Speeches by Vickers.

“Yesterday, like many Members across the House, I attended the event staged by the MS Society in Portcullis House. I was given a handout that said that an estimated 3,770 people in my constituency suffer from multiple sclerosis. I have met a number of them and their support groups over the years, but that number is surp…”

“Just to say, in answer to that, that it is important to my constituency, so I am very happy to add my name.”

“It is clearly extremely welcome that the redundancy notices have been withdrawn—the steel community will breathe a sigh of relief. The Minister quite rightly speaks about what happens next. As well as a national streel strategy, the north Lincolnshire area needs a strategy of its own to maintain the local economy. Will…”

“It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn), my Member of Parliament; on this matter we are in complete harmony. Before I talk about the local situation, which is what I want to focus on, may I thank the Secretary of State for giving me a call yesterday evening and outlini…”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I would say merely that he has been party to the negotiations, and he must surely have realised that the company was not negotiating in good faith and expected his officials to prepare legislation, if required, to deal with the situation that we are now in. As othe…”

“As a regular participant in these end-of-term debates, I usually speak about three or four different subjects, but today I want to return to an issue that I have raised on a number of occasions in the House over the last few weeks: the future of the steelworks at Scunthorpe. The Scunthorpe site is the equivalent of 1,1…”

“Absolutely. I have spoken with a number of people involved in the military, and they are very concerned about the future. Do we, as a still significant manufacturing nation, want to lose the capacity to produce our own steel and become the only G7 country in that position? North Lincolnshire council, ably led by Counci…”

“If steel production ceases or is curtailed at the Scunthorpe steelworks, there will be a massive impact on the wider economy in northern Lincolnshire. Can the Minister give an assurance that contingency plans, including improvements to transport infrastructure, are in place should the worst happen?”

“I thank the Minister for her comments. While it is welcome that work is being done through DWP and so on to support potential redundant workers, the reality is that Jingye is not involved in meaningful negotiations. The Government have been critical of it in previous responses to my questions. It is very obvious that J…”

“(Urgent Question:) To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade what actions the Government are taking to prevent the closure of Scunthorpe’s steelworks.”

“Last night, along with colleagues from across the House who represent constituencies in northern Lincolnshire and east Yorkshire, I met the Humber Energy Board. Representatives from the board were particularly concerned about delays in support for a number of projects that are pending Government support in the region, …”

“Dealing with the erratic Trump Administration must be something of a nightmare for negotiations. The unexpected can always emerge from the White House, but one certainty is that tariffs were going to form part of the Trump agenda. It is somewhat surprising that the Minister is only today launching a consultation about …”

“We now come to the Front Benchers. If they limit their contributions to nine minutes, we will just have time for Mr Yasin to sum up.”

“Some 2,700 workers at Scunthorpe steelworks are facing redundancy, plus many more in the supply chain, and many of those people are my constituents. It is welcome that negotiations are continuing, but whatever the outcome, the local economy is going to need significant support. All those affected would appreciate it an…”

“I remind hon. Members that they should bob, as indeed they are, if they wish to be called in the debate. It will clearly be necessary to impose a time limit, so we will start with four minutes. Jim Shannon will show us how to go about it.”

“In my previous role as trade envoy to the western Balkans, I visited Bosnia and Herzegovina on a number of occasions, and it was evident that though the entrepreneurial spirit was alive and well, business leaders were frustrated by the deadlocked structures that they must work in. Our embassy is doing what it can, but …”

“(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade to make a statement on the future of Scunthorpe steelworks.”

“In reply to an earlier question, the Leader of the House said that the BBC should serve all local communities. It is around 18 months since we had a shake-up of BBC local radio, and the result is that it is much less local. Could we have a debate in Government time on how the BBC could be held to account for that and c…”

“I thank the Minister for her statement and for the updates that she has provided to me in recent weeks. As she said, there will be increased anxiety among the workforce today, and we look to the Government to provide maximum support. For the sake of clarity, will the Minister confirm that the Government do wish to main…”

“A cloud hangs over the economy in northern Lincolnshire at the moment with potentially significant job losses at the Scunthorpe steelworks. In view of that, can the Chancellor assure us that funding will be available not only to look after any redundant workers, but to attract new business and provide retraining for ex…”