Business of the House

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Thursday 16th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Gentleman has found his own answer. Not only has he given an example of a healthcare professional who is writing to healthcare professional bodies, and many other organisations that scrutinise and have oversight of vaccines policy, but Members of Parliament can raise the issue on the Floor of the House. It is very important that we ensure that the public know there are statutory bodies, third sector organisations and democratic organisations with elected representatives that have scrutiny and oversight of all these matters. That is why we have a very safe vaccines regime, and why any concerns about vaccines or ongoing trials are all put in the public domain.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

Last week, a constituent who is dyspraxic came to my surgery to raise concerns about the lack of awareness of dyspraxia. That has been exacerbated by the collapse of the Dyspraxia Foundation, so there is now no dedicated dyspraxia organisation in the country. I would love to say that the trouble I had with my voter ID was an ingenious way of raising awareness of dyspraxia, but it was not. Will the Leader of the House support those with dyspraxia by tabling a debate in Government time to raise that awareness? Millions of people across the country have it—a huge number of our constituents—so will the Leader of the House support me?

Business of the House

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Thursday 9th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman—I am sure I do so on behalf of the whole House, given the response to his question. It is a very important thing that he is doing, and I will certainly use all the communication channels available to me to get the names of the people from the particular crew that he is trying to trace. It is right that we set the record straight on that. I was at the RAF Club earlier this week and got to meet some veterans from Bomber Command, particularly Colin Bell, the Mosquito pilot. We have to ensure that their legacy is understood for generations to come. I am sure that I speak for everyone in the House when I say that anything that we can do to assist the hon. Gentleman in this important campaign shall be done.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

I am aware that the Leader of the House has been celebrating Portsmouth’s elevation to the championship this season. Last year in Ipswich we celebrated our promotion to the championship, and right now we are celebrating our back-to-back promotion to the premier league. For the first time in over 20 years, the Tractor Boys will be in the premier league, in the big time—arguably the single biggest boost to the town for over 20 years. Will she join me in congratulating Kieran McKenna, our exceptional manager, Mark Ashton, the chief executive of the club, and the whole team at Ipswich Town, who are passionate about not just the club but the town? I wish them all the best for the premier league next season. Who knows? Maybe Portsmouth will be there the year after.

[Penny Mordaunt]

On behalf of us all, I congratulate Ipswich Town on this huge achievement. It is great for the fans, but it will also be great for the whole of Ipswich, because these achievements bring economic and social progress, and many other things. I think that both our clubs being promoted is an excuse for a pint —I will stand him one. Seriously, congratulations to everyone there. I hope that what he says about Portsmouth comes to pass.

Business of the House

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Thursday 14th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

Those are important services for any community, and the hon. Gentleman is right to raise concerns about what is happening in his constituency. It is fortunate that the Secretary of State for Levelling Up is on the Front Bench—he has saved me the stamp that it would cost to raise this matter with him—because his Department has done a lot of work to ensure that even though banking services might not have bricks-and-mortar locations, services can be retained in local communities, including communities that are very isolated and rural. I will take a belt-and-braces approach: I will write to the Secretary of State and ask his officials, who have put together guidance on best practice in this area, to contact the hon. Gentleman’s office.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

When Mark Murphy was a presenter at BBC Radio Suffolk, it is fair to say that we had a bit of a mixed relationship—he was probably the most robust questioner I have ever encountered. However, last September, he took over as the chief executive officer of Cancer Support Suffolk, and has done an exceptional job with his team. I visited that charity last week, and it has made some changes: people do not need to be referred by the hospital to go in and have a meeting, and it now supports family members, not just those with cancer.

One of the things that Mark raised with me, though, is that he thinks there should be national screening for prostate cancer and a level playing field for all forms of cancer, to make sure we catch it early, and that we should work with some hard-to-reach communities to raise awareness. Will the Leader of the House support me in that campaign, and recognise the work that Mark Murphy has done and how it could save lives in Suffolk?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I add my congratulations and thanks to those of my hon. Friend for those individuals who have done so much to improve services and the patient experience in his area. We have had some good news on cancer outcomes today. That is very welcome, and it is because of those people—their attention to detail and their efforts—that those achievements have been secured.

