His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Theresa Villiers Excerpts

Monday 12th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

I found it very moving to hear the tributes to His Royal Highness flooding in from people around the country, the Commonwealth and the whole world. I join them and everyone in the House in offering my sincerest condolences and sympathies to Her Majesty the Queen and her family at this difficult time.

Clearly, our nation owes the Duke a great debt of gratitude for his bravery, defending our freedom during the war, and for his dedicated public service over seven decades. He played a central role in ensuring both that the monarchy adapted to the modern era and that it remains a well-loved institution at the heart of our national life. I had the honour of meeting His Royal Highness on a number of occasions, including the 2014 and 2016 visits to Northern Ireland that he undertook with Her Majesty the Queen during the period in which I was Secretary of State there. He was well into his 90s when I met him, and what always struck me was the incredible energy and enthusiasm with which he approached everything that he did. It is quite phenomenal that he only chose to retire at 96. He was always courteous and friendly, and I think that the light-hearted remarks about which we have heard so much over the past few days were always intended to put people at ease. He always expressed a genuine and well-informed interest in Northern Ireland and its future.

The BBC has calculated that the Duke made 57 visits to Northern Ireland, and I especially remember his role in the 2014 visit, which broke new ground in the places visited and the proximity to the public. I recall his being solicitously at the Queen’s side, for example, as we visited St George’s market in Belfast. The market is right up close to many locations that saw more than their fair share of violence during Northern Ireland’s long years of tragedy, yet the biggest security scares that day were a Belfast teenager sneaking a quick selfie with Her Majesty and losing Prince Philip in the crowd, as he mingled happily with those who turned out to greet the royal couple.

There was never a lack of spontaneity and unpredict-ability when it came to His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. He was, of course, a crucial part of the Queen’s historic state visit to Ireland in 2011. He suffered deep personal loss at the hands of the IRA, which murdered his uncle, Lord Mountbatten, to whom he was very close. Today, as well as his many other achievements, we should remember the part that the Duke played in reconciliation in Northern Ireland. After such a devastating loss, it could not have been easy to meet and shake hands with Martin McGuinness, but that it is what he and Her Majesty chose to do. What is more, during the state visit of President Higgins, they welcomed Martin McGuinness into their home at Windsor —someone identified with the organisation and at whose hands they had suffered such a terrible loss. In so doing, I believe that they played a personal role in helping to take Northern Ireland forward from its divided past to a better future, and for that we should all express our sincere gratitude to the man whose loss we are sadly mourning today.

Oral Answers to Questions

Theresa Villiers Excerpts

Thursday 11th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Last but certainly not least, I call Theresa Villiers.

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

  Thank you, Mr Speaker. The arrogance and intransigence expressed in Commissioner Šefčovič’s letter to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has caused many of us to conclude that the EU’s professed concern for Northern Ireland was only ever a disguise for its cynical negotiating objectives. Will my right hon. Friend take a tough approach with the EU on fixing the immediate problems of the protocol, but also develop a replacement so that we can remove it altogether in future?

Covid-19

Theresa Villiers Excerpts

Wednesday 6th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Of course, I know that many councils find themselves under great pressure, although some have handled their budgets better than others. We have given £4.6 billion, I believe, to support local councils, and we will continue to support them. I thank the staff and workforce of councils for the huge and vital role they all help to play in fighting this disease.

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con) [V]]

I received a worrying call this morning from the chair of Barnet Council’s health overview and scrutiny committee indicating that it may be that only 13 care homes in the borough have received vaccinations. Will the Prime Minister intervene to make sure the frail elderly and their carers in Barnet get the vaccinations they need as soon as possible?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I will. I have said that I want to have maximum transparency, and I want to see an accelerated roll-out of vaccination in care homes. So far, I believe that 10% of care home residents and 14% of care home staff have received the vaccine, but that clearly needs to be stepped up.

European Union (Future Relationship) Bill

Theresa Villiers Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons
Wednesday 30th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

We stand on the verge of once more becoming an independent country with control over our laws, money, trade and borders. There have been some difficult compromises, especially with the delay in securing a much greater share of our rich marine resources, and there is more to be done on services, but the deal stands up to scrutiny. It does not bind us into the EU’s laws or its Court. It is a trade agreement between sovereign equals. It gets Brexit done.

