Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rupa Huq and Grant Shapps

Monday 20th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

The issue is not getting the aid to the region; we could fly more aircraft. The issue is getting the aid into Gaza itself, and in that regard we have the problem of Hamas, a terrorist organisation not in the least bit interested in looking after the citizens of Gaza, and, of course, the problem of the Rafah crossing, which is opened and closed on a fairly arbitrary basis. However, I can assure the hon. Lady that we are working very hard with all the different bodies and Governments in the region to get more of that aid in as quickly as possible. The capacity constraint is not flying it to the region.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

10. What steps he is taking to support Afghan citizens who are eligible for the Afghan relocations and assistance policy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rupa Huq and Grant Shapps

Thursday 3rd February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

T3. The fleet of turquoise-coloured buses—they were like a cross between a minibus and an Uber; called Slide buses—that were increasingly being seen on the streets of Ealing and Sutton just before covid abruptly had the plug pulled on them by social distancing. Can I ask the Government to reintroduce these immediately, as we are coming out of the crisis, as a way of combating excessive car dependency? Also, women liked them because they took them directly to their door—they were demand-responsive buses. Will the Secretary of State do this or, as my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Louise Haigh) said, are we in Ealing exempt from levelling up these days?

[Grant Shapps]

If the hon. Lady is exempt from levelling up, we need to have a word with the Mayor of London about it, because transport in her constituency is run by him, of course. On a serious note, I am very interested in that scheme, and I will speak to her about it offline.

International Travel

Debate between Rupa Huq and Grant Shapps

Monday 7th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

This in-out, hokey cokey of on-off air bridges and quarantine comes without interruption. Passengers have landed at Heathrow and gone straight on to the Piccadilly line through Ealing and Acton, which is now a petri dish—we have an above-average virus rate—so can he please stop playing politics and give Transport for London the bail-out that it deserves at a time of national crisis to save the whole of London and my constituents from that second spike?

[Grant Shapps]

I congratulate the hon. Lady on shoehorning TfL into all this. I know that we will be having further conversations, but if memory serves me right, I have already bailed it out to the tune of £1.6 billion.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rupa Huq and Grant Shapps

Thursday 12th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We want buses that are cleaner and greener. We want them to be the right temperature—air-conditioned in summer, and warm in winter—with 5G plug-in points for phones. And we want to have electric buses—4,000 of them, with this new money. These new buses can be electric or, indeed, hydrogen powered, like the buses being developed by Wrightbus in Northern Ireland. We warmly welcome all such developments. My hon. Friend can be reassured that we are working closely with bus operators to develop new British buses.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

7. Whether he plans to take into account the Paris climate change agreement in future decisions on airport expansion.

HS2

Debate between Rupa Huq and Grant Shapps

Thursday 5th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

Absolutely.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

What is the status of the review if we go to the polls this autumn? My constituents see this as a pre-election bribe for the Government’s voters in the shires.

[Grant Shapps]

This project is too serious to be thinking in those terms, and I certainly was not when I asked Douglas Oakervee to carry out this review. As I have now said twice, this is about people’s lives and livelihoods and the ability of this country’s economy to function. Regardless of what happens when we finally get that election call, I hope there will be cross-party consensus to continue this important work on a cross-party basis and get the job done.