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Oral Answers to Questions
(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)
Ms Marie Rimmer (St Helens South and Whiston) (Lab)
Kirsteen Sullivan (Bathgate and Linlithgow) (Lab/Co-op)
Ms Polly Billington (East Thanet) (Lab)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)
This is likely to be the last time that the shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash (Jeremy Hunt), is up against me at the Dispatch Box. We have had the privilege of these exchanges for just over two years now, and I have a huge amount of respect for him. He steered our country through a very difficult time after the mini-Budget, and I wish him well in whatever he chooses to do next.
If UK living standards, as measured by real household disposable income per capita, had grown by the same amount between 2010 and 2023 as they did between 1997 and 2010, the amount would have been over £4,000 higher in 2023. We are committed to boosting economic growth to turn that around. Although it will have been welcome news for millions of families that inflation is now below 2%, there is still more to do. Earlier this month, we delivered our first international investment summit, announcing over £60 billion of investment and unlocking nearly 38,000 jobs in the UK, all focused on creating and spreading opportunities to lift living standard.
Joe Morris
The Conservatives oversaw a living standards disaster. In places such as Hexham, Prudhoe and Throckley in my constituency, people saw hardly any improvements to their incomes in over 14 years. Surely the clearest sign of whether government is working is whether working people feel better off. Does the Chancellor agree that papering over Tory failure is not enough, and that in tomorrow’s Budget we must reset the foundations of our economy?
Rachel Reeves
My hon. Friend is right: the previous Parliament was the worst ever recorded for living standards. Tomorrow’s Budget is an opportunity to fix that and turn the page so that we can start delivering for families in Hexham and all around the country.
Ms Rimmer
The bottom 50% of the population owned less than 5% of wealth in 2021, while the top 10% stacked up 57% of it—up from 52.5% in 1995. In our communities, the less well-off are struggling with energy prices and other costs. What will the Government do to ensure that the gap closes?
Rachel Reeves
We have already announced the child poverty taskforce, which is working to publish a comprehensive strategy to tackle child poverty. We will publish that strategy in spring next year. We have also provided £500 million, including the Barnett impact, to extend the household support fund in England until the end of March next year, which will help the most vulnerable households to cover the costs of essentials such as food, energy and water.
Kirsteen Sullivan
Shamefully, under the last Conservative Government, the need for food banks soared to levels even higher than during the pandemic. Recent research shows that in my Bathgate and Linlithgow constituency, the number of food parcels distributed has risen by 77% over the past five years, and that in 2022-23, 27% of children were living in poverty after housing costs. What steps are the Government taking to reduce the need for food banks in the context of child poverty?
Rachel Reeves
I thank my hon. Friend for her question and congratulate her on her great work on the Co-op’s food justice policy. As she knows, we are right behind her in our commitment to raise living standards across the country. We made a manifesto commitment to update the remit of the Low Pay Commission so that, for the first time ever, it will take into account the cost of living when making recommendations about the minimum wage.
Ms Billington
As my right hon. Friend will be aware, coastal communities such as mine struggle with a low-pay, low-skill economy. Does she acknowledge the importance of the minimum wage in tackling this problem and supporting our communities and local economies?
Rachel Reeves
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is why we will ensure that the Low Pay Commission takes into account the cost of living, and why we will close the gap between the youth rate of minimum wage and the overall rate, so that all adults can be paid a fair wage for their work.
Dame Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)
The living standards of a 90-year-old pensioner on a £13,500 income are falling sharply this winter as a result of the Chancellor’s decision to take away the winter fuel allowance. Tomorrow, she has the chance to increase the threshold. Will she take it?
Rachel Reeves
As the hon. Lady knows, because of our commitment to the triple lock, the basic state pension and the new state pension will continue to rise. This winter, the new state pension is worth £900 more than it was a year ago, and it is likely to rise by a further £450 next April. Indeed, during the course of this Parliament, because of the triple lock, the new state pension is likely to be worth £1,700 more—much more than the value of the winter fuel payment.
Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)
I am sure that the Treasury was pleased to receive £1.5 billion in a windfall tax from Octopus Energy. Would the Chancellor consider using that money to reinstate the winter fuel allowance for one year until the Treasury has had the opportunity to find a better system of means-testing, so that my vulnerable residents and pensioners in Chichester are not falling off a cliff edge this winter?
Rachel Reeves
I can understand the hon. Member’s concern, but of course, that £1.5 billion was already baked into the forecast—it is not new money to spend on initiatives. As she knows, we inherited a £22 billion black hole in the public finances; we will set out the detail of that at the Budget tomorrow, but because of that, we have had to make very difficult choices. Even in those difficult circumstances, though, we have protected the winter fuel payment for the most vulnerable pensioners who are on pension credit. We have also boosted the uptake of pension credit, so that people get the support they are entitled to.
Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)
Residents of Joseph Rowntree’s St Ellens Court all gathered recently to tell me about the devastating impact that the cut in the winter fuel payment will have on their living standards, and people in Withernsea gathered Saturday last to demonstrate against it. Tomorrow, the Chancellor can do the right thing; will she?
Rachel Reeves
I am sure the right hon. Gentleman told them about the £22 billion gap in the public finances that his Government left, which has required the difficult decisions this Government have had to make to clean up the mess left by the Conservative party.
Paul Holmes (Hamble Valley) (Con)
With the promised £300 cut in energy bills not materialising, the winter fuel payment scrapped for pensioners, and now the bus cap lifted for working people—whatever definition of that term the Chancellor is using today—can she honestly say that living standards will improve for everybody under this Government?
Rachel Reeves
On the bus price cap specifically, the hon. Member will know that the previous Government put no money in to extend that cap. We have put money in to ensure that the bus price cap remains at an affordable level for people, unlike the previous Government, who just had short-term gimmicks.
Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)
The Parliamentary Secretary, His Majesty’s Treasury (Emma Reynolds)
The Department for Work and Pensions has deployed 500 additional staff to process pension credit applications as quickly as possible, and I encourage all pensioners who might be eligible to apply by 21 December. As the hon. Gentleman knows, that benefit can be backdated by three months, and can passport pensioners to other benefits.
Dr Evans
I am very grateful for the Minister’s answer. I put in a written question to find out how long this would take, and almost one in four people who apply for pension credit are waiting longer than 50 working days for their application to be picked up, which takes us past Christmas and into the new year. That is before the 150% increase in applications referred to in the data released by the Government, so although I am pleased to hear that there are 500 more staff, could we hear how much extra funding is going in immediately to make sure those applications are processed this side of Christmas? Otherwise, pensioners are really going to struggle.
Emma Reynolds
I am very pleased to say that there has been a 152% increase in the number of pensioners who are applying for pension credit. That is good news, and is a result of the pension credit awareness campaign that we have been running since early September. We are putting in place all the resources we can to process claims as quickly as possible.
Nigel Huddleston (Droitwich and Evesham) (Con)
We on the Conservative Benches are deeply concerned about all those who will lose their winter fuel payments under Labour. Some pensioners will keep the winter fuel payment if they claim pension credit, but we know that some will not apply or will have difficulty applying. Can the Minister confirm how many people the Treasury assumes are eligible for pension credit but will not claim it, therefore losing their winter fuel payment, and what is the Treasury doing to close that gap?
Emma Reynolds
As the hon. Gentleman will understand, the estimates of how many people might be eligible for pension credit are an imperfect science—they are based on a survey. Means-testing what is a very complex benefit, as all means-tested benefits are, requires an assessment of not only people’s income but their savings; it is about pensioner household units, too, so it is a complex set of procedures. All I can say is that I am glad we are targeting support at those most in need, something that was outlined in the 2017 Conservative party manifesto, which stated:
“we will means-test Winter Fuel Payments, focusing assistance on the least well-off pensioners, who are most at risk of fuel poverty.”
Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD)
As the newly appointed Treasury spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, this is my first opportunity to welcome the Chancellor and Ministers to their places. Notwithstanding that, on the winter fuel payment, the Government need to think again. I recently spoke with representatives of Citizens Advice in St Albans, who are deeply concerned that letters from the Department for Work and Pensions will be sent out only in December to people that it believes are eligible, meaning that many people may lose out. We have urged the Government to either reverse the cut and make it taxable or look at, for example, raising the pension credit limit. Could the Government confirm whether they are going to look again at any of the measures that we have suggested?
Emma Reynolds
I welcome the hon. Lady to her place. I reassure her that we are writing to all pensioners—I do not know where she got that misinformation from—about the change in policy. For the first time, we are also writing to all pensioners in receipt of housing benefit to encourage them to claim for pension credit.
We have also made a steadfast commitment to the triple lock, which will mean that the new full state pension will be worth around £1,700 more over this Parliament. We have extended the household support fund, which local authorities can use to help people who are on low incomes and struggling with their fuel bills. We have also ensured that the warm home discount scheme will provide £150 for low-income households, including pensioners.
Josh Simons (Makerfield) (Lab)
Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)
Dave Robertson (Lichfield) (Lab)
Ben Coleman (Chelsea and Fulham) (Lab)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)
The Government’s growth mission will counteract 14 years of sluggish economic growth, kick-starting a decade of national renewal. We have wasted no time in getting to work: we have already launched the national wealth fund, introduced reforms to the planning system, and hosted the international investment summit, securing more than £63 billion of investments across the United Kingdom. Work continues, and I look forward to updating the House on our next steps for growth in tomorrow’s Budget.
Josh Simons
As co-chair of the Labour Growth Group, I welcome the Chancellor’s decision to unleash a revolution in investment in Britain, but the capital we must invest in is not just physical but digital. For years, Conservative Members cut capital investment in technology, depressing productivity and leaving workers with less money in their pocket. What steps is the Chancellor taking to boost long-term investment, especially in digital and technology?
Rachel Reeves
I thank my hon. Friend for his excellent work as co-chair of the Labour Growth Group. I know that he is passionate about how we can use data to boost productivity and improve public services, and he is working with Wigan council and his local NHS trust to build data-driven tools to better deliver preventive healthcare.
The Government recognise that attracting private investment into digital and technology is crucial for driving growth, which is why we have already prioritised them in the modern industrial strategy to ensure that we are creating the right conditions for investment. Since the Government took office, we have been pleased to welcome more than £25 billion of investment into UK data centres, helping to create thousands of jobs and meet the growing demand for data, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Ms Minns
Does the Chancellor agree that a modern NHS that is fit for the future is essential to our country’s economic growth? Will she find time to visit the new Pears Cumbria School of Medicine when it opens in Carlisle next year?
Rachel Reeves
I thank my hon. Friend for that question. I absolutely recognise the important role of the NHS and the health of our nation in getting people back to work and in boosting the economy. That is why in tomorrow’s Budget we will set out further detail of how we will increase the number of elective appointments per week, delivering one of the Government’s first steps in office to reduce waiting times in the NHS.
I was delighted to meet Professor Hugh Brady from Imperial College London at the international investment summit. He shared the detail of important plans to partner with the University of Cumbria to help the next generation of medical professionals in my hon. Friend’s constituency and to address staffing shortfalls and healthcare needs in the area. I commend her work in this important area.
Dave Robertson
High streets in Lichfield and Burntwood in my constituency were let down as, for 14 years, the Conservative party fiddled while our high street economies burned. Can the Chancellor assure me that regenerating high streets, as the physical manifestation of how well our economy is doing, is a priority for this Treasury?
Rachel Reeves
I welcome my hon. Friend to his place, and he is doing a great job for the people of Lichfield. This Government are committed to delivering a decade of national renewal and ensuring that growth and prosperity are felt everywhere in our country. We will work in partnership with businesses and local communities to rejuvenate our high streets, which are the lifeblood of our local communities, including those in Lichfield and Burntwood. As part of this, we plan to introduce new powers to help fill vacant properties through high street rental auctions. We know that this is such an important issue for so many of our constituencies.
Ben Coleman
Thousands of my constituents in Chelsea and Fulham come from European Union countries, and they are all passionate about the UK economy doing well. Does the Chancellor agree that, for the UK to achieve its full economic growth potential, we need to deepen our trading links with the European Union? If she does, will can she say how the Treasury is working with other Government Departments to achieve this?
Rachel Reeves
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Since taking office, this Government have been working to reset our relationship with our European friends and neighbours. The Prime Minister recently met the President of the European Commission and agreed to strengthen the UK-EU relationship to address global challenges such as the economic headwinds, geopolitical competition, irregular migration, climate change and energy prices. Improving our relationships will be good for business and good for consumers.
Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)
I am not going to ask the Chancellor to pre-empt tomorrow’s Budget, although I might actually have some luck if I did, based on current form. Instead, can she confirm to me that she fully appreciates how important agricultural property relief and business property relief are to the farmers and family businesses that do so much to grow local economies across the country?
Rachel Reeves
I recognise the importance of being able to pass on to the next generation the assets people have built up, and we will be setting out more details on all of our tax policies in the Budget tomorrow.
Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)
Shared prosperity funding has been used by local authorities such as Fife council to drive economic growth, particularly through support for small businesses. That funding is due to end in April 2025. Can we get a commitment from the Government that funding for these kinds of schemes will continue?
Rachel Reeves
We will set out more details in the Budget tomorrow, including the consequentials that will go to the Scottish Government.
Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)
Investment requires a measure of optimism, not the collapse in business confidence that the Chancellor has engineered. She would have done better to stress some of the positives that she inherited, wouldn’t she?
Rachel Reeves
It is good to have an explanation of how to do my job from one of the Conservative Members who crashed our economy. Some £63.5 billion of investment into the UK was announced at our international investment summit—investment in life sciences, investment in data centres and digital, investment in clean energy—because businesses have confidence that this Government are bringing stability back to our economy and working with businesses to seize the opportunities. I am really excited about doing that in all parts of our country and working with business to do so.
Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)
Can the Chancellor tell us, to the nearest £10 billion, how much extra would be available for long-term investment were it not for the fire sale of UK Government bonds by the Bank of England, costing the taxpayer dearly?
Rachel Reeves
I started my career as an economist at the Bank of England, and unlike Conservative Members, I think it is incredibly important to recognise the independence of our economic institutions, including the Bank of England and, indeed, the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD)
Small businesses are the engine of our economy, but many of them are penalised for investing in their businesses because of the broken business rates system. Will the Chancellor ensure that investment is exempted from business rates, and will she ensure that the Budget tomorrow is the final Budget in which business rates are a permanent feature?
