Margaret Ferrier: My team work hard to do their best for my constituents, but it is frustrating when Departments take too long to respond. The Home Office in particular is a repeat offender, with some cases hitting the six-month mark before we get a reply. Will the Leader of the House encourage his Cabinet colleagues to ensure that Departments meet their service level agreement targets?
Margaret Ferrier: I stand alongside many other Members of the House in calling for a two-state solution. This is not about supporting one group of people to the detriment of another; it is about achieving equal standing and parity for the benefit of both. I was privileged a few years ago to join the Council for Arab-British Understanding on one of its visits to Israel and Palestine. It is one thing to read the...
Margaret Ferrier: My thoughts and prayers of those of the constituents of Rutherglen and Hamilton West are with all those in Ukraine today. What assessment has the Government made of the risk level posed by Russia to UK interests should Putin attempt to retaliate against sanctions, and what form would those risks take?
Margaret Ferrier: I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. As I said on Second Reading, the Bill will help occupational pension schemes correct a basic issue of men and women being treated differently in contracted-out defined benefit occupational pension schemes because of the impact of having a guaranteed minimum pension, or GMP. It will help pension schemes to meet their legal obligations...
Margaret Ferrier: I thank the hon. Member for her intervention and I absolutely agree. This Bill is set to remove those uncertainties so that these occupational schemes can get on with the equalisation process that they have always known they should be carrying out anyway. The Bill removes the text in the Pension Schemes Act 1993 that sets out what survivor benefits following GMP conversion must look like,...
Margaret Ferrier: With the leave of the House, I thank the Minister for his support today and throughout each stage of the Bill. I also thank all hon. Members who have spoken and who have intervened on Third Reading including the hon. Members for Ynys Môn (Virginia Crosbie), for Broxtowe (Darren Henry), for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), for Hastings and Rye (Sally-Ann Hart), for Darlington (Peter Gibson) and...
Margaret Ferrier: What assessment has the Minister made of the link between youth antisocial behaviour and a lack of youth-focused community spaces and initiatives? What discussions have taken place across Government about ensuring that communities have the resources to support young people before antisocial behaviour occurs or escalates?
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on supporting (a) public electric vehicle charging infrastructure and (b) off-street EV charging infrastructure in each of the last five years.
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which issues, cases and concerns in connection with human rights and judicial reform were raised and discussed during his meeting with the Justice Minister of Saudi Arabia in London on 25 January 2022.
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made for the implication of his policy of the recent judicial reform in Saudi Arabia, following the announcement by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in February 2021 of the intention to reform the Kingdom’s judicial institutions by the end of that year.
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the extent to which conditions attached to the release of political activists (a) Loujain al-Hathloul, (b) Nouf Abdelaziz and (c) Mayaa al-Zahrani from prison in Saudi Arabia are consistent with international human rights standards.
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of Saudi Arabian use of a Specialised Criminal Court for the prosecution of human rights defenders and political activists; and if she will make representations to her Saudi Arabian counterpart of the detention of (a) Israa al-Ghomghan, (b)...
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the extent to which Saudi Arabian legislation on (a) counter-terrorism, (b) cybercrime and (c) associations and foundations complies with international human rights standards.
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of proposals for judicial reform in Saudi Arabia announced by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in February 2021.
Margaret Ferrier: The World Health Organisation has warned that oxygen supplies are running dangerously low in Ukraine, and that it is working with international partners to get urgent shipments through Poland. Can the Foreign Secretary confirm what medical aid the UK Government are providing to Ukraine to help it to maintain essential services?
Margaret Ferrier: Can the Home Secretary confirm what initial discussions have taken place with the Scottish Government and how the humanitarian sponsorship pathway will work in Scotland, so that local authorities and community and church groups, such as those in my constituency that are keen to help Ukrainians with no family ties in the UK, can do so apace?
Margaret Ferrier: Does the President recognise that consideration for biodiversity loss needs to be given parity in the Government’s plans for environmental protection, alongside their existing plans for delivering net zero?
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has any plans to limit bottom trawling in marine protected waters.
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made of an assessment of the impact of (a) offshore wind farms, (b) underwater cabling and (c) marine protected waters on British fishing fleets.