Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rory Stewart and Tony Lloyd

Tuesday 23rd January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Rory Stewart]

First, I wish to pay tribute to my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous), who did this job far better than I will be able to do. One of the things that he introduced, which is going very well at the moment, is working with the Ministry of Defence. We are providing basic supplies for British military troops. It is something that is providing not just employment to prisoners, but the training and vocational skills they require for future employment.

[Tony Lloyd (Rochdale) (Lab)]

Prisoners move round the prison system and, in the end, they come out of the prison system. One thing that consistently goes wrong is the lack of consistency in education and training between different institutions and in institutions once the prisoner leaves. The Minister has talked about power to the governor, but governors must work within the construct of the wider environment. What will he do to ensure that we have that consistency?

[Rory Stewart]

This is of course a balance between empowering the governor so that they can have a tailored programme that is flexible and works for the prison and having decent national standards. That will mean setting the curriculum at a national level, having the area managers engaged over the governors and also giving the governors the ability to have education that is relevant to their areas—skills that are relevant to the jobs outside the prison gates.

Local Government Finance

Debate between Rory Stewart and Tony Lloyd

Wednesday 9th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Tony Lloyd]

I have checked and there is a communications officer, whom, the House might be interested to know, was asked to have competence in new technologies such as Twitter and is equivalent to a number of people in the Minister’s Department who have the same role, the same salary band and the same competences. His Twitter tsars massively outgun Manchester’s ability to communicate. He should think very carefully, because trading insults at this level does nothing for the people who are going to lose adult social services. [Interruption.] Does the Secretary of State want to intervene?

[Rory Stewart (Penrith and The Border) (Con)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Tony Lloyd]

I will give way to the Secretary of State. I hope the hon. Gentleman will forgive me.