Speaker’s Statement

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Monday 18th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Again, I would have to look at the particulars. I would look at the specifics; I would assess what was being proposed; and I would make a judgment about it. I prefer at this stage to rest on what I have already said about the principle that something should be different, not the same or substantially the same. I would have to look at the specifics in the circumstances of the time.

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. We are now 11 days, six hours, 21 minutes and about 40 seconds from leaving. This can be described as nothing other than a constitutional crisis. Can you advise us how we can bring forward an emergency motion on revoking article 50?

[Mr Speaker]

Emergency motions—I say this as much for the benefit of people observing our proceedings as for Members of the House—are capable of being requested under Standing Order No. 24. The hon. Lady will know that any Member can apply for the right to conduct a Standing Order No. 24 debate on a motion and that that request is, in the first instance, submitted to me. If I decide that the application can be made in a speech of up to three minutes, it is made on the Floor of the House. If I decide that the application is valid, and the application is supported, the debate can take place, and there is nothing to stop such debates taking place in the ensuing days. Many have taken place before—obviously, on nothing like the scale of urgent questions—and I have no reason to suppose that it will be different in the future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Monday 11th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Very good of the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake) to join us. He will be pleased to know that he is just in time.

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

My constituent received an unexpected late payment for temporary work during his UC assessment period, which resulted in a nil award. Surely the time has come to ensure that the assessment period recognises when the money was earned and not when it was received.

Business of the House

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Monday 10th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Carol Monaghan.

[Carol Monaghan]

Good choice, Mr Speaker. I was due to speak tonight to represent the views of my constituents, and I am extremely frustrated that I will not be given that opportunity. I am also suspicious about the timing of the return of the debate. Can the Leader of the House assure us that it will not return to the House in the week beginning 24 December?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Thursday 29th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Stunning, absolutely stunning—the articulacy and the accent. What a dramatic performance by the right hon. Gentleman.

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

I believe that the 13 Scottish Tories have all signed the latest pledge of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation to reject the Prime Minister’s deal. Will the Secretary of State do the same?

[Mr Speaker]

In fact, I was almost as pleased with the right hon. Gentleman’s performance as possibly was the right hon. Gentleman.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Tuesday 9th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We have heard it from Harlow, so I think we should hear it from Glasgow.

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

20. Thank you, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to come in on this question. Scotland aims to be the world’s first trauma-aware nation by considering the link between adverse childhood experience and future offending, so will the Minister look at the work being done in Scotland to break the cycle of offending and imprisonment of some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society?

NATO

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Wednesday 20th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

We have heard already this afternoon that Russian activity in the high north and the Black sea has reached levels not seen since the cold war. The NATO summit must be used to discuss and strengthen the alliance’s maritime strategy. The Russian activity off Scotland’s west coast is now at critical level. Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach has warned that British anti-submarine capability has been seriously neglected due to underfunding. The scrapping of the Nimrod fleet in 2010 has left us unable to react to the emerging Russian threat. We must ensure that we, as a NATO member, remain agile enough to respond to future threats, wherever and whatever they may be.

I was in Romania recently as part of a parliamentary delegation, and concerns were raised repeatedly about Russian activity in the Black sea. The annexation of Crimea has given Russia a launch platform in the Black sea, which has already enabled it to intensify air and sea activities in the area. That, of course, is also a threat to oil and gas pipelines.

Romania is grateful that the UK has sent Typhoons to the Black sea as part of the NATO mission, but Russia continues to flex its muscles in the Ukraine and northern Moldova. It courts NATO members in the Balkans and Turkey, and floods other eastern European countries with propaganda.

Romania is pressing for the Black sea to be a specific agenda item at the summit. That, however, has been repeatedly blocked by Turkey—a NATO member that is getting far too close to Russia. I urge the Secretary of State to support Romania’s calls for a frank discussion of the Black sea at the summit.

Finally, I echo the comments from the hon. Members for Wakefield (Mary Creagh) and for Gedling (Vernon Coaker). Many Members have viewed with horror the pictures of children who have been cruelly ripped from their parents’ arms. Their cries and distress will be hard for us to forget, and this pernicious policy has no place anywhere in the world. I urge the Secretary of State to use any influence he has as a fellow NATO member to send a clear message to President Trump that his actions are not endorsed by the Bible, that we in the UK unequivocally condemn them and that children should never be used as pawns in a political game.

[Mr Speaker]

If the hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Ross Thomson) could confine himself to four minutes or less, that would be appreciated by the House. I call Ross Thomson.

