Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Peter Aldous and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 15th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 15 June.

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

I know the whole House will join me in sending our profound sympathies to the family and friends of the 49 people who died in the horrific attack in Orlando on Sunday. This was an evil attack of terrorism and homophobic hatred, and we utterly condemn both of them. This attack, along with the callous murder of a French police couple on Monday, is a stark reminder of the challenge we face to defeat the poisonous ideology of Daesh, both online and on our streets, but I believe that, together—with our friends, with our allies and with our common values—we will prevail.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, and in addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

[Peter Aldous]

I share the sentiments and sympathies the Prime Minister expressed to the victims and their families and friends in Orlando.

The Australian parent company of Sealite United Kingdom Ltd see Europe as a major market for expansion, but it has put on hold its plans to build a factory in the enterprise zone at the South Lowestoft industrial estate. Lowestoft has enormous potential as a centre serving the European maritime market, but does the Prime Minister share my concern that this opportunity would unnecessarily be placed at risk if the UK leaves the EU?

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly share my hon. Friend’s concern. I well remember visiting his constituency and seeing what a thriving business location Lowestoft is. He is right that many companies come to Britain and invest in Britain for many reasons, but one of the most important is access to the single market of 500 million customers. Next week we have the opportunity to put our place in that single market beyond doubt, and I hope that we wake up on 24 June knowing that businesses are going to invest more in our country, create more jobs in our country and see more growth in our country, because that will help the families of our country. The unemployment figures today show another welcome fall. We can see continued progress—let’s keep our country moving forward.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Peter Aldous and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 27th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 27 January.

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

I know the whole House will want to join me in marking Holocaust Memorial Day. It is right that our whole country should stand together to remember the darkest hour of humanity.

Last year, on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, I said we would build a striking national memorial in London to show the importance Britain places on preserving the memory of the holocaust. Today, I can tell the House that this memorial will be built in Victoria Tower Gardens. It will stand beside Parliament as a permanent statement of our values as a nation, and it will be something for our children to visit for generations to come. I am grateful to all those who have made this possible, and who have given this work the cross-party status that it so profoundly deserves.

This morning, I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, and in addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

[Peter Aldous]

I echo the Prime Minister’s sentiments regarding Holocaust Memorial Day. We must never forget.

The North sea oil and gas industry, on which many people in my Waveney constituency are dependent for their livelihoods, is facing very serious challenges at the current time. The Government have taken steps to address the situation, but more is required if the industry is first to survive, and then to thrive. Will my right hon. Friend assure me that he recognises the seriousness of the situation, and will he do all he can to get the industry through these very difficult times?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this. I do recognise the seriousness of the situation. The oil price decline is the longest in 20 years and nearly the steepest, and this causes real difficulties for the North sea. We can see the effects in the east of England, of course across Scotland, particularly in Aberdeen, and in other parts of our country, too. We discussed this at Cabinet yesterday. I am determined that we build a bridge to the future for all those involved in the North sea. We are going to help the sector export its world-class expertise. We are going to help such economies diversify. We announced £1.3 billion of support last year for the North sea. We are implementing the Wood review. I will be going to Aberdeen tomorrow, where we will be saying more about what we can do to help this vital industry at this vital time.

Syria: Refugees and Counter-terrorism

Debate between Peter Aldous and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Monday 7th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The basic answer to all those questions is yes.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

The International Chamber of Shipping, the UK Chamber of Shipping and their respective members are doing their best to assist with the rescue of refugees and migrants at sea. However, there is a pressing need for the UK and the other EU countries to work with those in Africa and the middle east to deal directly with people smugglers. My right hon. Friend outlined in his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Craig Whittaker) the work that is being done in that regard, but may I urge him to leave no stone unturned in eliminating that wicked and cruel practice?

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly take on board what my hon. Friend says. At the heart of the situation is the problem of people smugglers and criminal gangs, and we must crack them.

Tunisia, and European Council

Debate between Peter Aldous and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Monday 29th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Let me join the hon. Lady in paying tribute to Claire Windass and mourning her loss. Lessons have been learned from previous tragedies. That is why it is so important that the Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East, who lost a relative in the Bali bombing, is involved. As a country, we have developed better ways of making sure families are kept in touch with developments. There is still more to be done, but lessons will be learned and we will be as sensitive as we can.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

My constituent Stuart Cullen lost his life on Friday. Can my right hon. Friend assure me that he and the others who died, and their families, will never, ever be forgotten?

[The Prime Minister]

I can certainly give that assurance to my hon. Friend. With him, I mourn the loss of his constituent Stuart Cullen. It is very important that we speak with families in the coming days and weeks to think of the best way to have a fitting memorial to their suffering and to what this has meant: one of the largest losses of life in a terrorist incident that Britain has suffered in many years.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Peter Aldous and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 16th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think the most dangerous thing for this country would be to bury our head in the sand and pretend there is not a debate about Britain’s future in Europe. The most dangerous thing for this country would be to see the changes taking place in Europe because of the single currency and to stand back and say that we are going to do nothing about them. What Britain should be doing is getting in there and fighting for the changes we want so that we can ask for the consent of the British people to settle this issue once and for all.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

Q13. Will the Prime Minister tell the House what the Government are doing to keep pensioners warm in this cold weather and will he join me in congratulating the Suffolk Foundation on the great success of its “surviving winter” campaign?

