Dari Taylor: Concern has been expressed about the impact of Taliban and al-Qaeda training camps in the North West Frontier province of Pakistan. Can my right hon. Friend say what assessment has been made of those camps, how effective they are, and to what extent the Americans now have a controlling impact on them, so that they cannot undermine the work being done by NATO and UK troops in Afghanistan?
Dari Taylor: Army, air and sea cadets deliver an excellent service within many of our communities in the UK. Is it not time that the House acknowledged this and that the team from the MOD initiated a debate so that we can all celebrate everything that they deliver to our communities?
Dari Taylor: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what requests for assistance his Department has received from Corus in relation to Teesside Cast Products.
Dari Taylor: My right hon. Friend mentioned that the Government are pursuing intensive alternatives to custody. Will he tell the House what effect that approach is having in reducing reoffending?
Dari Taylor: Link workers are a primary source for prisoners on release, supporting their reintegration into the community. How are the Government supporting this group, ensuring that it is adequately resourced and not undermined?
Dari Taylor: I have absolutely no problem in saying in this House that I did support 90 days, and were there reasonable cause for legislation to that effect to be laid before the House tomorrow, I would support it again.
Dari Taylor: I hope that my right hon. Friend realises that Members have concerns about this order. If there is no evidence that this organisation, al-Shabaab, exists or is behaving in a way that is causing serious concern, some in our community-with some justice-will be concerned that the Government are exaggerating the existence of terrorist threat in this country. That is the last thing that we should...
Dari Taylor: My right hon. and learned Friend will know that the steel industry faces very difficult times. On Teesside, it is believed that the owner of Corus, Tata, has threatened to close our slab steel mill, which is currently mothballed. Is not it time that the House discussed the steel industry, acknowledging that it is an essential industry that has been the backbone of our manufacturing sector for...
Dari Taylor: Excellence should always be invested in. In the north-east, both Sunderland and Teesside universities offer such excellence, so is it not about time that they received research moneys equivalent to those received by the Russell group universities and the greater amounts received by universities in the golden triangle?
Dari Taylor: My right hon. Friend knows that the whole of Teesside is waiting for news about Corus. That company, whose order book was 80 per cent. full in December, has now been mothballed and 1,700 people have been made unemployed. Will the Prime Minister tell the House this afternoon what his Ministers are doing to secure and help to secure a purchase, and whether it is the case that Tata is unprepared...
Dari Taylor: In thanking my right hon. Friend for his statement to the House and for once again making it clear to everybody that torture or complicity in torture is totally unacceptable, may I add a thank you for his comments about the work of the Intelligence and Security Committee, on which I serve? I believe that it scrutinises the security agencies forcefully and purposely. However, will there now...
Dari Taylor: I warmly welcome the thoughtful statement by the Secretary of State. In terms of emergent threats, where is the reference to cyber attacks, accepting and acknowledging that, for many, those present the greatest threat to our security?
Dari Taylor: Is it not the case that banks that mainly handle hedge funds are seen by many as casino banks? Is it not time that we looked at that world of hedge funds and separated their activity in banking terms from that of banks that handle everyday mortgage and saving-that is domestic-needs?
Dari Taylor: My hon. Friend will know that the people living in the North West Frontier region of Pakistan in Balochistan and Waziristan are tyrannised by the Taliban. They are controlled and threatened, and they feel powerless. What is the Department doing to ensure that these people are liberated?
Dari Taylor: Does my right hon. Friend know that the university of Sunderland is exhibiting its glass in the Upper Waiting Hall? I hope that the ministerial team will visit the exhibition and congratulate the university on it. In what way is her Department supporting the brilliant work that is being done by universities such as Sunderland? It is internationally renowned and now, through the national...
Dari Taylor: rose-
Dari Taylor: My right hon. Friend will know that today in Great Britain 80,000 children are living in care, 80 per cent. of whom will live in care until they are 16, not in a loving, stable family home. Is it not time that this House considered the lives of looked-after children again and considered that if a child is not living in a stable, loving home in the first 18 months of their life, adoption and...
Dari Taylor: My right hon. Friend will know that my constituency has had significantly increased funds. None the less, we have very high death rates from heart problems and cancer in low-income wards. How can we manage that situation? What education and community programmes are there to help people in low-income families understand the serious dangers from smoking and poor nutrition?
Dari Taylor: Will my hon. Friend give way?
Dari Taylor: It is important for us to hear from the Minister. The press say that the Government are apparently blocking attempts by the regional development agencies to access funds, and are failing to match the support given by other European countries to their core manufacturing industries. We need to know this afternoon whether there is any truth or credibility in that.