Neil Shastri-Hurst MP: speeches 2024

Speeches

• 19 Dec 2024 · Knife Offences · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the Solicitor General on taking up her position. As a former trauma surgeon, I have seen at first hand the devastating effect of knife and other serious violent crime, so I welcome the Government’s specific commitment to halving knife crime within a decade. However, on the broader commitment on serious violent crime, no specifics have been provided to date. Will the Solicitor General tell the House which crimes are to be included, and the date by which that will be achieved?

• 19 Dec 2024 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his statement and welcome the announcement on our ongoing military support. It is critically important that those who wage Putin’s illegal war face the legal consequences for their actions. With that in mind, will the Minister set out the steps that the Government are taking to support the Ukrainian domestic legal system to ensure that these cases are prosecuted in their own courts?

• 18 Dec 2024 · Financial Assistance to Ukraine Bill · Hansard source

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  At a time of existential threat to Ukraine, I have been heartened by the tone from across the House towards the Ukrainian people. It is critical at this moment in history that this House and all European Governments step up and do not give up. While I welcome the details of this short Bill, we should be focusing on the untapped countermeasure and counter-offensive that is at our disposal. Like a number of colleagues, I gently say to the Minister that we should think about the use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine in its non-violent economic and political reconstruction. The UN General Assembly has already endorsed an international mechanism for compensating Ukraine, but we cannot wait for the war to be over before we enact that countermeasure. Back in 2022, Ukraine lost 29% of its GDP, so if it only receives its compensation at the end of the war, that will be far too late.

• 16 Dec 2024 · Budget 2024: Unemployment · Hansard source

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  1. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on levels of unemployment.

• 16 Dec 2024 · Budget 2024: Unemployment · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister answer a simple question: since the Budget, have unemployment rates gone up or down?

• 12 Dec 2024 · Prison Capacity Strategy · Hansard source

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  This strategy does little more than commit to deliver the 14,000 places that the previous Government committed to delivering, except that it will cost more and take longer. To what extent have the Government factored in optimism bias when working out the delivery timeframe?

• 12 Dec 2024 · LGBT Veterans: Etherton Review · Hansard source

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  I welcome the tone and tenor of the Secretary of State’s speech. I wonder if he could assist the House in setting out the steps that the Government intend to take to ensure the reliability of gathering data about the size of the cohort who are affected and may be eligible for the compensation scheme.

• 12 Dec 2024 · Business Confidence · Hansard source

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  In the aftermath of the Budget, I spoke with many business leaders in my constituency of Solihull West and Shirley. Invariably, they told me that they are pausing recruitment and freezing their growth plans as a direct consequence of the decisions made around taxation and the Employment Rights Bill. What does the Secretary of State say to those businesses in my constituency that no longer have confidence in the Government and feel abandoned by their policies?

• 12 Dec 2024 · Business Confidence · Hansard source

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  3. What steps he is taking to help improve business confidence.

• 11 Dec 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source

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  A particular subset of pupils affected by this policy are those in receipt of the continuity of education allowance. The revised figures for the CEA, released recently, do not fully protect those pupils from the uplift on VAT on school fees. What assessment have the Government made of the impact of this policy on retention and recruitment into our armed forces and our diplomatic service?

• 10 Dec 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Since the beginning of this year, 17 inmates have died at HMP Parc. It has been under the control of G4S since opening in 1997. What consideration has the Lord Chancellor made of returning the prison to the Ministry of Justice?

• 9 Dec 2024 · Syria · Hansard source

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  No one should grieve the demise of Assad, who was propped up for far too long by Russia and Iran. However, the links of HTS to al-Qaeda mean that the future is far from certain or secure. With that in mind, what steps have the Government taken to promote the rule of law in Syria?

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Gentleman set out how many farmers he has spoken to since the Budget and, of those, how many support the Government’s policy?

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  rose —

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

• 4 Dec 2024 · Support for Veterans · Hansard source

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  2. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support veterans in Scotland.

• 4 Dec 2024 · Support for Veterans · Hansard source

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  There is significant variability in the provision of veteran services across the nations. What steps is the Secretary of State taking, alongside his Cabinet colleagues, to ensure parity of services across the nations, and in particular in Scotland?

• 2 Dec 2024 · Chagos Islands: UK-US Defence Relationship · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister set out how he intends to implement safeguards against China establishing military capabilities and surveillance capacity in the British Indian ocean territories?

