Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rebecca Pow and Mims Davies

Thursday 23rd May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mims Davies]

The Secretary of State and I have had the results of a review come to us that we are considering very carefully. In this Chamber over a number of months, it has been very clear that fans and MPs alike want to know what the next stages are. We are considering the review appropriately and will be coming forward with the next steps.

[Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane) (Con)]

T4. If we are talking about our acting accolades, Mr Speaker, mine was winning a national best actress award with the Young Farmers—a strange dichotomy, but true. Yesterday, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee went to the Chelsea Flower Show and carried out an inquiry into the value of garden tourism to the nation—it is already some £4 billion. Does the Minister agree that if we put garden tourism in the tourism sector deal, we could double this money, at least, and benefit the economy?

Sport in the UK

Debate between Rebecca Pow and Mims Davies

Monday 4th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mims Davies]

I spoke to the Rugby Football Union just this afternoon, praising it for its women’s Six Nations opportunities and for making sure that there is a chance for women to be seen doing that sport. We also talked about the events list. If we want to inspire people, it is absolutely right that we get chance to see them on the telly or indeed that we can see them play and take part in our local communities. The Secretary of State is sitting next to me and we are very keen—he has had meetings with broadcasters and I have some coming up—that the elite are seen on our TVs and ultimately, that people feel that they can aspire to be part of sport.

[Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane) (Con)]

My hon. Friend is making a very powerful case and I had to intervene on this point, because statistically, one might say that women in rugby—in terms of the Six Nations—are destined to do better than the men, and the same can be said of the England women’s football team. So, to follow the point made by the hon. Member for Harrow West (Gareth Thomas), why are we not seeing more coverage of women’s sport on our screens?

Parliamentary Candidates: Barriers for Women

Debate between Rebecca Pow and Mims Davies

Wednesday 13th September 2017 Westminster Hall

[Mims Davies]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. In fact, I will come to that later in my speech, when I talk about the joint work of the all-party group on women in Parliament and the all-party group on women and enterprise. Unless we show that this is a worthwhile career for the other side of the country—male and female, north and south—we will absolutely be doing down the opportunities for everybody.

[Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane) (Con)]

My hon. Friend is making her case very passionately. She is number 380, so I beat her by one—I am the 379th woman elected to Parliament, which is something I am very proud of. Does she agree that we want to encourage women from all walks of life? We talk very much about how things fit in for young women with children or babies, but I am particularly aware that women who have had a career and brought up their children have an awful lot of expertise to offer as they get older. I do not know if I have a lot of expertise, but I put myself in that category: my youngest was 16 when I came here and has just left school. I feel that many women do not use all the knowledge and experience they have gained through their career; indeed, some of them start to wind down when they hit their 50s. Does my hon. Friend think there might be a way to encourage those women in particular to get involved?

Cardiac Screening: Young People

Debate between Rebecca Pow and Mims Davies

Tuesday 27th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mims Davies]

I absolutely do. My hon. Friend makes a great point about communities coming together—sadly, always off the back of a tragedy. We could be on the front foot on this issue instead.

[Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane) (Con)]

I, too, absolutely commend this debate. Every single one of us probably knows somebody who has dropped dead. My brother-in-law’s brother, a great college friend of mine, did so, and we all know such people. We are, in particular, encouraging our young children to get into sport big time, and it gets more and more intense. Every time they get selected, they have more sessions, more training and it becomes more high profile; I would urge that we get testing going for these young people. It is often the fit and sporty ones that seem to be affected. Does my hon. Friend agree we should do something for these particular type of students?

[Mims Davies]

Absolutely. Italy saw a 90% reduction when sporting people were properly targeted.

Portable defibrillators will help people with no medical training; they can provide immediate, first-instance help to all patients following a cardiac arrest. Survival decreases by 23% per minute. The UK Resuscitation Council asks for an AED—automated external defibrillator—to be present in any location where medical treatment is further than five minutes away. Clearly, that means pushing on with installing these crucial bits of equipment in every public building, and encouraging more businesses to have them.

I thank the Chancellor for listening to Graham and Anne Hunter from my constituency and to the British Heart Foundation. Some £1 million has been pledged for defibrillators for community centres and to ensure that schools are delivering CPR training awareness. This is a welcome step, but more can be done.

Sgt Alexander Blackman (Marine A)

Debate between Rebecca Pow and Mims Davies

Wednesday 16th September 2015 Westminster Hall

[Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane) (Con)]

I reiterate the comments of the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and commend my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax) on securing this debate and on all the research he has done for his eloquent speech.

I am speaking today in support of my constituent Claire Warner, who is the wife of Sergeant Alexander Blackman—Al, as he is known to her—and in support of her parents. Claire is here today. She lives in the heart of the constituency of Taunton Deane, for which I have the great privilege of being MP. Claire and her family have been through unimaginable anguish and strain over the last two years since all this happened. They are deeply private people who have kept themselves very much to themselves, even in the heart of Taunton Deane. But now it is time to speak out, and so they are; that is why we are here today. My hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset is speaking out, as well—even the Daily Mail is—so I am now going to do so and add the weight of my argument to the case.

Taunton is a commando town. There is enormous public support for our brave and dedicated marines there. Locally, one senses a profound feeling that those defending our peace, protecting our world from evil and giving devoted service to their country must themselves be treated with the fairness and understanding that are due to them. That must always happen within the framework of the law.

We have heard much today about new evidence coming to light, allegedly suggesting that there has been a miscarriage of justice in Sergeant Blackman’s case—indeed, that he has been made something of a scapegoat. I therefore support the call for a review of the case, including that new evidence. That review should also consider the three routes to manslaughter, the stress that Sergeant Blackman was under and all available psychological reports.

[Mims Davies (Eastleigh) (Con)]

I have been following the eloquent speeches that have been made about this very concerning case. I am here to represent Dr Melody Blackman, my constituent in Eastleigh and the younger sister of Al. She exactly echoes my hon. Friend’s points about the need for a fair hearing of all the evidence, to make sure that we get the right decision and that any and all decisions made are based on a fair hearing and a fair trial. We expect that fairness in every walk of life.

[Rebecca Pow]

I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. That comes over so clearly from everyone I speak to, from the local support we have had, and from all the people writing to the Daily Mail. I think the Mail has about 2,500 letters, as well as money for the legal case, and all of the thousands of people who have contacted it have spoken up for fairness, as we are doing today.

I offer a small note of caution. We must take care when criticising our court martial system, as it is there for a reason. However, having spoken to a whole range of sources, in this brief speech I call for the case to be reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, with all that that entails, including, of course, the power to send the case back to the Court of Appeal.

Let us give this case the breath of fresh air it deserves, and give Sergeant Blackman a fair hearing. Ultimately, let us hope that we can give Claire her husband back at home.