Gavin Williamson MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 10 Mar 2025 · Syria · Hansard source

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  Syria has been, and will continue to be, an incubator of terrorist threats, not just to the region but more widely. What work are the Government doing with allies to contain and degrade that threat?

• 5 Mar 2025 · Courts and Tribunals: Sitting Days · Hansard source

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  When does the Lord Chancellor expect the additional places to start bearing down on the remand population?

• 3 Mar 2025 · Finance Bill · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Gentleman think that there is a real challenge in terms of the policies that the Government are encouraging? A much quicker retreat from the North sea will bring forward the decommissioning costs, which have not been taken into account by the Treasury and will add billions and billions of pounds in extra costs to the UK taxpayer.

• 24 Feb 2025 · Plant Oxford Site · Hansard source

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  Jaguar Land Rover, which has its engine manufacturing centre based in Staffordshire, is a vital employer for people not just in Staffordshire, but right across the west midlands. That plant is pioneering the development of electric vehicles for JLR. What additional support and flexibility will there be from the Government to ensure that Great British brands continue to prosper in the west midlands?

• 13 Feb 2025 · Local Bus Services · Hansard source

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  I know that the Minister is s truly passionate advocate for bus services, but if he were privileged enough to live in the beautiful village of Hixon in my constituency and wanted to get to the surgery in Great Haywood, he would have to travel into Stafford on a bus and then on a bus from Stafford to Great Hayward. Will he update the House on what additional help and support Staffordshire county council might look forward to receiving so that Hixon residents are able to get directly to Great Hayward?

• 13 Feb 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  As the Minister will be aware, much of the Russian war effort is being sustained by other nations, including several of the BRIC nations, which are supporting Russia through direct military aid or dual-use products. What is the Minister doing to try to deter the flow of arms that is continuing to sustain Russia?

• 30 Jan 2025 · Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  The chemical industry is an important employer in my constituency, with the HEX Group and SI Group employing many people. As mentioned, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is already highlighting the extinction of the British chemical industry. My chemical manufacturers need to ensure that they are buying energy at the same price as manufacturers in Germany, the Netherlands and France. When will they be able to do that?

• 29 Jan 2025 · Growing the UK Economy · Hansard source

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  What assessment has the Treasury made of whether the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions will increase or decrease business investment?

• 22 Jan 2025 · Russian Maritime Activity and UK Response · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for the action that he has taken, and all the work of our servicemen to combat this threat. The Yantar has been a well-known threat for quite a long time, but Russia has also been very capable of using private and commercial vessels to map cables and undermine our security. The reality is that we need more resources in our Royal Navy and other services. What assurance can he give the House that a bid has been put together to ensure that the Treasury properly resources him and our servicemen to do a job that we all depend on?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Asylum Seeker Hotel Accommodation: Reopening · Hansard source

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  It is a great privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. He touched upon the lack of notice that was given to his constituents, and that is certainly what I have experienced with the Roman Way hotel in my constituency. There is a lack of information forthcoming from the Government. He refers to numbers of 220 hotels—14 of those opened since the election, but that figure had to be forced out of the Government by an urgent question. Does my hon. Friend hope that the Minister will be open about how many hotels have been opened since the general election, the total number and, most importantly, when they are going to be closed?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Community Engagement Principles and Extremism Definition · Hansard source

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  Can the Minister reassure the House on the Government’s approach to the Muslim Council of Britain? The previous Government decided to break off engagement with the MCB for very real reasons, including the infiltration into that organisation that had happened. Can the Minister tell the House that he and his Government will not be engaging with it?

• 21 Jan 2025 · High-emission Steel · Hansard source

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  Heavy industry, whether it is steel, ceramics or so many other areas, is totally dependent on low energy costs. The trajectory is that energy costs are rising, especially in industry, whether as a result of regulation or world markets. Many other countries are doing more to protect their heavy industries by making sure they can have low input costs for energy. What more can the Minister do to protect our heavy industry in the future?

• 20 Jan 2025 · UK-Ukraine 100-year Partnership · Hansard source

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  I very much welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement. As he will know, in order to have an enduring peace, there will need to be credible deterrence for Ukraine. We have already seen the development of deterrence in eastern nations such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania through the enhanced forward presence. Is the Foreign Secretary thinking of opening up discussions about how we could do that in Ukraine in the future, establishing an enhanced forward presence to underpin its security?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Makin Review · Hansard source

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  7. What recent steps the Church has taken to respond to allegations of child sexual abuse within the Church of England.

• 16 Jan 2025 · Makin Review · Hansard source

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  I would very much like to pay tribute to the Bishop of Newcastle as well. What was so tragic was that so few senior voices were being heard in the Anglican Church. The Makin review named the Bishop of Lincoln and the bishop in charge of the Episcopal Church, but so few people have been held to account. Will the hon. Lady please ensure that more people are properly held to account and that some of the people who have been named are cleared out of those top jobs?

