Oral Answers to Questions

Andrea Jenkyns Excerpts

Wednesday 17th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Obviously I am sorry to hear of the case that the hon. Gentleman has set out. I am very happy to ensure that that case is properly looked into.

[Andrea Jenkyns (Morley and Outwood) (Con)]

Following Transport for the North’s announcement on Northern Powerhouse Rail, will the Prime Minister confirm her Government’s commitment to investing in northern transport infrastructure and ensuring that the northern powerhouse materialises?

[The Prime Minister]

I am very happy to give that commitment to the northern powerhouse and to giving the great cities across the north the transport infrastructure that they need to be able to develop the northern powerhouse. We are spending a record £13 billion to transform transport across the north. We have made Transport for the North the first ever statutory sub-national transport body and backed that up with £260 million of Government funding. It has published its draft strategic plan for consultation. I would hope that all Members with an interest in this issue engage in that consultation and make sure that their views and their constituents’ views are heard.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrea Jenkyns Excerpts

Wednesday 1st February 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The Government have taken a number of steps to increase the funding available for local authorities to provide for social care. It is also important that we ensure that best practice is developed and put into place across the country. In some parts of the country the record on social care and the interaction with hospitals is better than in others, but the longer-term issue is for us to ensure that we have a sustainable system for delivering social care for people in this country. The Labour party ducked that issue for 13 years. We are addressing it.

[Andrea Jenkyns (Morley and Outwood) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating Morley Academy on its recently awarded World Class Schools quality mark and say how such awards drive pupil excellence?

[The Prime Minister]

I am happy to join my hon. Friend in congratulating the whole team at Morley Academy on receiving the award, which I think shows the work that the GORSE Academies Trust is doing to drive up excellence and improve outcomes for pupils. We are determined to drive up standards in schools to ensure that more children have good school places—a good school place for every child—so that they can all reach the sort of level we see at Morley Academy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrea Jenkyns Excerpts

Wednesday 21st October 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

First, let me take up the hon. Gentleman on the point he made about intervention in Europe. We have been doing this for months, making sure that there is proper action against dumping in the European Union. We have taken the cases to the European Commission and will continue to do so.

On the issue of helping disabled people in our country, tens of thousands more disabled people have got into work under this Government. Because of legislation passed by a previous Conservative Government, we have some of the strongest equality legislation anywhere in the world when it comes to disability. Of course I will look at any United Nations investigation, but sometimes when you look at these investigations you find that they are not necessarily all they are originally cracked up to be. There are many disabled people in our world who do not have any of the rights or any of the support that they get here in Britain, and I think we should be proud of what we do as we co-operate with this report.

[Andrea Jenkyns (Morley and Outwood) (Con)]

Q5. Bruntcliffe school in my constituency was a struggling school, but it recently achieved its second best results in its history. The school reopened this September as part of the highly successful Gorse Academies Trust and continues to grow from strength to strength. What is my right hon. Friend doing to ensure that all pupils have access to a great education and that no school is left behind?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. We are always happy to hear positive news from Morley and Outwood—it was not always that way. She makes an important point, which is that in school after school in our country, and often in some quite challenging neighbourhoods, inspirational headteachers are using the new tools we have given them and driving up standards. Measuring the percentage of those children getting good GCSEs is a key way to measure progress. I have myself been to schools where I have seen a 10, 20 or sometimes even 30-point improvement. Often, schools in inner-city areas are doing better than many schools in rather more well-heeled suburban areas. That shows that, with the right teaching and the right leadership, we can have real social opportunity right through our country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrea Jenkyns Excerpts

Wednesday 9th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

First, we have some of the strictest rules anywhere in the world for selling arms to other countries. If the hon. Lady thinks that the reason why so many people are fleeing Syria is something to do with the arms trade, the fact is that it is because Assad is butchering his own people and because we have an Islamist extremist, terrorist organisation running a large part of two countries—Iraq and Syria. Those are the problems that we have to confront, rather than pretending it is about something else.

[Andrea Jenkyns (Morley and Outwood) (Con)]

Q6. TopicUK is a social enterprise in my constituency that is expanding into South Yorkshire and London. The northern powerhouse and devolution should be about developing growth and prosperity right across the north of England. When does the Prime Minister hope to see a metro mayor in our area, and how will devolution stimulate growth for businesses like this in the region?

[The Prime Minister]

There is a real opportunity in this Parliament to make some decisive steps towards rebalancing our economy and building the northern powerhouse that we have spoken about. A big part of that is devolving power to local government and, specifically, to mayors who can be accountable to their local communities and have new powers and new resources to drive economic growth in their areas. We have already had over 30 areas, as well as city regions, making proposals. This is a very exciting development for genuine decentralisation in our country. I very much hope West Yorkshire will be in the vanguard.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrea Jenkyns Excerpts

Wednesday 10th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Jenkyns (Morley and Outwood) (Con)]

Q7. In my constituency of Morley and Outwood one issue that is constantly raised on the doorstep is economic migration from within the EU. The Government have already taken steps and clear action to reduce incentives that draw migrants from within the European Union, but what further steps are being taken to tackle economic migration from outside the EU?

[The Prime Minister]

I welcome my hon. Friend to her place. I have to say that her election result was one I was dreaming of, and am very grateful for. She is absolutely right to raise this issue. In the past it has been too easy for some businesses to bring in workers from overseas rather than to take the long-term decision to train our workforce here at home. We need to do more to change that, which means reducing the demand for migrant labour, and that is part of our plan. So I can tell the House today that the Home Secretary has written to the Migration Advisory Committee asking it to report back on how to significantly reduce work-related migration from outside Europe. It is going to advise on restricting our work visas to genuine skills shortages and specialists. It is going to look at putting a time limit on how long sectors can claim to have a skills shortage, because frankly they should be dealing with that. We are going to look at a new skills levy on businesses who recruit foreign workers so that we can boost the funding to UK apprenticeships, and we are also going to look at raising salary thresholds to stop businesses using foreign workers to undercut wages. All these steps, combined with the measures we are taking within the European Union, can help bring migration under control, but also, more to the point, make sure that hard-working British people who get the skills and training can find the jobs that will help them build a better life.