Rachel Reeves
I thank the hon. Lady for her question, and I too welcome her to her place.
Small businesses and high street businesses are the lifeblood of all of our communities, including hers in St Albans, and it is important that we support them. In our manifesto, we committed to reform of our business rates system. I will be setting out more details in the Budget yesterday tomorrow, as well as a business tax road map, which will give businesses certainty about the tax environment they will be working with for the next five years.
Mr Tom Morrison (Cheadle) (LD)
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Darren Jones)
Investment—[Interruption.] I am delighted to be welcomed by those on the Opposition Benches, and am pleased to see them in their place as well. Investment is a key part of the Government’s growth mission, alongside stability and reform. By ensuring adherence to robust fiscal rules and respect for our economic institutions, we are building the confidence needed to deliver greater investment across the country.
Mr Morrison
I thank the Minister for that response. A key part of the northern powerhouse agenda was investment in our rail infrastructure, and residents in my constituency were excited that Cheadle train station finally got planning approval recently. However, recent talk of cuts to infrastructure investment has caused concern. Can the Minister assure us that Cheadle train station is safe and will go ahead?
Darren Jones
The Government are fully committed to ensuring that investment in all parts of the UK, including the north of England, creates growth and impact for working people. The north of England is home to crucial levers to achieve this, as evidenced by our recent announcements on Teesside and Merseyside, which will create thousands of jobs and secure long-term futures. The detail of individual projects will be confirmed in due course.
Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)
The creation of the national wealth fund, and the record success of the £63 billion of investment announced at the investment summit, comes on top of investments that Ministers have just announced in carbon capture in the north-west. Those are examples of the success—
Mr Speaker
Order. The hon. Gentleman is a very good Member who has been here a long time. Please try to look at me occasionally; it would be helpful.
Bill Esterson
The successful investments announced are a great example of this Government delivering jobs and economic growth, in the north of England and across the country. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this is in stark contrast to the abysmal record of the Conservative party in its 14 years in government?
Darren Jones
My hon. Friend rightly points out that this country faces a choice: investment or decline. As we saw at the general election, it chose investment, and that is what the Government will deliver.
Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)
Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Tulip Siddiq)
Increasing economic productivity is a key mission in the Labour Government’s growth agenda. After 14 years of weak productivity, depressed living standards and unfunded spending commitments, we are adamant about bringing our country into an upward trajectory, using the national wealth fund and the significant planning reforms that we are bringing together to ensure a decade of national renewal for our country.
Kevin Bonavia
Across the UK, the hospitality sector generates £93 billion per year. In my constituency, there are many examples of local entrepreneurs, including on the old town’s High Street and in our neighbourhood centres, who provide an excellent service for residents and visitors alike. What can my hon. Friend do to help our hospitality services grow in Stevenage and across the UK?
Tulip Siddiq
I am fully aware of the assets of my hon. Friend’s constituency, including the neighbourhood centres that he mentions, and the surrounding villages, which host amazing music festivals. I recognise the contribution of the hospitality sector in Stevenage to the UK economy, and I know he is a great champion of the borough business club. I am confident that our Government’s growth mission will ensure that hospitality businesses in Stevenage continue to grow. The Government look forward to working with organisations such as UKHospitality to facilitate that.
Sonia Kumar
“Invest 2035: the UK’s modern industrial strategy” identifies advanced manufacturing as a growth-driving sector. Manufacturing in Dudley accounts for 40.4% of jobs; that is double the national average. What steps are the Government taking to support and revitalise the manufacturing sector in Dudley, given its historical significance to the local economy, and its potential contribution to the UK’s overall industrial strategy?
Tulip Siddiq
As my hon. Friend rightly says, we identified advanced manufacturing as a growth-driving sector in the recently published industrial strategy Green Paper. I know how important manufacturing centres such as the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre are to Dudley and the UK economy. We are committed to supporting advanced manufacturing through the industrial strategy, which, alongside sector plans, will be developed in partnership with businesses and stakeholders ahead of publication in spring 2025. I hope that she will contribute to that. Jobs will be at the heart of our industrial strategy, backed by employment rights that are fit for a modern economy.
James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)
Investing in transport infrastructure will boost productivity, so is the Chancellor listening to Members from across the east of England and across the House, and will she back the Ely junction rail upgrade, which delivers benefits of £5 for every £1 invested?
Tulip Siddiq
As the hon. Member will know, the Chancellor listens carefully to everything that is said in the Chamber, and I am sure that she has noted what he has said.
Jim Allister (North Antrim) (TUV)
We in Northern Ireland were told that, as a result of having dual access to the EU market and the United Kingdom market, we would see an increase in inward investment and economic productivity. Recently, Invest NI has had to admit that there has been no uptick in investment, because access to the EU market is counteracted by barriers from the GB market—that is clear. Do the Government now recognise that that was a mis-sold proposition?
Tulip Siddiq
I think we were mis-sold a lot of things by the previous Government, if that is what the hon. Member is talking about. I remind him that we had the investment summit recently, where we secured £63 billion of private investment, creating more than 38,000 jobs. That is more than double what the previous Government secured in 2023.
Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (James Murray)
Household energy bills have fallen by 30% since their peak, and are now around £800 lower for a typical household. This Government are committed to improving the quality and sustainability of our housing stock through our warm home plan, further details of which will be set out through the spending review. That will be vital in making sure that the UK is more energy-resilient, in lowering household bills and in meeting our 2050 net zero commitment.
Mr Forster
Given that many constituents of mine in Woking and across the country live in fuel poverty and are fearful of losing their winter fuel allowance, does the Minister or the Chancellor agree that targeted support for low-income families and households should be included in tomorrow’s Budget or in the warm home plan, so that no one has to decide between eating and heating this winter?
James Murray
The hon. Gentleman can see our commitment to supporting vulnerable households with the cost of energy and food in our extension of the household support fund, at a cost of half a billion pounds, from the end of September to the end of March. That will allow local authorities to help low-income families with the cost of essentials, such as food and energy.
Dr Jeevun Sandher (Loughborough) (Lab)
This nation experienced the highest rise in energy bills of all G7 countries after Putin invaded Ukraine, because the Conservatives left us dependent on natural gas and with the worst-insulated homes in western Europe. Can the Minister assure me that we will invest in the clean energy and home insulation that we need to lower energy bills for good?
James Murray
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that while it is essential that we tackle high energy bills now, it is also essential that we invest for the future to bring energy bills down for good. Critical to that is investing in our housing stock, as I have mentioned, but also, through GB Energy, in sustainable energy sources to make sure we improve our energy security and bring bills down for families across the country.
John Grady (Glasgow East) (Lab)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)
In July, a Treasury assessment of public spending showed that this Government inherited a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. I took immediate action—[Interruption.] Those on the Opposition Benches may not like it, but it is true. [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. I cannot hear the Chancellor, and I will hear the Chancellor.
Rachel Reeves
There are not many Conservative Members, but they still make quite a lot of noise.
I took immediate action by identifying savings and making reforms to the spending and fiscal framework to ensure that never again can a Government be allowed to make unfunded commitments, and to leave their successors with a massive black hole, as the Leader of the Opposition and the previous Chancellor did. As my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury said to the House yesterday, the Budget will confirm the detail of the robust fiscal rules—this was set out in our manifesto—and will set out tax and spending plans, alongside an updated forecast from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.
John Grady
Does my right hon. Friend agree that being honest and transparent about the state of public finances is the right thing to do, and that having a long-term plan to fix the foundations of our economy and the public finances is preferable to the short-term, chaotic approach taken by the SNP in Scotland, which has led to three consecutive years of emergency in-year budget cuts?
Rachel Reeves
This Government are committed to sustainable public finances, unlike two of the Opposition parties. A stable economy built on stable public finances is a key foundation for growth, which is why Labour is on the Government Benches, and the SNP and the Tories are on the Opposition Benches. The robust fiscal rules set out in our manifesto will put the public finances on a sustainable path, so that we can move the budget into balance, with day-to-day costs being met by revenues, and get debt falling as a share of our economy. Given our challenging inheritance, that will require difficult choices, but this Government will make them to fix the foundations of our economy.
Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)
The last Government left Eastbourne borough council in a position in which it spends 49p in every pound it collects in council tax on temporary accommodation. We need a solution, because that is not sustainable for councils or families. Will the Chancellor commit to supporting councils with the cost of temporary accommodation, and to investing in preventing homelessness in the first place?
Rachel Reeves
The hon. Member is absolutely right: the number of people housed in temporary accommodation is a scandal, and the amount that costs taxpayers in Eastbourne and around the country is a double scandal. We made a commitment in our manifesto to building 1.5 million homes during this Parliament. Conservative Members oppose that, but we are determined to do it, because that is the way to bring down the cost of temporary accommodation and ensure that all families have a safe and secure roof over their heads.
Dame Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
My right hon. Friend is right about the challenge it will be for the Government to balance the public finances. A stiff target of 2% in-year efficiency savings has been set for Departments. What is she doing to make sure that the target is robustly applied, and that Departments do not game it by putting off decisions, which will end up costing more?
Rachel Reeves
I thank the Chair of the Treasury Committee for that question. She is absolutely right that in our July statement, we set a 2% productivity target, not just for the Department of Health and Social Care, as the previous Government did, but for all Departments. Ministers are absolutely determined to deliver against those targets, because that is the way to ensure that we have resources for the frontline public services—our schools, hospitals and police—that we all rely on.
Nick Timothy (West Suffolk) (Con)
Under the last Government, the Chancellor said that interest rates and gilt yields were driven by Government policy. Will the Chancellor guarantee that neither will rise higher than they did under the Conservatives?
Rachel Reeves
The last Government crashed the economy with a mini-Budget and sent interest rates and mortgage rates soaring, putting huge pressure on the costs borne by families and businesses. We will set out our Budget tomorrow, including robust fiscal rules on paying for day-to-day spending through tax receipts and borrowing only to invest, whereas the previous Government borrowed for day-to-day spending, which is why we are in the mess we are in today.
Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)
Last Wednesday, in Washington, the Chancellor announced changes to the debt rules to allow Labour to borrow more. However, published Treasury advice says that increasing borrowing risks interest rates staying higher for longer. Does the Chancellor agree with her Treasury civil servants?
Rachel Reeves
Last week, when I was in Washington, I was very pleased to hear the International Monetary Fund say how important it is that countries, including the UK, borrow to invest in their capital infrastructure. Under the plans we inherited from the previous Government, capital spending as a share of GDP is due to fall from 2.6% to 1.7%. If those decisions were to go forward, it would mean plans delayed and cancelled. We will set out our plans tomorrow in the Budget, but it is crucial that we have rules ensuring that we pay for day-to-day spending through tax receipts, and that we borrow only to invest, unlike the previous Government.
Tim Roca (Macclesfield) (Lab)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)
The Conservative party oversaw years of chaos, which cost not only families but businesses. The Government are committed to delivering the economic stability needed for investor confidence. Our commitment to a credible Budget, strong institutions and robust fiscal rules are at the heart of that plan. Earlier this month, we announced a record-breaking £63.5 billion of investment at our international investment summit. That shows that the UK can attract investment from around the world, to boost jobs and growth here in Britain, through serious, stable Government policy.
Tim Roca
When does the Chancellor think that the Conservative party lost its fiscal credibility? Was it with the Liz Truss mini-Budget? [Interruption.] Was it when national debt rose from 65% to nearly 100% of GDP? Or was it when they made the farcical promise to abolish national insurance?
Mr Speaker
Order. Who wants to go for that cup of tea? Normally this happens at Prime Minister’s questions; I do not want it starting in Treasury questions.
Rachel Reeves
All of the above. That is why my hon. Friend is in his place and Conservative Members are on the Opposition Benches.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
If the Chancellor wants to increase investor confidence, the thing to do is help small and medium-sized enterprises. Tomorrow she will have the opportunity to do that. What will be done to help them? In Northern Ireland, 85% of businesses employ 10 or fewer employees. If she helps the SMEs in Northern Ireland, that will increase employment.
Rachel Reeves
I know that the hon. Gentleman is a proud supporter of businesses big and small in his constituency and across Northern Ireland. I will set out more detail in tomorrow’s Budget, including on business rates, but I recognise how important it is for us to support small businesses, so that they can grow and create jobs right across the United Kingdom.
Gareth Davies (Grantham and Bourne) (Con)
Clearly, the Chancellor is desperately trying to raise old ghosts, along with debt and taxes, but her own broken promises are coming back to haunt her and are frightening investors. It does not have to be Halloween for socialists to spook British business. Why does she think that business confidence has fallen faster in the past three months than at any point since the pandemic?
Rachel Reeves
I would judge this Government on their record: we secured £63.5 billion of investment right across the United Kingdom, creating nearly 40,000 jobs in constituencies up and down our country—good jobs that pay decent wages. That is more than twice the investment that the previous Government secured at their international investment summit. That shows how important it is to return stability to economy and work in partnership with businesses—something that the Conservative party might want to learn a lesson from.
Luke Taylor (Sutton and Cheam) (LD)
The Parliamentary Secretary, His Majesty’s Treasury (Emma Reynolds)
More than 12 million pensioners will be protected by this Government’s commitment to the triple lock, with the new full state pension expected to increase by around £1,700 over the course of this Parliament. Pensioners also benefit from free eye test, free NHS prescriptions and free bus passes.
Luke Taylor
We know that no impact assessment was carried out prior to the decision to cut the winter fuel payment, but was any consideration given to the burden that the daunting application form places on the elderly, and the extra burden on charities such as Age UK, which advise them on completing it? Evidence of that daunting burden is the 60% limit to uptake over the past decade. Will she work with her colleagues to simplify the application process, ease the burden on those who are losing the winter fuel payment, and help them receive the broad benefits that pension credit provides?
Mr Speaker
I think the Minister got it in the first two minutes, never mind the last three.
Emma Reynolds
The Government did an equality analysis on the change, which was published in September. I recommend that the hon. Gentleman take a look at it. It was such a long question that I have forgotten what he asked. On application forms—
Mr Speaker
Order. What is the hon. Gentleman standing for? I hope he is not. I call Blake Stephenson.
Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)
Mr James Frith (Bury North) (Lab)
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (James Murray)
As hon. Members know, any changes to tax policy will be set out in tomorrow’s Budget. Members will also know that our approach to fixing the foundations of the economy will be one that protects working people. This Labour Government will honour our commitment to protect working people by not increasing national insurance, basic, higher or additional rates of income tax, or VAT.
Blake Stephenson
The Government have got into an absolute pickle over the definition of working people. People deserve certainty. In Mid Bedfordshire, we are proud of the hard work of the owners of nearly 5,000 small businesses. They are working people creating jobs and growing our economy, and all while providing for their families. They are lying awake at night worrying about yet higher taxes. Will the Chancellor give them a peaceful night’s sleep ahead of tomorrow’s Budget and confirm that she will honour her manifesto commitment not to raise taxes on them?
James Murray
I do not think I am pre-empting anything tomorrow by confirming that the Chancellor will absolutely stick to our commitment not to raise taxes on working people through national insurance, the basic, higher or additional rates of income tax, or VAT. And I might add that what people and businesses in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency might want is stability in the economy, a Government who support investment in the economy, and a Government who will get the economy growing and make people across Britain better off.
Mr Frith
In Bury North, child poverty rates are at 43%, densely populated in three of our nine wards: Bury East, Redvales and Moorside. Does the Minister agree with me that minimising tax rises for working people is just the starting point, and that tackling the crippling level of impoverishment for those in work requires a laser focus and intervention from this mission-driven Government?
James Murray
My hon. Friend is absolutely right that, while keeping taxes on working people as low as possible is crucial, the way to make people better off in the long run is through boosting public and private investment, and delivering sustained economic growth. That is the focus of this Labour Government, and that will guide the choices we make.
Laura Trott (Sevenoaks) (Con)
During the election campaign, I held a press conference at which I outlined the glaring funding gaps in Labour’s plans and the taxes they might raise to pay for them. One of those taxes was employer national insurance contributions. The right hon. Member for Bristol North West (Darren Jones)—now Chief Secretary to the Treasury—responded at the time by arguing that this was a list of things that “Labour isn’t doing.” Is it correct that raising employer national insurance contributions is something Labour isn’t doing?
James Murray
The right hon. Member will have to wait for the Budget tomorrow. She was a Minister not that long ago, so she might still remember that the Budget is the time when such announcements are made. Let me restate our commitment, so it is crystal clear, that we will protect working people by not increasing national insurance, income tax or VAT. Might I add, very briefly, that I note the Conservatives suddenly have a new-found interest in the livelihoods of working people? It is a shame, frankly, that they never prioritised that during their 14 years in office, during which, time and again, they made working people pay for their mistakes.
Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Darren Jones)
The Government have launched a multi-year spending review to set out our long-term plans for public spending and to ensure that every pound of taxpayers’ money is spent effectively. The first phase of the spending review is due to report this week, alongside the Budget, and phase 2 will begin shortly after the Budget.
Anna Dixon
I thank my right hon. Friend for his response. Recent National Audit Office reports have revealed the extent of the Tories’ economic mismanagement over the past 14 years. That has put capital projects such as Bingley pool in my constituency at risk. As a member of the Public Accounts Committee, I will ensure that taxpayers’ money delivers value. Will the Minister assure me and my constituents that tomorrow’s Budget will be based on an honest assessment of the public finances, so that this Government can deliver on their promises?
Darren Jones
I thank my hon. Friend for her question. I can confirm that the Budget tomorrow will be an honest assessment of the mess left to this country by the Conservative party, but crucially our plans for clearing up the mess and then delivering the change we promised.
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
Given that, I assume, everyone in the Chamber has eaten at some point today, do we think that backing Britain’s farmers is a good use of public money, and given that there is a £2.4 billion budget for British farming, which the last Government underspent foolishly, recklessly and carelessly, will the Chief Secretary guarantee that at the very least the farming budget will be protected so that our farmers can carry on looking after our nature and feeding us?
Darren Jones
Actually, I did not have breakfast today, so I am looking forward to lunch, and I therefore welcome that short question from the hon. Member. This Government are committed to farming and rural affairs, and to the production of the food that they provide for us, which is important for security of supply as well as, in due course, for my lunch.
Rebecca Long Bailey (Salford) (Ind)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)
Tomorrow I will present my first Budget. It will be a Budget that fixes the foundations of our economy and delivers on the promise of change. It will turn the page on low growth and will be the start of a new chapter towards making Britain better off. It will mean more pounds in people’s pockets, an NHS that is there when they need it, and businesses creating wealth and opportunity for all.
Rebecca Long Bailey
I commend the Chancellor for recently outlining investment in social housing, but in the interim the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has stated that the previous Government’s decision to freeze local housing allowance rates will push 80,000 private renters on housing benefit, including 30,000 children, into deep poverty during this Parliament. Will the Chancellor now consider unfreezing the allowance and relinking it to the actual cost of local rents, so that those families can keep their heads above water?
Rachel Reeves
My hon. Friend makes a really important point, which I think is familiar to all of us in our communities, about the cost of housing outstretching people’s incomes. In our manifesto we committed to building 1.5 million new homes, including social housing, which is so important and can give security to people who would otherwise be left in insecure housing in the private rented sector.
Mr Speaker
As this is his farewell question time, let us now come to the shadow Chancellor.
Jeremy Hunt (Godalming and Ash) (Con)
This are indeed our final exchanges in the House, so before tomorrow’s fireworks I wish the Chancellor well for the future in her role. There has been a lot of common ground between us. For example, before the election she said that raising employers’ national insurance was a jobs tax that would take money out of people’s pockets. I very much agree with her on that; does she agree with herself?
Rachel Reeves
The right hon. Gentleman knows better than almost anyone else that there a was £22 billion black hole in the public finances. That will require difficult decisions, but even in those circumstances we will do everything in our power to protect the incomes of ordinary working people, so we are committed to ensuring that no working people will see higher taxes in their payslips after the Budget.
Jeremy Hunt
We all know why the Chancellor is inventing this fictitious black hole. Thirty times this year, before the election, she promised not to raise tax, and now she is planning to present the biggest tax-raising Budget in history. More consensually, however, as this is our final exchange, I welcome her announcement last week of a £2.3 billion loan for Ukraine. Does she agree that the strongest signal of resolve that we can send to Putin is a commitment to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence, and does she understand why so many people are worried by the fact that she has yet to do so?
Rachel Reeves
I have always respected the right hon. Gentleman, but I think it is important for us not to deny the seriousness of the situation that we face with the black hole in the public finances. Combined with the lashing out at independent economic institutions, it suggests that he has more in common with Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng than perhaps we thought. I watched my party lurch towards an ideological extreme and deny reality, and we spent years in opposition as a result. The shadow Chancellor risks taking his party down the same path.
Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (James Murray)
I know that Newcastle-under-Lyme and, indeed, the whole county of Staffordshire have a proud brewing tradition, and my hon. Friend will be an excellent champion of breweries in his constituency. Supporting pubs and breweries is very important for me as a Minister. Indeed, on my first day in the Treasury’s Darlington economic campus, I visited Durham brewery—it was a work visit—where I heard from the Society of Independent Brewers and associates about the huge contribution that breweries make to British society. Further details will be set out by the Chancellor tomorrow.
Mr Tom Morrison (Cheadle) (LD)
Rachel Reeves
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I went to school in the ’80s and ’90s, and I was taught in portacabins because there was not enough room in my school. I know how important it is that children are taught in proper facilities. We will set out more details of our capital investments at the Budget tomorrow.
Damien Egan (Bristol North East) (Lab)
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Darren Jones)
My hon. Friend is right to point out the opportunities for improvement. As the Chancellor set out in her July statement, prevention will be at the heart of this Government’s new approach to public service reform. That will be set out in the spending review in the coming months.
Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)
Rachel Reeves
Building the homes that our country needs is a top priority for this Government. In our manifesto, we committed to build 1.5 million homes in this Parliament, including social housing, so that people have access to secure and affordable accommodation and that every family have a roof over their heads. We will set out more details on all of this in the Budget tomorrow.
Mr Paul Foster (South Ribble) (Lab)
Darren Jones
The Government recognise the significant pressures that all councils are facing. We are looking at consolidating funding streams for local authorities into the local government finance settlement, and we will work towards implementing our commitment to a multi-year financial settlement.
Ben Maguire (North Cornwall) (LD)
Rachel Reeves
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. This is an issue that resonates right across the House, with so many of us hearing terrible stories at our surgeries about the lack of support for some of the most vulnerable children in society. I know that it is a priority for the Education Secretary too, and we will set out more detail on departmental settlements in the Budget tomorrow.
Sam Carling (North West Cambridgeshire) (Lab)
James Murray
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. He is absolutely right to say that pubs make an enormous contribution to our society and economy. The current alcohol duty system supports pubs through draught relief, which ensures that eligible products served on draught are charged less duty. The Government are committed to delivering a fairer business rates system for high streets, including hospitality. Any decisions on future tax policy will be announced by the Chancellor at a fiscal event, the next of which is tomorrow.
Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)
Eighty-two per cent of those who have seen Labour take away their winter fuel payment are either below the poverty line or within £55 a week of it. How can the Government justify this, when they are not even allowing a freedom of information request from the Financial Times to be responded to? They are hiding the figures from the people.
The Parliamentary Secretary, His Majesty’s Treasury (Emma Reynolds)
We are not hiding the figures. If I had had the chance, I would have said that 455,000 pensioners are paying the higher rate of tax and that 39,300 are paying the additional rate. Many wealthy pensioners have said to me that they do not need the winter fuel payment—[Interruption.] The right hon. Gentleman says that, but there are a number of—
Mr Speaker
Order. I think the Minister has answered the question. I call Emma Foody.
Emma Foody (Cramlington and Killingworth) (Lab/Co-op)
Rachel Reeves
My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the disastrous impacts of the Conservative mini-Budget just over two years ago, which is still having an impact on people’s lives as they pay higher mortgage bills. This Government have committed to return sustainability to the economy and to working with business to reform our planning system, our pensions system and our skills system. We have already brought in £63.5 billion of private sector investment to grow our economy in all parts of the country and deliver the jobs and better wages that constituents in Cramlington and right across the country need to see.
Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)
Small business owners are working people, and they are some of the hardest-working people that I know. The Labour party struggled to define them over the weekend, but does the Chancellor agree that any rise in fuel duty, which the Conservatives froze or cut for 14 years, would be a tax on those hard-working people or those hard-working small business owners?
Rachel Reeves
The previous Government factored into their forecasts an increase in fuel duty this year. I will set out our plans in the Budget tomorrow.
Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)
Emma Reynolds
The Chancellor launched the landmark pensions review in July, which I am leading and which is looking at measures to drive more UK pension investment into the UK economy, boosting growth but also improving pension savers’ outcomes. I know that there is interest in this agenda across the House.
Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)
Countryside Alliance research shows that rural households spend up to £800 a year more on fuel than urban households, so further to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Meriden and Solihull East (Saqib Bhatti), will the Chancellor protect rural communities in the Budget tomorrow?
Emma Reynolds
The hon. Gentleman is urging me to comment on the Budget, but he will have to wait until tomorrow.
Neil Duncan-Jordan (Poole) (Lab)
This Government have inherited a Britain that is now the most unequal country in the G7 bar America. The UK’s 50 richest families own 50% of the country’s wealth, and our tax system exacerbates this inequality with unfair loopholes that benefit those who have wealth rather than those who go to work. What steps—
Mr Speaker
Order—[Interruption.] No, these are topical questions and I decide.
James Murray
My hon. Friend will have to wait for the Budget tomorrow, but he will know that we have committed to closing some loopholes, including VAT on private schools, the non-dom loophole and cracking down on tax avoidance.
Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)
In South Devon, the average house price is now 14 times the average salary, at £425,000. What measures is the Chancellor taking to ensure that rural and coastal areas, such as the South Hams, which face huge digital and transport connectivity problems, will be included in measures to boost economic growth?
Rachel Reeves
Our commitment to build 1.5 million homes is about ensuring that all our constituents get the chance to have a roof over their head, including in rural areas, with more social housing as well so that people can have a secure tenancy. The hon. Lady is also right to raise the issue of digital connectivity, and we will be setting out more details on infrastructure investment in the Budget tomorrow.
Katrina Murray (Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch) (Lab)
“Buy now, pay later” is attractive to young people who are trying to survive on zero-hours contracts with irregular hours. What assurances can the Chancellor give me that the coming regulations will protect this group from problematic debt?
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Tulip Siddiq)
The proposed regulations will drive high standards of conduct among “buy now, pay later” firms, ensuring that consumers receive clear information and have access to strong protections. Our proposals will also allow the Financial Conduct Authority to require “buy now, pay later” firms to carry out affordability checks, ensuring that firms lend only to borrowers who can afford to repay.
Sir Ashley Fox (Bridgwater) (Con)
During the last election campaign, Labour candidates across Somerset said that a Labour Government would cut energy bills by £300. Will the Chancellor set out the timescale for fulfilling that promise?
Rachel Reeves
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, and I note the number of Labour MPs we now have in Somerset and across the south-west of England. We will set out more detail in the Budget tomorrow, but our commitment to investing in home-grown energy will boost our energy security, create good jobs here in Britain and begin to reduce people’s bills, as will our programme to better insulate homes, which the previous Government failed to do.
Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)
A hundred councils in England have come together to call for five key changes to unlock much-needed investment in new council homes. They will welcome the news of £500 million of additional grant and changes to the right-to-buy rules, but one issue they also raise is housing revenue account debt and finance. Will Treasury Ministers look specifically at debt allocations and how HRA debt is accounted for, to unlock much-needed investment in council homes?
Darren Jones
Councils’ housing revenue accounts are a significant part of local authority finances, and it is therefore not right to exclude them from our fiscal rules, but I reassure my hon. Friend that this Government’s commitment to deliver 1.5 million new homes will be delivered.
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)
However “working people” is defined, does the Chancellor not accept that people on low incomes and part-time employees who earn up to £300 a week should be exempt from paying income tax?
Rachel Reeves
We will set out details of our tax policy in the Budget tomorrow, but this Government have made a commitment to working people that we will not increase their income tax, their national insurance or the value added tax they pay.
