Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Monday 21st October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

For the benefit of those observing our proceedings, so that they are intelligible, it ought to be explained that the hon. Gentleman is what might be described as the overlord, or the Gandalf figure, who oversees the armed forces parliamentary scheme.

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

You know that your comments may go to my hon. Friend’s head, don’t you, Mr Speaker? I thank him for his question. Indeed, one of the most exciting things that I have had the opportunity to do in this role so far has been to set running the new Type 31 class of general purpose frigate. It will be built in Rosyth under Babcock’s guidance. At the moment, the contract is being drawn through to the final details so that we can hopefully get cracking early in the new year.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Monday 17th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Marcus Fysh. Where is the chappie? He was here earlier. He has beetled out of the Chamber prematurely, but he could have had another go.

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

T10. Will the Secretary of State update the House on what he and his Department are doing to ensure that every council is meeting its commitment to and obligations under the armed forces covenant?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Monday 25th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. In my usual spirit of helpfulness, I advise the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Anne-Marie Trevelyan) that if she were to seek to shoehorn her inquiry at Question 18, which will not be reached, into that of which we are treating now, she would be fortunate.

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Oh, very well done!

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

18. Thank you, Mr Speaker—and I apologise for my cold. A business in my constituency was the victim of fraudsters who hacked into Barclays bank’s financial system, stealing £500,000 from its accounts. There seems to be no liability for Barclays to refund my constituent for the loss or for the police to track down the fraudsters, who seem to be Pakistan-based. What are the Government doing to protect local businesses from such fraudsters by making banks responsible, and will the Minister meet me to discuss that case?

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Monday 4th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

My father was a leading expert in nuclear non-proliferation in the 1960s. It is depressing to see a lot of his work, which led to Gorbachev’s decision to work with Thatcher and Reagan, being reversed by Putin. We are one of the closest partners of the US and the leading military European country in NATO. Can the Minister reassure the House that the Government will do everything they can to ensure that the USA is not dragged into a dangerous arms race again?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Lady’s father was clearly an extremely clever bloke.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Thursday 17th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

“Banging on” in this place tends to be a prerequisite of achieving anything. It is the colloquial version of my “persistence pays” principle.

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

Would a Minister be willing to meet me to discuss banning the use of bolt guns as a method of putting down greyhounds that are no longer used in the racing industry?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Monday 22nd October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I urge the Secretary of State to follow my very good example: I visited the Huddersfield constituency, and the hon. Gentleman who represents it is a very good host, as is the university to boot. It will widen the Secretary of State’s learning and cultural experience to go there.

[Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

The UK’s defence capability has been immeasurably enhanced by the arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth. We saw her in New York this weekend. Will the Secretary of State consider putting together a national carrier strategy, so that for the next 50 years she has a real, important global purpose?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Monday 14th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

This Wednesday is National Numeracy Day. Speaking as a mathematician—not a historian—I welcome the fantastic work that the Government are doing to increase critical basic maths participation for longer in our schools, especially for girls. Does the Minister agree that, as our all-party group on maths and numeracy report on early years highlighted last year, we need to invest more in basic skills in maths-focused learning and teacher training for early years education, so that through the development of number sense, all children can flourish in maths once they get to school?

[Mr Speaker]

It is also Mental Health Awareness Week, colleagues, as I am sure you will all be aware. I commend the ribbon to you—on top of the important point that the hon. Lady has made.

Business of the House

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Thursday 15th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

Last Saturday, I joined the Save Rothbury Cottage Hospital campaign group on a march to highlight the anxiety and frustration that the local community presently feels as we await the outcome of the Department of Health and Social Care independent review panel’s review. Our clinical commissioning group closed down the 12-bed ward in our community hospital 18 months ago, citing underuse. The challenge of rural funding for healthcare means that we are not investing fairly in the Coquet valley, England’s most sparsely populated community. We need to reinvest in these beds for palliative and convalescent care and to give consideration to the practical difficulties and costs of rural distance and poor transport links. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time to discuss rurality funding frameworks to enable CCGs to meet the needs of patients such as my constituents, who live in the most sparsely populated community?

