Business of the House

Debate between Ruth Jones and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 22nd February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I will certainly raise my right hon. Friend’s latter point with the relevant Department and make sure that it has heard what she has said today. On her former point, it is absolutely right that we do all we can to protect Members of Parliament. It is absolutely right that we hold to account those who seek to intimidate or threaten individuals, elected Members of Parliament and those holding local government office, and that they face the full force of the law. However, we cannot adapt our processes and procedures in this place to not have difficult debates. We have to be able to debate difficult issues. We have to stand up for our constituents and make the judgments that we think are right. If we are adapting the procedures of this House because we are fearful of the consequences of standing up and saying what we think is right, then democracy has failed and the extremists have won. We must never do that and, as long as I am Leader of the House of Commons, that will never happen.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House may be aware of Newport Wafer Fab in my constituency, which is part of the south Wales semi-conductor cluster. It is currently waiting for a new owner, but the transition process is in limbo because the site is awaiting a decision by the Cabinet Office under the National Security Act 2023. This process has been dragging on for months. I have written to the Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office twice and the Secretary of State for Wales, and I have met with a number of Ministers. I have had no response to my letters. Can the Leader of the House advise me on what my next step should be, as staff morale at the site is plummeting and jobs are in danger of being lost with this ongoing delay?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising that matter. If she gives me further details, I will certainly chase up the correspondence. Even if Departments have to send out holding letters, it is important that those letters meet the deadlines that we expect in this place. She will know that the next questions to the Minister for the Cabinet Office will be on 29 February. She will also know that it is important that these processes are gone through thoroughly. I encourage her to raise this matter in the next question session, but I will also make sure that we chase it up on her behalf.

Business of the House

Debate between Ruth Jones and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 16th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important point. He is correct that it is now clear that hospitals and other civilian places have been used by Hamas. That is not news: a 2015 report by Amnesty International alleges that the Shifa Hospital has served as a Hamas interrogation and torture centre for some time. To reassure the House, Members will know that the Israel Defence Forces are doing a huge amount and taking great care with regard to civilian lives, as they do the very difficult job of clearing these areas out and trying to destroy Hamas and their network. The IDF transferred incubators, baby food and additional medical supplies to hospital compounds, and on Sunday they opened up additional humanitarian corridors from various hospitals for civilians and patients to evacuate—on foot if they could, or via ambulance—to the south.

The Israeli-operated humanitarian corridors have reportedly been used by approximately a quarter of a million Palestinians. Today, I understand that Israel is facilitating the provision of fuel to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to enable the delivery of aid into Gaza. Its job is made harder by the operations of Hamas—I think that, in terms of getting people out, a third of the names on the list provided by Hamas to Egypt and Israel were known Hamas terrorists, leading to delays in civilians getting the medical attention they require. This is an incredibly difficult situation, and I urge all hon. Members to be kept informed and up to date about what is happening on the ground.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House may be aware that there is a sale in principle that will secure the future of Newport Wafer Fab in my constituency. I had just secured a meeting with the Minister, the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Scully), to discuss next steps when he sadly fell victim to the Prime Minister’s reshuffle this week. Can the Leader of the House tell me which Minister is now responsible for the semiconductor industry, and will she help me get a meeting in the diary as a matter of urgency?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am pleased to hear the good news in the hon. Lady’s constituency. My job is to ensure that batons are not dropped during reshuffles, and I shall be very happy to assist her in ensuring that it is not dropped in this case.

Business of the House

Debate between Ruth Jones and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 23rd February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

As I said earlier, I am very sorry that we are unlikely to have many more exchanges on Brexit from the Scottish National party. I say to the hon. Gentleman that Brexit is about taking back control. I hate to repeat a well-known phrase, but it is about empowering all parts of the United Kingdom to be masters of their own destiny. I am very happy to read any suggestions on procedure and on how legislation and discussion can be improved, but I gently say that we now have many more opportunities than we did when we were members of the EU.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House will be aware that Nexperia’s Newport Wafer Fab, which is in my constituency, is at risk of going under because of decisions taken by this Government. I wrote to the right hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) when he was Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to request a meeting about the situation. He promised to meet me, but despite letters, emails and calls, no meeting took place. Given that the right hon. Gentleman has been reshuffled, will the Leader of the House advise me on who I should speak to now, and will she help me to finally get a meeting in the diary, because more than 500 jobs depend on it?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I understand the hon. Lady’s concerns. That particular Minister is very diligent, so I shall look into why she did not receive a reply. I think she will need to speak to the new Secretary of State. I shall make sure this afternoon that she has heard what the hon. Lady has said, and I hope she will be able to get access to a Minister to assist her.

Business of the House

Debate between Ruth Jones and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 8th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am very sorry to hear about the case of the hon. Lady’s constituent. I shall certainly raise the matter and draw it to the attention of the new Secretary of State.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

I wish the Leader of the House well in her new role—it is obviously an apprenticeship for the top job. On the steps of Downing Street this week, the new Prime Minister failed to mention Wales once. That has not gone unnoticed in Wales and in my constituency of Newport West. May we have a debate in Government time on the lessons the Conservative party can learn from the long-term and successful Welsh Labour Government, because there are plenty of them?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. I would slightly take issue with the success rate of the Welsh Government on a number of fronts, but in the spirit of co-operation I encourage her to apply for a debate so we can have that discussion on the Floor of the House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ruth Jones and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 25th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for his thanks and praise to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. We look at and vigorously pursue all cases that Members raise with us to ensure that such businesses are being supported in every way. What this case shows is that, as well as some genuine issues that need to be worked through with our partners in the EU and with member states on a bilateral basis, there are some issues that are purely related to people not understanding the processes or implementing them incorrectly. That has caused a large share of the difficulties that we have seen, but those issues are being resolved. I am very pleased that we were able to help in my hon. Friend’s case.

[Ruth Jones [V]]

Like many on the Opposition Benches, I believe that Ministers must be held to account for the commitments they made to British businesses and industry during the Brexit negotiations, so can the Minister outline what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government about protecting the businesses and livelihoods in Newport West that are paying the price for this Government’s bad deal?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I have had a very large number of discussions with the Welsh Government, and also with officials there, with regard to a whole raft of issues related to our leaving the EU, and I will continue to do so in my new role.