swiftly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Cheryl Gillan

Monday 17th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham) (Con)]

T5. Given that only 15% of people with autism are in full-time employment, I was pleased earlier this year to join the Department’s Paul Maynard taskforce, which made 14 recommendations for improving access to apprenticeships for people with learning disabilities, including autism. What progress has been made with the implementation of those recommendations?

[The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Penny Mordaunt)]

I pay tribute to the taskforce, and also to my right hon. Friend’s work with the all-party parliamentary group on autism. We have introduced a number of measures. We have a contract with Autism Alliance UK, and I am grateful to the alliance for training more than 1,000 of our own staff. We will introduce further measures, and the Green Paper will focus strongly on autism, outlining not just our ambitions but what we intend to do now.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Cheryl Gillan

Monday 19th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising that important question. Just because someone is not deployed to a desert and is not in front of the people whom they are confronting directly, it does not mean that they are invulnerable to the things they see or to what we ask them to do. Our support for those people is very similar to that of conventional deployments. They have decompression and a pre-deployment build-up. Embedded in those teams are mental health specialists who can advise, support and assess the individuals.

[Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham) (Con)]

19. The Department is currently involved in the Taranis unmanned combat aerial vehicle technology demonstrator project, which is a joint Anglo-French operation led by BAE Systems. Will the Minister tell us how many people in the UK are currently employed on that project and what the implications are for the UK workforce and supply chain as this welcome area develops?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the right hon. Lady for raising that matter. A number of initiatives and reviews are taking place as part of the strategic defence and security review. I can write to her with the numbers of individuals and partners with whom we are involved on those projects, including the ones she mentions.