Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Amber Rudd

Monday 1st July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

T7. With the childcare element of universal credit being paid in arrears, many people, particularly women, face a real barrier to entering work. Will the Secretary of State look at either paying that element in advance or paying for the first month of childcare for free so that all parents can access the employment market?

[Amber Rudd]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising this question, and I am mindful of the Select Committee report that addressed some of it. We have now made changes so that women going into work for the first time from benefits—either universal credit or a legacy benefit—will be able to access advance payments for that first month so that they do not have to find the money themselves. I am making sure that work coaches have more independence to support people back into work; that is one of the changes I have made.

Home Office Removal Targets

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Amber Rudd

Thursday 26th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

My hon. Friend is right: it is a completely different situation. Everybody in the House wants to welcome the Windrush cohort and ensure that they are properly looked after and that a compensation scheme is put in place, which is the right thing to do, but we all have a different view about illegal migrants.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

This week the Home Secretary said that she was not aware of a number of policy initiatives. Who is running her Department?

[Amber Rudd]

I accept the criticism regarding the issue that I debated earlier today and my conversations with the Home Affairs Committee, and that is why I am in the House to set out the changes that I will make. I hope I will have the opportunity to make those changes clear to the House in future, and to continue to develop the confidence of everybody involved.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Amber Rudd

Monday 26th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

When constituents have no recourse to public funds, serious delays in processing their visas result in them being plunged into abject poverty. What is the Home Secretary doing about that?

[Amber Rudd]

I did not hear the start of the hon. Lady’s question, but I think she was referring in particular to women who have no recourse to public funds. I am concerned about that, and it will be covered partly in our consultation. If she has other concerns about that particular cohort who are applying for refugee status, I urge her to contact my Department.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Amber Rudd

Monday 8th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

Making women safe and ensuring that we have the legislation in place for that is a priority for me and this Government overall. The particular case that my right hon. Friend raises was under discussion part way through this Question Time. She may know that there will be a review of some of the procedures, the Parole Board element and the transparency required. The Prime Minister has already said that she wants this looked at.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Control operators in North Yorkshire fire and rescue service are working under such pressure that sometimes just trainees are on duty. Will the Minister look at this issue and meet me to assess the risk to our fire and rescue service?

Terror Attacks

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Amber Rudd

Thursday 22nd June 2017 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

I will of course be responding to that letter, and I take very seriously the points that have been made. We must ensure that people are kept safe. I commend the new Mayor for the work he did after the atrocious attack in Manchester. If the hon. Lady would like, I will copy her in to my response to that letter.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Prevent training programme has come under much criticism. Can the Home Secretary say how that will be critiqued, and will the Anderson commission address it?

[Amber Rudd]

Prevent has been a great success for many families. I refer, in particular, to the 150 people who were prevented from travelling to Syria last year, 50 of whom were children. I have met families who have managed to stop their children travelling to Syria or becoming radicalised because they engaged with the programme. However, I recognise that there is always more to learn, so we will ensure that we build on Prevent and improve it where necessary, and part of our review will be seeing whether it works. We have two reviews: one looking at what has happened with the security forces and one looking forward. We are not complacent and we do not think that Prevent has all the answers, but please do not underestimate the fantastically important work it has done in many different communities up and down the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Amber Rudd

Thursday 12th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

My hon. Friend has incorporated quite a few questions into that one question. What I can say to her is that the most important element of addressing airport emissions is to have an international agreement. We do not want to have a situation where the UK is trying to do something independently; it is important to have such an agreement EU-wide and internationally. We tried to get the proposal that she mentioned incorporated into the Paris climate change agreement, but it was not, so we are working with international partners through the International Civil Aviation Organisation to try to achieve an international agreement this autumn. I will certainly keep my hon. Friend updated.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

T4. I am going to push the Minister of State further on fracking, because a week tomorrow an important decision will be made. In Ryedale, one energy company wants to frack the beautiful landscape just south of the North York Moors national park. More than 4,000 well- informed local people want to protect their local community and environment. Who should have the greatest influence?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Amber Rudd

Thursday 19th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury) (Lab)]

5. What assessment she has made of the UK’s progress towards meeting its EU renewables target by 2020.

[The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Amber Rudd)]

We are making good progress towards our 15% renewable energy target for 2020, and I am confident that we will meet the next interim target of 5.4%, with provisional figures showing that 6.3% of final energy consumption for 2013 and 2014 came from renewable sources.

[Rachael Maskell]

With the UN climate change conference just days away, on top of renewables subsidies being removed we have learned that the UK will fall significantly short of its renewable energy target. While Labour led global talks, is the Secretary of State going to Paris to learn about the consequences of her cuts or to apologise to future generations?

[Amber Rudd]

I am delighted to say that there will be plenty of opportunities during this Session to talk about Paris, and I look forward to doing so. On the specific question of the renewables target, I repeat to the hon. Lady that we are making good progress at the moment. [Interruption.] There are issues, but we are expecting to exceed our interim target. There is more to do, and I am delighted to say that I am working across Government with the Department for Transport and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure that we do it.

Onshore Wind Subsidies

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Amber Rudd

Monday 22nd June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

The answer is yes. We need new nuclear energy in order to provide stability. We need to expand our renewables while at the same time having stable alternative sources of energy, and we are committed to Hinkley Point.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Can the Secretary of State tell us how cutting subsidies for onshore wind energy is providing leadership in the EU on the decarbonisation of our economy, as she claimed in her statement?

[Amber Rudd]

Providing leadership in the EU—and, indeed, internationally—means meeting our targets, demonstrating that we can meet them in the most cost-effective way, and liaising with other countries in order to show them how we are doing that. The point of the announcement is that we will still be meeting our targets.