Oral Answers to Questions

Rob Roberts Excerpts

Wednesday 19th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rob Roberts (Delyn) (Ind)]

3. If she will take steps to improve rural connectivity in (a) Delyn constituency, (b) north Wales and (c) Wales.

[The Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure (Sir John Whittingdale)]

Under Project Gigabit, we are launching procurements across Wales and the rest of the UK to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to rural and remote premises not included in suppliers’ commercial plans. We are planning to launch a regional procurement for north Wales by the end of the year, which will include premises in my hon. Friend’s constituency.

[Mr Roberts]

The towns of Flint and Holywell in my constituency have 90% and 83% full-fibre connectivity respectively, but the exchange in Mold has only 10%, and Northop only 2.6%. The Mold exchange in particular serves many of the smaller villages and also the farming community, which is vital to my constituency. What more can the Minister do to improve connectivity in these rural areas so that the vital farming sector does not grind to a halt in places such as Delyn?

[Sir John Whittingdale]

My hon. Friend is right to stress the importance of digital connectivity to rural communities and businesses. We are pressing ahead apace with Project gigabit, and have appointed our hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness (Simon Fell) as rural connectivity champion. At present, more than 98% of premises in Delyn have access to superfast broadband, while 62% have a gigabit-capable network, and our Project Gigabit procurements are intended to ensure that communities such as Northop and Mold do not miss out on gigabit-capable connection.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rob Roberts Excerpts

Wednesday 26th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am incredibly sorry to hear about the tragic loss of Ian’s daughter. Of course we should do everything we can to improve road safety. I know that at the moment we are doing an enormous amount, and the statistics show that it is improving, but we are always happy to look at where we can do more, and I know that the Transport Secretary will look into the suggestions the hon. Gentleman raises.

[Rob Roberts (Delyn) (Ind)]

Q10. The village of Northop Hall in my constituency has about 1,000 residents. Last year, Northop Hall Hotel, on the edge of the village, was bought, and there are now proposals to house 400 single male migrants in the building and in shipping containers stacked around the grounds. The village has one small shop, no transport links and a health board in complete meltdown. Can the Prime Minister facilitate a meeting for me and some local residents with the Home Secretary to hear the concerns of the local residents, who are worried that the Government are just not listening to them?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman raises exactly why we need to take action, because it is not right that our local hotels in all our communities are being used to such a degree to house illegal asylum seekers, not least because it is costing the British taxpayer something like £5.5 million or £6 million a day. We want to put an end to that, which is why we are bringing forward legislation that will enable us to swiftly detain and send back those who should not be here. But I will make sure that he gets a meeting with the Immigration Minister as he needs.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rob Roberts Excerpts

Thursday 16th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

The Government will publish the latest version of that register shortly. The House has discussed and considered this issue, and the hon. Lady may have heard the comments made by the Leader of the House. We are moving to a situation in which we both produce the transparency returns more rapidly and align them more closely with the parliamentary register, but it is important that we get the systems in place so that that can be done properly.

[Rob Roberts (Delyn) (Ind)]

8. What steps his Department is taking to reduce the cost to the public purse of Government projects.

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Jeremy Quin)]

The Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s standards, tools and training for Government projects help to ensure that projects are set up for success. The IPA’s transforming infrastructure performance programme is helping to reduce the cost of projects.

[Rob Roberts]

It came as a shock to one of my constituents recently when I pointed out that more than 9,000 public sector workers are paid more than the Prime Minister, including £620,000 being paid to the chief executive of the continually failing HS2 Ltd. It is all public money, so does the Minister agree that we have to demand value for money from such appointments and cap excessive salaries from the public purse?

[Jeremy Quin]

I agree with my hon. Friend that it is essential that we get value for money from the investments we make in our people. There is a role for well-paid people to deliver important projects for the people of this country, but I assure him that any payments above £150,000—that covers the entire remuneration package, not just the salary—must be not only justified by the relevant Department, but personally signed off by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, who takes a very close interest in such matters.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rob Roberts Excerpts

Wednesday 25th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Rob Roberts (Delyn) (Ind)]

Q9. Despite having less than 5% of England’s population, Wales has almost 40 times more people waiting more than two years for NHS treatment—a sad case of “devolve and forget”, unfortunately, which does a disservice to my constituents in Delyn. Will the Prime Minister confirm that the UK Government remain concerned about the healthcare of the people in Wales, and with north Wales health board having been in “special measures” for eight years, can he come up with a way of putting the Welsh Labour Government in it too?

