G20 and Ukraine

Debate between Keir Starmer and Claire Young

Tuesday 25th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Will my hon. Friend please pass a message back to them to say, “Thank you for raising this”? It is important that they have done so. The fact that they raised it with him means that it has now been raised through him on the Floor of this House, so they are directly inputting into our democracy and accountability. I assure them that we are working with partners to bring about an end to the appalling situation in Sudan. It has been the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world not just in recent days and weeks, but for a very long time—it is simply worse and more intense. Will he reassure the students that we are doing everything we can with partners to bring an end to this awful situation and thank them for their input?

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

The Prime Minister referred to Putin’s barbaric attacks on civilian energy infrastructure. What discussions has he had with his G20 counterparts about learning from Ukraine’s experience to protect energy supplies and infrastructure from hostile Russian action?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising that issue. The attacks on energy supplies are intended to inflict damage on civilians in Ukraine, as they do on a regular basis, particularly as we go into the winter. We are doing two things: we are working with the Ukrainians on what more support we can give them to safeguard their energy supplies, and of course with allies we are looking at whether there are any issues we need to address in relation to any vulnerabilities we may have.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Claire Young

Wednesday 11th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I imagine when the right hon. Member says “disaster”, he is referring to the last Government.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

Q9. I have spoken to parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities who are not getting the support they need in school, but if, as a result, their child is out of school, they are left facing prosecution, fines or even prison time. Punishing parents for the failings of a broken system is outrageous, so will the Prime Minister end this by backing Lords amendment 349A to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and will he meet me to discuss this further?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Member for raising this. The epidemic of absence in our schools really does worry me. Thanks to the efforts of schools and parents across the country, we have seen over 3 million more days in school this year compared with last, which is really important, but we do know that pupils with special educational needs face more complex barriers in relation to school attendance. We will of course look at all amendments in the usual way, but in this instance I do think we have struck the right balance.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Claire Young

Wednesday 5th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

For far too long, crimes such as shoplifting have been written off as “low level.” That is wrong; such crimes are devastating. The Conservative party left us with rising crime and effectively told the police to ignore shoplifting of under £200-worth of goods. We have got rid of that shoplifters’ charter, and we are working hard to ensure that we take a grip where they lost control.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

Q7. Following the earlier question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey), I want to raise an equally troubling case. My constituent retired from the police force to care for his wife, working a part-time job to help pay the bills. As his earnings were not consistent, there were times when he was above the carer’s allowance threshold, causing later payments to be withheld. He is now owed thousands of pounds, and recently he was diagnosed with grade 4 glioblastoma, which has made the situation even more serious. Will the Prime Minister agree to look at the situation and ensure that the Department for Work and Pensions supports rather than penalises carers?

[The Prime Minister]

Again, we have obviously set up the independent review into exactly what happened in those cases, which was the right thing to do. We will look at individual circumstances, so if the hon. Member is willing to pass the details to me, we will look at them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Claire Young

Wednesday 11th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that, because in Scotland house building has ground to a halt, homelessness is at record numbers and children in temporary accommodation are at record numbers. This Budget was the biggest settlement for Scotland since devolution, so the Scottish Government have got the powers and they have got the money; what they have not got are any more excuses.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

Q2. The people of Thornbury have been promised a new health facility for more than 20 years, but they have seen every proposal fall by the wayside. That is why it was a great relief to residents when the Minister for Secondary Care) confirmed to me in writing that the funding to rebuild the centre would be made available. However, we are still months away from seeing the final plans signed off, never mind having spades in the ground. What reassurances can the Prime Minister therefore give me and my constituents that this is not just another hollow promise and that the proposals will be approved swiftly once they hit the Health Secretary’s desk?

[The Prime Minister]

What the hon. Lady raises is obviously a cause of concern for her constituents. We are determined to fix the broken NHS that we inherited from the Conservative party, and we have set out our targets in the “Plan for Change” last week. As she knows, the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and the local care board are working together to deliver for patients in her constituency. It is important, as she will appreciate, that we go through the proper business case as part of the rebuild, but I can make sure she gets a meeting with the relevant Minister to be updated on behalf of her constituents.