As my hon. Friend knows, diagnostics are absolutely critical to ensuring that people have good outcomes. That is why we have invested so much in the 160 new diagnostic test centres in a whole raft of therapy areas across the country. I will make sure that the Secretary of State for Health has heard about my hon. Friend’s particular interest in this area. We obviously have new opportunities to use data that the Department of Health and Social Care is collecting to ensure we improve patient outcomes everywhere.

Business of the House

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Thursday 30th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Lady raises an important point. Of course, this issue has a disproportionate impact on rural communities, where there is less choice of available ATMs. I shall certainly ensure that the Secretary of State has heard her concerns. If she were to apply for a debate, I am sure that it would be well attended.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

For over 10 years, 100 of my constituents at the Mill development in Ipswich have been in limbo, unable to move on with their lives, re-mortgage or sell their properties, because the Mill has deep structural and cladding problems. The previous creditor-freeholder was the National Asset Management Agency—the Irish entity created to recoup losses to the Irish taxpayer after the banking crisis. Some £15 million received from a court case was meant to be spent on cladding remediation, but NAMA, before it washed its hand of the development, took the vast bulk of that money. What has happened to it? We do not know. Does the Leader of the House agree that that is a deeply immoral way for that entity to behave? It has caused immense anxiety and distress to my constituents, who, after 10 years, feel that the situation has moved backwards, not forwards. Will she advise me on what steps I should take and on whether my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister might raise the matter with his counterpart in Ireland?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am very sorry to hear about the ongoing situation in my hon. Friend’s constituency. Questions to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will be on Monday, and he may wish to raise it directly with the Secretary of State then. Given the international dimension to the matter, I shall certainly ensure that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is briefed. If my hon. Friend would like to give me further information, I will ensure that it is passed to the relevant Minister.

Business of the House

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Thursday 26th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

This is an issue of huge concern to many Members across the House. That is why, in 2018, we fired a shot across the water companies’ bows that led to the legislation and other measures brought forward to ensure that the infrastructure plans needed to end storm overflows are in place in a timely way. We are also monitoring those overflows. When we came into office, only 6% of them were monitored, but it is now 100%. We take the matter very seriously indeed.

Some of Thames Water’s work formed part of the arguments used to reassure Members of this House that the costs of those infrastructure plans would not be astronomical—they would be affordable—so that we could press ahead with an ambitious timetable for delivering them. I thank the hon. Lady for raising that matter, which is of huge concern to all Members.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

There were reports in the media saying that I was seething last week about the levelling-up fund. That is not quite fair—but it is fair to say that I was prickly. Our £18 million bid was unsuccessful. Most of that was about Gainsborough sports centre. Only between £1.5 million and £2 million of it was for Broomhill lido—a 1938 outdoor pool that closed in 2002. It is of huge benefit to the local area as a cultural and sporting attraction. Will my right hon. Friend advise me about what other pots of money and avenues might be available to the Broomhill Pool Trust to get the small amount of money needed to push it over the edge and bring that wonderful attraction back to the people of Ipswich?

[Penny Mordaunt]

My hon. Friend raises a subject close to my heart. I would normally say, “I shall write to the Minister who can advise him about further pots,” but I can probably tell him now because I have a 1930s lido in my constituency that I am renovating. I know how much the lido will mean to his constituents—it is not just a leisure facility but part of their heritage. There will be other funds, and we should connect him to other projects that have been supported through the coastal communities fund to really ensure that he has got the best advice to take that forward. I will write to the Minister on his behalf, but I am also happy to assist him with anything that I have learned along the way.

