Business of the House

Debate between Mark Spencer and Robert Largan

Thursday 19th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

Yes, so I will not make reference to that individual. But clearly we have a responsibility in this House to make sure that we address the challenges that we face and that those individuals who do act inappropriately are weeded out and held to account. My commitment to the Chamber and to this House is to continue to weed out those who act inappropriately, and I look to working with the hon. Lady to achieve that.

[Robert Largan (High Peak) (Con)]

The five-year survival rate for those with secondary breast cancer is just 22%. I pay tribute to my amazing constituent, Gemma Ellis, who, following her own diagnosis of secondary breast cancer in 2017, founded Stage 4 Deserves More—a brilliant charity that does so much to support lots of women with secondary breast cancer. Can we have a debate on the need to turbo-charge research into this awful disease so that we can give more hope and support to thousands of women like Gemma?

[Mark Spencer]

I join my hon. Friend in commending the work of Gemma Ellis. The Government have invested over £52 million to develop the next generation of cancer and diagnostics specialists over the next two years. A new 10-year cancer plan is due to be published in the summer. I will raise his comments directly with the Health Secretary, but he has the opportunity to do that himself on 14 June at Health questions.

Business Question

Debate between Mark Spencer and Robert Largan

Thursday 12th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Robert Largan (High Peak) (Con)]

Spring brings the familiar sights of daffodils, newborn lambs and, less cheerfully, temporary traffic lights, as councils across the country rush to spend their annual roads budget before financial year end. Due to poor planning and communication between Derbyshire and Tameside councils, residents in Glossop have been subjected over the last few weeks to complete traffic gridlock as major roadworks have been approved on both of the main roads out of the town, which underlines the long-term need finally to build the Mottram bypass. In the meantime, can we have a debate on the way councils’ roads budgets work and the need for long-term strategic planning over several years, rather than the annual chaos we see every spring?

[Mark Spencer]

I am sorry to hear of the challenges my hon. Friend is facing in High Peak. He will have the opportunity at DLUHC questions on Monday to raise those matters directly with the Secretary of State. I certainly share his frustration at times of sitting at temporary traffic lights, especially when, after finally getting through those traffic lights, it does not appear that anything is happening.

Business of the House

Debate between Mark Spencer and Robert Largan

Thursday 21st April 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

I think that is something that is very much worthy of debate. I would encourage the hon. Gentleman to apply for a Back-Bench business debate or an Adjournment debate on that matter, and I join him in congratulating not only Chester Zoo but zoos up and down the country, which are informing the next generation on such matters and contributing to the debate.

[Robert Largan (High Peak) (Con)]

Recently the Egyptian-born hate preacher Omar Abdul Kafi went on a UK tour, giving lectures at Finsbury Park mosque in London and a number of venues in Leeds, Liverpool and Mayfair. Abdul Kafi has previously given sermons about killing Jews and advanced antisemitic conspiracy theories, and he is known to have directly inspired the Stockholm suicide bomber, Taimour Abdulwahab. Given these facts, can we have a debate on how on earth such an individual was allowed to enter the country and how that is compatible with the Government’s wider Prevent strategy?

[Mark Spencer]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society. We expect anyone involved in spreading hate to face the full extent of the law, which is why the UK has robust hate crime tools to support the investigation and prosecution of those who incite racial and religious hatred. I am aware that the individual has made shocking remarks in the past, and I will raise my hon. Friend’s concerns with the Home Secretary.

Business of the House

Debate between Mark Spencer and Robert Largan

Thursday 10th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

I want those businesses to succeed as well. Everyone on the Government side of the House wants to see them succeed. I want to see them create jobs for the hon. Lady’s constituents and for mine, and I want to see them make a good profit and pay their contributions in tax. The energy companies that the hon. Lady mentioned, on which she wants to see a windfall tax, are already paying a huge rate of tax to the Exchequer, and many of our constituents depend on the share values of those companies for their pensions. We have to get the balance right. We need to ensure that those companies are efficient enough to deliver the lowest level of energy costs that they can manage, but the Exchequer has provided mechanisms to support those businesses and our constituents. I think the Government are striking the right balance, and that the proposals of the hon. Lady’s party would take us in the wrong direction.

[Robert Largan (High Peak) (Con)]

High Peak is one of the safest places to live in the country, but for many years Fairfield Road in Buxton has been blighted by antisocial behaviour and drug-related crimes. I organised multi-agency meetings with the police, the fire brigade, the council, social services and the relevant housing associations so that we could develop a joined-up approach to tackling that crime and its underlying causes. I am pleased to report that since our meetings a series of arrests have been made, and the police have told me that there has been a 40% reduction in crime, but there is still a great deal more to do. With that in mind, may I ask for a debate on safer neighbourhood policing to enable us to make the case for more resources for local policing and make High Peak even safer?

[Mark Spencer]

I am delighted to hear about the extra funding and the reduction in crime in my hon. Friend’s constituency. The Government are committed to bringing down crime rates. We have already recruited 11,000 new police officers, which is over halfway to delivering on the pledge that we made at the last general election. We are giving officers more of the powers that they need to police our streets. My hon. Friend is a huge champion for his constituency, and I am delighted to hear that he is making good progress in fighting crime.