James Berry: If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 10 June.
James Berry: The great British jobs boom has earned the Prime Minister and the Chancellor the admiration of leaders the world over and the support of my constituents. Does my right hon. Friend agree that businesses in Kingston and Surbiton could create even more jobs if we had better train services and, particularly, Crossrail 2?
James Berry: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to make my maiden speech. It is a pleasure to follow such a fine maiden speech from the hon. Member for Glasgow North West (Carol Monaghan). It will not have escaped your attention, Madam Deputy Speaker, that I am not the only Berry on these Benches. Indeed, I am not even the only J. Berry. It has become clear over the past few weeks that, if...
James Berry: May I follow my maiden speech with a request that the Minister meet me and other new colleagues who are passionate about increasing social aspiration through education, so that we can share with him our experiences and examples of best practice locally?
James Berry: People in the UK face a range of threats to their liberty and security from terrorists and criminals on a daily basis. The police and the Security Services, in whom we put our faith to keep us safe, are not assisted in their task by the fast pace at which communications technology is advancing. Devices and applications that have become features of everyday life for our general use and...
James Berry: I should say that I am a primary school governor. Dr Coulson, there are different tools for improving academies. Could you briefly explain a little about those? I understand that the Government will extend those methods to failing and coasting schools.
James Berry: In your experience, how do headteacher boards use local knowledge to advise on decisions?
James Berry: How can we avoid voluntary adoption agencies being marginalised? You have both said that that is a risk.
James Berry: So your concerns are capable of being dealt with within the framework proposed here?
James Berry: For constituents I have spoken to about adoption, the key concern and key failing they identify in the system is the time it takes to achieve permanency. Are you confident that the Government’s proposals in the Bill will speed up the process?
James Berry: Secondly, the first set of witnesses we heard from on the adoption part of the Bill were broadly supportive of the Government’s proposals. The second set—to the extent that they were actually opining on the Bill; in other words, adoption rather than the wider piece—did raise some concerns, one of which was that small voluntary adoption agencies might be crowded out. Can the Government...
James Berry: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to tackle (a) forced marriage and (b) female genital mutilation.
James Berry: What steps the CPS is taking to ensure its prosecutors will be able successfully to prosecute the criminal offence of forced marriage.
James Berry: I declare an interest, as a barrister. What is the CPS in London, where my constituency sits, doing to embed best practice for the prosecution of forced marriage?
James Berry: On the previous point, will the hon. Gentleman explain why parliamentary scrutiny would make anything quicker when the judicial review avenue would still be open, notwithstanding parliamentary scrutiny?
James Berry: Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that the Government are, in fact, very concerned about all the different forms of permanence? The Bill focuses on one such method—adoption—without in any way devaluing the other forms of permanence. It is appropriate to do so when, as Sir Martin Narey pointed out, there has been a massive decline in adoption since 1975.
James Berry: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
James Berry: The hon. Gentleman is a former Minister, as he has reminded us, and he well knows that all Ministers have to act rationally. That is a basic common law requirement of any Minister, so his point does not take the argument any further, does it?
James Berry: I remain deeply concerned by the continued detention of British national Andargachew Tsege in Ethiopia and about his welfare. The Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond MP) last spoke to the Ethiopian Foreign Minister about this case on 30 June and made a public statement on 25 June. He made clear that...
James Berry: Children in Kingston and Surbiton perform above the national average in speech and language at age five. However, the poorest children are still almost twice as likely to fall behind later in their education, despite the best efforts of their teachers. Does my hon. Friend agree that there is evidence that high-quality early education, linked to the presence of well-qualified staff in the...