Business of the House

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Thursday 24th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

The hon. Lady is of course right to highlight the challenges that face some communities. It is a Government priority to increase the housing supply. Since 2010, more than 2 million additional homes have been delivered. We have put an extra £10 billion of investment into housing supply and will unlock more than 1 million homes. Our £12 billion of investment in affordable housing will deliver up to 180,000 homes. The Government continue to be committed to supporting people to get on to the housing ladder and to aspire to own their own home.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

The Leader of the House will be aware that England is a frontrunner to host the Euros, with Ireland, in 2028. I was horrified yesterday to find out that the Russian Football Union has put in a bid—which has been accepted and is currently being looked at—to compete with us to host Euro 2028. I find that completely appalling. Also, it is shocking that there is still a Russian representative on the UEFA committee. Will the Leader of the House find Government time for the House to debate how we can continue to ensure that, for as long as Putin reigns in Russia, it is a pariah in everything to do with sport?

[Mark Spencer]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight this matter. Frankly, it is almost laughable that Russia even thinks it would have the remotest chance of hosting an event of that nature while it is committing such actions in Ukraine. I know that FA representatives will be making the strongest representations to UEFA to make sure that that does not happen, but I am sure that my hon. Friend will find other opportunities to continue to raise the matter in the House.

Business of the House

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Thursday 27th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for bringing this issue to the attention of the House, because it is clearly a serious problem. The police saying that policing is difficult is not a very satisfactory answer from them. Of course policing is difficult; that is why we have a police force, and we have taken on an extra 11,000 police officers. I encourage her, though I doubt she needs much encouragement, to pressurise her local police force to actually get on and do its job and enforce the law.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

On Holocaust Memorial Day, we think about some of the groups that continue to be persecuted across the world. Last weekend, I had the great pleasure of visiting the Cox’s Bazar Rohingya Muslim refugee camp; it was an incredibly emotional experience. I spoke to two child refugees and said to them, “What’s your wish? What’s your dream?” It was very simple—they simply wanted to return home. They did not want to go anywhere else. They just wanted to go home and they wanted to live free from persecution. I know that the Government have taken steps to aid the Bangladeshi Government, but could we have a debate in Government time about what further steps this country can take to aid and facilitate the safe return of Rohingya Muslims to their homeland?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. The Government very much share his view and have great concern about the increasing violence across Burma. As the first anniversary of the coup approaches, Her Majesty’s Government are working with partners to push for an end to violence, unhindered humanitarian access and the importance of respect for human rights and the protection of civilians. In Burma’s Rakhine state, we have provided over £44 million to all communities since 2017, including over £25 million for the Rohingya. Since 2017, we have committed over £320 million and supported about 1 million refugees in Bangladesh. Any Rohingya returns to Rakhine must be voluntary, safe, dignified and in line with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees principles, but I can assure my hon. Friend that the Government are working on this and will continue to do so.

Business of the House

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Thursday 6th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

First, I would say that the Mayor of London has no money; it is taxpayers’ money. The hon. Lady needs the conversion that has worked on the shadow Leader of the House. It is of course important to have affordable housing. The Government are increasing the supply of housing, with £10 billion being spent on housing supply since the start of this Parliament, which will unlock over 1 million homes, including £300 million of locally led grant funding to unlock small brownfield sites and improve communities, and with £12 billion of expenditure on affordable housing from 2021. These things are happening and they are led by central Government, but it is taxpayers’ money.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

Mr Speaker, my question has been asked, so I was actually going to duck out, but I thought I would just, you know, ask it anyway. Again, as somebody who has concerns about this country’s heritage, I, too, was disturbed by this judgment. I think the key point is that it is fair enough to feel strongly about that particular statue, but there are legal and democratic processes one can engage with to make the case that that statue should be taken down. This really, from what I can see, was lawlessness, and I think it could set a dangerous precedent. So will my right hon. Friend assure me that the Government will consider whether any changes can be made to protect our heritage, and that if so, that they are made, because I think he would have seen in the media today that there is great concern and I do not think it is all misplaced?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am going to come back to the jury system in, I hope, giving some reassurance to my hon. Friend, because it is an ancient right and a great protector of freedom. That does not mean that every decision made by every jury is one that is welcomed by some people in some circumstances, but it is such an important protector of our liberties that we must take the rough with the smooth.