The Prime Minister has delivered what many Members said would be impossible in just 11 months, and despite the covid emergency. The regaining of our freedom at 11 pm tomorrow will mark a historic turning point. Some disruption is inevitable when there is change on this scale, but we can get through that and seize the opportunities provided by our new-found independence. This should be a moment of national renewal in which we choose better, more adaptable, modern regulation to compete more effectively around the world, create jobs and raise living standards for everyone.

We must ensure that the Northern Ireland protocol does not divide our precious Union. The FTA helps us to do that, because it requires the EU to act proportionately on formalities for goods entering its single market, but we must also develop alternative arrangements to replace the protocol altogether.

The UK’s relationship with the European Union has divided our politics since the 1950s. I was one of the 28 Eurosceptic Conservatives to vote three times against the former Prime Minister’s withdrawal agreement—every time it came before the House. We were under immense pressure to accept that deal, but the backstop it contained would have left us as a client state, trapped in the European Union’s regulatory orbit forever. With that hanging over us, there was no way an FTA on equal terms would have been possible.

For this country, belonging to the EU means vesting supreme lawmaking power in people we do not elect and cannot remove. We in this country pioneered the democratic system of government and exported it around the world; now, we are bringing democracy home.

Covid-19 Update

Theresa Villiers Excerpts

Monday 12th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman raises an exceptionally important point. A great deal of work is being done on the right size of the bubble, as it were, and how many infections should be decisive in taking action in schools. I am very happy to say that—at the moment, at least—we have almost 90% of kids in school and 99.9% of schools open. That is a great achievement by teachers, parents and pupils alike.

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

The furlough and self-employment schemes have provided crucial help to many millions of people, but unfortunately, around 3 million fell outside the scope of those schemes. May I appeal for help for those groups, such as the newly employed, the newly self-employed, directors of limited companies and freelancers on short-term contracts? Some of them are suffering real hardship.

[The Prime Minister]

Indeed, and I have mentioned the £13.5 billion that we have already given to the self-employed. My right hon. Friend understands the difficulties of the cut-off date, which my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has illustrated. It is to help people across the country that we have increased universal credit, for instance, which will continue for this whole financial year.

Oral Answers to Questions

Theresa Villiers Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I agree. It is vital that we level up across the country and make sure that someone’s postcode does not dictate their life chances. As I saw when visiting Cornwall’s growing lithium mining industry last week, there are real opportunities to level up and help Cornwall to grow economically and benefit all the people of that great county.

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

What steps the Government have taken to protect women in BAME communities from the disproportionate effect of covid-19 identified by Public Health England.

[The Minister for Equalities (Kemi Badenoch)]

The Government have taken a number of steps to protect all those who may be disproportionately affected by covid-19 to reduce the spread of the virus. This includes targeted testing of occupations and groups at higher risk, including ethnic minority women. We have also translated the latest information into multiple languages in accessible formats to help to ensure that our public health communications reach all communities across the country.

[Theresa Villiers]

Women from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are strongly represented in the workforce in our care system, so will the Minister have a strong focus on keeping care workers safe from covid, with a particular emphasis on the higher risk faced by women from black and minority ethnic communities in those jobs?

[Kemi Badenoch]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right: there are very many BME workers in the social care sector and they must be properly supported. That is why in June, the Department of Health and Social Care published a covid-19 adult social care workforce risk reduction framework to help to manage specific risks to staff, including risk by ethnicity. We are also providing financial support to the Race Equality Foundation to provide additional services to BME communities with dementia during the covid-19 pandemic.

Oral Answers to Questions

Theresa Villiers Excerpts

Wednesday 15th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Adams]

UK aid development work delivered through charities and other organisations will remain a priority, given Bangladesh’s vulnerability to climate and man-made disasters. My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the excellent work of Peterborough-based Unite 4 Humanity, which I thank for its work, alongside other charities that have stepped up to respond to the Rohingya crisis. Members may have seen on TV adverts this morning that the UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee has launched a coronavirus appeal for vulnerable communities—including the Rohingya—in seven countries. I am pleased to confirm that the UK Government will match funds raised by the UK public, up to £5 million.

