Iran Detainees

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Andy Slaughter

Wednesday 16th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

This is very good news, but it is not the end of the matter. Even if the Foreign Secretary will not discuss individual cases, she will be aware that a number of UK citizens and dual nationals are still being held in Iran, some of whom, for good reasons, will not be as well known as Nazanin. Will she meet the relevant Members of Parliament and the families whose relatives are still detained in Iran, and what leverage does she think she will have now that the debt has been paid?

[Elizabeth Truss]

Of course I will continue to meet the families of detained individuals, and I will continue to work to get those people released from unfair detention.

Russia: Sanctions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Andy Slaughter

Monday 31st January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

We have taken steps to deal with illicit finance and corrupt elites through the Criminal Finances Act 2017 and our anti-corruption sanctions regime. I have already talked about the commitment to introduce legislation through the economic crime Bill. Today is about showing that the UK is ready with a package of severe sanctions that can target any organisation or individual who is remotely linked or of economic significance to the Russian state, showing there will be nowhere to hide in the event of an incursion into Ukraine. This is about making sure that those economic consequences are as severe as possible. My hon. Friend makes excellent points on the broader issue, but today we are talking about deterring Vladimir Putin from an incursion into Ukraine.

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

Why have the Government delayed the economic crime Bill? Why are they doing nothing to stop lawfare in the UK courts? Why is the Serious Fraud Office being sued by oligarchs rather than indicting them? Without the laws, the courts and the prosecutors to tackle corruption and dirty money here in Londongrad, are the Foreign Secretary’s threats not empty and vacuous? Will she ensure that the Tories’ Russian gold finds its way back to Moscow?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I have already given the steps that Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Ministry of Justice are taking on the issues that the hon. Gentleman mentioned. The sanctions regime is under direct Foreign Office control. That is why we are taking action as soon as we can, by 10 February, to get these sanctions in place so that we can exercise them in the event of an incursion.

Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia)

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Andy Slaughter

Thursday 26th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

As I said, the issue here is not the policy so much as how the procedure was or was not followed.

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

In the light of continuing breaches of international humanitarian law by the Saudis, and another disregard for the law by this Government, will the Minister withdraw her appeal?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Andy Slaughter

Tuesday 21st May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

3. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the fiscal effect of the no recourse to public funds condition on local authority budgets.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss)]

I have regular discussions with the Home Secretary and the Local Government Secretary about their budgets and how they are best managed.

[Andy Slaughter]

Will the Minister at least acknowledge that there is a problem? London boroughs are spending about £50 million a year—which they have to spend, but usually under the Children Act 1989—on families in extremis with no recourse to public funds. Will she acknowledge that that is the case and look at how local authorities are funded?

[Elizabeth Truss]

The hon. Gentleman will be well aware that the spending review is coming up. If there is a specific issue with London local authorities or other local authorities, I would expect that issue to be raised by the Local Government Secretary, and I encourage the hon. Gentleman to meet him to discuss the issue.

Prison Safety and Reform

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Andy Slaughter

Thursday 3rd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend that engaging with employers is vital. We have seen some fantastic examples, such as Timpson and Virgin, which are already working closely with us. My hon. Friend the prisons Minister will be doing further work on this subject and making further announcements on it shortly.

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

I think I heard the Secretary of State admit that cutting 25% of prison officers had been a mistake, but restoring just over a third of that number might not be enough. Will she keep this under review, and can she tell me whether particularly troubled prisons such as Wormwood Scrubs, which have had a temporary uplift in staff numbers, will be able to keep those staff? Will the numbers there go up rather than down?

[Elizabeth Truss]

The number of staff we are putting in is based on the evidence of our new offender management model. The idea is that each prison officer will be responsible for supervising and mentoring six prisoners and challenging them to reform. There is an important evidential base for that programme, but we will of course continue to look at it as we develop it. We have measures in place in London prisons to help staff recruitment and retention.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Andy Slaughter

Tuesday 6th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that NPS have been a major issue in our prisons. When I visited HMP Norwich last week, I was pleased to see that it was using the new legislation to tackle that issue in the prison, to search people and to catch them out. HMP Norwich has succeeded in reducing the usage of such drugs already. I would like to see that type of programme happening more across our prison estate.

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

4. What steps her Department is taking to improve safety for prisoners and prison staff.

[Mr Speaker]

Minister at the Dispatch Box.

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Elizabeth Truss)]

Forgive me, Mr Speaker; I think that the summer recess has taken its toll on my memory of parliamentary procedure.

I am determined to ensure that our prisons are places of safety and reform. We need to help offenders to get off drugs, improve their education and get the work skills they need so they are less likely to reoffend when they come out.

[Andy Slaughter]

I thank the Secretary of State for concentrating. Does she see a connection between the long-term decline in prison officer numbers—they went down 30% between 2010 and 2013, and they are going down again—and this massive increase in assaults on staff, which went up 90% over the last Parliament?

[Elizabeth Truss]

There are many factors driving prison violence and self-harm. I am looking at the evidence about what will work and what steps we can take, but I am determined to tackle this. I am very clear that the current levels of violence are unacceptable.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Andy Slaughter

Thursday 5th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I remember standing with my hon. Friend by the roadside in Bath and breathing in the fumes. The clean air zones that we are introducing provide, for the first time, a national framework that local authorities can adopt and put in place in their area to address air quality issues, so I hope that Bath is looking at that.

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

Given that Heathrow already breaches legal maximums for nitrogen dioxide, what advice is the Secretary of State giving to her Cabinet colleagues pondering the decision on the Davies commission report, and can we still expect that decision before Christmas?

[Elizabeth Truss]

The decision is clearly a matter for the Airports Commission, which is looking into this issue. On London air quality, the plans that we are putting in place, and have modelled very carefully, will bring London into compliance by 2025, which is well before the date for the airport.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Andy Slaughter

Monday 24th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

18. What assessment he has made of the effects of the cost of child care on parents who want to work.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Elizabeth Truss)]

According to the recent Family and Childcare Trust survey, the cost of child care in England has started to fall in real terms for the first time in 12 years, whereas in Scotland, the cost of nurseries has gone up by 8% and in Wales, which is run by Labour, the cost of nurseries has gone up by 13%. That is because the Government are reducing red tape and enabling good providers to expand.

[Mr Slaughter]

That was pure fantasy. One of the best and most effective child care solutions for working parents is Sure Start. Is the Minister ashamed that 600 Sure Start centres have closed under the Government and that some Tory councils, such as Hammersmith and Fulham, have cut their budget by half?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman has got his figures wrong. In fact, Sure Start provides fewer than 4% of places. In London, which he represents, 45% of early-years places are in school nurseries. I suggest that he join the Mayor of London’s programme, which he is running with me, to encourage school nurseries to open for longer hours. What the hon. Gentleman says about children’s centres is absolute nonsense. We have increased the investment in those as well.

Forced Conversion of Schools to Academies

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Andy Slaughter

Tuesday 12th March 2013 Westminster Hall

[Elizabeth Truss]

I will not give way because I want to answer the questions that have been raised.

[Mr Slaughter]

On a point of order, Mrs Main, the Minister is not giving way because she wishes to answer the questions, but she is not addressing the subject of the debate at all.

[Mrs Anne Main (in the Chair)]

That is not a point of order.