Tributes to Her Late Majesty The Queen

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Friday 9th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

On behalf of my constituents, I rise to pay tribute to and give thanks for the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Among all the recollections of right hon. and hon. Members, I will remember her for her service, duty, humility and faith. We witnessed many years of her service, as our longest-reigning monarch, through unrecognisable change. The length of her reign means that only 12% of the population have lived longer than the time that she has been on the throne.

The Queen’s duty to communities in all nations of the United Kingdom, to the Union of the United Kingdom and to the Commonwealth was recognised across the globe. In spite of the admiration in which she was held, and her standing here and around the world, her humility was obvious in the way that she acted, spoke and related to us all. That demonstrated her understanding of the challenges we all face.

At a time of increasing secularisation of society, she turned to her faith for inspiration in challenging times and to give thanks during the better times. Faith was something that she celebrated, rather than hid away, as was reflected on by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Shabana Mahmood) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh).

I had the privilege of meeting Her Majesty on many occasions. At one time, the issue of pronunciation of Welsh place names came up in conversation. To my amazement, she said that the one that she recalled best was Coedarhydyglyn, a property within my constituency that even locals wrongly pronounce. It turned out that she spent many summers during her childhood playing on the estate of the late Sir Cennydd Traherne, Coedarhydyglyn, and she had said that she was determined during her childhood to learn to pronounce the place properly.

At these sad times, we now owe the service and commitment that she showed to us to her son, King Charles III. God save the King.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Tuesday 24th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jerome Mayhew (Broadland) (Con)]

2. What plans he has to help ensure that offenders give back to their communities.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

6. What plans he has to help ensure that offenders give back to their communities.

[The Minister for Crime and Policing (Kit Malthouse)]

When people have broken the law, and when it is safe and proportionate for them to do so, they should serve their sentences in the community. It is important for them to be seen to be paying back to the communities to whom they have caused harm. We are investing £93 million in community payback staff over the next three years so that we can increase the number of hours worked to a record-breaking 8 million a year.

[Kit Malthouse]

My hon. Friend is right: people do want to see justice being done, in a visible way, in their communities. I hope that he saw some of the 300-odd gangs of offenders who delivered about 10,000 hours of community work across the country, particularly on environmental schemes, during the recent Keep Britain Tidy spring clean-up week. However, Members of Parliament can also play a part in this project. We do need to increase those hours to 8 million a year, and we need Members’ help in nominating schemes on which we can put offenders to work, so if Members feel like it, I ask them please to go online and look at the Ministry of Justice website. They can nominate a scheme, and we will send some people to do some cleaning up.

[Alun Cairns]

Fonmon castle park and gardens, in my constituency, provides a first-class day out for visitors, but will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating those who run it on the partnership that they have established with HM Prison Parc? This offers new opportunities for offenders, while also resolving some of the labour shortages in the area.

[Kit Malthouse]

I am, of course, happy to celebrate the success of Fonmon castle and its partnership with Parc prison. As my right hon. Friend knows, we believe that employment for offenders is critical to moving them into a better life. Building partnerships of that kind between businesses and prisons is key for the future, and I am pleased to tell my right hon. Friend that Parc prison is in line, in the next year, to have one of our new employment advisory boards, which will bring such partnerships to life across all the UK’s geographies.

Easter Recess: Government Update

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Tuesday 19th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I apologise again—not just to Jason, but to the families of all those who lost loved ones during covid. I repeat what I told the House earlier.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and for the way in which he made it. President Zelensky said yesterday that the conflict in Ukraine has moved to the second phase. We all recognise that the balance between offensive and defensive weapons is very fine. As the conflict continues to develop, will my right hon. Friend continue to review where that line stands?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend asks an extremely important question. I do not think any NATO country, any western country, wants to see its forces or our own weaponry, troops and personnel directly engaged with Russia, but it is wholly legitimate and morally right to give the Ukrainians the equipment with which to protect themselves.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Simon Hart]

I hope I can reassure the hon. Gentleman. Numerous conversations have been ongoing between the UK Government and the Welsh Government about the Ukraine refugee position. I stress that this is not a competition. We are working together to try to get the best outcome in a severe humanitarian crisis, and that means that we are putting our political differences to one side, and I hope that he can join us in that endeavour. We are incredibly grateful to local authorities, charities, the public in Wales and, of course, the Welsh Government for making this happen at the pace that it has. I spoke to the Ukrainian ambassador only last week, and he is also incredibly grateful for the way in which Wales, in all its different forms, has stepped up to the mark to try to resolve the problem. I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s support in our attempt to achieve those ambitions.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Most of the focus on the freeport opportunity has understandably been on maritime ports. Can I draw my right hon. Friend’s attention to the merits of Barry port? In addition, can I ask him to pay particular attention to Cardiff airport, which is closely associated with Barry port, and assure me that it will be central to his thinking?