Ministerial Code: Policy Announcements
(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Mr Speaker
I have noted the media reporting an assertion from Downing Street that the pre-announcement of Budget measures is entirely routine. For the avoidance of doubt, I am always happy for Ministers to come to the House to make announcements in the run-up to a Budget. This discourtesy arises when those announcements are made elsewhere.
Laura Trott (Sevenoaks) (Con)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on whether Ministers disclosing policies to the media before the Budget are in contravention of the ministerial code’s statement that the most important announcements of Government policy should be made, in the first instance, in Parliament.
The Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Nick Thomas-Symonds)
Mr Speaker, I reassure you that what you said yesterday, and indeed what you said a moment ago, has been heard not just by me but across Government.
The Government take their obligations to this House very seriously. Yesterday, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury made a statement to the House on the fiscal rules, in which he made it clear that details will be announced to the House in the Chancellor’s Budget statement tomorrow, alongside an economic and fiscal forecast produced by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. Treasury Ministers have also answered questions in the House this morning.
The Chancellor will come before the House tomorrow to set out in detail the Government’s Budget to fix the foundations of our economy, and the House will then have a further four days of debate on the measures announced in that Budget. Throughout it all, Members of this House will see a Government who are committed to fixing the foundations to deliver the change our country so desperately needs. This Labour Government will invest in Britain’s future so that we can rebuild the national health service and our country, while ensuring that working people do not face higher taxes in their payslips.
Laura Trott
The response from No. 10 yesterday, and Labour’s whole argument, seems to be, “We did it because you guys did it.” But I am old enough to remember a fresh-faced Prime Minister coming into Downing Street and promising change. Labour justifying its actions based on things that the Conservatives have done does not seem like the change we were promised, does it? We are learning the lessons of why we lost the election, but this Government seem to be taking lessons from the worst bits of our record. And not just ours—from the last Labour Government, too. It is like the greatest hits of Government mistakes being replayed in just 100 days.
Cronyism? Is it Blair? No, it is the fresh-faced Labour Government giving civil service jobs to donors. A gross betrayal of pensioners? Is it Brown? No, it is the new Chancellor deciding that those on £13,000 are rich and do not need their winter fuel payments. Rampant politicisation of our institutions? Was this not something Labour accused Boris Johnson of? No, it is the Chancellor again, who said this weekend that the ex-Prime Minister and ex-Chancellor will have to answer to the Office for Budget Responsibility, despite the OBR saying that the report has nothing to do with previous Ministers and led The Times to argue that the OBR has been reduced
“to the provisional wing of the Treasury press office.”
Disrespectful statements emanating from No.10 about your decisions, Mr Speaker? Not the Conservative party, but the No. 10 press office, just yesterday. And potentially breaching the ministerial code with abandon about Budget leaks? Right again, it is this Government.
This Government’s false piety has been breached comprehensively by the Downing Street passes scandal and crony appointments to the civil service, and their hypocrisy has been laid bare for all to see. Yet still they bleat on about the Tories like some broken spell they mutter over and over again in an attempt to conjure up the old magic, but it is not going to work. Labour is so obsessed with playing political games that its Members find themselves going over the Budget, simultaneously claiming that the Conservatives spent too much, but also spent too little. It is nonsense.
The question that I want to ask the Government today is who is going to take responsibility for the Budget leaks? What assessment have the Government made of whether this is a breach of the ministerial code?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
As I have said, I have the deepest respect for this House and its Members. The coming days will be very important to debate the Budget in full. I am sure right hon. and hon. Members will forgive me if I have a degree of cynicism about the Conservative party’s new-found passion for parliamentary conventions, given the number of times it failed in its 14 years in office to update the House ahead of major announcements.
The truth is that Conservative Members are desperate to speak about anything other than the appalling mess in which they left our national finances. There are many groups of people who I would listen to on budget management, but certainly not Members of the party that crashed the economy. We would think they might have learned some lessons from attacking independent financial institutions, but they have not. The shadow Chancellor and the shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury are attacking the Office for Budget Responsibility once again.
Families in my constituency and across the country are still paying higher rents and mortgage costs because of the mini-Budget two years ago that created and wreaked such havoc on our economy. Unlike the Conservative party, this Government will never play fast and loose with the nation’s finances. Tomorrow we will see a Budget focused on investment, to get the economy moving again. This Government will take the long-term decisions needed to rebuild Britain and fix our schools, hospitals and our broken roads. The Conservatives have not changed. All they offer is decline and more austerity, with working people paying the price.
Mr James Frith (Bury North) (Lab)
In Bury North, rents and mortgages are still sky high as a direct consequence of the economic legacy of the last Conservative Government. Does the Minister agree that it is no surprise that the Conservatives want to talk about anything other than their economic record?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
I certainly do agree. I am sure it will come as a surprise to right hon. and hon. Members that one of the Conservative’s former Chancellors decided to comment on the September 2022 fiasco. What did Kwasi Kwarteng say the other day? “Okay, my Budget wasn’t perfect”—the master of understatement.
Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) (LD)
It is a sad state of affairs when the run-up to the Budget of this new Government so closely resembles that of the previous Government, with consistent leaks and briefings to the media rather than announcements being made where they should be—in this House—so that Members can scrutinise them on behalf of their constituents. The previous Conservative Government did so much damage to trust in politics, including by consistently undermining the ministerial code. Will the Minister put things right and toughen up the status of the code by enshrining it in law?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
We have already said that the Prime Minister will publish an updated ministerial code shortly. There is a stark difference between this and the previous Administration. The approach of the previous one is probably best characterised as, “If you break the rules, try and change the rulebook,” but we on the Labour Benches take the ministerial code seriously. That is why we want to ensure that it is fit for purpose, deals with problems such as the Tory freebie loophole and meets the high standards that the Prime Minister expects of all who have the privilege of serving in his Government.
Laurence Turner (Birmingham Northfield) (Lab)
I am sure the whole House will welcome the constructive response from the Minister today. Will he confirm that the former Conservative Treasury Front-Bench team had to have paragraph 9.1 of the ministerial code drawn to their attention twice this year—in both April and May? It is do as they say, not do as they did.
Nick Thomas-Symonds
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Frankly, when I heard Conservative Members talk about ethics and standards in Government, I thought that irony had died.
Sir Bernard Jenkin (Harwich and North Essex) (Con)
Can we take it that the Government did not think that the Chancellor’s announcement in America last week was important? I think most people in this House felt that it was. Therefore, if it was important, did the Chancellor break the ministerial code?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury made a statement to the House yesterday. The entire Treasury team has been here answering questions today. The Chancellor will deliver a Budget tomorrow and we will have four days of debate on it. I doubt that the House has seen so much of the Treasury team since the Tories were forced to deliver two emergency Budgets in September 2022.
Louise Jones (North East Derbyshire) (Lab)
My constituents in North East Derbyshire are still paying the price of the mini-Budget, with rises in their mortgages and rents. Does the Minister agree that the Conservatives should be talking about that and holding themselves to account rather than throwing out chaff to distract everyone?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. In the contribution of the shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, one word was noticeably missing: sorry.
Dame Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) (Con)
As Chair of the Procedure Committee in the previous Parliament, I made a point of making sure that when Ministers had breached the rules, it was clear to them that both the Committee and others were very unhappy. Will the Minister confirm that he will make sure that the revised ministerial code makes it clear that announcements need to be made to this place first, as has always been the case?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
With the greatest respect to the right hon. Lady, she will not have long to wait for the ministerial code. In my opening remarks to Mr Speaker, I indicated my respect for this House in regard to the matter that she is talking about.
Matthew Patrick (Wirral West) (Lab)
The chutzpah from Conservative Members is quite incredible. Does the Minister agree that although they make a point today about process, they totally ignored the Office for Budget Responsibility ahead of the disastrous mini-Budget, which is still causing immense pain to my constituents?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
Absolutely. It is no surprise that we have a Conservative party that wants to talk about process, but it will not take responsibility for the £22 billion black hole that it left in our finances.
Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
Yesterday, Mr Speaker, you made the strongest statement of condemnation on a subject of this sort that I have heard from the Chair in 27 years in this House. The Minister is a decent chap and, for all I know, he may be a skilled cricketer, but he must admit that he is batting on a sticky wicket today. Does he understand that if his defence is just to say, “We did it because the previous party did it,” nobody will ever break this cycle? His party has a big majority. It could just say sorry and resolve to do better in future.
Nick Thomas-Symonds
I have a great deal of respect for the right hon. Gentleman. I am not a cricketer, as it happens, so I cannot comment on the condition of the wicket. With regard to Mr Speaker, I did initially set out in my remarks today my respect for what he said both yesterday and today, and my respect for Members of this House.
Fred Thomas (Plymouth Moor View) (Lab)
I think we all understand that Conservative Members are desperate to talk about anything other than their record of 14 years of failure in government. We hear from hon. Friends and Opposition Members how those failures are affecting constituents every single day. My question is, what next? How will the Conservatives distract us next?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
My hon. Friend is entirely right about the Conservative party’s desire to distract from its record, whether it is the lockdown parties or the PPE VIP lane for contracts. This Government are appointing a covid corruption commissioner to get the public’s money back.
Brendan O’Hara (Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber) (SNP)
Those of us who have been in this place for some time will remember the outraged indignation of the now Government, when they were in opposition, every time the now Opposition pulled a stunt like this. The only constant is you, Mr Speaker, and your efforts to have whichever of them is in power treat this House and its Members with respect. Can the Minister not see that the Government displaying such arrogant contempt for the rules only feeds the public perception that one is as bad as the other? Rather than delivering the change it promised, the Labour party is really saying, “It’s our turn now.”
Nick Thomas-Symonds
The hon. Gentleman cannot possibly be saying that there is any comparison with breaching the rules during the covid pandemic. He really cannot; that is not a serious proposition. Nor is it a serious proposition to suggest that this is comparable with the money that was lost in the PPE VIP lane—it really is not.
Mark Ferguson (Gateshead Central and Whickham) (Lab)
Despite the rumours being spread, including by the Conservative party, can my right hon. Friend confirm that not a single change to taxation has yet been announced, and that they will in fact be announced at the Budget tomorrow?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
As my hon. Friend says, the measures will be announced at tomorrow’s Budget in the normal way, with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s economic and fiscal forecast. The Conservative party may denigrate the Office for Budget Responsibility, but this Government respect our financial institutions.
Dame Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)
Can the Paymaster General confirm that the Chancellor receiving £7,500-worth of free clothes and declaring them as office support is a breach of the ministerial code?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
I must say, the Conservatives have learned absolutely nothing. They trashed ministerial standards and standards in this House when in government. [Interruption.]
Nick Thomas-Symonds
The Conservatives trashed standards in government. My suggestion to them is to reflect on the past 14 years.
Sam Carling (North West Cambridgeshire) (Lab)
I am very grateful to several Conservative Members for admitting to quite a lot of the mistakes that they made in government. People in my constituency are still paying the price, in their mortgages and rents, for the disastrous Conservative economic record. Is it any wonder that the Conservatives are so desperate to speak about anything other than their disastrous record?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
My hon. Friend is absolutely right: the Conservatives will talk about anything but their own record. Is it any wonder that they did not conduct a spending review before they called a general election? The reality is that they made unfunded spending commitments and then ran away.
Sir Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)
A remit of the new Modernisation Committee is to enhance the ability of Members of this House to hold the Government to account. In the light of the failure that has been exhibited over recent days, would the Minister be in favour of referring this issue to the Modernisation Committee?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
I was not aware that financial mismanagement by the Conservative party was a matter for the Modernisation Committee, but it should certainly be referred to something.
Josh Simons (Makerfield) (Lab)
Like others, I am surprised to hear that Conservative Members recently rediscovered their moral compass—the one that they lost perhaps when the former Prime Minister sent out the “bring your own bottle” invite to Downing Street, when he spent taxpayers’ money jetting his girlfriend around the world, or when they unlawfully suspended this place. Perhaps the Minister agrees that there might be another motivation. Does the right hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Laura Trott) want to keep her job next week?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
Of course, we wish the right hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Laura Trott) well for the reshuffle next week. As ever, my hon. Friend makes a very persuasive point. The Conservatives will talk about anything apart from their record.
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
At 10 pm last night, the Government announced a £70 million increase in funding for radiotherapy. As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for radiotherapy, I very much welcome that, but would it not have been better and right for the Government to make a statement to the House so that the policy could be properly scrutinised? That £70 million equals about 30 linear accelerators, but it will take 70 linear accelerators just to replace those that are going out of date this year. It will not meet the needs of people living in rural communities such as mine. We desperately need a satellite radiotherapy unit in Kendal so that people can get to treatment quickly. Will the Paymaster General put that lack of scrutiny right by arranging for a Health Minister to meet me and the rest of the all-party group, so that we can work closely to take forward those plans together?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
I will certainly pass on that request to the relevant Health Minister. Putting aside the point that the hon. Gentleman makes about scrutiny, I am sure that he joins us in welcoming the focus on radiotherapy, and there will be a real desire to work on it with him across party lines.
Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)
I was elected to keep the promises that we made in our manifesto. The Conservative party broke nearly every promise that it made in its 14 years in government. Does the Minister agree that it is only right for this Government to confirm that we will honour the pledges we made at the election?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I am afraid that trust was one of the many things that the Conservative Government destroyed over 14 years, and this Government are determined to rebuild it.
James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)
The Chancellor, the Education Secretary, the Health Secretary and the Work and Pensions Secretary have all made significant announcements to the media and not to the House. Will those breaches of the ministerial code be investigated? Why has the Prime Minister not yet published an updated version of the ministerial code—are the Government still working out whether it is right to accept suits and glasses?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
We have already said that the Prime Minister will update the ministerial code and publish it shortly to ensure that it is fit for purpose, deals with problems such as the Tory freebie loophole, as I have said, and meets the high standards that the Prime Minister expects.
Richard Tice (Boston and Skegness) (Reform)
We hear a lot about “14 years of failure”, but it seems to me that this Government have had 14 years to learn how the ministerial code works. In reality, the announcement made by the Chancellor last week moved the markets: bond yields went up, which means that mortgages and people’s bills have gone up. The right thing for the Government to do is to apologise.
