Ukraine

Debate between Vicky Ford and Pauline Latham

Tuesday 7th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Vicky Ford]

The hon. Member is right: it is vital that we speak with one voice, which is why our Prime Minister was speaking with the leaders of the US, Germany, France and Italy yesterday. The message is clear: any incursion by Russia into Ukraine would be a strategic mistake. The costs of such an incursion would be catastrophically high and result in massive strategic consequences, including economic sanctions.

[Mrs Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

The Minister has said several times during this session that any incursion into Ukraine would be catastrophic for Russia and a big strategic mistake. Can she confirm that all diplomatic channels are being used, as well as economic sanctions that may come in, and that we are doing our very best to make sure that Ukraine is safe as a sovereign country?

[Vicky Ford]

The UK is at the forefront of the international community’s efforts. The issue is that Russia needs to de-escalate now and return to diplomatic channels.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vicky Ford and Pauline Latham

Monday 26th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

What practical steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that children, young people, and staff in educational settings have access to appropriately qualified people to help with mental health issues?

[Vicky Ford]

Support for the mental health and wellbeing of our young people is important, and the Government are making a major investment in such support. We recently announced a further £79 million boost for mental health services for children, which will accelerate the provision of mental health support teams in schools and colleges. That is on top of the £2.3 billion a year that we have committed through the NHS long-term plan. Since September, our Wellbeing for Education Return scheme has linked schools with local mental health experts in 90% of local authorities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vicky Ford and Pauline Latham

Monday 18th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con) [V]]

I am sure that, like me, my hon. Friend has received a lot of ill-informed and abusive emails and posts on social media about the school lunches. I am pleased that the Department has established a hotline for complaints about the lunch parcels. I am absolutely certain that most schools are providing good quality parcels for children. Please will she confirm how many complaints about food parcels the newly established hotline has received?

[Vicky Ford]

DFE helplines have been giving support to schools and others on a wide range of matters. On Wednesday morning, after seeing some of the photos of unacceptable parcels, we announced that parents could call the DFE if they had a problem with a lunch parcel, but that they should try to resolve it with the school first. There are around 1.4 million children on free school meals. By the end of last week, we had received a total of seven calls in relation to unacceptable lunch parcels. Each has been fully investigated. We expect high-quality lunch parcels for our children.