Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Matt Vickers

Thursday 1st February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman was simply making a suggestion to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, or whether he was offering to purchase you a glass of whisky—I hope the latter.

Labour is focused on Teesside—the last few months have been the first time for that, really. For many, many years, when Labour had the opportunity to directly help that part of the country, they ignored it, so the people of Teesside—fed up with Labour inaction—put their trust in Mayor Houchen. He has a plan and he is delivering: he saved the airport; he secured the first and largest freeport, which has already secured billions of pounds of inward investment; the Teesworks site has already been made ready for redevelopment and investment, ahead of schedule and ahead of budget; £650 million of investment is securing thousands of green jobs; the SeAH factory is being built using British steel, which makes me very proud; and the world’s first carbon capture, utilisation and storage facility has secured billions of additional funding into the area.

Mayor Houchen has managed to secure £200 million to invest in local rail, and he has a new bypass on the way; he has increased the employment rate by 3% above the national average; and he has future business rates revenues, which are projected to be about £1.4 billion to date. He gets on and delivers. Labour ought to be taking notes, rather than smearing him and the hard-working people of Teesside who are making this plan happen. That tells me that Labour has learned absolutely nothing; it has not changed and shows every sign of taking the people of Teesside for granted.

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)]

Happy birthday, Madam Deputy Speaker.

Taxi drivers are essential key workers who get youngsters to school and the elderly to health services and support our night-time economy. But I have spoken to taxi drivers in Stockton South, and they say that they are increasingly victims of assault and fare dodgers, and they feel that no one has their back. Will my right hon. Friend grant me a debate on how we can better protect taxi drivers and ensure that those responsible feel the full force of the law?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for drawing our attention to the issue. Given the statistics that I cited earlier, he will know that crime is falling. In particular, violent crime against individuals is down substantially—by 52%—and, of course, we have more police officers than ever before. I am sure that the Home Secretary will want to hear about my hon. Friend’s particular concerns; I will certainly make sure that he has heard them, but my hon. Friend can also raise them with him directly in questions on 26 February. I thank my hon. Friend for standing up for the taxi drivers in his part of the world.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Matt Vickers

Thursday 30th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his success in his campaign, and I congratulate everyone who has worked on the rural enterprise hub in his constituency. He articulates absolutely correctly the ambition that was set out in the levelling up White Paper. He will know that the second rural-proofing report, “Delivering for rural England”, which was published in September last year, showed a vision for what levelling up would look like in areas such as his, and we are determined to deliver that. He will also know that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in particular has done some further work on unleashing rural opportunity, and through that we will continue to build on all the work we did in the original White Paper. I encourage him to speak to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on Monday to further the additional asks I know he has.

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)]

I recently met representatives of the Bishopton Villages Action Group, who are concerned about plans for a raft of separate solar farms that would collectively cover almost 2,500 acres of this small community, changing the character of this beautiful rural area and taking away prime agricultural land. Will my right hon. Friend grant a debate in Government time on how we can ensure that the community impact of multiple solar farms in close proximity is given proper consideration in the planning process?

[Penny Mordaunt]

My hon. Friend is right to raise this matter, and I know that other Members in this House have similar views, so it is a prime candidate for a debate, and I would encourage him to apply for one. I know that many Members want to support campaigns and further activity to ensure that we are making best use of agricultural land, growing more and supporting our farmers and food producers. He is running a very important campaign, and if there is anything I can do to support him in that, ask and it shall be so.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Matt Vickers

Thursday 20th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I hope that I am always helpful to hon. Members, but I think the hon. Lady needs to direct her questions to the Labour London Mayor. Since 2010, this Government have halved crime on pretty much the same resource. In my opening remarks, I set out the clear fact that Labour-run police and crime commissioner areas are 34% more likely to have a higher crime rate.

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)]

Barclays bank has recently closed its branch in Thornaby and now looks set to close its branch in Yarm. That will have a huge impact on many vulnerable and elderly people in my patch, who will lose their access to banking services; it will also reduce footfall for Yarm’s incredible retail and hospitality businesses. Will my right hon. Friend grant a debate on access to banking in our high streets and town centres?

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Matt Vickers

Thursday 12th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Lady raises a very good idea. I know that other Members of the House have been campaigning on ensuring that people in general have more support and that, whether it is the state or those wonderful organisations in the third sector who support families, we can really tailor support to those people. I encourage her to raise it directly with Ministers, but I will also ensure that they hear what she has said.

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)]

Access to dentistry continues to be a huge problem for people across Stockton South. Many of us have heard the horror stories of people living on painkillers and undergoing DIY fillings and even DIY extractions. Will my right hon. Friend grant a debate on access to dentistry so that we can have an update on what the Government are doing to ensure that people in Stockton South can access a dentist?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important issue. We spend about £3 billion on these services every year. Of course, at the start of last year we had an uplift in funding to help cope with the backlog and with getting more people access to a dentist. He will know that this depends a great deal on local commissioners using the flexibility that they have, and a debate would be an excellent way to compare performance in different areas. I encourage him to apply for one and to raise that with the Department of Health and Social Care on 24 January.

Future Relationship with the EU

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Matt Vickers

Thursday 10th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Gentleman will be aware of the very large amount of work that DEFRA and other parts of Government have undertaken to get the best possible outcome and smooth the path for businesses, whatever the destination of their products. I mentioned the announcement today of £400 million of new money from the Northern Ireland Office; that is obviously on top of the £650 million UK investment announced in August, to deliver the trader support service and our contribution to the PEACE PLUS programme.

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)]

In the four years since the referendum, the Opposition have wanted to be in, to be out, to shake it all about. Does my right hon. Friend agree that their failure to support any deal that we deliver means that they have learned nothing from last year’s general election and that they cannot be trusted to deliver on the will of the British people?

[Penny Mordaunt]

Second only to the outcome of the negotiations is what Labour’s position on Brexit will be. We all need to focus on the first job, which is to secure a good deal for this nation. I hope all Members of this House, whatever their political hue, will recognise the seriousness of this moment and will support the Government in securing that objective.