Business of the House

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Thursday 23rd September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The hon. Lady is right to raise the Northern Ireland protocol, which is a matter of discussion between Her Majesty’s Government and the European Union. It is clearly not working properly at the moment, and we cannot allow our country to be divided by the actions of the European Union and their interpretation of the agreement that we came to. Last week, my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Frost made a statement to their lordships that was reported in this House by my right hon. and learned Friend the Paymaster General, so these things are being brought to the attention of the House and will, I am sure, be brought to the House’s attention in future.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend will have seen the chaos caused on the M25 this week by Insulate Britain. I am pleased that a number of protesters have been arrested and that an injunction has been served. My concern is that they might simply go to another strategically important road somewhere else in the country. Will my right hon. Friend find Government time for us to debate how the law may need to change so that we can instantly and robustly deal with and move on these troublemakers?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue. A lot of these people are being exposed as the most ridiculous humbugs. I think it is The Sun that has discovered that they pretend to want insulation but do not insulate not only the houses that they live in but the houses that they let out to other people. One of them stormed off some television programme in a great huff when it was revealed that he was a frightful old humbug. We should know these people for what they are: silly, dangerous and hippie-crites.

I am glad to tell my hon. Friend that the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which is under consideration in the Lords, contains proportionate measures to enable the police to deal better with disruptive protests. By putting public nuisance on a statutory footing, as recommended by the independent Law Commission, it will increase the powers available to the police for dealing with protests of that sort. Proper, peaceful protest and freedom of speech are fundamental, but causing risk to life and liberty is not.

Business of the House

Tom Hunt Excerpts

Thursday 10th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I join the hon. Gentleman in passing condolences to the family of Dea-John Reid. He is right: there is nothing I can say at the Dispatch Box about how policy is developing and the amount of money that has been spent that will bring great comfort to a bereaved family in these most saddening circumstances. It is always a long-term project to increase the safety of our streets and to reduce knife crime. In this context, it is important that there are more police, as the numbers going up will make our streets safer overall, but I absolutely understand from what he says that it is too late in this particular instance. We mourn with the family, and we must make every effort to ensure that fewer families are affected in future, because the loss of a child is the greatest blow a parent ever faces.

[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

On Oxbridge colleges, I was very pleased to see the Prime Minister intervene and object to the appalling news that Magdalen College, Oxford had taken down a portrait of the Queen, but of course, this is not an isolated incident. Today I hear that 150 academics at Oriel College, Oxford are refusing to teach because the Rhodes statue has not been taken down. This week we also heard the disturbing news that Churchill College, Cambridge is considering changing the name of the college, to make it seem more inclusive. I know that, historically, there have been lots of eccentric, left-wing academics at Oxford and Cambridge, but given the sheer frequency with which these events are cropping up, will my right hon. Friend provide time for us to discuss what we can do to prevent the woke-ification of Oxbridge colleges?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

As for Magdalen College, it is not exactly 1687-88. It is a few pimply adolescents getting excited and taking down a picture of Her Majesty. It makes Magdalen look pretty wet, but it is not the end of the world. I would not get too excited about that, although it amuses me to speculate as to what would happen if one of Her Majesty’s subjects suggested taking down the stars and stripes in an American university. It might not be enormously well received. As the pimply adolescent in question is, I think, an American citizen, he might like to think about that. He might think that taking down the US flag in an American university was a bridge too far even for the most patriotic Briton.

As regards the academics’ refusing to teach, I am half tempted to say that one should be lucky not to be taught by such a useless bunch. If they are that feeble, what are you missing and what are they doing there? Why do they not have any pride in their country, in our marvellous history and in our success? Rhodes is not a black and white figure. Perhaps they are not learned enough to have bothered to look up the history of Rhodes, which has been written about quite extensively now, in any detail. As I say, he is a figure of importance, interest and enormous generosity to Oxford. Do they want to give the money back to the descendants of Cecil Rhodes, or are they intending to keep it to themselves? We must not allow this wokeness to happen. As for the idea of changing Churchill College, perhaps we should introduce a Bill to rename Cambridge Churchill and call it Churchill University. That would be one in the eye for the lefties.