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PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Topical Questions - 18 December 2024 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

Debate Detail

Contributions from Sir Stephen Timms, are highlighted with a yellow border.
Lab
  11:56:19
Rosie Wrighting
Kettering
T2. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
  11:56:52
Bridget Phillipson
The Minister for Women and Equalities
Earlier this month the Government set out our “Plan for Change”—a plan to raise living standards for everyone. Everyone should have access to warm homes, a revitalised NHS and opportunities to thrive at work, and they should feel safe on our streets. I am proud to be driving our mission to ensure that background is no barrier to success and that every child has the best start in life. This week marks the end of Disability History Month, during which my right hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security and Disability has met disabled people and disabled people’s organisations and set up a network of lead Ministers for disability across every Government Department.
  11:57:16
Rosie Wrighting
Last week I visited Northamptonshire Domestic Abuse Service, where we discussed estimates that reported incidents of domestic abuse in the UK spike up to 20% during the Christmas period. What are the Government doing to ensure that those affected by domestic violence can get support at this time of year?
  11:57:47
Bridget Phillipson
I thank my hon. Friend for that important question, and I pay tribute to the work of Northamptonshire Domestic Abuse Service and everyone working across domestic violence and sexual abuse services this Christmas. I know from my own experience of working in such services over the Christmas period how busy it can be, but I want to send a message to all victims that support is always there when they need it, even at Christmas, and the police will always respond when called. Where there are serious concerns, people should know that they are not alone at Christmas, and that help and support is always available.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
Con
  11:58:02
Claire Coutinho
East Surrey
Turning a blind eye to the risks faced by vulnerable people in the name of inclusivity is anything but compassionate. We know that cousin marriage significantly increases the risk of birth defects and locks women into coercive relationships. My right hon. Friend the Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Holden) has tabled sensible legislation to ban this practice. Why will the Government not support it?
  11:58:24
Bridget Phillipson
The Government will of course always keep such issues under review, and I will ensure that the Minister in the relevant Department speaks with the right hon. Lady on this topic.
Lab
Lee Pitcher
Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme
T6. Merry Christmas. I recently attended a Royal National Institute of Blind People event highlighting the challenges faced by blind and visually impaired people navigating past parked cars, forcing them to walk into the road. My inspirational wife is one of those people, who takes her life into her own hands every time she walks into the road. What will the Government do to help make our streets safer and more navigable in future?
Sir Stephen Timms
The Minister for Social Security and Disability
My hon. Friend raises a good example of the kind of topic we need to work on across Government, and I was pleased to chair the first meeting of the cross-Government disability lead Ministers yesterday. The Department for Transport has consulted on this problem, which can be very serious for people with a sight impairment, and is considering the options for tackling it. I very much hope that my hon. Friend will let me know what he finds out in his walk around his constituency shortly.
Mr Speaker
I call Gregory Stafford.
Hon. Members
Hear, hear!
Con
Gregory Stafford
Farnham and Bordon
T3. It is always nice to get a cheer, Mr Speaker.As a former treasurer of the Oxford Union, I was disgusted that three weeks ago a debate descended into a mess of antisemitism, when a majority of the students voted that they would not have reported Hamas’s plans if they had known of them prior to the 7 October attacks. Will the Minister write to the Oxford Union and say that antisemitism has no place in our society, especially not in our universities?
Anneliese Dodds
The Minister for Women and Equalities
The Government could not have been clearer about our position on antisemitism: there is no place for antisemitism in our society, nor for any form of racism. That applies whether it is in educational settings or in any other part of our society, and that has been made very clear indeed.

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