• 15 Jan 2025 · Higher Education Regulatory Approach · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for coming to the House and setting out the revised position of the Government. I am particularly concerned about the removal of the tort, because it effectively removes the real consequences for people who disregard free speech and the consequences that could be imposed on an institution or organisation. If that is going to be the case, can she set out to the House what resources will be dedicated to the director of free speech? Let us hope this is not just a one-person fig leaf. How many people are going to be working for them? What resource will there be to ensure that free speech is protected?

• 14 Jan 2025 · UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue · Hansard source

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  Has the Chancellor of the Exchequer spoken to the Governor of the Bank of England about what action needs to be taken to bring about stability in our bond markets?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Drones: High-security Prisons · Hansard source

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  We all appreciate the destructive impact of drugs in our prisons. In Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge, we have the largest cluster of prisons in the United Kingdom, with HMP Featherstone, HMP Oakwood and Brinsford young offender institution. Prison officers do an amazing job trying to tackle this issue, but what specific measures can the Minister bring forward to support their work, to try to ensure that prisoners ultimately get on to the path of rehabilitation and kick the habit of drugs?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  There are two sides to the Bill. Indeed, it could easily have been two Bills, and it may have made for stronger legislation had it been dealt with as two Bills. I commend the Government on one aspect, which is children’s wellbeing, and so much that is part of the Bill is good and commendable. It is wonderful to see the building up of the work being done on the Staying Close programme, which is already demonstrating positive results, and the evidence shows the impact it has on people’s lives. I was delighted to see that much of the work undertaken by the hon. Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister) when he was commissioned to do the report under the last Government has been embraced and is being taken as part of it and being built upon. I am also delighted about the work done on fostering and kinship care, which we know have such a positive impact on the lives of so many young people—it is good to see that in the Bill. However, the other side of the Bill, on schools, is cause for very serious concern. The Government have said: “The current discrepancy between maintained schools and academies leaves potential for inconsistencies in education standards, opportunities and outcomes for pupils from different types of schools.” That is an interesting point. Looking through the clauses, it seems to be not about driving excellence in our schooling system, but about dragging the excellent down. I will take this chance to go through some of those clauses—and perhaps even the Ministers might take the time to familiarise themselves with them. Clause 45 ends academy schools’ freedom on teacher pay. The idea that academy schools are using that freedom to do anything other than attract the teachers and specialists that they need to get the best for their pupils is crazy.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  How many of the people involved have been held accountable, lost their job or had action taken against them?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  The Bill removes academies’ ability to do more for teachers. The Ark academy trust, for example, pays its teachers an average of 2.5% more than every national pay point. Where academies have areas of specialism, they have used them as an opportunity to pay more and bring the best teachers in. As we progress through the Bill, clause 50 gives the schools adjudicator the power the set public admission numbers for schools, including academies, giving local authorities greater influence over admission numbers for schools in their areas. In reality, that will mean that the very best schools lose out on the ability to expand rapidly and offer more children the opportunity to go there. That is increasingly important at a time when overall student numbers are starting to decline. The best schools have less opportunity to offer more spaces to pupils in their communities. Clause 44 repeals the requirement to turn failing local authority schools into academies. There is already a great deal of ambiguity about failing schools. What will the Government do about them? That has not been made clear. Ofsted’s powers have been watered down, which will mean that failing schools continue to exist and there will be no change.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  My right hon. Friend is absolutely correct. There is total silence on what will happen. There is no sense that where a school is failing, action will be taken to ensure that successful academy trusts take over those schools and drive improvements. What we have heard from the Government since they came into office has been about getting rid of excellence. I was very proud of a number of the programmes that we introduced, such as the Latin excellence programme or more cadet forces in schools. The evidence points to the fact that those things had a real impact on children’s attainment, and often for children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. Those programmes have just been scrapped. There is a sense that the Government want a homogeneous schools system in which brilliance and excellence, and the freedom for teachers and schools to deliver the very best for their pupils, are stamped out. There is a sense that Ministers know best—that Whitehall is the master—and that that will drive our education system forward. Many aspects of the Bill are positive in relation to children’s wellbeing, but I urge the Minister to consider the other aspects that will systemically destroy the progress made by both Labour and Conservative Governments in driving forward academic excellence, and in allowing state schools to offer some of the things that private schools offer, which they had not been able to do before. At my comprehensive school, joining a cadet force or learning Latin were simply not options. The Bill is about dumbing down. It is not about raising aspiration; it is not about raising excellence.

• 6 Jan 2025 · Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse · Hansard source

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  In Telford we saw the systematic abuse of so many children who were raped, and we saw a cover-up by the police and council officials, yet not a single member of the police force or a single council official in Telford, or anywhere else in the country, has gone to jail. Will the Secretary of State use her power to set up a specialist unit within the National Crime Agency, as my hon. Friend the Member for West Suffolk (Nick Timothy) said, to look at this and ensure that some of those who covered up these crimes are held to account?

• 6 Jan 2025 · Health and Adult Social Care Reform · Hansard source

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  When the Casey review reports, if its recommendations are implemented, it will have a significant impact on local government. As the Secretary of State will be aware, large parts of the country are going through local government reorganisation, and the outcomes of the Casey review will determine the right reorganisation for those areas. In the best interests of joined-up government, to use an old Blairite phrase, is there any way to bring forward the review, so that the best choices for local government reorganisation can be made?