European Union (Withdrawal) Bill: Sewel Convention

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Thursday 14th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Carol Monaghan.

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

Good choice, Mr Speaker.

Given the recent assurances on the Northern Ireland border, will the Secretary of State make a commitment that if Northern Ireland gets a bespoke deal on regulatory alignment, he will be fighting to protect Scotland’s interests and ensure that Scotland gets a similar deal?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Monday 5th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Carol Monaghan—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!] The hon. Lady just did not how popular she was.

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

T9. I am enjoying the recognition, Mr Speaker. The National Audit Office has revealed that the cost of the Dreadnought and Astute programmes has now risen by nearly £1 billion. Can the Secretary of State confirm that there will be no further cuts to conventional forces to meet the rising costs of Trident?

Presidents Club Charity Dinner

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Wednesday 24th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

Obviously, the Minister has been fairly robust in the comments she has made so far, but she said that those men “do not know where the line should be”. This event was billed as

“the most un-PC event of the year”,

so they clearly do know where the line should be, and they decided to cross it. We have heard reports of toilets being monitored and of women who were lingering too long in them being called out and led back to the ballroom. That is not sexism; that is slavery. It is appalling. I was a teacher for 20 years, and I had occasion to deal with sexism, but never on this scale or to this degree. Back in October, the previous Secretary of State for Education said that

“sexist…language must have no place in our society, and parliamentarians of all parties have a duty to stamp out this sort of behaviour wherever we encounter it”.

We might think that everyone agreed with that statement, but we need to ask ourselves whether the current Secretary of State and the Government really do agree with it. This comes at the start of what we were told would be a radical shake-up of the culture of sexual harassment—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I recognise the extreme sensitivity of this subject, and I respect the hon. Lady and want to hear what she has to say, but she has now exceeded her time. She has given us a real sense of her anger, and I ask her now to put her question, please.

[Carol Monaghan]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will put a couple of questions. First, what message does this send to our young people, and how are we giving our teachers the ability to fight sexism when the Government are appointing such people to prominent roles? I also ask the Minister, what screening is being carried out of people who are being appointed to all Departments?

Air Quality Strategy

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Monday 24th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Carol Monaghan.

[Carol Monaghan]

Good choice, Mr Speaker. Electric vehicles will reduce emissions in our city centres and improve urban air quality. Without support for renewables, however, any air quality plan simply shifts pollution from urban to rural areas because such electric vehicles need to be plugged into the grid to charge. Does the Secretary of State agree that support for renewables is key when we consider future electric vehicles and should be included in any air quality plan?

New Partnership with the EU

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Tuesday 17th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I will come to the hon. Lady in a moment.

I am most grateful to the Secretary of State for the experience of the last one hour and 46 minutes in which we could treat of these matters, and I am advised that no fewer than 84 Back-Bench Members had the opportunity to question the right hon. Gentleman. I hope there has been a decent exploration of the issues, and I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on the strength of his knee muscles.

Point of Order

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Tuesday 17th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Last week during Department for Work and Pensions questions, I asked the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work how people with mental health issues could continue to receive appropriate support if the Glasgow jobcentres were closed. The Minister responded by saying that

“my hon. Friend the Minister for Welfare Reform has met Scottish Ministers to discuss the issue.”—[Official Report, 9 January 2017; Vol. 619, c. 15.]

First, there is currently no Minister for Welfare Reform. Secondly, I have been informed by Scottish ministerial colleagues that no such meetings have taken place. Would it be in order for the Minister to come back to the Chamber to clarify the situation?

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for giving me notice of her point of order, to which I was about to respond, but I see that the Minister in question is on the Treasury Bench and is anxious to catch my eye. I do not want to disappoint her.

[Mr Speaker]

That was a gracious acknowledgement of the situation by the Minister, and I feel that honour has been served.

[Carol Monaghan]

indicated assent.

[Mr Speaker]

The nod of the head from the hon. Member for Glasgow North West (Carol Monaghan) confirms that she is content with that outcome. I thank the Minister, and we will leave it there. If there are no further points of order, we come now to the ten-minute rule motion, for which the hon. Member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr Burrowes) has been patiently waiting for nearly two hours.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Wednesday 12th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The Secretary of State and his daughter did a fantastic job as well, as did the constituency Member of Parliament.

[Carol Monaghan]

Given that Brexit continues to be billed as taking back control, will the Secretary of State tell us which of the powers currently controlled by Brussels the UK Government will commit to giving to Holyrood and which will be re-reserved to Westminster?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Monday 13th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

If she can ask her question in one short sentence, I shall call Carol Monaghan.