Nick Thomas-Symonds
First, we will see the impact of what the Chancellor announces tomorrow and in the days afterwards. The ministerial code will be published shortly. That stands in stark contrast to what the previous Government did. I watched from the Opposition Benches as they tried to tear up the entire rulebook to protect one of their friends—that is not something that we will do.
Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)
After your statement yesterday, Mr Speaker, I think you will have been as disappointed as I was that when the Chancellor came to the Chamber for Treasury questions this morning, she failed to apologise for the serious and important announcements that she had made outside the House. Without deflecting any further by talking about the previous Government’s record, will the Minister promise now that the ministerial code, and the Speaker of this House, who represents us all, will be respected by the Government?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
Of course this Government respect both Mr Speaker and the ministerial code, but I make no apology whatsoever for holding the Conservative party to account for its record.
Alan Gemmell (Central Ayrshire) (Lab)
Conservative Members, in their faux outrage, have complete amnesia about their series of egregious failures in government, for which people in my constituency are still paying the price. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we need to consider the future that this Government can bring to the people of Central Ayrshire?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. In recent weeks, we have had the investment summit, where this Government—an active Government —got pledges of £63 billion of investment into our economy. That is already a much better record than that of the Conservative Government, under whom investment was in decline.
Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)
I declare an interest as a governor of the Royal Berkshire hospital, and a family member of mine has a shareholding in a health company. Yesterday, I asked the Chief Secretary to the Treasury whether he would commit to urgent funding for the Royal Berkshire hospital, and I was told very politely to wait for Wednesday’s Budget. Does the Minister agree that there is a democratic deficit when elected MPs cannot get an answer on issues that affect their constituents, but details of the Budget are, at the same time, being briefed to the press?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
There are a range of ways in which the hon. Gentleman can get answers for his constituents, from written parliamentary questions to securing a debate in Westminster Hall or an Adjournment debate. He does not have long to wait for the Budget, and he will have four days of debate afterwards to raise that point.
Jim Shannon
I say this very gently to the Minister, but it must be said: throughout his term, Mr Speaker has been painfully clear that there is a procedure for this House that we must all follow. Does the Minister not agree that this Government, who have come to power on a mandate to do things the right way, must pay respect to that convention? It is not in place simply due to tradition but to ensure that policy changes are heard and debated in this Chamber first, which is the purpose of this House, rather than heard and debated in TV studios throughout the country with a simple nod in the direction of the discourse of democracy.
Nick Thomas-Symonds
I have huge respect for this House, to which the hon. Gentleman is a frequent contributor. The Government’s respect for the ministerial code, for Mr Speaker and for Members of this House is absolute.
Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)
Over the past few days, we have had multiple leaked definitions of what working people are. Will the Government place in the House of Commons Library a definition ready for tomorrow’s Budget, so we can all understand who they are talking about?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
I can tell the hon. Gentleman about working people. Working people are the people who have been so appallingly let down by the Conservative party. They are the people who are paying extra costs in their mortgages and their rents every month; they are the people hit by the cost of living; they are the people left on record waiting lists by the Conservative party; and they are the people who this Government are determined to deliver for.
Paul Holmes (Hamble Valley) (Con)
Thank you, Mr Speaker—there I was ready to defend your honour, Sir. Even after your ruling yesterday, the Government made more announcements on the BBC this morning concerning health services, so has the Paymaster General asked his advisers at the Cabinet Office whether they think the Chancellor or any other Minister has broken the ministerial code? If he has not asked for that advice, why not?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
Come on. The Conservative party, which showed zero respect for the ministerial code in office, trying to put questions like that is appalling—it is double standards. [Interruption.]
Sudan
(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Mr Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield) (Con)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Sudan.
The Minister for Development (Anneliese Dodds)
I am grateful to the right hon. Member for bringing this urgent question before the House and ensuring that we discuss the appalling situation that we currently see in Sudan. Since conflict erupted between the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces in April last year, Sudan has witnessed one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. Humanitarian access continues to be deliberately blocked, and atrocities are being committed on a horrific scale.
The UK is at the forefront of responding to this crisis. Yesterday at the UN Security Council, the UK condemned the horrific escalation in violence in Al Jazirah state over recent days, with the Rapid Support Forces reportedly shooting indiscriminately at civilians and committing heinous acts of sexual violence. In September, as world leaders gathered for the UN General Assembly, the UK convened an event with partners to draw international attention to conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan. That followed my visit to South Sudan, where I spoke with some of those who have been impacted by this horrific violence. On 12 October, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Edinburgh also visited the Chad-Sudan border to witness the impacts of the conflict in Sudan on women and girls and shine a light on the deteriorating situation.
On 9 October, as co-leader of the UN Human Rights Council’s core group on Sudan, the UK led efforts to extend the mandate of the independent fact-finding mission on Sudan. That mission is vital for documenting human rights abuses. Most recently, on 18 October, the UK led a joint statement with 10 other donors condemning the obstruction of aid and calling on the warring parties to comply with obligations under international humanitarian law. I also want to underline that this year, the UK has provided £113.5 million in aid to support those who are fleeing violence in Sudan and those who have fled to neighbouring Chad, South Sudan and Libya.
Mr Mitchell
The war in Sudan represents the largest humanitarian crisis, hunger crisis and displacement crisis in the world, but it has been almost entirely neglected because of the crises in the middle east and Ukraine. In the 18 months since hostilities erupted, tens of thousands have been killed and more than 10 million people have been displaced. Horrifically, 13 million face death by starvation this winter. We are witnessing a continuation of what the Janjaweed, the murderous militia now restyled as the RSF, started in Darfur 20 years ago. This is a deliberate strategy to destroy a population based on their identity—a crime against humanity. More than 1 million people in El Fasher in north Darfur are at immediate risk.
As a member of the troika and through many other actions, Britain has been active, but as the penholder on Sudan at the United Nations Security Council and with our deep historical connections to Sudan, the UK has a special responsibility to accelerate international efforts to find a solution. Events are not moving far enough or fast enough. Where is the responsibility to protect—a policy endorsed by the whole United Nations—in this dreadful catastrophe? What steps is the Foreign Secretary taking to ensure the international community lives up to its obligation under the responsibility to protect framework?
We have seen how contentious issues on the global stage often spill over into domestic discourse, but the debate on Sudan has been muted: there are no protests in the streets and no mass public social media campaigns, and news coverage has been sporadic. Yesterday, the Government announced that they will be match-funding the Disasters Emergency Committee’s middle east appeal. Can the Minister confirm today that she will do everything she can to support the launch of a DEC appeal on Sudan as soon as possible? The British public are one of the most generous, and I am certain that with greater awareness, many will dig deep to help, both in humanitarian terms and in calling for urgent international action. As Christmas approaches, from the comfort of our homes, we are going to witness the hideous spectre of mass starvation in a world of plenty. “Urgent” is an understatement: we must do more and act now.
Anneliese Dodds
The new Government are absolutely determined to not neglect this crisis. The right hon. Member has just used the word “hideous”; that truly is the case. I have spoken with some of those who came back into South Sudan from Sudan, including children—children who had effectively had to fend for themselves for many days, wading through flooded water, and were barely alive by the time they got to South Sudan. I heard from them about the need to ensure that the UK Government do all they can to stop this horrific conflict, in which the two sides are ultimately out for themselves and most definitely not for the people of Sudan, who are being held to ransom.
The right hon. Member rightly drew attention to the situation in El Fasher. He will know that keeping the Adré border crossing open is absolutely imperative. We should no longer see any restrictions on aid: that border must be kept open, and additional impediments should not be placed there. He talked about our special responsibility, which is certainly one that the new UK Government feel very strongly. We are doing all we can within the UN, as well as bilaterally, to ensure that the UK is providing leadership on this horrendous situation. The Foreign Secretary has raised it repeatedly in a whole range of different contexts, as have I, including bilaterally and multilaterally.
The right hon. Member referred to the links that the people of the UK have with Sudan. Although he rightly said that there have not been protests on the streets, there are Brits up and down our country who are working extraordinarily hard to support those in Sudan, particularly through mutual aid groups. Those are some of the bravest people I have ever spoken with: I have spoken to them online since I came into post, and also spoke with some of them in Addis Ababa. They really are incredible, providing support for their communities at a time of such need.
Lastly, the right hon. Gentleman rightly mentioned the DEC appeal for the middle east that we have worked with broadcasters on and matched to £10 million. Of course, any DEC appeal is determined by broadcasters, but we will certainly do all we can to ensure that the support that the people of Sudan need is delivered in a far greater volume than currently.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
My right hon. Friend says that she is doing all she can at the UN and bilaterally, but this horrendous situation is unfolding day by day, with 10 million people displaced, 20,000 people killed and 33,000 people injured—and it is getting worse. Can she say exactly what she is doing and how she is deploying the UN General Assembly, particularly as we are the penholder, to bring this horrendous situation to a close?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for asking for more specific details. She is right to emphasise the magnitude of the crisis: it is the world’s largest displacement crisis and now disturbingly, as we see, the world’s largest crisis of food insecurity.
Specifically on the UN General Assembly, which my hon. Friend asked about, we ensured that the UK convened an event with partners to draw attention to conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan. I also worked with partners to hold a meeting on the Sudanese humanitarian situation, which we are rightly working on across our ministerial teams in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)
Some 25 million people urgently need assistance in Sudan and more than 10 million have been displaced from their homes. Will the Minister affirm that attaining a ceasefire in Sudan is a diplomatic priority for the UK?
The UK is the penholder on Sudan at the UN Security Council and assumes the presidency of the council from Friday. Last night, I met the former civilian Prime Minister of Sudan, Dr Abdalla Hamdok, who is president of the broad civilian front Tagadum. He is pushing for safe zones for civilians. Will the UK sponsor a new Security Council resolution to designate no-fly areas for aircraft and Iranian drones, and to uphold responsibilities under resolution 2417? Will the Government increase the capacity of their mission in Sudan as a practical means of support? Will they also further increase UK humanitarian assistance, including support for the UN appeal for Sudan, which has received only half its target funding?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for the incredibly important point. She is right to underline that we must see an end to the hostilities. As I mentioned in response to the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), the two warring parties both appear to believe that they can win the war, so they are continuing hostilities. The impact of that on the civilian population is extreme: as we mentioned, there is the highest level of displacement and of food insecurity anywhere in the world. There must be an end to hostilities and the UK Government are doing all we can to advocate for that.
I am pleased to hear that the hon. Lady met the former leader of Sudan, Hamdok, from the transitional Government. I also met representatives of Tagadum, which is an important civil society organisation, when I was in Addis Ababa. Their voice must be heard, especially when it comes to the protection of refugees. We have seen so many attacks on refugees, internally displaced people in Sudan, and civilians. We will continue to argue against that.
The hon. Lady asked about our activity in Sudan. Richard Crowder is the newly appointed head of British Office Sudan and the UK special representative to Sudan. He is working incredibly hard on that, as are all the Ministers in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, as I mentioned.
Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)
I am grateful to the Minister for updating us on her work. The violence continues in part because the warring parties have their sponsors in the region, including Iran and the Gulf. What efforts are the Government making to work with those regional sponsors to encourage de-escalation and secure a ceasefire?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for mentioning that; she has considerable experience in the area of humanitarian need. We were extremely concerned by the situation that was revealed, for example, in the panel of experts’ report in January 2024 about external engagement. I have said from the Dispatch Box before, and I will say again, that the only reason for another country to be engaged in Sudan is to help to provide humanitarian support. That is the only reason for external engagement, and we will continue to make that argument very strongly.
Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
Both Front Benchers seem united in their passionate concern about this terrible conflict. Does the Minister agree that if this situation were happening in a conflict on the continent of Europe or in the middle east, it would be on our national news night after night? Why does she think our broadcasters give a second-order priority to such a terrible conflict?
Anneliese Dodds
The right hon. Gentleman asks an important question, and one that I have been struggling with too. Without dwelling on it, hearing from those who have been directly impacted by the crisis about the horrendous time that they have spent trying to escape the violence leads one to the conclusion that there must be more of a focus on the situation. The most appalling outcome would be if, some years hence, people were to look back and say, “Why did the international community not do more?” The Government are determined to use every lever—multilateral and bilateral—to try to force change and make sure that the people of Sudan are protected.
Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)
A UN investigation found today that rape is widespread in Sudan. The accounts are horrific, yet as we have heard, the conflict is the world’s forgotten war. How will the UK use its presidency of the UN Security Council in November to ensure that the crisis is no longer forgotten and that the world acts, including on sexual violence in conflict?
Anneliese Dodds
My hon. Friend raises an incredibly important issue; again, I know that she has experience in this area. The UK Government have repeatedly condemned atrocities and called out human rights violations, especially conflict-related sexual violence committed by parties to the conflict. We have called that out in the UN Human Rights Council and the Security Council. We are also supporting fact-finding missions. I was pleased to secure the support of even more countries for the important UN fact-finding mission, because the voices of women, girls and indeed boys who are being subjected to sexual violence must be heard and there cannot be impunity for that.
Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
The brutality of violence in Sudan, and the disruption of agricultural systems and trade routes, have led to the extreme food insecurity that we have seen. Does the Minister share my admiration for the local emergency room organisations that are doing what they can to support local people? What will she do to ensure that international aid can get through to those actors on the ground? In the absence of international agencies or international forces, they are all that is there. What will she do to ensure that aid can continue to get across the border from Chad?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for referring to the emergency response rooms; I had a meeting with a number of people involved with those mechanisms. We are talking about ordinary Sudanese people who have taken extremely brave steps to make sure that they are supporting their local communities with desperately needed humanitarian aid—food, water and other supplies that they need right now. As a Co-operative party MP, I believe that they have shown the best of mutual aid, and incredible courage at the same time. The UK is working with the UN on that, because we need to make sure that those individuals are supported in their incredibly important work. On the subject of aid from Chad, we will continue to push to make sure that the Adré border crossing is kept open and that there are no bureaucratic and administrative obstacles to aid getting through from there.
Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)
What discussions have the Government had with regional actors to bring to bear pressure on the RSF and the SAF to make sure that humanitarian access to the country is allowed to prevent the severe starvation that is ongoing?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this. We have had discussions with a number of bilateral partners both in the region and outside it. In fact, I discussed this with the USAID administrator last week when I was at the World Bank annuals, but we have of course had a number of discussions with regional actors as well—particularly countries in the Gulf, but beyond that as well. We know that many of them have relationships with individuals in Sudan, and we are really pushing for those to be used so that we see the aid delivery that is so desperately needed.
Chris Law (Dundee Central) (SNP)
The UN Secretary-General warned yesterday that
“outside powers are fuelling the fire”,
and intensifying the nightmare of hunger and disease for millions of people in Sudan. The Minister has previously stated:
“The UK could not be clearer in our language.”—[Official Report, 3 September 2024; Vol. 753, c. 166.]
She has said that those engaged in this conflict and enabling a proxy situation are exacerbating a humanitarian crisis. What precise actions are the UK Government taking to prevent this involvement and to stop arms reaching the conflict zones?
Anneliese Dodds
I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for being of the same mind on how we need to see an end to external engagement and to see the warring parties coming to the negotiating table. There have been a number of efforts to achieve that, but sadly, we have not seen both parties engaging to the extent they should have done. They must engage, and we must also see civil society engaging. We need to make sure that every single country is pushing towards that end, which is ultimately the only thing that will prevent the suffering of the Sudanese people.
Steve Yemm (Mansfield) (Lab)
What are the Government doing to ensure that the real picture of the impact on civilians in the region is well known, or better known, both domestically and in the international community?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this, because it really is important that we get as accurate a picture as possible of what is taking place, including of human rights violations. We are supporting the Centre for Information Resilience, a research body that is gathering open-source evidence about the ongoing fighting in Sudan. As I have mentioned, we have also pushed very hard to ensure there is support for the UN’s fact-finding mission. I was very pleased to see African nations backing that—a number of different countries backed it—and we need to make sure that the neutral information-gathering approach is really intensified so that we get an accurate picture.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Minister very much for her response. It is clear to the House that the Minister is doing her best to try to find solutions to the questions we are asking. On the escalating violence in Sudan’s Gezira state, recent attacks by the Rapid Support Forces have reportedly led to some 124 civilian deaths and widespread atrocities, including the targeting of ethnic and religious communities. In the light of the events that have led to the displacement of some 11 million people in Sudan, how are the Government working with international partners to safeguard the freedom of religious belief of those fleeing the religiously and ethnically motivated violence, and what immediate actions have been taken to ensure access to safe passage, humanitarian aid and protection for Sudanese civilians facing persecution, especially those from vulnerable religious communities?
Anneliese Dodds
I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this incredibly important issue. One of the many tragic developments we see in Sudan at the moment is that, under the previous transitional Government to whom we referred a few moments ago, there was considerable progress on freedom of religion and belief. For example, apostasy was decriminalised and Christmas was made a national holiday for those who wish to celebrate it, so there was a lot of progress. We have not so far seen a significant increase in the specific targeting of or discrimination against any religious minorities for their beliefs, but we will keep that under very close review, and we are aware that the broader human rights situation has clearly been deteriorating very disturbingly.
Israel: UNRWA Ban
(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Yasmin Qureshi (Bolton South and Walkden) (Lab)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on what assessment he has made of legislation approved by the Israeli Knesset to ban UNRWA.
The Minister for Development (Anneliese Dodds)
I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this critically important issue. Let me be clear: jeopardising the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and, in turn, its ability to carry out lifesaving work is unacceptable. As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary stated clearly in this House yesterday, it is also “wholly counterproductive for Israel”. Removing UNRWA from the equation would make an already unacceptable humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories far worse. It would also, of course, undermine the work of the United Nations more widely.
We are working closely with our international partners to urge the Israeli Government to step back from the brink and ensure that the legislation passed yesterday in the Knesset does not stop UNRWA being able to carry out its vital role in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. UNRWA is indispensable in the provision of aid for Palestinians. No other agency can get aid into Gaza at the scale needed. All humanitarian actors depend on UNRWA’s distribution network to get aid to those who need it most. That is why we restored funding to UNRWA as soon as possible, providing £21 million of funding. This is helping to provide emergency food, shelter and other support for 3 million people, as well as supporting UNRWA’s wider work assisting 6 million Palestinian refugees across the region. Some £1 million of the UK’s funding is helping the implementation of Catherine Colonna’s reforms.
We expect UNRWA to uphold the highest standards of neutrality. As I have said, we are providing funding and support for its reform process to enable that. The Secretary-General and the commissioner-general of UNRWA took the allegations seriously, and acted decisively. They cannot now be used to justify cutting ties with UNRWA. That is why we and our international partners voiced our concern at the weekend about the legislation that the Knesset has now passed, and called on the Government of Israel to make sure that UNRWA’s work can continue. The Prime Minister has been clear that the world
“will not tolerate any more excuses on humanitarian assistance”.
Israel must enable more aid to enter Gaza now and protect civilians. There can be no justification for denying civilians access to essential supplies. It is unacceptable that UK-funded humanitarian supplies have been unable to reach those in desperate need. Winter is coming, and the Palestinian people cannot wait. Israel’s Foreign Minister Katz reassured the Foreign Secretary over the weekend that aid will get in, and we will continue to press Israel to meet those commitments.
Finally, the Foreign Secretary reported to this House yesterday that Foreign Minister Katz had told us that the Knesset passing the Bill did not necessarily mean it had to be implemented. We will continue to use every lever we have to put pressure on the Israeli Government not to implement the legislation. It is not in their own interests, and it is certainly not in the interests of the Palestinian people, or indeed of humanity.
Yasmin Qureshi
I thank the Minister for that response, and I also welcome the comments made by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary yesterday. However, our statements of concern will do nothing to help the lives of innocent Palestinians, who will be further devastated by this decision.
The Minister will know that the decision yesterday was backed by 90% of the Knesset. It will see UNRWA evicted from the premises it has held for over 70 years, and it will severely block its ability to provide essential services such as healthcare and education to millions of Palestinian refugees and others. It is a reckless move, and one that threatens to dismantle the backbone of the international humanitarian operation in Gaza, worsening an already catastrophic crisis. It will also deprive them of essential food, water, medical aid, education and protection, which is already being obstructed.
The decision will also have catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, where essential humanitarian aid is crucial both for the refugees and for the host communities. It is clear that these actions are part of a wider strategy to delegitimise UNRWA and to undermine the international legal framework protecting their rights—specifically, the right of return for Palestinian refugees who have been languishing in surrounding countries.
Does the Minister agree that the real intent is in part to undermine UNRWA’s efforts to promote the status of Palestinian refugees, and to obstruct future political solutions? Can I also remind the Minister that the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take all measures in its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of article 2 of the genocide convention? By banning UNRWA’s operation, Israel is disregarding the ICJ’s provisional measure to ensure the delivery of lifesaving aid to Gaza.
My final question is this: we have seen the decimation that has taken place; is it not time to fulfil part 2 of the Balfour agreement? We have the state of Israel; should we not have now a state of Palestine?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her comments. I am aware that she has considerable direct experience of the importance of UN organisations from before she became a Member in this House. I agree that we must not see the undermining of UNRWA. It has a specific, long-standing role, provided within a clear framework that countries signed up to. It has a role not just in Gaza but in the west bank and the broader region. She is of course right that UNRWA is critical for the delivery of aid through the operations of other organisations as well. As Members would expect, I have discussed this not just with Commissioner-General Lazzarini and others under his leadership in UNRWA, including when I was in Jordan, but with other organisations that are active in Gaza. They are very clear that we should not see the undermining of UNRWA, and that ultimately it is critical for the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid.
Dame Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)
We are following developments in the Knesset carefully. We Conservative Members want more aid to reach innocent civilians in Gaza because the situation there is desperate, but we also recognise that UNRWA must rebuild the trust and confidence that it lost, following the deeply troubling allegations that staff were involved in the appalling 7 October attacks and the outcome of the subsequent investigation. Catherine Colonna’s reforms need to be implemented in full, because we recognise that UNRWA has a good, indeed often critical, distribution network. Can the Minister update the House on the progress that UNRWA has made in implementing the Colonna reforms, and what measures have the Government put in place, since restoring funding to UNRWA, to monitor its neutrality?
More broadly, during our time in government, Israel made commitments that would increase the amount of aid reaching Gaza—for example, a commitment to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid through Ashdod and Erez, extend the opening hours of Kerem Shalom, increase the total number of aid trucks and allow more types of aid in. I would be grateful if the Minister updated the House on what discussions she has had with her Israeli colleagues about fulfilling those commitments, and indeed on what credible alternative plan Israel has developed.
Despite the pause in future funding to UNRWA implemented by the last Government, we remained absolutely committed to getting on with aid delivery. Among other measures that we took, we assisted over 5,800 children with severe malnourishment, and 853,000 children, adolescents and carers with the provision of wider emergency services. We also sent in many airdrops, and funded a field hospital that is treating thousands of patients. Will the Minister confirm that there are other ways to deliver aid without UNRWA, and that the UK stands ready to help in every way possible, with its extensive expertise, so that we reach the most vulnerable?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her comments. She raised a number of critical issues. I was pleased to see cross-party agreement on the desperate need for more aid to enter Gaza. Also, we agree, of course, that the Colonna reforms need to be implemented, and the new UK Government have been very clear that we will do what we can to ensure that. Indeed, £1 million of the support we provided to UNRWA is dedicated to ensuring that those reforms are implemented. We continue to monitor the situation actively. As the hon. Lady would expect, I have discussed this directly with the leadership of UNRWA, and I believe they are putting those measures in place. They have put many in place, including many that they had wished to put in place for a long time, but were unable to, for lack of funds. This is critically important.
The hon. Lady referred to comments made previously by Israel. Of course the Government of Israel stated that they would flood Gaza with aid; concerningly, however, October might be the month with the lowest levels of aid going into Gaza since the start of the conflict. There really does need to be action to change that. There has been a very strong message on that from right across Government—of course from me, but also from the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister. We need to see a change here.
However, I would perhaps question some of the hon. Lady’s final comments. All the organisations with which I have discussed these matters, with a wide range of perspectives on the delivery of aid, have stressed the critical role that UNRWA plays. It has an unrivalled ability to distribute the support that is so desperately needed, and is, if anything, even more important as we approach winter, which could be very difficult indeed for the people of Gaza unless we act.
Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury) (Lab)
UNRWA staff are expected to uphold neutrality, and receive compulsory training on humanitarian principles. It shares staff names and ID numbers with host countries. It has its 1,300 buildings inspected quarterly, and it commissioned a report from a group led by a former Foreign Secretary of France, who concluded that UNRWA upholds the principle of humanitarian neutrality. While of course there are changes that can be made, does my right hon. Friend agree that the recommendations are relatively peripheral, and fundamentally UNRWA does deserve the trust of the international community?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for her comments, and all the work that her Select Committee is undertaking on these issues. We should state, as a new UK Government, that we were appalled by the allegations that those involved in the 7 October attacks on Israel might have included UNRWA staff. It was absolutely right that investigations took place within UNRWA to determine what happened, and that there was decisive action. That was fundamental, actually; it was incredibly important.
My right hon. Friend referred to Catherine Colonna’s report. It underlines the need for neutrality, and I mentioned previously that the UK Government are determined to play our part in ensuring that the Colonna report is implemented, including by allocating £1 million to that end. We are very clear that the kind of change that we could see around the position on UNRWA recently cannot be linked to discussions around the Colonna report. Decisive action, which the UK Government supported, has been taken, and UNRWA is needed to support humanitarian aid right now in Gaza.
Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)
We are deeply concerned about the Knesset vote to ban UNRWA. This comes at a time that could not be more desperate. One of the UN’s most senior humanitarian officials warns:
“The entire population of north Gaza is at risk of dying.”
We welcome the Government’s continued support to UNRWA, including on implementing the recommendations of the Colonna report as quickly as possible. Can the Minister say what confidence she has in the assurance that the Foreign Secretary received from Foreign Minister Katz that the Israeli Government were not obliged to implement the Knesset decision? What precisely are the Government doing to achieve immediate access for humanitarian aid, and does the Minister agree that as well as words of condemnation, the UK must set out the consequences for breaching international law? Will she consider sanctioning Ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich for inciting illegal settlers in the west bank to violence against Palestinians?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his comments. I believe we are of the same mind on the passing of the UNRWA Bills by Israel’s Knesset. The Prime Minister has been very clear that the UK is gravely concerned about this. We believe the passing of those Bills risks making UNRWA’s essential work for Palestinians impossible. It risks jeopardising the entire international humanitarian response in Gaza and the delivery of essential health and education services in the west bank, and we have joined with allies in making that very clear over the weekend and into the beginning of this weekend. As the hon. Gentleman mentioned, that included the Foreign Secretary reiterating his deep concern to Israel’s Foreign Minister Katz on 27 October; he made the UK’s concerns on this very clear.
The hon. Member asked what immediate action we were taking on access to aid. We are using every lever we can identify to try to progress that access. I have mentioned our deep concern about the situation; we see far too few trucks entering Gaza with desperately needed supplies. That is particularly important now, in the run-up to winter. We will continue to work multilaterally and bilaterally to push forward on that.
Finally, the hon. Member mentioned the important subject of international humanitarian law. The new UK Government are resolutely committed to international humanitarian law. We keep our sanctions regime continuously under review. I will not comment on the specifics of it now, for reasons that he will understand. We have been clear that the actions of those engaged in promoting illegal settlements and violence towards Palestinians on the west bank are completely unacceptable. We have stated that many times and have made that clear. Finally, on whether there are implications from this position, I refer him to discussions we have had in the House on the arms export licensing control regime.
Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield South East) (Lab)
My right hon. Friend said that we are at an end now, when it comes to Israeli excuses about why aid does not get in, but this is beyond excuses; this is potentially an act of deliberate policy to destroy the most effective aid route into Gaza. What are we actually going to do about it, if Israel continues to ignore our requests and pleas to it? I come back to the issue of sanctions. If Israeli Ministers decide to implement the Bill, are they not effectively engaging in an act of warfare by starvation? That is a breach of humanitarian law. Will we use sanctions against those Israeli Ministers who get involved in promoting this policy?