[The Prime Minister]

As the hon. Gentleman highlights, the NHS right across our Union is facing pressure because of some of the challenges of flu and covid in particular causing high bed occupancy this winter. We are focused on delivering on the people’s priorities and bringing down the backlog. We have currently already eliminated waits of over two years and, as the hon. Gentleman says, there is more to go. That is why our investment this week into mental health treatment will ensure that we can ease the pressure further in A&E, and I continue to deliver that across the country.

Tributes to Her Late Majesty the Queen

Rob Roberts Excerpts

Saturday 10th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rob Roberts (Delyn) (Ind)]

I rise with both immense sadness and immense gratitude at being able to contribute to this series of tributes to Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, both on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Delyn, who have been delighted to welcome her on visits to the constituency many times over the years. It is an honour to be able to follow such outstanding speeches as those that we have heard over the past two days.

Nothing can measure the impact of a person more effectively than the way we feel when they pass away. We feel unimaginable grief at the passing of a parent, a close family member or a lifelong friend, and it is astonishing to think that people experience those same feelings at the passing of someone whom—like me—they probably never met. Such was the impact of Her late Majesty.

She was the epitome of discretion, humility and grace, and while we were honoured to have her as our Head of State for so long, in truth I believe she felt that the honour was hers in being afforded the privilege of being our Queen; for hers was a life of duty, of sacrifice, and of diligent responsibility to be that beacon that we all looked towards in the most challenging times.

She never took that duty lightly or casually—the omnipresent figure that bound us all together, providing a link to times gone by and to those people we have sadly lost along the way. People have said many times, “We shall never see her like again.” I really hope we do, because we all need that figurehead, that shining light, that ubiquitous inspiration for us to do all that we can in the service of others.

One of my old teachers told me a while ago, “If someone has already said it perfectly, do not be so arrogant as to assume that you can do it better.” So I will quote the words of the poet David Harkins:

“You can shed tears that she is gone

Or you can smile because she has lived

You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back

Or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her

Or you can be full of the love that you shared

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday

Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday

You can remember her and only that she is gone

Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back

Or you can do what she would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.”

Our grief is palpable, the void in our lives both unexpected and painful, and we mourn her loss. May she rest well, reunited with her beloved husband. God save the new Prince and Princess of Wales, and God save the King.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rob Roberts Excerpts

Wednesday 20th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

What does it say about the right hon. and learned Gentleman that no one can name a single policy, after three years, of the Opposition apart from putting up taxes? He is one of those pointless plastic bollards you find around a deserted roadworks on a motorway. We got Brexit done; he voted against it 48 times. We got this country fast out of covid, in spite of everything, when he would have kept us in lockdown. We are fixing social care, when the Opposition have no plan and no ideas of their own. We are now bringing forward measures, in the face of strikes, to outlaw wildcat strikes.

I can tell the House why the Leader of the Opposition does that funny wooden flapping gesture—it is because he has the union barons pulling his strings from beneath. That is the truth—£100 million.

We have restored our democracy and our independence. We have got this country through covid. I am proud to say that when it comes to tackling climate change or sticking up for Ukraine, we have led the world on the international stage. I want to thank my friends and colleagues on these Benches for everything they have done.

[Rob Roberts (Delyn) (Ind)]

Q4. In September, it will be the 25th anniversary of the referendum on devolution in Scotland and Wales. One in 20 people in England on an NHS waiting list has been waiting for more than a year, but in Wales, the figure is one in five; and 75% of school leaders in Wales say that they do not have enough capital to maintain their buildings, let alone build new ones. Will the Prime Minister and Minister for the Union take this final opportunity at the Dispatch Box to agree that, in Wales at least, devolution has been a disaster?

[The Prime Minister]

I want devolution to work, and I have had some good conversations with Mark Drakeford, but the devolved authorities, particularly Labour in Wales, need to do their job properly.

Sue Gray Report

Rob Roberts Excerpts

Monday 31st January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

How about deciding to honour the wishes of the people and deliver Brexit in spite of the Opposition’s attempts to subvert democracy?

[Rob Roberts (Delyn) (Ind)]

Delivery is key. The Prime Minister delivers. He delivered on Brexit. He delivered with furlough and with the self-employment income support scheme, which ensured that businesses were able to survive. [Interruption.] The Opposition shout it down because they do not like it; that is fine. He delivered one of the best vaccination programmes in the world. He delivered a country that is coming out of a pandemic and an economy that is thriving, with people who sadly lost their jobs in the last two years having more vacancies than ever to choose from. Nobody talks about those things, however, because all—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I think the Prime Minister has a grip of what the hon. Gentleman is saying.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rob Roberts Excerpts

Wednesday 5th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Simon Hart]

My right hon. Friend and constituency neighbour makes a good point. I might have found myself disagreeing with him if it could be demonstrated that the results of covid controls in Wales are in some way better than the results in the rest of the UK, but they are not. It is absurd that the popular parkrun in his own town of Haverfordwest cannot take place and that people cannot watch rugby from the touchline, but they can cram into a club where they ought not to be. That is nonsense. It is throttling the recovery and it is throttling economic activity.