[Mr Speaker]

Nobody can accuse the hon. Lady of excluding any consideration that might be thought relevant in any way, at any time and to any degree from her interrogation of the Leader of the House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Monday 30th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We all wish the hon. Member for Gateshead (Ian Mearns) well. Knowing what a robust character he is, perhaps I can say that no injury will dare to get him down for long.

[Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

Question 17.

[Mr Speaker]

No, the hon. Lady should come in on this question, to which her own Question 17 is similar; she should piggy-back on this question.

[Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

17. There is a thought for a Monday afternoon. What percentage of the Royal Navy is now female? How does that compare with other NATO countries? What is the MOD doing to ensure that women who are joining up can have a long and fulfilling career in our world-class Royal Navy, alongside their family responsibilities?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Monday 12th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

At a time when our RAF is at full stretch on operations, the Secretary of State will be as concerned as I was to hear the announcement that RAF Halton is to close, not because the long-term defence estate consolidation is not the right direction of travel, but because the closure seems to have been sprung on the civilian and military personnel in order to meet the local council land bank deadline. Will he reassure personnel about timescale and staff support so that the decision does not create a serious retention risk?

[Mr Speaker]

Notably in relation to operations in Iraq and Syria, to which I am sure the hon. Lady intended to allude but did not quite get round to doing so.

Veterans and Service Personnel

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Tuesday 8th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Trevelyan]

Just for clarity, my hon. Friend and I had the great honour of sharing a tent in minus 23°C conditions 3° north of the Arctic circle with a group of 19-year-old Royal Marines—pretty much the same age as my son. They were extraordinarily gentlemanly and none of them commented on whether my hon. Friend or I snored.

[Mr Speaker]

It is always useful to have a bit of additional information.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Monday 7th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

While it is always a pleasure to hear from the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mrs Trevelyan), she has already had a substantive question. She can have another go in topicals, but Members cannot speak twice in substantives, I am afraid.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Thursday 28th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

Could the Secretary of State update the House on the state of investment in our roads in the north-east, particularly the A1?

[Mr Speaker]

No. That is a most interesting matter, but a little distant from the matter of drones. Save it for the long summer evenings that lie ahead.

Enterprise Bill [Lords]

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Wednesday 9th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

I am deeply concerned about this issue, and my name is attached to amendment No. 1. I listened to what the Minister said this morning, when we spoke at some length about the proposed pilot. I would be willing to support that pilot if the Minister would give us a clear assurance that it will not just involve looking at economic drivers, but will take account of the overall impact, and apply the family test. A great many people who work shifts are put on the bottom of the list and end up working on Sundays because they cannot get to the top. We must make sure that that does not happen in this instance. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. First, may I appeal for as orderly an atmosphere as possible? The Chair seeks to facilitate as many contributors as possible. Secondly, Members are of course free to say what they like, but I would gently point out that no amendment or new clause on the subject of pilots is to be taken today. There is material before the House, but that subject is not among it.

Iran: Nuclear Deal

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Wednesday 15th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Forgive me, but on the present trend, it would take a further hour and a half to accommodate all interested colleagues, so the present trend needs to be bucked. Let us look to a new Member to lead us by example. I call Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan.

[Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

My late father wrote extensively in the 1960s on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the key point was that it was prestigious to have nuclear weapons. Does my right hon. Friend believe that the Iranians are genuine when they say they are not seeking to develop a nuclear weapon?

Equal Pay and the Gender Pay Gap

Debate between John Bercow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Wednesday 1st July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

My hon. Friend’s comments bring me on to an issue that I want to raise. In my constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed—another B—we are all to a man very proud to support the Bronze family, who have spent years travelling hundreds of miles each week to help their daughter Lucy fulfil her passion for football. That young woman is now kicking winning goals for our England women’s team and hopefully will do so again tonight against Japan. I hope that Members will keep their fingers crossed. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should encourage the lottery sports fund to focus on investing in sports clubs and facilities that are committed to investing in girls’ sports such as cricket and football? I ask because the subject of bull semen leads us to the male sports, and in cricket and football we are seeing spectacular results from our female players—

[Mr Speaker]

We are extremely grateful to the hon. Lady.