Anneliese Dodds
My hon. Friend raises important points. There is no doubt that there will be severe consequences if the work of UNRWA is obstructed. We have already talked about this issue. It is clear that only UNRWA has the reach required to get the aid needed to those in desperate need in Gaza. We do not believe that there is any justification for the position that has been taken. The UK Government have been clear about that, and we have articulated that not only bilaterally, but with our partners, immediately, over the weekend. The UK Government’s position is clear. He will understand that no UK Government announce exactly what they are doing around sanctions. That is appropriate and correct. We will always keep our sanctions policies under review, as this House would expect.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
Whether or not UNRWA is compromised, the fact remains that the Knesset, and quite possibly the Israeli Government, believe that it is, and without Israel, no aid gets through. What measures therefore need to be taken to improve aid resilience—in this conflict and others—so that we are not overly reliant on one agency? What plan B is the Minister working on to ensure that UK aid is channelled through alternative agencies?
Anneliese Dodds
The UK Government have been clear that UNRWA has a clearly mandated role in relation to not just Gaza, but the west bank and the broader region. It has had that role for many years. That has been clear in the international community. The role of the UN in general is incredibly important and internationally supported. It is critical that UNRWA’s role is not undermined when it plays such an important part constitutionally, if I may say that, and internationally, as well as in the delivery of aid. We will do all we can to ensure that support reaches those who need it, but ultimately UNRWA is the body with the greatest reach, and that is needed now, given the extent of humanitarian need.
Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
The Israeli Government’s banning of UNRWA shows blatant and cruel disregard for human life. Without access to necessities that only UNRWA can provide, such as food and medicine, thousands of innocent Palestinians are facing malnourishment, disease and death. Given that Netanyahu has shown no interest in supporting legitimate human rights organisations, no interest in a ceasefire and no interest in a two-state solution, I am grateful that our Government have given a clear commitment to recognising the state of Palestine. Will the Minister tell us when we can expect recognition of the state of Palestine and a pathway to getting to that point?
Anneliese Dodds
Briefly, this recent decision was taken by the Knesset, so it is a parliamentary decision, rather than one by the Israeli Government. We are concerned about its consequences, as we have been discussing. The UK Government believe that we must see a ceasefire. We need to see the release of hostages. We need to see the immediate delivery of aid and access to it throughout Gaza. That is incredibly important. We continue to believe and to advocate strongly for the two-state solution that is so desperately needed. That will provide the security and stability that is needed, both for Israelis and for Palestinians.
Stephen Flynn (Aberdeen South) (SNP)
Israel is once again choosing to block aid to a civilian population that it is bombing. It is sinister and it is collective punishment. Can the Minister outline a single red line that Israel can cross that would lead her to question its status as an ally of the United Kingdom?
Anneliese Dodds
The new UK Government have been absolutely clear, as I have stated previously, that international humanitarian law must be upheld. I am sure that the right hon. Member was in the House when we had those debates that talked, for example, about the fact that we need to ensure that the International Criminal Court’s mandate is respected and that the role of the International Court of Justice is respected. He will, I am sure, have been present for debates on the UK Government’s position on arms exports, where we believe it is important that international law is held to, and this Government has been delivering on that.
Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)
The situation in northern Gaza is dire. I welcome the leading role that the Government have played in providing essential humanitarian aid for Gaza, including through the support packages for UNRWA, UNICEF, UK-Med, the World Health Organisation and the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal. Does the Minister agree that the ongoing Israeli restrictions on the flow of essential aid are completely unacceptable and should be lifted immediately?
Anneliese Dodds
We believe that any restriction on aid is unacceptable. It is incredibly important that we see access to the water and sanitation services that are desperately needed, as well as to food and shelter, which are particularly important as winter approaches. My hon. Friend is right to mention the situation in northern Gaza, which is particularly concerning. The UK Government will continue to do all that we can to advocate for more aid getting into Gaza.
Simon Hoare (North Dorset) (Con)
With 90% of the Knesset voting for the Bill yesterday, it is surely naive to suggest that it will not be enacted. Therefore, other preparations need to be made. Despite the strong urgings of the United States, the United Kingdom, the EU and others, the Israeli Parliament voted for the Bill, knowing full well the collective international view of that proposal. Do the Government now realise that the Israeli Government, and indeed Parliament, is effectively diplomatically flying solo when it comes to these issues? If, as we all believe, no other agency can step in at pace and at scale to deliver the aid that is clearly needed, then, as was said by the leader of the SNP—an unlikely bedfellow for me—the right hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn), is this not now verging on the definition of collective punishment? The Government can no longer just either wring their hands or urge.
Anneliese Dodds
We are very clear that UNRWA has an essential role, not only because of its reach and depth, but because it has that clear UN mandate in Gaza, the west bank and the wider region—indeed, I have discussed this issue with counterparts from Lebanon too. It is important that we do not see UNRWA undermined; that is critical for the UK Government. As the hon. Gentleman rightly mentioned, we have joined allies in expressing our deep concern. We will continue to push hard on this issue because we understand what the consequences will be if UNRWA does not have the continued ability to operate. We know what the impact will be on not only those in humanitarian need but the UN’s role more broadly, and that message could not come across more clearly from the Government.
Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)
Under international law, Palestinian refugees retain their right to return. By seeking to dismantle UNRWA, Israel could, as part of a wider plan, be pressurising Palestinian refugees to relinquish that right to return. Despite our Foreign Secretary and Governments of many other countries raising concerns and pleading with Israel, the Knesset went ahead with this vote. What additional pressure will the UK Government apply to Israel, which continues to violate international law and breach the UN charter?
Anneliese Dodds
I am not going to speculate about the reasons behind a decision made by another Parliament, as I do not believe that would be appropriate. What we must be clear about, however, is the UK Government’s response, which has been very clear. As we have discussed already, we do not accept this decision, which we believe is the wrong one. Only UNRWA can deliver the aid that is desperately needed, and we will continue to advocate for that very clearly. That aid is critically needed, given the extent of the displacement taking place in Gaza, with large numbers of people having been moved not just once or twice, but nine or 10 times. The Government will continue to push very strongly on these issues.
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)
If the Knesset Bill is an indication of how Israel now sees international treaties and international law, there is surely no point in further negotiations on a free trade agreement with Israel? Should we not just end those negotiations now?
Anneliese Dodds
As I have stated, I will not speculate on the activities of another Parliament. However, I will be very clear about the UK Government’s response, particularly when it comes to the potential humanitarian impact. Others may wish to discuss trade issues, but for me, as Development Minister, the most important thing is how we ensure access to aid for those who are so desperately in need in Gaza. That is what I will continue to focus on.
Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
With winter on its way, as the Minister said, it is vital that we are clear about the importance of aid and of challenging all who obstruct it. The Israeli Finance Minister said that the starvation of 2 million people in Gaza might be “justified and moral” in order to free the hostages. Let us be clear: the hostage families do not think that. The Israeli National Security Minister backed the protests against aid convoys reaching Gaza. I understand why the Minister says that she will not give a running commentary on sanctions, but if we do not have sanctions now, what else is open to us to send the clear message that aid must get to Gaza immediately?
Anneliese Dodds
I most definitely share the deep concern at, and the rejection of, the truly appalling comments to which my hon. Friend has just referred. We are very clear that they were completely unacceptable; we could not have been clearer. Some in the Opposition have suggested that the sanctions regime should be in opposition to taking action on the legal regime on arms exportation, but the Government believe that we need to keep all these issues under review, as the House would expect us to in fulfilling our legal requirements. That is why we announced the changes to arms export licences a few months ago.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
The run-up to the vote in the Knesset was that UNRWA confirmed last Thursday that its employee Muhammad Abu Attawi actually led the attack on Kibbutz Re’im, where British national Aner Shapira was brutally murdered—after throwing seven grenades back at those attacking him, he was killed by the eighth. Given those circumstances, what assessment have the Government made of UNRWA employees’ direct involvement in the 7 October attack? Until the individuals involved are rooted out, there will of course be mistrust in UNRWA delivering the aid we all want to see going in. Will the Minister take action on that issue?
Anneliese Dodds
The Government have been very clear that UNRWA must meet the highest standards of neutrality, as was of course laid out in Catherine Colonna’s report. As I mentioned, the Government have provided financial support to the tune of £1 million to ensure that UNRWA is taking the necessary actions. I have discussed the issue in detail with Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini and other members of UNRWA’s leadership. I know that they are taking action on this issue, and rightly so.
Liam Byrne (Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North) (Lab)
I utterly condemn this decision by the Israeli Parliament. Tens of thousands of people have died as a result of Israeli firepower, and now thousands more will die as a result of an Israeli-induced famine unless the world acts. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that if this decision is put into effect, it will be a breach of international humanitarian law? A track record of honouring international law is required if we are to keep arms export licences open.
Anneliese Dodds
We have been very clear about UNRWA’s role. As I have mentioned, UNRWA has a critical role, which is provided for via the UN, in relation to not just Gaza but many refugees in the rest of the region—it is incredibly important, and it is internationally recognised. This Government have already taken action to ensure that we fulfil our responsibilities on international humanitarian law. Again, I refer my right hon. Friend to the decisions we have taken on arms export licences.
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Ind)
In effect, the Knesset yesterday legislated for extraterritorial decisions over Gaza, the west bank and refugee camps, and decided that UNRWA is an illegal organisation within Israel. What sanctions will the UK Government take against Israel for that? The one thing Israel will understand is if we suspend arms supplies to it, because those are being used to create the humanitarian catastrophe that exists in Gaza and that is beginning to exist in the west bank as well. If we do not do that, British arms and American arms that come through Britain will be complicit in the destruction of life of the Palestinian people.
Anneliese Dodds
We will continue working with our international partners and through the UN to press Israel to ensure that UNRWA can continue its vital operations; we know how important its role is. I do not want to bore the House, because I have already responded to questions about sanctions, but we continue to keep sanctions under review. However, the right hon. Member will surely be aware that the Government have already acted to suspend arms licences—30 of them—where it was clear that there could be a risk to international humanitarian law and where they could be used for lethal reasons in Gaza. We have already put those measures in place, because we take that responsibility to humanitarian law very seriously.
Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is horrific and catastrophic, and the Israeli Knesset has actually voted to make it worse. Without UNRWA, millions of Palestinians will lose life-saving food, medical treatment, housing and much more. I am grateful that the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Minister have condemned the Knesset decision, but does she agree that the fact that 90% of the Knesset voted to ban UNRWA is an indictment of the Knesset, as well as an insight into the value that Israeli parliamentarians place on Palestinian lives and therefore on human life?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for saying that the UK Government have been clear on this. We do not agree with the Knesset’s decision. We believe it is wrong. We believe that UNRWA has a clear, mandated international role in the region, which is particularly important right now in Gaza given the extreme humanitarian need. As she intimated, we are very concerned about the potential impact of any harm to UNRWA’s operations on the provision of food, services, education or healthcare—the support that people in Gaza so desperately need.
Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)
Further to the very serious point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) about UNRWA staff’s involvement in the evil attack on 7 October, terror infrastructure has been found in 32 UNRWA facilities in Gaza; we have seen a 3,000-strong Telegram group of UNRWA teachers openly celebrating the 7 October attack; Israeli intelligence shows that up to 10% of UNRWA staff have affiliations to terror organisations; and a Palestinian eyewitness has borne witness to the fact that he saw an UNRWA school director selling food meant for civilians at $100 a carton. It is clear that UNRWA is deeply infiltrated by Hamas. Will the Minister work with Israel and other allies to find another way to work with organisations that can be trusted to deliver aid into the hands of civilians, not terrorists?
Anneliese Dodds
The UK Government have been crystal clear that we expect robust processes to continue to be followed. UNRWA must meet the highest standards of neutrality, as is laid out in Catherine Colonna’s report, including it comes to staff vetting and acting swiftly when concerns arise. We have seen that in UNRWA’s leadership. As I have mentioned, the UK has allocated £1 million to support UNRWA in implementing the Colonna report’s recommendations.
Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Ind)
Another day, another outrage from an Israeli Government, who are treating the international community, international law, the UK Government and, above all, Palestinian lives with utter contempt. Words are not enough; actions are needed to force the Israeli Government to end the war crimes and the violations of international law. When will the UK Government impose on Israel the scale of sanctions that they have imposed on Russia?
Anneliese Dodds
I refer my hon. Friend to the comment that I made earlier: this was a decision of a Parliament—the Knesset—rather than of the Israeli Government. The UK Government have been very clear about our position on this. We believe that UNRWA has a critical role to play in Gaza and that international humanitarian law is incredibly important, and we have acted on that basis. I am sure that my hon. Friend is aware that the new UK Government have been very clear that there is a definite mandate for the ICC and the ICJ, and we will continue to keep our sanctions regime under review.
Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)
The Government have to accept that the far-right Government of Israel are laughing behind their hands at us at the moment. They know that they are operating under the comfort blanket of a UK Government who say that they stand with Israel and that Israel has a right to defend itself. But when has murdering children in their hospital beds been tantamount to defence? In what way is the cold-blooded slaughter of 11,000 children tantamount to defence? Rather than the use of words to condemn the actions of Israel, why does the Minister not follow suggestions of many Members in the House today and start taking action to make the Israeli Government sit up?
Anneliese Dodds
The new UK Government have been absolutely clear that the kind of comments that we have seen from some Israeli Government Ministers are totally unacceptable. The views that have been expressed towards Palestinians both in Gaza and in the west bank from some members of the Government are unacceptable. We could not have been clearer on that, both in opposition and now in government. The hon. Member talks about action, but we have been acting time and again on the humanitarian situation, and we will continue to do that. We have also been acting to make sure that we uphold our responsibilities under international humanitarian law. As I mentioned, that has been very clear in the decisions that have been taken around the arms export licence regime.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
This month we have seen just 28 trucks a day entering Gaza, with none in the north, leading to a catastrophic humanitarian situation. In 90 days, we may have no infrastructure left in Gaza to distribute that aid. Does the Minister believe that this is a deliberate and systematic destruction of a nation, ethnic, racial or religious group with the intent to destroy it in whole or in part? Will she enlist the international courts to test that?