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

What steps she is taking to ensure that UK aid supports sustainable agriculture.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Wendy Morton)]

The transition to sustainable agriculture is critical to achieving food-security, nutrition and climate objectives. We have ensured that the UK is taking a leadership role through its hosting of COP26 and our support for several bilateral and multilateral initiatives promoting sustainable agriculture. That support includes £176 million invested in the global agriculture and food security programme, which directly addresses climate change through the use of mitigation and adaptation technologies such as resilient seed varieties, more efficient irrigation and increased intercropping.

[Theresa Villiers]

Protecting the rainforest in Brazil is crucial for our climate and biodiversity goals, so will the Minister ensure that UK aid supports sustainable agriculture in Brazil so that we prevent deforestation and ensure stable and prosperous communities?

[Wendy Morton]

My right hon. Friend makes an important point. As she will appreciate and understand, rain forests are the world’s lungs. Through the Partnerships for Forests programme, the UK supports sustainable agriculture in Brazil, including through support to address deforestation caused by cattle ranching in the Amazon region, as well as through measures to eliminate from the supply chain cattle produced on illegally deforested land. The UK also supports sustainable agriculture in the soya-producing region of Cerrado.

Oral Answers to Questions

Theresa Villiers Excerpts

Wednesday 17th June 2020 Commons Chamber

The Minister for Women and Equalities was asked—

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

What steps the Government are taking to support self-employed women during the covid-19 outbreak.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Paul Scully)]

We have introduced an unprecedented package of support for businesses to get through this incredibly challenging period. More than £10 billion of grants has been paid and over 830,000 businesses of all sizes have been able to access more than £34 billion of finance through our loan scheme. As of 7 June, the self-employed income support scheme has paid out on 2.6 million applications worth £7.5 billion. Of these, 701,000 claims were from women, totalling £1.609 billion.

[Theresa Villiers]

Can the Minister provide any extra help for new mothers whose periods of maternity leave mean either that they are not entitled to help under the self-employment support scheme or that their entitlement is significantly reduced?

[Paul Scully]

The Government clearly understand the challenges for the self-employed, in particular, arising from the arrival of a new baby or adoption. We are working on additional guidance for individuals who took a break from work to care for a newborn or a newly adopted child, and for whom no income tax self-assessment tax return was submitted.

UK-EU Negotiations

Theresa Villiers Excerpts

Tuesday 16th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

British businesses responded warmly to the announcement we made on Friday as a pragmatic and flexible approach. The only alternative to the approach we outlined would be to extend the transition period. I know that is the position of the Labour party in London and in Wales, but we do not know what the position of the Labour party in London and in Leeds is. [Hon. Members: “What?”] We do not know the position of the Labour Front-Bench and the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn).

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

Will the Minister promise that any fisheries agreement made with the EU will provide for annual negotiations and reflect the UK’s status as an independent coastal state, and that we will not see a repeat of the betrayal we saw in 1972?

[Michael Gove]

I am very conscious of the mistakes made during our accession and the damage that the common fisheries policy has done, not just to our coastal communities, but to the husbanding of a very valuable marine resource. We have certainly made it clear to the EU that we will be an independent coastal state and we will have annual negotiations.

Future Relationship with the EU: Negotiations

Theresa Villiers Excerpts

Tuesday 19th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his question. As he knows, it is a source of sadness to all of us to see people who want to be at work, not at work. Of course, we need to protect the fragile economy of the island communities that he represents, and we do so strongly through the power of the Exchequer across this United Kingdom. We believe that, outside the European Union, we will have more freedom to protect people in employment, and we will also save some of the money that we would have spent on EU membership.

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

I believe that the Secretary of State, like me, thinks that the customs compliance obligations under the protocol can be implemented without new physical inspections or infrastructure at Northern Ireland ports. In that case, will he intervene with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to stop it making preparations for new physical inspections and infrastructure at Northern Ireland ports?

[Michael Gove]

My right hon. Friend makes a very important point. We are one customs territory—the protocol makes that clear—and we will shortly be publishing further details about how we intend to ensure that Northern Ireland benefits from that.