Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Jason McCartney Excerpts
Wednesday 15th June 2016

(7 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Matt Hancock Portrait Matthew Hancock
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As I said earlier, the boycott of, and discrimination against, countries is potentially illegal. The guidance that we set out was designed to make it absolutely clear that these decisions on boycotts against countries need to be taken at a national level, and it is inappropriate for local authorities to try to set their own foreign policies.

Jason McCartney Portrait Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)
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T3. The National Citizen Service has been a wonderful success in Huddersfield and Colne Valley. What more can be done to make sure that even more young people in Yorkshire can find out how to access this transformative experience?

Oliver Letwin Portrait The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr Oliver Letwin)
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My hon. Friend is right that the National Citizen Service around the country and in his own constituency has made a huge difference. There were 467 people who went through it in 2015 in Kirklees, the local authority in which his constituency lies. We are determined to increase that number. There is a new marketing campaign, and I am glad to say that 8 million hours of volunteering have so far been contributed by National Citizen Service participants. I hope my hon. Friend will see in his constituency a proportion of that effect coming through in the next year.