Alex Barros-Curtis MP: speeches

Speeches

• 8 May 2025 · Flooding: Protecting Vulnerable Communities · Hansard source

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  7. What steps he has taken to help protect communities vulnerable to flooding.

• 7 May 2025 · New Nuclear Projects: Wylfa · Hansard source

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  Last year’s Welsh Labour manifesto said that our two Labour Governments in Wales would explore the opportunities for new nuclear at Wylfa. Could my hon. Friend elaborate a little on that, bearing in mind the extensive history provided by the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Llinos Medi) gave? I was listening carefully, and it was excellent to listen to. We have, of course, been in power for only 10 months, after 14 years of failure. Will my hon. Friend expand a little more on that point, further to the commitment we made to the electorate in Wales last year?

• 27 Feb 2025 · St David’s Day and Welsh Affairs · Hansard source

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  Very briefly.

• 5 Feb 2025 · Chagos Islands · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Mr Speaker. Apologies. Will the Minister reassure me, as he has in his response and in countless statements before, that when the treaty comes before the House, securing our national security will be paramount through a process that, as he said, was started under the previous Government?

• 30 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Sixteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I appreciate the shadow Minister’s zeal in desiring to see this Bill on the statute book as quickly as possible, and in many ways I agree with her. Following on from what my hon. Friend the Minister has said, my concern is that putting in something that is perhaps impractical, and may have unintended consequences, might undermine the good intention that no doubt underpins her new clause. For example, if new clause 6 became part of an Act and, for whatever reason, the draft regulations were not published within two months, and therefore the Government failed to meet the requirement in subsection (1), would subsection (4) not mean that clause 168(4) could never be implemented? Would that not have the opposite effect to what I think she is trying to achieve?

• 30 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Sixteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I join the Minister in congratulating everyone involved in the Bill, including the Clerks and everybody behind the scenes. On the question of history, I think I recall from our copious sessions the mention of LADbible, in which the Minister has featured four times. I wonder whether we can make history by getting him featured a fifth time once the Bill gets into statute.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Thirteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I will.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Thirteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I rise to speak to amendments 4, 95 and 94; as they are very similar, my comments will apply in the generality. It is disappointing to hear the shadow Minister’s cynicism about the commitments made by the Minister at the Dispatch Box.

• 23 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Twelfth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I am grateful that the Minister will take away the point raised by the hon. Member for South Northamptonshire, discuss it with officials and come back to us. When doing so, it will be worth reflecting on the fact that, as the hon. Lady knows from her previous work, a lot of commercial contracts tend to have force majeure clauses, which may well envisage legislative changes in countries relevant to the jurisdiction of the contract that could impact the commercial value of that contract. This may not be as big a problem as some fear, but it is something to be looked at as part of this work. Of course, given that the average wealth of a Premier League club is £1.2 billion, I am sure they would survive such a clause being activated in those examples.

• 23 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Twelfth sitting) · Hansard source

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  In my previous life, I worked in commercial contracts. The hon. Lady can be reassured that a typical commercial contract would require that any participant to it must adhere to the laws and applicable regulations in any jurisdiction in which the contract is governed. Regardless of the Government’s intention, which I am sure the Minister will talk about, there should be an overarching clause in most standard commercial contracts about adherence to applicable laws and regulations in the jurisdiction to which the contract applies.

• 22 Jan 2025 · Strengthening the Union · Hansard source

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  I associate myself with my right hon. Friend’s comments. Further to what he has just said, will he assure me that after 14 years of obstruction from the Conservative party, this UK Labour Government will work with our Scottish and Welsh colleagues to deliver the change that the country voted for, as part of a whole-UK approach?

• 22 Jan 2025 · Strengthening the Union · Hansard source

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  1. What steps he is taking to strengthen the Union.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is interesting that the hon. Lady points to that evidence, because I have actually been considering it myself, although I am not sure that I entirely agree with some of the ways that Cancer Research UK phrased it. On the point that the hon. Lady has just read out—which, for the record, is paragraph 40 of written evidence TVB18 —does she agree that it does not have to be an either/or and that it could be both? Ultimately, what I think we are particularly focused on here—setting aside the cessation point with respect to adults—is the attractiveness and the clear advertisement from tobacco companies to children, with these flavours that have absolutely no relevance to adults. Although mint, menthol and fruit may be helpful cessation tools, flavours such as bubble gum are clearly aimed at children, and that is absolutely what we need to stamp out.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I agree that that sounds promising. I am sure that the Minister and his officials are all over this, but to be clear, will the Bill as drafted give them the requisite flexibility? In two years’ time, should that change have happened, could the requisite regulations be drafted to bring that into effect without needing to come back to the House?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Eighth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I appreciate that the hon. Member for Eastleigh is perhaps in the invidious position of having to talk about something that is not the amendment she originally authored, but I share the shadow Minister’s concern. I note that the current drafting of clause 38 has respect for the devolved position. I am the Member for Cardiff West, so I take a particular interest in the Welsh Consolidated Fund. I am concerned that amendment 2 would replace those words with “the relevant Local Health and Wellbeing Board”, so it does not take into account the devolved position with respect to Wales. I therefore suggest that the amendment be withdrawn.