• 29 Nov 2024 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  It is a privilege to speak in this debate, and the way in which the House has conducted itself on both sides of the argument is a credit to this place. I stand here not only as a medical practitioner who worked as a surgeon for about a decade, but also as a healthcare barrister, so I have looked at the debate from both sides of the argument. I have been deeply moved by some of the stories I have heard about patients who are facing a terminal illness. I am also instructed by my own experiences—my personal experiences of my relatives, and of those patients whom I failed. I failed because I did not give them the good death that they deserved, despite the very best efforts of palliative care. It is true that we can improve the palliative care offering in this country, but it is not a binary choice. It is not a choice of palliative care or assisted dying; it is a choice about someone having an option over how they want autonomy over their body at the end of their life. I understand the concerns raised in this House—I genuinely do—but this is not the point to cancel the debate. This is the point to engage in the debate. This is the point at which we move it forward, so that people can contribute to it in Committee and say how things can be improved, and so that we can work together to make a societal change, improve our society and support those who want that ultimate choice in those last days.

• 27 Nov 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source

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  May I start by congratulating the hon. Member for South Derbyshire (Samantha Niblett) on her excellent maiden speech? Not only will her daughter have been inspired by her words, but so too will countless other young women. I must declare a personal financial interest in relation to independent school fees. I want to start by telling a story of aspiration, sacrifice and hard work. This story was told to me by a parent who is going into Christmas feeling devastated. They have worked tirelessly, missing valuable time with their child, and sacrificing holidays and any form of luxury because of an aspiration to give their child an education that otherwise would have been out of reach. This parent said to me, “I am not a rich person; I hustle every day to make the money I need to send my child to this school.” This parent will now see all those sacrifices come to nothing, as her child faces the upheaval of moving schools in the middle of the academic year. Let us imagine that child’s first day in their new state school, their school year having been disrupted, and their efforts to catch up on the missed learning as a consequence of being forced to change schools part way through the academic year. They join 35,000 other students across the country who are expected to do the same as a consequence of this policy. Their classroom sizes swell as the promise of 6,500 new teachers remains years away from becoming a reality, and the school struggles to stretch its existing budget to accommodate the new intake. There are not enough textbooks, computers or teachers. Let us imagine the child with special educational needs and disabilities. Their routine having been overhauled, they start to fall behind in their class. Despite the very best efforts of their teachers, who want to provide the extra support so desperately needed, they simply do not have the bandwidth. The consequences of that are children’s future prospects slipping through their fingers every day, because the school they now attend has not been adequately resourced for the arrival of them and their fellow new classmates. Imagine being the parents of these children. They are not rich; they just want the best for their child. As a consequence of one ill-conceived, ideologically driven policy, that dream has been snatched away, with no consideration of the impact it will have on families, on schools and on teachers, who will be left redundant. While the Government speak of a hope to bring aspiration to all, their policy to charge VAT on independent school fees will do the precise opposite. It will not deliver high standards across the board. This is not a policy that lifts up; on the contrary, it will deliver the worst for all children. It is the very definition of levelling down. A Government cannot be expected to get things right all the time, but it is not unreasonable to expect a Government to recognise when they have got something wrong. It is not unreasonable to expect a Government to hold up their hands and to pause, reflect and recalibrate. If the Government’s true endeavour is to bring about policies for positive change, they must be willing to recognise when they need to change course, and this is that moment. I ask the Government to demonstrate some moral courage, admit that they have erred and abandon this policy of folly.

• 25 Nov 2024 · Israel-Gaza Conflict: Arrest Warrants · Hansard source

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  I have a degree of sympathy with the Minister, who has been asked to substitute in lieu of the Foreign Secretary today, so I will ask him a question of fact. Does he recognise that pursuant to section 23(6) of the International Criminal Court Act 2001, representatives of a non-state party to the Rome statute will remain immune from prosecution unless that non-state party expressly waives that right to the ICC?

• 13 Nov 2024 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q3. In the past week, there have been reports that more schools are slated for closure as a direct consequence of the Prime Minister’s ideologically driven policy to introduce VAT on school fees and increase national insurance contributions. This pattern will be seen up and down the country and will lead to staff being unemployed and pupils and parents being cast adrift. Will the Prime Minister do the decent thing, abandon this policy and apologise to those affected?