Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to promote coding as part of the curriculum or otherwise amongst young people.
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the page on the National Crime Agency website entitled, Cyber crime: Preventing young people from getting involved, what discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on interest in coding and possession of independent learning material on computing being considered possible indicators of risk of involvement in cyber crime.
Margaret Ferrier: I extend my good wishes and hope that you, Mr Speaker, all the Deputy Speakers, everyone who works in the House and all MPs have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. During the Smith commission process, the Scottish Government argued in favour of devolving employment law, including trade union legislation. That was blocked by both the Government and the Labour party. Given that one of...
Margaret Ferrier: The removal of the veto from the House of Lords effectively leads to the formation of the most expensive, over-subscribed think-tank in history. I seldom see the point of the current unelected affront to democracy, but how could any rational person justify spending such a disgraceful amount of taxpayers’ money on an impotent talking shop? Surely this is the ideal opportunity to abolish the...
Margaret Ferrier: I would like to begin by thanking the Backbench Business Committee for approving this debate, and by expressing my gratitude to the hon. Members for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse) and for Stockport (Ann Coffey) for bringing it forward. We are all indebted to the Children’s Society, which is to be commended for its work that seeks to prevent children suffering heinous abuse and...
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the accuracy of reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch that a UK-produced bomb was used in an airstrike against a civilian factory in Yemen.
Margaret Ferrier: We have seen a very weak response from the UK Government tonight. We find ourselves allies to one of the world’s biggest human rights abusers. It comes as no surprise to me when we heard at the weekend the Foreign Office use the word “disappointment,” stating that it did not expect the executions to go ahead. I am glad that I have heard tonight that the Minister has been in touch with...
Margaret Ferrier: In a recent written parliamentary question to the Secretary of State, I asked: “what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the introduction of the Work and Health Programme in Scotland.” His response was a masterful example of how not to answer, which is what we have seen again today. Will he now take the opportunity to tell the House whether he has...
Margaret Ferrier: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Margaret Ferrier: Just yesterday I read that the National Audit Office had identified that the cost of the UK’s complex weapons programme has increased to £14 billion a year over the past few years. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that that is clear evidence that pensioners are suffering from the poor decisions and priorities of this Government?
Margaret Ferrier: Given that UK commuters spend up to six times as much on rail fares as European passengers, has the Secretary of State made any assessment of the impact of the recent rail fare increases on the Welsh economy?
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the conclusions of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's assessment of the neoniocotinoid imidacloprid, published on 6 January 2016.
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18729 and the oral contribution of the Financial Secretary to the Treasury of 6 January 2016, Official Report, columns 274-5, whether he has discussed the introduction of the new Work and Health Programme in Scotland with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether she has made an assessment of the potential effect of the legacy of the troubles on changes to the number of deaths by suicide in Northern Ireland.
Margaret Ferrier: Figures released yesterday by the Department show that more Ministry of Justice staff received bonuses last year than the previous year, and that the average size of bonus increased by more than 7%. Considering that the whole public sector has had a 1% pay rise cap, is this not a case of one rule for one and a different rule for another?
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2016 to Question 20675, how much of the £300 million provided to eradicate polio was spent in each of the last three years; and how much will be spent in each of the next four years.
Margaret Ferrier: Since the Chancellor of the Exchequer took control of the public purse, he has utterly failed to get the deficit under control. To date this year, he has borrowed over £74 billion to plug the gap or—to use the vernacular his party is fond of using for a hypothetical independent Scotland—the monumental financial black hole in his books. Is he now likely to breach his own deficit reduction...
Margaret Ferrier: rose—
Margaret Ferrier: Does my hon. Friend agree that supported housing provides the support older people need to maintain their independence? It also helps homeless people with complex and multiple needs to make the transition from life on the street to a settled home and education, training or employment. Surely any change to housing benefit could undermine the ability of such tenants to pay their rent, and...
Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the contribution of the Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy of 3 December 2015, Official Report, column 510, what the purpose was of the two one-off grants paid to MG Alba.