Contributions
2,684 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Levelling UpI think that South Shields does deserve better. That is why we are going to work with the North of Tyne Mayor to ensure that across Tyneside, both north and south, we have the…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpSpeaking as an Aberdonian and as someone who was born further north than most people in this House, I can say there is no one more northern than me. Thinking particularly about…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpMy hon. Friend is absolutely right, and in the levelling-up White Paper there is a commitment to ensure greater devolution all round. I signalled the county deals we are…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpYes, I absolutely will. The hon. Lady makes an important point. Of course improving economic productivity is at the heart of levelling up, but we also need to tackle unfair health…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpChildren in Kettering deserve the very best start in life. First, that means a relentless focus on standards and discipline. It means ensuring that we have systematic synthetic…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpMy right hon. Friend is absolutely right. We need to make sure that the additional funding available through the UK shared prosperity fund goes to all the communities in Wales…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpAbsolutely. I enjoyed visiting Grimsby and Cleethorpes earlier this week. North-east Lincolnshire is great. It is time I visited north Lincolnshire as well.02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpI am looking forward to a meeting. I recognise that there are real issues in the Wirral, which I hope we can work together to resolve.02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpI am looking forward to working with the new Conservative and Liberal Democrat Administration in Durham county—the first non-Labour Administration for many years, following on…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpI thank the hon. Gentleman. Been there, done that, got knocked back twice, so I am afraid I am not going round that course again. I will agree that it is important that we talk to…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpMy right hon. Friend is correct; that is why I sought in my statement to emphasise that levelling up can only succeed if British business and private enterprise succeed. That…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpMy right hon. Friend’s new model institute is a perfect model of what was envisaged by the former Member of Parliament for Orpington when he was the higher education Minister and…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpThe right hon. Member makes a series of good points. First, I absolutely understand the problems with the protocol, and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is working…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpThat is an offer too good to resist. I will say two things. First, Leicester and Leicestershire have much to offer, but there are also significant pockets of deprivation not just…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpMy right hon. Friend makes an important point. The Government are committed to ensuring that we have two additional freeports in Scotland, at least one in Wales and one in…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpI have to say, I agree with almost everything the hon. Gentleman said. First, it is important that we focus on rural poverty; secondly, there are unique issues in Cumbria. Local…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpThe right hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. We have taken, and continue to take, a series of steps through the supporting families programme. We are also outlining in…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for making that point. I hope to have the chance to visit him in Sheffield before too long to discuss how we can use some of the funding that…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. If we think about the technical institute in Grimsby, which was a source of pride and high-quality further education, some of the changes that…02 Feb 2022HANSARD Levelling UpI have enormous respect and affection for the hon. Lady, but at the end of her response, I do not think I heard a single question, nor did I hear her disagree with a single policy…02 Feb 2022