Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Catherine West and Nigel Adams

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is right to raise that issue. I have had the pleasure of visiting studios in Wales. I agree that our creative industries are at the forefront of the innovation I have mentioned. They put the UK’s skills and expertise on a global stage, about which we can all be proud. People who work in those areas, including in Bridgend, are an asset to our influence around the world.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

The British Council is an important institution. My constituent, who remains its employee, is still in Evin prison in Iran. What assessment has the Foreign and Commonwealth Office made of this morning’s announcement that some prisoners have been released? Is Aras Amiri, or indeed Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, among them?

[Nigel Adams]

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised that issue with his Iranian counterpart yesterday. We are deeply concerned about both the individuals the hon. Lady mentions. We are liaising constantly with the Iranian authorities whenever possible and keeping in touch with family members to ensure that they are let out as soon as possible.

British Citizens Imprisoned Overseas and Coronavirus

Debate between Catherine West and Nigel Adams

Monday 2nd March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Adams]

Indeed so. This is the most challenging health issue that this country—and in fact the world—has faced for as long as I have been in this House, and the pressure on our chief medical officers and all our professionals must be immense. But, having attended the Cobra meeting this morning, I can say that we are very well served by some absolutely professional, superb civil servants.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

What reassurance can the Minister give me that my constituent, an employee of the British Council, which is part of the Foreign Office, will have care that is just as good as that of anyone else in Evin prison? I commend the fact that the Government have given extra money to the international effort to tackle coronavirus.

[Nigel Adams]

I can absolutely give the hon. Lady that assurance. We are aware of the additional number of dual-national prisoners, including the constituent to whom she refers, who was an employee of the British Council.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Catherine West and Nigel Adams

Thursday 13th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

At the moment, horse racing is the only sport where there is a levy from gambling. Are the Government considering taking a levy from gambling in other sports to pay for grassroots sports participation, given that there has been a 20% drop since 2010 in grassroots cricket and tennis?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Member will be aware that there is huge investment going into grassroots sport, no more so than the £550 million that we announced for grassroots football. Of course, currently the lottery does play a big part in grassroots sport, and Exchequer funding goes in. She asks about the levy. We have no plans currently to introduce a levy on other sports, but like any Government, we keep an open mind.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Catherine West and Nigel Adams

Thursday 16th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Adams]

May I first welcome my hon. Friend to his place? I know that he has done an awful lot of work for his local area as a councillor, and that he will be a fantastic voice for Dudley North. We are working closely with Andy Street and Birmingham City Council, with which we engage regularly. We want to make the most of the opportunities that my hon. Friend has rightly highlighted. The organising committee is expected to recruit 45,000 staff, contractors and volunteers. There will be 400 new jobs in the athletes’ village alone, including 50 new apprenticeships.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

May I, on the occasion of my first outing as shadow Sports Minister, congratulate the outgoing shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Dr Allin-Khan), on her work on fairness in sport? May I also mention—this is between you and me, Mr Speaker—today’s important announcement about rugby league, with a royal flourish? I hope that rugby league will receive the coverage that it deserves.

May I ask the Minister what steps the Department is taking to ensure that the 2022 Commonwealth games are carbon neutral, and—importantly—what actions can be taken now to improve the air quality at the venue so that in two years’ time the health of athletes, residents and visitors can be paramount?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Lady has made a good point I regularly meet the organising committee and I chair the strategic board, and I know that Birmingham City Council is keen to see the outcomes to which she has referred. At our next strategic board meeting, next month, I will certainly raise those issues on her behalf.