Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on allegations that the Chinese Government is operating unofficial police stations in London to track down dissidents and force them to return to China.
Patricia Gibson: The dogs in the street can see the chaos at the heart of this Government, and the departure of the former Home Secretary—the full truth of which we still do not know, even after what has been said today—is not even the latest example of that chaos. As we face huge economic challenges and a “cost of Tory” crisis, we have probably not needed stronger and more decisive leadership this...
Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if it remains the policy of the Government that total domestic UK-wide funding for the Shared Prosperity Fund will on average reach about £1.5 billion per year, as announced in the Spending Review published in November 2020.
Patricia Gibson: What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on (a) the devolved budget, (b) Welsh households, and (c) businesses in Wales.
Patricia Gibson: The Secretary of State loves to tell a good story, does he not? The UK Government have already slashed devolved budgets by billions this financial year, and on Monday the Chancellor announced that plans for the millions of pounds that were meant to go to devolved nations for cost of living support were now to be abandoned. How does the Secretary of State think that slashing devolved budgets...
Patricia Gibson: The doglike devotion that Tory branch office members in Scotland have for their London bosses was hopelessly exposed when they urged the Scottish Government to follow the disastrous tax plans of the soon-to-be former Prime Minister. Hours later, the same branch office members applauded October’s Chancellor’s abandonment of those plans in a desperate effort to stay on script. Does the...
Patricia Gibson: The pound has fallen off a cliff, interest rates are soaring, inflation is rocketing and pensions have been on the verge of collapse. We have a new Chancellor who is the de facto Prime Minister and a Prime Minister who has been reduced to a spectator as her own MPs plot her removal. The Leader of the House has defended the Prime Minister today, but does she think that, had she won the...
Patricia Gibson: Thank you, Mr Speaker. My hon. Friend the Member for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan) has raised his concerns about levelling-up funds reaching his constituency, but if levelling up is to mean anything, it should ultimately be about reducing child poverty. In Scotland, the Scottish Government are doing what they can to deal with child poverty, but in my constituency it stands at a shocking 25%, and...
Patricia Gibson: Recently, I raised concerns about fracking being imposed on Scotland using the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020. The Business Secretary replied that that Act is the Koh-i-Noor jewel in the crown of the UK constitution—an unfortunate comparison given that the Koh-i-Noor was pillaged from India by the British. Then we heard a Tory MP suggest that fracking should go ahead in Scotland,...
Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the £400 energy bill discount will be payable to people who live in a Managed Independent Living retirement complex where each apartment has its own electricity meter, where each tenant pays their share of the electricity bill for the building and where gas is charged according to the square footage of each...
Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to consumer surveys that indicate a significant number of drivers inadvertently forget to arrange an annual test of vehicle safety for a vehicle, and in the context of the availability of the GOV.UK MOT reminder service, if he will hold discussions with Cabinet colleagues on introducing additional measures so that drivers are...
Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the UK's supply of alfacalcidol.
Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in the context of rising prices for feed, fertiliser and fuel, if he will take steps to provide extra support with energy costs to farmers and crofters.
Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help address skills shortages in the red meat industry.
Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of the Skilled Worker visa for increasing the level of labour in key sectors in the context of a decline in immigration from Europe since the UK left the EU.
Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the impact points-based immigration system on availability of labour in (a) manufacturing, (b) transport and (c) other sectors; and if she will take steps to help tackle these skills shortages.
Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the 90/180 day period set out in the Schengen Borders Code for third-country nationals, whether negotiations are ongoing with the EU to help reduce potential barriers faced by artists, creatives and professionals who tour in Europe; and what other steps her Department is taking to assist those people tour...
Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the UK meets its net zero targets during the period of its membership of the Energy Charter Treaty.
Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department plans to take to support small and medium sized businesses with rising energy costs.
Patricia Gibson: Today’s plans mean that in Tory Britain, someone earning £50,000 a year will pay the same income tax rate as a millionaire. Today’s plans mean that someone earning £1 million will pay £42,500 less income tax every year. That is shameful. These plans were not in the Tory manifesto; they do not have a mandate, and they certainly do not have a mandate in Scotland. According to the OECD,...