• 16 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Eighth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Lady give way?

• 7 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q Minister, could you say a bit more about why you are taking the four-nation approach? I am a Welsh MP, and we have talked about some of the positive and progressive examples that have been illustrated in Wales, which we can learn from. Is the four-nation approach one of the strengths of this Bill? Will it help to ensure that you get that world you talked about, which I suspect—although I do not want to speak for everyone—we all support? Can you say a bit more about that four-nation approach, and if that is one of the key strengths underpinning this Bill? Andrew Gwynne: It is. The four nations that make up our United Kingdom have gone at different speeds and to different depths in terms of tobacco control over recent years. Zubir was absolutely right to point out that it was the Scottish Labour Government that first introduced the indoor smoking ban, and we followed suit soon after, but it is really important that the four nations stand together on this, not least because some of this does require a four-nation approach in legislative terms. It also means that we can meet this ambition together, and that we are all in this together, because, for me, a health inequality in parts of Greater Manchester is just as important as a health inequality in Glasgow, Cardiff or Belfast. We need to tackle these inequalities, because they are a scourge on our society. That is why a four-nation approach, alongside the permissive nature of this Bill, means that the four nations can go forward together, but also diverge on the basis of extending consultations and so on. That is why we have the support of the devolved nations and the Ministers, who come from different political persuasions across Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland; we are all in one, as far as this Bill is concerned, and we have shaped it together.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  That is really helpful. Thank you.

• 6 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T9. I was encouraged by what the Secretary of State said about strengthening ties with allies. Can the Minister elaborate on the steps that he and the Department are taking to further strengthen collaboration with our European allies during 2025?

• 10 Dec 2024 · Storm Darragh · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for the statement, and express my sympathies for those affected and my thanks to emergency and utility workers for all their efforts over the weekend. The storm was of great significance in constituencies such as mine. I appreciate what the Minister has said on the efforts and conversations between the UK Government and the Welsh Government. Can she say any more on that, and assure us that the lessons to be learned from this storm—on resilience and dealing with any future storms—will be shared with all of us in this House, as well as our colleagues in Wales?

• 25 Nov 2024 · Storm Bert · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement and for reminding the House about the first-time funding for coal tips. I notice that Plaid Cymru mentioned coal tips but could not leave the Chamber quickly enough or wait for the end of the statement. I pay tribute to the local authorities, emergency services, volunteers and all those affected by Storm Bert in Cardiff, in Rhondda Cynon Taf and across south Wales. May I ask my right hon. Friend to speak to colleagues in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology about looking carefully into the role of the Met Office? It is clear that its response was slow and that there was an underestimation of the impact of Storm Bert: it put out a yellow rather than an amber or red warning. Our constituents have been let down by this incompetence before. It cannot keep happening.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T9. The Government’s proposed youth guarantee will help to ensure that young people are either learning or earning. Of course, the young person’s guarantee is already a key commitment of the Labour-run Welsh Government. Can the Minister assure me and my Cardiff West constituents that this Government will learn from the work being done in Wales?

• 7 Oct 2024 · Anniversary of 7 October Attacks: Middle East · Hansard source

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  May I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and associate myself with the clear calls for unimpeded access to aid, an immediate ceasefire and an immediate return of the hostages? Since the heinous terrorist attack one year ago, we have seen here at home a consequential increase in crimes of hate, antisemitism and other forms of hatred. I know his commitment to tackling the scourge of such hatred—I have seen it up close—so will he assure me that his Government will continue to challenge all such forms of hatred, both here and abroad?

• 29 Jul 2024 · Antisocial Behaviour · Hansard source

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  13. What steps her Department is taking to tackle antisocial behaviour.

• 19 Jul 2024 · Covid-19 Inquiry · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement and welcome him to his place. May I also thank Baroness Hallett and her team and associate myself with the comments that everyone here has made to the victims, the bereaved families and frontline workers? As my right hon. Friend said, the voices of the bereaved are at the heart of this report, and that is right. Can he assure me that when the Government are reflecting on the recommendations, that same spirit will be applied so that those insights go into the Government’s response?