Topical Questions

Question

We have all heard already this morning about the importance of levelling up in our covid recovery, but in constituencies such as mine, Edinburgh West, it is also important to reinforce and remind people of the strength and support available from the UK Government. Does the Minister for the Cabinet Office agree that it is vital that we remain focused on that and on recovery, and that we do not get side-tracked by the SNP's damaging obsession with independence?

Question

Does my right hon. Friend agree that, following yesterday's Wagnerian-length Committee session, the proper place for learning from the pandemic will be in the independent public inquiry announced by our right hon. Friend the Prime Minister? Given that the chair of that inquiry will require the confidence of the nation—and not least that of this House—does the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster agree that that chair should be subject to a pre-appointment scrutiny hearing by the relevant Select Committee?

Question

I welcome the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to our first exchange at the Dispatch Box, but I only wish that it were in better circumstances. The testimony that we heard yesterday has left families across the country wondering what happened to their loved ones and how they died. It has left all of us fearing that the Government have not learned the lessons or taken the action needed to prevent more avoidable loss.<br/>The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster once said that he had<br/>“reluctantly but firmly”<br/>concluded that the Prime Minister was<br/>“not capable of…leading the party and the country in the way that I would have hoped.”<br/>The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster knows Dominic Cummings very well as his former chief of staff—better than anyone else in this House. Does he believe him to be a credible and truthful witness?

Question

I thank the Minister for his comments, but learning the right lessons could save lives and the truth matters to us all, so can he tell us which, if any, of the claims made by Dominic Cummings he is now prepared to refute at the Dispatch Box?

Question

Everyone, no matter where they grow up, should have access to the same opportunities in life. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that a key part of the levelling-up agenda will be to improve teaching and provide support for schools and skills programmes in disadvantaged areas, to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential?

Question

I am concerned that bereaved parents may be omitted from future compensation packages for victims of the contaminated blood scandal, as they were with ex gratia payments. I have written to the Paymaster General about this issue and would like her to meet me and the Smith family who lost their son Colin.

Question

I have introduced a ten-minute rule Bill to support the introduction of voter ID. Will my right hon. Friend do all he can to ensure that this will be delivered by the local elections next year?

Question

Earlier this week, the Conservative party finally published the much delayed Singh report on Islamophobia and discrimination within its own ranks. Will the Minister meet me and the Muslim Council of Britain to discuss what action is required to root out Islamophobia from our society?

Question

It is inevitable that we will see pockets of covid hotspots and variants spread throughout the country. Will my right hon. Friend say now that, wherever possible, we will try to use local measures to suppress these hotspots?

Question

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster was not mentioned in Mr Cummings' evidence. Will he commission an independent inquiry into the operation of the Cabinet Office during the pandemic?

Question

Will my right hon. Friend confirm that he is working right across all Government Departments to ensure that the commitment to levelling up is reflected in their policy agendas?

Question

My right hon. Friend highlighted how levelling up is central to the Government's agenda. The same Government spent £250 million on unusable facemasks, £133 million on faulty testing kits and £2.6 million on a briefing room at No. 10. Are their priorities wrong?

Question

My right hon. Friend will know that the UK steel sector is interconnected and that removing steel safeguards on certain products could affect UK steel businesses and jobs. At this crucial time for the UK steel industry, will he outline what steps his Department is taking to promote the use of our world-class UK steel in Government projects and down the supply chain?

Question

I was rather taken aback by the Minister saying earlier that the Government are doing all they can to support small businesses. The collapse of the construction giant Carillion in 2018 saw 780 businesses go into insolvency, while the thousands that survived—including that of Neil Skinner, whose business is in my Oldham constituency—averaged losses of more than £140,000. If the Government had implemented project bank accounts, they would have prevented many of the losses. Given that, and the Minister's response to my written questions, why is the Cabinet Office no longer monitoring the extent of the use of PBAs across Government?

Question

As my right hon. Friend knows, I am a strong proponent of the enormous new benefits that Brexit brings all of Yorkshire in international trade and funding, which we see more and more every day. Will he give his thoughts on what Brexit means for Yorkshire in the long term, particularly what it means for Rother Valley?

Question

Perhaps the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster should have read the warning signs when Dominic Cummings used to sign in at his Department, when he was Secretary of State for Education, under the name Osama bin Laden. That might have been the moment when he could have dealt with the issue. On the right hon. Gentleman's responsibility on public appointments, what is going on with that of Ofcom chair? We read in the paper today that, apparently, the appointment process has been scrapped and is to be restarted because Paul Dacre failed under the current rules, so those rules are being rewritten so he can apply a second time and be appointed.

Question

Yesterday, Mr Cummings said the Prime Minister was not fit for office and had been lying. I believe and support the Prime Minister. Does the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster agree that the Prime Minister is right, or Mr Cummings?

Question

Changing Faces has convinced the Welsh Government to sign up to its Pledge To Be Seen campaign on including people with visible differences and disfigurements in Government publications. Will my right hon. Friend consider doing likewise so that Government information campaigns across the UK are as inclusive as possible?