[The Prime Minister]

This Government have given the biggest increase in the basic state pension—an increase of £5.30 a week last year. We have kept the winter fuel payments, we have kept the cold weather payments at the higher level and we are replacing the Warm Front scheme with the energy company obligation, or ECO. Although the Warm Front scheme helped some 80,000 houses a year, the ECO could help up to 230,000 houses a year. That is what we are doing, that is how we are helping old people, and it is a record we should be proud of.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Peter Aldous and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 29th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

Q6. High streets across the country, including those in Lowestoft, Beccles and Bungay in my constituency are facing tough trading conditions at present, including the prospect of a 5.6% increase in business rates. Can the Prime Minister outline what the Government are doing to support traders to enable them to grow their businesses and create jobs?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue. There are real concerns about the hollowing out of some of our high streets and the number of empty properties. What we have done is double the small business rate relief scheme, and that has helped an estimated 330,000 small firms. We are also removing legal red tape that requires ratepayers to fill in paperwork to claim that relief, which is something that Labour refused to do when in office. From working with Mary Portas, we have a whole plan for how we can try to help reinvigorate our high streets, which is absolutely vital for our towns and cities across the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Peter Aldous and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 9th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Obviously we face a difficult situation with unemployment, including among young people, right across the country, and we need to do everything we can to help people back into work. That is why there is record investment going into apprenticeships and the Work programme. However, the real need is to grow the private sector, because, frankly, this is a time when whoever was in government would have to make reductions in the public sector. The hon. Gentleman shakes his head, but any Government would have to do that: look across Europe at the reductions that are having to be made. We need to get the private sector growing, which is what this Government are focused on.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

Q5. Developing the considerable potential for jobs in the energy sector is central to economic recovery in my constituency, as is providing local people with the skills to take on those jobs. Will the Prime Minister ensure that the Government do all they can to fund the completion of the newly opened Pakefield high school in Lowestoft, which will play such an important role in skilling young people in a deprived area?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point about the skills that that local school will bring. This year Suffolk has an extra £33 million in capital funds. It is obviously for the local authority to decide how to spend that money, but school capital available throughout this spending round and this Parliament amounts to £15.9 billion, so money is there for important school projects.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Peter Aldous and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 27th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

No, I think the hon. Lady is wrong. This is a genuine exercise in trying to ensure that we get the very best out of these reforms. We are looking specifically at areas such as public accountability, choice and competition, education and training, and the patient involvement aspects of the reforms. Of course we have to go ahead with driving out the bureaucracy and additional costs from the NHS. We inherited from Labour, I think rightly, a £20 billion efficiency programme, and we have got to take that through, but there is a genuine opportunity to make these reforms better still.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

Q4. Suffolk is among the worst-served areas of the country for broadband, and the commonly cited final third of premises beyond the reach of commercial broadband deployment is more like a final two thirds in that area. Given that nearly one fifth of all Suffolk premises receive a speed of less than 2 megabytes per second, does the Prime Minister agree that investment in broadband in Suffolk is essential to boost our economic recovery?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Peter Aldous and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 30th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We are putting in place the biggest and boldest programme since the great depression to help unemployed people. That is what the Work programme is all about, and the hon. Gentleman should work with us to make sure that it can help everyone, including those in his constituency.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

Q4. Taking into account the high levels of deprivation in Lowestoft in my constituency, and in Great Yarmouth, coupled with the unrivalled potential of the East Anglian coast for creating jobs in the offshore energy sector, does the Prime Minister agree that those prospects would be significantly boosted by the creation of an enterprise zone?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a very articulate case for an enterprise zone. I am delighted that we have introduced 21 enterprise zones, and clearly there is a case that colleagues can make for more. There are real strengths in his area in terms of green-tech jobs, which I know he supports, and I am sure that the Chancellor will have heard his message.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Peter Aldous and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 3rd November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

Q4. The East Anglian coast has some of the highest levels of deprivation in England and an urgent need for infrastructure development, but it has huge potential for creating jobs in the offshore renewables sector. Will the Prime Minister look again at the exclusion of the East Anglian coast from the £60 million allocated to establish offshore wind manufacturing at port sites, announced under the grant for business investment scheme last week?

[The Prime Minister]

There is a great opportunity for communities, especially coastal communities, to make the most of offshore wind, and I have spoken to several leading industrialists, who are thinking of investing in Britain, to ensure that the grants are there. As my hon. Friend will know, this grant scheme applies only to assisted areas. East Anglia is not an assisted area, but that does not rule out development taking place, and other sources of funding, such as the regional growth fund, can be applied to. I hope that he will look into those as he stands up for his community.