G20 and COP26 World Leaders Summit

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Boris Johnson
Wednesday 3rd November 2021

(2 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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What I can tell the hon. Lady is that we continue to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels of all kinds, and we will be going for complete net zero in our power production by 2035, moving beyond coal by 2024. I think it was a Scottish National party Minister who said that oil was still a part of Scotland’s future. I will say nothing about the Cambo oilfield. What I will say is that there is a future for hydrocarbons in so far as we can liberate hydrogen and make clean energy.

Stephen Hammond Portrait Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)
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I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his leadership of COP, particularly the achievement of getting 100 countries to sign up to the methane pledge. He will know, however, that some of the biggest emitters have not signed up. When will the power of the room, which he described a moment ago, be on those countries to sign up to the pledge as well?

Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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Now. We are just going to keep going. This is a rolling series of negotiations. We are ringing people up the whole time. COP is in full flow at the moment.

Health and Social Care

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Boris Johnson
Tuesday 7th September 2021

(2 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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I do not think there is anything much inherited on the left, the right or the middle of this particular trio. Again, I find it extraordinary that the Scottish nationalist party would rather not have the Union dividend that this programme produces. The people of Scotland need to look at what is now being offered in terms of raising the thresholds for protection and helping people across the UK, and I hope that we can all move forward together.

Stephen Hammond Portrait Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)
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I commend my right hon. Friend for keeping a promise that he made on the first day of his premiership and for his frankness about the difficulties of funding the challenges. There will be millions of hard-working families today looking at his proposals for the cap and floor and welcoming them. Can he confirm that the cap will cover all types of care—residential and domiciliary—and that, given that there is likely to be a need for more care workers, there will be up to £500 million as a training fund within the levy?

Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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I thank my hon. Friend, who knows a great deal about this issue and the pressures that the sector faces. I can tell him that, yes, of course it covers both residential and domiciliary, and yes, there is a £500 million fund to help the caring profession, and we will provide 700,000 training places as a direct result of what we are doing today.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Boris Johnson
Wednesday 25th November 2020

(3 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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As the hon. Lady knows, the Government are committed to the 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution, which will generate 250,000 jobs across the country just in the immediate term. I hope very much that BioYorkshire will be among the beneficiaries, and I cannot see any reason why it should not be.

Stephen Hammond Portrait Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)
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The news of the covid vaccine is great for both my constituents in Wimbledon and people across the country, but I believe that when my constituents get sick, they should have the right to access the highest-quality healthcare. The plans to improve and invest in St Helier Hospital would do just that. Will the Prime Minister work with me to ensure that those plans are brought forward as quickly as possible, despite the opposition from local Labour politicians?

Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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Yes, indeed. How typical of Labour politicians locally to oppose what they call for nationally. I am proud that we are going ahead with a brand new state-of-the-art hospital to be built in Sutton, with most services staying put in modernised buildings at Epsom and St Helier. The new hospital will come as part of the Government’s commitment, as I say, to build 48 hospitals by 2030 in the biggest hospital building programme of a generation.

Covid-19: Winter Plan

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Boris Johnson
Monday 23rd November 2020

(3 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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I certainly will make sure that the hon. Member’s delegation is properly received and that we try to come up with a solution.

Stephen Hammond Portrait Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)
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Prime Minister, you will know more than anyone else in this House that London is a wonderful diverse city. Many Londoners will welcome much of your statement. However, we are not a single homogenous unit. So can I have your reassurance that when considering the tier system, you will look at the regulations, consider London borough by borough and not treat us all as one unit?

Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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Alas, the virus is no respecter of borough boundaries, as I understand things. My hon. Friend is, of course, totally right in his analysis. The incidence is different in different parts of the city, but there are many things that unite London and encourage transmission across its vast network and I am afraid that is still I think the most sensible way of dealing with it.

Covid-19

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Boris Johnson
Tuesday 22nd September 2020

(3 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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I increasingly think it is disgraceful that the Labour Opposition continue to blame NHS Test and Trace for the resurgence of the disease. There is a complete hiatus in their logic. They are talking absolute nonsense. Testing and tracing has very little or nothing to do with the spread or the transmission of the disease. The spread and the transmission of the disease is caused by contact between human beings and all the things that we are trying to minimise. Of course NHS Test and Trace is vital, but the way to fix the problem now is for the whole country to follow this package of guidance, drive the R down and allow both education and the economy to continue. There is a complete flaw in the Opposition’s logic.

Stephen Hammond Portrait Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)
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I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. It is clear that the country is now living with covid, probably for six months but maybe longer. We know that life changes, so will he commit to regular reviews of these measures, to ensure their necessity? As life keeps going, we need families, so will he consider an early review of the rule of six for primary school children, so that they can meet grandparents, cousins and aunts?

Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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We will, of course, keep all these measures under review continually. None of them are measures that we want to bring in, but they are measures that we believe are necessary, and I am delighted that they are supported by the Labour party.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Boris Johnson
Wednesday 8th July 2020

(3 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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I think we should have absolutely zero tolerance for violence or aggression towards people who work in shops, just as we have zero tolerance for people who are aggressive towards those who work in our public services, and we will do everything we can to ensure that that is the case.

Stephen Hammond Portrait Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)
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There was a welcome relaxation of lockdown rules on Saturday, but some sectors, such as health and beauty, the performing arts, language schools, events providers and the wedding industry, are still not able to open. Will my right hon. Friend publish a timetable so that there can be some hope and certainty for these industries?

Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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My hon. Friend raises a very important point. As he knows, on 10 May we set out our plan for cautiously getting our economy open again, and we will be saying more later this week about the next steps and the timetable we hope to follow.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Boris Johnson
Wednesday 18th March 2020

(4 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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I repeat the answer I have given several times to several of the hon. Lady’s colleagues: we will do whatever it takes to ensure that all workers are protected throughout this crisis.

Stephen Hammond Portrait Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)
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Q7. Like so many colleagues, I extend my thanks to the NHS and all the frontline staff, but also offer my thanks to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Health Secretary for their leadership in this crisis, which is warmly welcomed by many in my constituency. The news from the major food retailers this morning was welcome, but many over-70s and people who are vulnerable or self-isolating will be concerned that they will still have problems with access to food and medicines throughout this period. Will he confirm what the Government are doing to ensure that all retailers and pharmacists are going to prioritise those groups throughout the whole of this virus crisis?

Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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We are extending the hours in which deliveries can be made, and we are talking right now with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee about ensuring that pharmaceutical goods get at the right time to the customers who need them.

Transport Infrastructure

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Boris Johnson
Tuesday 11th February 2020

(4 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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As I just said to the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards), north Wales will benefit from the line to Crewe. We have already electrified the line to Cardiff. I urge the hon. Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock) to get on to his friends in the Welsh Labour Government, who squandered £144 million on a study for the bypass of the M4, which they then decided not to do.

Stephen Hammond Portrait Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)
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I warmly welcome what my right hon. Friend has said today, particularly the announcement on HS2 and the review of the governance arrangements. Can he confirm that he will use this as an opportunity to embed the skills we need to deliver that infrastructure and open academies such as the tunnelling academy he opened during the Crossrail construction period?

Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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Yes, indeed. I well remember working with my hon. Friend on that project and many others. This will drive jobs and apprenticeships for young people for a generation to come.