Oral Answers to Questions

James Morris Excerpts

Wednesday 29th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

The hon. Gentleman asks a very important question. Following the world humanitarian summit, we have been leading the charge—working with others in the system, including the head of the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Stephen O’Brien—on how to get better efficiencies and improve ways of working, which are crucial. The east African crisis has shown how we can deliver aid more effectively through our partnership working, but also how we can reform our ways of working, which we need to improve continually.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

4. What steps her Department is taking to support stability and prosperity in Afghanistan.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Priti Patel)]

Britain has a proven track record of supporting Afghanistan and a long-term commitment to the country’s future. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said on Monday, we will continue to support Afghanistan’s security and development because that is in Afghanistan’s interests, but also in our national interest.

[James Morris]

Although huge progress has been made in Afghanistan on the education of women and girls, does the Secretary of State agree that long-term stability and prosperity in Afghanistan depend on women and girls being able to make a full contribution to business, political and civic life?

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I saw that myself when I visited Afghanistan recently. Women and girls are key to delivering real and long-lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan. Its Government are fully committed to that and we will continue to work with and support them to achieve it.

Oral Answers to Questions

James Morris Excerpts

Monday 8th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jones]

This Government are absolutely committed to the full integration of health and social care by 2020, and we will require all areas to have a clear plan for achieving that by 2017. The hon. Gentleman will also be interested to know that, by the end of the decade, the spending review does include more than £500 million for the disabled facilities grant, which is more than double the amount this year. That will fund around 85,000 home adaptations by that year, and is expected to prevent 8,500 people from needing to go into a care home by 2019-20.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

17. Adult social care will be one of the biggest challenges that we face over the next several decades. Does the Minister agree that more needs to be done to integrate health and social care, particularly building on the success of the Better Care Fund, to encourage local authorities to work with local health providers to come up with innovative solutions for adult social care?

[Mr Jones]

I know that my hon. Friend is a real campaigner on this issue. As he identifies, the Better Care Fund is paying dividends. We are seeing significant joint working through the Better Care Fund, which, in many areas, is reducing delayed transfers of care from hospital. We are absolutely intent on spreading best practice around all areas of the country. Plans are also in place to improve areas that are the most challenged.

Oral Answers to Questions

James Morris Excerpts

Wednesday 16th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

We are constantly working with United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations to try to improve our access within Syria. We estimate that there are probably around 500,000 people, including children, that we cannot reach, but we will try our level best to ensure that we maintain our existing network and to reach into those areas as the fighting stops.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

T8. Does the Secretary of State agree that her Department has a vital role to play in delivering on the UK Government’s commitments that were signed at the climate change conference in Paris last week?

[Justine Greening]

Absolutely. In fact, DFID is scaling up our renewable energy work in Africa. We are expanding the provision of climate risk insurance in vulnerable countries, and we are also supporting increased investment in low-carbon technology and clean energy research.

Oral Answers to Questions

James Morris Excerpts

Wednesday 18th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

What I would say to the hon. Lady is that nationwide we have 1,000 more GPs in the NHS. In her constituency, there are eight more GPs compared with 2010, there are 317 more GPs in the London area, and the Royal College of General Practitioners, which has often criticised the Government, has said that there has never been a better time to go into general practice.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Q3. The black country economy in the west midlands has been one of the fastest growing local economies of any region in the United Kingdom over the last two years, with more investment in manufacturing, new high-skill jobs, more exports and better opportunities for local people in my constituency. Would the Prime Minister agree that as part of our long-term economic plan, the people in the black country can be proud of that industrial revival, and be confident in saying that things are made in the black country and sold around the world?

Afghanistan

James Morris Excerpts

Wednesday 14th May 2014 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

One thing I have tried to strengthen in DFID is programme management capability, which includes the way in which and the speed with which we respond to programmes that are not on track. We look at Afghanistan, and other such places, because it is such a challenging environment for us to deliver and monitor projects while they are happening on the ground. The hon. Gentleman raises a perfectly good point, and I can assure him that this is a good time for us to look at our Afghanistan programme given the transition that has taken place in the delivery of our projects—some of our projects used the provincial reconstruction team in Helmand, but now we have retrenched within Kabul. I assure him that we are planning ahead to understand what the next three-year outlook should be for our livelihoods programmes and to make them a success.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

The Secretary of State is right to emphasise the importance of regional economic integration for the future of Afghanistan. Will she say a bit more about how the UK Government can influence regional players to ensure that that integration becomes a reality?

