Oral Answers to Questions

Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts

Wednesday 30th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jo Stevens]

Wales is the second-best recycling nation in the whole world.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

[Mims Davies (East Grinstead and Uckfield) (Con)]

Attacking the Welsh hospitality sector with the Welsh Government’s disastrous tourism tax is supposedly a good plan, yet their impact assessment warns of a potential loss of over a quarter of a billion pounds of taxpayers’ money. Meanwhile, last week Labour pulled the plug on funding for the western gateway, a vital scheme focused on boosting the Welsh economy. Can the Secretary of State now explain to taxpayers what the £205 million will actually do for Cardiff airport, and does she regret both Governments’ decisions? Today, the chief executive officer of Bristol airport has openly voiced huge concerns about the Welsh Labour Government’s decision to spend the money on Cardiff airport, with no obvious benefit or transparency—a move costing each Welsh household an additional £300.

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[Gill German (Clwyd North) (Lab)]

Yesterday, Wales lost a musical icon with the passing of Mike Peters from The Alarm. Mike had an extraordinary relationship with his fans, and he brought thousands of visitors from across the world into the area for his annual event, the Gathering. Mike Peters, his warmth and his music put north Wales on the map for visitors from far and wide. Will my right hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to Mike and to the power of music to bring people together like nothing else?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am sure that the answer will be about the impact of the levy.

[Jo Stevens]

Music tourism is a huge part of the Welsh visitor economy, and I was very sad to hear about Mike Peters’ death. Mike and The Alarm were the sounds of my teenage years when I was growing up in north Wales. He was a proud Welshman, a hugely talented musician and a man of incredible resilience. As well as bringing music tourism to north Wales, he dedicated much of his life to charitable work to support blood cancer patients, and I know he will be missed.

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[Dame Nia Griffith]

I understand that the hon. Member is bringing forward a private Member’s Bill on domestic abuse. We recognise that being able to identify domestic abuse offenders is critical, but the Government are not convinced that the Bill provides a solution to that challenge. However, the Ministry of Justice will continue to consider how it can make improvements to how we identify offenders.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West and Islwyn) (Lab)]

Tomorrow I will be visiting the new sexual violence support centre in Rothbury House in my constituency, along with Jane Hutt, the Welsh Government Minister for Social Justice. This great new facility will support many people in my constituency and the surrounding areas for years to come. Will the Minister join me in applauding the vital work of the staff—many of them volunteers—who provide lifesaving support to women in need?

[Dame Nia Griffith]

I pay tribute to that support centre, and indeed to the many organisations the length and breadth of Wales that help women fleeing domestic violence. As my hon. Friend knows, we work very closely with the Welsh Government. Indeed, I spoke to Cabinet Secretary Jane Hutt only yesterday. As my hon. Friend will also know, the Welsh Government launched their own strategy for combating violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence back in 2022, and they are carefully monitoring progress on it.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

[Mims Davies (East Grinstead and Uckfield) (Con)]

The House will be as horrified as I was to learn from a shocking report in The Times that a Labour-led local authority apparently showed teenagers a PowerPoint in which they were urged to seek consent from their partner before choking them during sex. It is abhorrent to even attempt to normalise strangling in a loving relationship—indeed, in any relationship. It is important to note that the council in question did not categorically deny this at first, but did so after there was, rightly, a backlash. Does the Minister agree that even considering showing such appalling content to pupils in Welsh schools is totally unacceptable, and will she undertake to hold her colleagues to account on this part of the so-called Welsh curriculum?

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[Jo Stevens]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I definitely believe that the UK is stronger with the four nations working together.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[David Chadwick (Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe) (LD)]

There is no greater threat to our Union than the feeling that workers in one nation matter less than those in another. People in and around Port Talbot feel that they have had a rotten deal. Can the Minister explain why, under the deal that her Government did with Tata, workers who had been at the company for longer than 25 years did not have that service reflected in their redundancy payments, and why workers wishing to access the retraining elements had to forgo their rights to the enhanced redundancy payment? Is it true that, as has been reported, as of February, only three people had applied for that scheme?

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[Clive Jones]

I associate myself with the remarks of the Prime Minister about the professionalism of our armed forces, and I too congratulate Mark Carney on being elected Prime Minister of Canada. I also congratulate everybody who took part in the London marathon. Both my daughters have done it, but it is sadly something I cannot do any more. Later today, I will introduce a Bill to guarantee that Parliament has the final say on any trade deal, including any agreement with President Trump. This idea is not new; it is exactly what Labour promised to do in an official policy paper put forward in 2001, so I am asking this Government to keep their promise. Currently, Members of Parliament have no vote or voice on trade deals. Will the Prime Minister—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I think the hon. Gentleman is on a marathon himself. I call the Prime Minister.

[Dan Tomlinson (Chipping Barnet) (Lab)]

Q2. Mr Speaker,“there is going to have to be a coming together of Reform and the Conservative party in some way”—a deal, a pact or a merger. Those are not my words, but the words of the most senior Tory in elected public office in the country, the Mayor of the Tees Valley. If senior Tories are plotting it, and the Leader of the Opposition will not deny it, is not the only way to stop the plot to vote Labour tomorrow?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. There is no need to answer that, Prime Minister; you have no responsibility for any of that.

[Mrs Kemi Badenoch (North West Essex) (Con)]

On Monday, the Prime Minister’s safeguarding Minister—the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, the hon. Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips)—admitted on the Floor of the House that there was a cover-up of the child rape gang scandal. Does the Prime Minister think we should expose this cover-up?

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[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise the disgraceful record of the previous Government, who saw an extra 900,000 children in poverty. I am proud of Labour’s record in reducing child poverty, which is what we do in government, and the taskforce is exploring every lever to reduce child poverty.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

[Ed Davey (Kingston and Surbiton) (LD)]

On behalf of my party, may I send our congratulations to Mark Carney and the Liberal party of Canada on their historic victory? We wish them well, as Canada continues to stand up strongly to President Trump’s tariffs and threats. Canada has learned what happens when a trade deal is done with President Trump; he cannot be trusted to stick with it. The Prime Minister did not answer my question last week, nor he did answer my hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (Clive Jones) just now. Let me ask again. Will the Government give Members a vote on the Floor of the House on any deal he agrees with President Trump—yes or no?