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

Will the Secretary of State work with organisations such as the Red Cross to explore alternative ways of submitting family reunion applications, to avoid dangerous journeys to third-party countries?

[Mr Speaker]

The Minister has less than 15 seconds to respond.

“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Monday 9th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for today’s statement. Many school communities will also welcome today’s announcement. Although I, like many teachers across these isles, would love to think that the Government do listen to teachers, the reality seems to be that this embarrassing U-turn on a centrepiece Budget announcement has been brought about by a handful of the Government’s own Back Benchers. Those who have the greatest impact on the success of a school are teachers, and a first-rate headteacher can turn a school around regardless of whether it is an academy, but there is no doubt that this grand plan has caused great anxiety, and teachers who are already struggling with severe workload issues have had an additional burden placed on them by the academisation plan. The Secretary of State says that academies allow schools the freedom to innovate with the curriculum—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Mr Austin, you are as noisy now as you were in the debating chamber of the University of Essex student union where you noisily, belligerently and discourteously heckled me 30 years ago. [Interruption.] Order. The hon. Lady—and all Members—must be heard with courtesy. May I gently say to her that her chance of getting a courteous hearing will be increased if, rather than making a statement, she asks a question?

[Carol Monaghan]

The ability of schools to set their own pay scales will raise questions around teachers’ pay and recruitment, and there is concern that the long-term impact of academies will mean higher salaries and better terms and conditions in some better-funded academies. What consideration—[Hon. Members: “Hooray!”] I am glad that I amuse the House. What consideration has the Secretary of State given to teacher recruitment in poorer areas in terms of being able to attract the teachers they need to raise attainment? We in the Scottish National party are firmly committed to national bargaining in the public sector. How will she ensure that, by abandoning nationally agreed pay scales, this will not affect recruitment and retention in more challenging schools?

Shipbuilding on the Clyde

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Monday 25th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Tom Pursglove (Corby) (Con)]

Following on from the question from the hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr Wright)—

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We can come to points of order later. I say to Carol Monaghan that I do not know what has exercised her, but we cannot deal with the matter now. We will have points of order afterwards, when I will happily hear her. [Interruption.] There is a certain amount of gesticulation going on. Members on the Labour Benches and the SNP Benches should calm down. I will come to the point of order at the appropriate time if it is still germane. Now, we must all unite in hearing Mr Tom Pursglove.

--- Later in debate ---

[Carol Monaghan]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

Points of order come after statements, and there are a number of statements. That is the way in which we deal with these matters, and that is how it will be handled today.

Points of Order

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Monday 25th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I apologise to you for attempting to raise it earlier, at an inopportune moment, but I was so outraged by events that took place during our exchanges on the urgent question about shipbuilding on the Clyde that I became over-enthusiastic. In 20 years of teaching in a comprehensive school in Glasgow, I was never subjected to language such as that to which SNP Members were subjected by the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock). May I ask you, Mr Speaker, how we should go about making an official complaint?

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her point of order. Before I respond—I will have some words to say—I of course invite the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock) to respond.

Business of the House

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Thursday 21st April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

My constituent Munir Butt arrived in the UK as an eight-year-old child with his parents and siblings 48 years ago, in 1968. He has lived his whole life in the UK: he has been educated here, and he has married and has two grown-up children. When applying for a new job last year, he was asked to produce a passport—something he never had before—and he was then told that he is here illegally. I have written to the Home Secretary about the issue, and I have yet to receive a response. The Home Office approach seems to centre on my constituent’s parents’ marriage certificate from rural Kenya in the late ’50s. All his siblings have passports. My constituent has no income now and cannot apply for benefits because he is believed to be here illegally.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I say very gently to the hon. Lady that I recognise this is an extremely serious matter, but—this is by way of a tip to her and other Members—it is always a good idea, whatever the matter at hand, to get in the request for a debate or a statement early in one’s inquiry. In any case, I feel modestly optimistic that the question mark is on its way.

[Carol Monaghan]

Thank you for your tip, Mr Speaker. Will the Leader of the House agree to a debate on the residential status of historical immigrants?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Carol Monaghan

Monday 25th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

The Government’s plans for introducing 30 hours of free childcare for working parents have rightly received cross-party support, but, as we have already heard, there is still some way to go with regard to parents seeking employment. What work will the Minister do with parents who are currently seeking employment to enable them to access the childcare?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Lady appears to have phoned not one friend, but two. We are deeply grateful to her and to those hon. Members.