[Justine Greening]

The Foreign Office has played an important role in bringing together Afghanistan and Pakistan in so-called trilateral talks, which were hosted here in the UK. Our Prime Minister led those talks with the Prime Minister of Pakistan and President Karzai of Afghanistan. That gives us a good platform for playing a constructive role. My Department is talking with countries in the region about their infrastructure needs, which will potentially provide the backbone for economic growth to take place successfully.

Oral Answers to Questions

James Morris Excerpts

Wednesday 9th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Q8. The number of apprenticeship starts in my constituency is now at a record high. Next week, I am holding the second Halesowen and Rowley Regis apprenticeship fair at St Michael’s school in Rowley Regis. Does the Prime Minister agree that investing in apprenticeships and skills is a critical part of our long-term economic plan to give local people in the black country the skills they need to get good quality jobs and secure their future?

[The Prime Minister]

I join my hon. Friend in what he says. We have seen 185,000 apprenticeship starts in the west midlands under this Government. We now have 1.6 million nationwide, so we are on target for 2 million during this Parliament. I want to ensure that we continue to grow apprenticeships and see an increase in the quality of apprenticeships. Crucially, we want to see better information for young people in school when they are deciding the pathway they want to take, whether it is an academic pathway through university or looking at apprenticeships. We will be doing more on that front.

Oral Answers to Questions

James Morris Excerpts

Wednesday 13th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

What this Government are delivering are 1 million private sector jobs and the fastest rate of new business creation in this country’s history. We have paid down the deficit by 25% and have cut immigration by a third. We have a long, hard road to travel, but we are going in the right direction.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

I am sure that the Prime Minister will wish to add his condolences to the family and friends of Christina Edkins, who was murdered on a bus to school in my constituency last Thursday morning.

The Government have rightly introduced minimum custodial sentences for people convicted of threatening someone with a knife, but does the Prime Minister agree that it is time to introduce a legal assumption that people carrying a knife intend to use it and should attract a prison sentence, so that we can redouble our efforts to rid our communities of the scourge of knives?

[The Prime Minister]

I think that my hon. Friend speaks for the whole House and, indeed, the whole country on the absolute revulsion at this horrific crime. I know that the whole House will wish to join me in sending our sincere condolences to Christina Edkins’s family.

We take knife crime extremely seriously, which is why, as my hon. Friend has said, we changed the law so that any adult who commits a crime with a knife can expect to be sent to prison, and for a serious offence they should expect a very log sentence. I will happily look at what my hon. Friend suggests. My right hon. Friend the Justice Secretary is currently reviewing the powers available to the courts to deal with knife possession and will bring forward proposals in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

James Morris Excerpts

Wednesday 17th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

There are schemes like the regional growth fund that people in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency will be able to apply for to help to deal with issues such as improving the level of housing. That is one of the schemes that we have. We also have a huge programme for upgrading and building new homes through the new rent scheme. All these can make a difference, and he can talk to his constituents about them.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Sandwell metropolitan borough, part of which I represent, has very high levels of deprivation. Can the Prime Minister reassure the children and parents from schools in Sandwell that the Government, particularly with their pupil premium policy, are on the side of children and families in Sandwell?

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely can do that, because we made some difficult choices in the spending review to say that we are going to put more money into early-years education for two-year-olds from deprived families. That was previously not available. We are going to fund extra hours for three and four-year-olds in nursery education. We are going to make sure that there is a pupil premium, never dreamed of by a Labour Government in 13 years in office, that is over and above the per-pupil funding in our schools. Then we are going to carry that through to university so that children on free school meals will get some time at university for free and will not have to pay the student premiums. All those things will make a big difference, and they show that this is a Government who have made some progressive choices in education, even though we inherited a mess that we had to clear up.