[Simon Hart]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for raising that. He is right to point out that freeports are not necessarily confined to coastal areas: some of the best examples of freeports in the UK are inland freeports. They are also not all identical, and there is not a one-size-fits-all solution for the whole of the UK. We are trying to be as flexible as we can in looking at all the different dynamics, including Cardiff airport, to make sure that when the bids come in we are not too prescriptive and we look at all the issues with the most open mind that we can.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

I congratulate Bradford on being shortlisted in the way that that wonderful city has been, but I think the hon. Lady is wrong about what the integrated rail plan said, because already it commits to cutting the journey times from Leeds to Bradford from 20 minutes to 12 minutes, if I remember correctly. And we continue to look at ways of making sure that high-speed rail goes direct to Bradford.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

The horrifying effects of events in Ukraine must be central to our focus, and we should do all possible to stand together in support. A war in Europe also has challenging domestic outcomes, with higher energy costs, rising food prices and effects on supplies and inflation and across the economy in general. Does the Prime Minister agree that this is a time when we need to come together as a nation common and that anyone seeking to weaponise Putin’s deliberate and calculated consequences of the war will only undermine the unity of our nation at a time when Europe is in crisis?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my right hon. Friend very much for what he has said. One of the most important things that has confounded Vladimir Putin has not only been the heroic resistance of the Ukrainians but the unity of the rest of the world and, I must say, so far, the relative unity—the important unity—of this House.

Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Consideration of Lords amendments
Monday 14th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Ellis]

I do not want to get into hypotheticals, but what I will say is that the pre-2011 position worked extremely well. There is a reason why it worked well and it was proven to have functioned correctly. We seek to go back to a proven, tried and tested system, which works in a whole variety of different circumstances, not every one of which can be easily expostulated.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Does my right hon. and learned Friend share my disbelief at some of the opposition to the current position, especially as we recall the chaos that led to the last general election and the frustration among the public when Parliament, in many people’s eyes, seemed to lose the respect of the population?

[Michael Ellis]

Good constitutional practice involves protecting the integrity of the legislature, the Executive and the judiciary and, in our view, the proposals do that and this amendment would not, so I agree with what my right hon. Friend says.

Ukraine

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd February 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am glad that the FCDO was able to help out. We have a dedicated helpline for family members and anybody who is concerned. I think there are about 1,100 currently still in Ukraine, and there is a helpline that people should ring. I will read out the number. It is 01908 516666. There you go!

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

I pay tribute to the Prime Minister for the robust steps he has taken and for the co-ordinating role that he is playing across the western world. Does he agree that last night’s events should be seen in the context of Crimea, Salisbury and cyber-attacks as well as of the threat of gas supply restrictions? Can he reassure us that he will continue to play a co-ordinating role to ensure that the western world is absolutely as one in its response?

Ukraine

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Tuesday 25th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point. It is very important that people in Ukraine and around the world should be able to trust the information that we are giving out. I have no doubt that the intelligence that we shared about the coup attempt—or the people conspiring against the regime—in Kyiv was right, but we will divulge as much of our sourcing as we can without compromising our intelligence sources.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Naturally, we are all alarmed and share concerns at the risks that the people of Ukraine face but we take confidence from the Prime Minister’s statement and actions in helping to co-ordinate the western response. Does my right hon. Friend agree that NATO must always leave the door open for Ukraine joining?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend is completely right and puts his finger on the fundamental point and the thing that we cannot bargain away. A sovereign country must have the right to choose her own destiny, and that is what Ukraine must have. Of course, the path to NATO membership will not be easy for anybody and no one is saying that that is going to happen immediately. But a country must be allowed to choose its own way forward, and that is what we are sticking up for.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Wednesday 15th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[David T. C. Davies]

I believe that that problem was quite well publicised, so I think we are all aware of it. The rolling stock is being examined. There is no issue around safety. I do not know what the costs are. I understand the hon. Lady’s disappointment about electrification, but she will know, through her sterling work on the Welsh Affairs Committee, that there would have been enormous costs to electrification between Cardiff and Swansea and no benefits for any passengers in terms of decreased time. This Government want to spend that money where it will have the most impact and benefit for rail passengers.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

The community in St Athan in my constituency was naturally disappointed, and even angry, that the Welsh Government did not include a new station for St Athan in their application to the Department for Transport’s new stations fund. Can my hon. Friend reassure me that he will listen to the views of Members of Parliament as well as the Welsh Government when considering applications for new stations?

[David T. C. Davies]

I can absolutely reassure my right hon. Friend on that point. I commend him for the work that he has done in improving rail infrastructure in his constituency. I enjoyed visiting Barry station with him to see the disability access improvements that had taken place sometime last year.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Wednesday 8th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jack]

As I have said before at this Dispatch Box, that is a matter for the Cabinet Office, and I suggest the hon. Gentleman raises it at Cabinet Office questions.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State update the House on the scale of the additional financial resource that Scotland received as a result of the covid pandemic? Does he agree that it is the strength of the UK balance sheet that allows the UK Government to support every part of the United Kingdom in times of crisis?

[Mr Jack]

I absolutely agree with my right hon. Friend. The strength of support was over £14 billion during the covid crisis, and the furlough support helped 900,000 jobs in Scotland at the height of the pandemic, which is nearly a third of the Scottish workforce.

Health and Social Care

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Tuesday 7th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady is completely right to draw attention to the suffering of people throughout the pandemic, particularly in care homes, including the mental stress they have suffered as a result of not being able to see or hold loved ones in the normal way. It has been one of the most appalling features of this pandemic, and we are certainly investing record sums in mental health to deal with that issue and many others.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Does the Prime Minister share my disbelief at the Leader of the Opposition’s response to his statement, considering that waiting times for treatment and discharge for my constituents in Wales are much longer than they are in England? Can he confirm that Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland will be net gainers out of the social care levy? Will he further guarantee that the additional sums available will be spent on health and social care in the nations?

[The Prime Minister]

I can certainly confirm that Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be getting an increment. There will be a Union dividend in the way that I described, but clearly it is up to those parts of the country to ensure that that money is spent on the people’s priorities, and I believe that the people’s priorities are health and social care.