[Rob Roberts (Delyn) (Ind)]

11. What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on connectivity and infrastructure in (a) Wales and (b) between Wales and the rest of the UK.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Simon Hart)]

The Union connectivity review recommended a multimodal review of the north Wales transport corridor, including the A55 and the north Wales main line. We are considering this and the other recommendations in the review.

[Rob Roberts]

We received the Union connectivity review five months later than scheduled; will my right hon. Friend indicate when its recommendations will be implemented? Will he throw the weight of his office behind the proposals for the new station in Greenfield, which is vital to connectivity in the region?

[Simon Hart]

The hon. Member raises a good point. We do not have a precise date as yet, but there is some imminence to it. I ask him to bear in mind the fact that, thanks to interventions and recommendations by the Treasury, other funding models are also available. He should not overlook the work that he can do in future with his local authority in respect of things such as the levelling-up fund and the shared prosperity fund.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rob Roberts Excerpts

Tuesday 14th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I shall be making a statement to the House on our plans for reform of the Human Rights Act and its replacement with a Bill of Rights shortly. I am sure the hon. Member will listen to that and contribute.

[Rob Roberts (Delyn) (Ind)]

T4. In 1976, Janet Commins was killed in Flint in my constituency. The wrong person was initially convicted and served a significant prison sentence. In 2016, DNA evidence came to light that finally led to the conviction of Stephen Hough for her death, but on a plea agreement from murder down to manslaughter, for which he received a 12-year sentence. He is due out under the 50% rule in 2023, and Janet’s family are rightly concerned. Can my right hon. Friend confirm what options may be available to stop an early release and ensure that her violent killer is not let back on to Delyn’s streets?

[The Minister for Crime and Policing (Kit Malthouse)]

I do understand the concerns of the hon. Gentleman and obviously of the victim’s family. It was a dreadful crime, and I am obviously pleased, although it took some time, that the right person was put behind bars for it. As he will know, release at the halfway point is automatic. However, I am happy to write to him to outline what steps will be put in place to manage this individual in the community.

Armed Forces Bill

Rob Roberts Excerpts

Consideration of Lords message
Monday 13th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[John Redwood]

I will be supporting the Government, as they have made welcome progress on creating better conditions and support for our armed forces, but I would like to press the Minister on housing. When we wish to recruit and retain the best people in the future as we have in the past, it is important that we provide something better on housing than we traditionally have. It is a disgrace if armed services personnel, after providing substantial service to our country, cannot afford to buy a house of their own, and instead have to scramble to get rented accommodation, which they often find difficult.

I hope the MOD can do more through its potential and current schemes to promote home ownership, and to promote buying property nearer home base, for example, so that people leaving the armed forces have a property of their own. If service personnel are not able to do that, a surrogate scheme is needed so that when they leave the armed forces after holding important jobs and earning reasonable money, they are not debarred from the private housing market and they do not come to see their service career as a gap in making those contributions and building up savings in a house of their own. They should have as much opportunity to own their own property as the rest of the community.

Yes of course we need an expeditionary service and service personnel may need to serve in a variety of places abroad, but that should not get in the way of either having a home of their own with their family or having the wherewithal to have a home of their own when they leave the armed services. I hope my hon. and gallant Friend the Minister will sympathise and do more to make sure it can be true. I do not think we need a legal requirement, but we need a firm pledge of intent from the Government.

[Rob Roberts (Delyn) (Ind)]

This is the first time I have contributed to this Bill. There are a number of experts in the Chamber on both the legal processes and the military who have far more to say than I do, but as an assiduous parliamentarian I have kept up with proceedings as best I can. As I watched last week’s debate on almost exactly the same amendment, a couple of questions struck me as a layperson that I hope the Minister may be able to answer.

First, it would be remiss of me not to pay tribute to my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Sarah Atherton), who last week was unfortunately put in the impossible position of either having to defend and vote with the recommendations of her own inquiry or lose her Government job as a Parliamentary Private Secretary. I commend her for her integrity and fortitude in doing what she thought was the correct thing.