Anneliese Dodds
The UK Government have been very clear that we are extremely concerned about the situation in northern Gaza that my hon. Friend referred to. It is unacceptable that this month will potentially see the lowest level of aid delivered since the beginning of the crisis, yet the need is even more intense now than at any point. People’s resilience is completely destroyed in many cases, so we are very clear about the need to provide aid. We will also continue being absolutely clear about our adherence as a Government to international humanitarian law.
Brendan O’Hara (Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber) (SNP)
The Knesset’s decision to brand UNRWA a terror group was very well signposted, so the question now is: what leverage are the Government prepared to use to prevent this decision from being enacted? I think we can all agree that another round of hand-wringing, head-shaking and soft, whispered words of disapproval will be as successful as they have ever been in the past. Perhaps it is time to summon the Israeli ambassador and tell them in no uncertain terms that if this goes ahead, the UK will have no choice but to immediately end all arms sales to Israel, specifically the F-35 components on which its military campaign relies so heavily.
Anneliese Dodds
With all due respect to the hon. Gentleman, I find the description of the UK Government’s communication of their views as soft whispering very surprising. He surely cannot have failed to have seen the very clear concern expressed by the Foreign Secretary, by my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Hamish Falconer) and by me. That has been expressed not only through international deliberations and the fact that we have worked clearly and strongly with allies on this, with the joint statement produced over the weekend, but bilaterally as well. It is well known that the Foreign Secretary took this up directly with his Israeli counterpart. The new UK Government are determined to ensure that we are upholding international humanitarian law, which is why we acted on the legal requirements of the arms export regime, as I described.
Ms Polly Billington (East Thanet) (Lab)
In response to my hon. Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury), my right hon. Friend suggested that it was difficult to explore the motivations behind the Knesset’s decision. But we have to be clear that UNRWA is being targeted because of its mandate with Palestinian refugees. The Knesset’s vote will likely be devastating for lifesaving aid operations. It is also a unilateral attempt to impact the right of return and make a two-state solution even harder. Does she agree that this is unacceptable?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for being crystal clear, as the UK Government have been, that UNRWA has a clear mandate—one that is obviously part of the UN framework not just in Gaza but in the west bank and the wider region. We have stated that numerous times, and we are in concert with our international partners to make that crystal clear. We will continue to make that clear. As I mentioned, with winter approaching it is critical that UNRWA can continue to operate without impediment.
Mr Adnan Hussain (Blackburn) (Ind)
These are the words of the United Nations humanitarian chief, Joyce Msuya:
“The entire population of north Gaza is at risk of dying”.
If someone so high up in the United Nations is making statements of that nature, we can safely make the assertion that the onslaught on Gaza is genocidal in nature—the measure being intent, and not, as the Foreign Secretary alluded to yesterday, the volume of counted deaths. Will the Government alter their position on this matter? What will they do, by way of resolute action, to ensure that this crime against humanity is halted immediately? Words are not enough; action is needed.
Anneliese Dodds
I agree that words are not enough. One of the reasons I met Joyce Msuya when I was at the UN General Assembly was to ensure we are working in concert with UN bodies on the humanitarian crisis and catastrophe within Gaza. We need to ensure that UNRWA is able to continue its lifesaving work. We need to see that other lifesaving measures are adopted, too. It was the UK Government who pushed so hard to ensure leadership on the polio vaccination campaign. We continue to push to ensure that the measures that are so vital for those in Gaza continue and that far more aid goes into Gaza than we are seeing at the moment.
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Ind)
If I have the Government’s argument correct, it is that there is a window of opportunity now between the decision by the Israeli Parliament and the implementation of the measure by the Israeli Government. Yesterday, I think it was the right hon. Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse) who raised the question of what the consequence would be for the Israeli Government if they went ahead to implementation.
The message today—I say this with regret to my right hon. Friend, for whom I have a great deal of respect because we have worked with each other over the years—is that: on sanctions, there will be no additional sanctions, we are just reviewing them; on arms, we will continue to supply the parts for the F-35; on trade, which was raised, the trade negotiations will just continue; and on diplomacy, we will allow to remain in this country without any consequence the Israeli ambassador, who is an advocate of a greater Israel and therefore opposed to the UN position on a Palestinian state and a two-state solution.
Does my right hon. Friend not realise that the message to the Netanyahu Government will be that nothing will happen during the window of opportunity and that they will be able to act with impunity still? Will she go back and consult her colleagues, and come forward with a series of actions that will have some effect in saving lives in Gaza?
Anneliese Dodds
I would say to my right hon. Friend that the message from the UK Government to the Israeli Government is actually extremely clear. It has been articulated by our Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and all members of the Government who have spoken on this issue. The world will not tolerate further excuses from Israel on humanitarian assistance. I stated that in my speech and deliberately so. That is a very strong message and it must be heeded.
Danny Kruger (East Wiltshire) (Con)
The fact is that Hamas are deeply integrated in the civilian and humanitarian infrastructure of Gaza, whether hiding their soldiers in hospitals—we saw this week 100 terror suspects captured by the IDF in a hospital in northern Gaza—or being deeply integrated in UNRWA. My hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) mentioned a senior Hamas commander who was working for UNRWA. The fact is that Israel is not going to facilitate the work of UNRWA in Gaza, so the question is: what is the Government’s policy? Is it simply to lament this decision and to criticise Israel, and to threaten as yet unspecified consequences which are clearly not satisfying this House? Or is it to do something practical to get aid in to the Palestinians, working with Israel and other partners to develop an alternative supply route that will get aid in, accepting that UNRWA will not be that mechanism?
Anneliese Dodds
The UK Government have actually stated time and again that we expect robust processes to continue to be followed by UNRWA. Not only did we state that, as the Opposition did previously, but we have done something about it. We have ensured that some of our support to UNRWA is going towards ensuring that the recommendations of the Colonna report are implemented. We have seen UNRWA take decisive and swift action when allegations have been made, and rightly so. That is right and proper. It would be for any UN agency, especially including this one, given its vital role.
The hon. Gentleman talked about practical measures. On practicalities, we believe that to suggest there is an alternative to UNRWA, given its depth of reach and the scale at which it operates, is incorrect. It is the only body that can currently provide the infrastructure that is needed, and it is already mandated by the UN and the international community to do so.
Paula Barker (Liverpool Wavertree) (Lab)
The former Israeli Defence Minister, the late Moshe Dayan, famously once said:
“Our American friends offer us money, arms and advice. We take the money, we take the arms, and we decline the advice.”
Regrettably, the same could now be said of Britain. I have every reason to believe that the Foreign Secretary is making a strong case for peace, but it seems to me and millions of others that the relationship with the Israeli Government is entirely one way. When will the Government start using robust leverage above and beyond what has already been done to ensure that Israel acts on British advice, as well as the advice of other international partners?
Anneliese Dodds
The UK Government have not been intimating advice. We have been providing very clear injunctions, especially when it comes to UNRWA and the need for its continued operation. We have always acted in line with our responsibilities around international humanitarian law and we will continue to do so.
Mr Lee Dillon (Newbury) (LD)
Last week, I joined constituents from my constituency United Nations Association in Newbury Market Place to celebrate the ideals of the UN. Yesterday, I was shocked and appalled to see a fellow member state’s Parliament start the process of banning a UN-mandated body. Given that the UK Government will take over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council this coming Friday, what will the Government do via that vehicle to demand that the banning of UNRWA is immediately undone?
Anneliese Dodds
I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman’s constituents for their support of multilateralism, which is surely now more important than ever. The pact for the future came out of the UN General Assembly. To me, that is a demonstration of the power of multilateral action, even in these deeply challenging times. We will use our role in the UN Security Council to ensure that international humanitarian law is upheld and that, as the UK, we play our part in leading responses to humanitarian crises like the one we have been discussing today.
Ian Byrne (Liverpool West Derby) (Ind)
As the hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr Hussain) said, on Sunday the UN’s top humanitarian official warned:
“The entire population of north Gaza is at risk of dying.”
I spoke to the United Nations special rapporteur in person last week. He was in absolute despair about the lack of action from the world against what is happening in Gaza. I implore the Minister to give him and the House some reassurance that the Government are actively reviewing how the sanctions are working and what else they can do to force Israel to begin to work under humanitarian law.
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for meeting the UN representative. I know that many Members have been seeking to engage with the multilateral organisations involved in this situation. The UK Government have, of course, engaged repeatedly with all the UN agencies involved: the World Food Programme, UNICEF, with which I have directly discussed the situation, and UNRWA itself. I pay tribute to all those who are engaged in that manner, as well as to all the charities and other bodies so engaged, including UK-Med, which is doing an incredibly important job. The new UK Government will continue to do all we can to ensure that international humanitarian law is upheld here, as well as in every other context.
Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)
Of the 12,000 UNRWA employees, about one in five are members of Hamas, and almost 500 of them are members of Hamas’s military wing. When I asked the Foreign Secretary whether he could guarantee that UK taxpayers’ money would not go via UNRWA if there were any links with Hamas, he did not answer my question, so I ask the same question today. Is the Minister able to give UK taxpayers a guaranteed assurance that Hamas has no links with UNRWA in aid delivery in Gaza?
Anneliese Dodds
When it comes to the views of the UK public and UK taxpayers, it is critical for us to reflect on what has taken place over the last few days, when we have seen a great many Brits stepping up to support the DEC humanitarian appeal for the middle east. This is clearly of great concern. Of course it is important that whenever there are allegations of activity that is not neutral—particularly some of the appalling allegations relating to the 7 October attacks—they are fully investigated. When it has been provided with that evidence, UNRWA has investigated and taken swift action, and we will continue to do all that we can, as the UK Government, to ensure that that remains the case. As I said earlier, that has included providing funding to ensure that the neutrality reforms that UNRWA itself has wanted to implement for some time are indeed being implemented and followed.
Andrew Pakes (Peterborough) (Lab)
Last night, I spoke to constituents who support the provision of medical aid directly into Gaza and the west bank. They were angry and heartbroken, because after each of the conversations I have had with them in the past year, the bombing and destruction have increased. I welcome the statements from the Prime Minister and my right hon. Friend about the situation, but the vote in the Knesset risks making things worse—for aid, for the release of the hostages, for a two-state solution, and for the recognition of Palestine. What hope can right my hon. Friend give my constituents, the Palestinian people and the world community that this time it will be different?
Anneliese Dodds
I thank the constituents to whom my hon. Friend has referred. I mentioned earlier the many Brits who are deeply concerned about the situation, and I pay tribute to all the UK medical staff who are directly engaged in Gaza. I have had the incredible honour of meeting some of them, and their work is truly lifesaving in extremely difficult circumstances—perhaps the most difficult that we can imagine. I agree with my hon. Friend that the Knesset’s decision is deeply counterproductive for Israel itself, as well as being very harmful to UNRWA, to the delivery of humanitarian aid and, indeed, to the UN system.
Mr Tom Morrison (Cheadle) (LD)
Like many other Members, I was appalled at yesterday’s decision by the Knesset. This is a humanitarian crisis. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are displaced: they are now without homes, without water, without food and without healthcare. If UNRWA is banned, what practical steps can the Government take to ensure that aid gets into Gaza and, more importantly, that the people who need it receive it?
Anneliese Dodds
I agree with the hon. Gentleman’s characterisation of the situation. We need to ensure that lifesaving supplies of water, sanitation, food and shelter do reach those who are in need in Gaza, and other Members have expressed particular concern about the situation in northern Gaza during these exchanges. The Government have made it very clear that UNRWA plays a critical role that cannot be replaced by other organisations, and we will continue to make it very clear that its mandate must be supported and it must be able to continue to operate.
Tracy Gilbert (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab)
The vote in the Israeli Knesset is deeply worrying, and will result in further suffering, starvation and deaths in Gaza. What urgent steps are the Government taking, alongside international partners, to get more aid into Gaza?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for asking that very important question. We do need to see more aid entering Gaza, because it really is needed. As many Members have pointed out, winter is coming, but we have not seen enough aid entering even over recent months and, as I said earlier, it seems likely that October will turn out to be the month during which we have seen the lowest level of aid actually entering Gaza since the conflict began. We are very clear that any restrictions on aid are unacceptable, and we have been working with international partners in that regard. My hon. Friend will have seen the joint statement that we released over the weekend; it was part of a series of actions that we have taken with partners, bilaterally and in multilateral organisations, to ensure that we are playing our part and that the UK is offering leadership.
Ayoub Khan (Birmingham Perry Barr) (Ind)
A few weeks ago, I sought assurances from the Foreign Secretary in respect of children being killed after being given the polio vaccinations that the Minister has mentioned. Those vaccinations were undoubtedly given by staff members working with UNRWA. Close to 1,000 civilians have been killed since I sought that assurance from the Foreign Secretary. We will all recall that young teenager burning alive in a tent with an intravenous drip. Given the current state of affairs, does the Minister agree that all our talk of diplomatic and political levers is falling on deaf ears, and that the only real thing that this Government can do is put words into action, namely sanctions—including trade sanctions—embargoes on all licences, and the unconditional recognition of Palestinian statehood?
Anneliese Dodds
The UK Government’s position is very clear. We have advocated—in the Foreign Secretary’s case, since the first hours that he was in office—for the ceasefire that is so desperately needed, for the release of hostages and for the provision of aid in Gaza that is so clearly required. There is no question about that position, on which we have been crystal clear.
The hon. Gentleman referred to the impact of the conflict on healthcare staff. Let me draw his attention to the fact that we have seen more humanitarian workers killed in this conflict than in any of the other conflicts that we are seeing around the world. We have taken action, and we do believe that the UK must fulfil its responsibilities to international humanitarian law. I believe that the hon. Gentleman can see that very clearly, for example in the decisions that have been taken about the arms export licence regime.
Joe Powell (Kensington and Bayswater) (Lab)
Given the humanitarian collapse in Gaza and the risk of mass starvation, the Knesset vote is obviously deeply dangerous for the Palestinians, but does it not also send a deeply dangerous signal internationally to civilians in conflict zones, in that other states that have been accused of violating international humanitarian law may take succour from this vote and target UN agencies providing lifesaving aid?
Anneliese Dodds
As has been discussed this afternoon, the UK and our partners have made it clear that the Israeli Government cannot continue to restrict aid—nor, indeed, should that be done by any other Government or any other warring parties internationally—but unfortunately we do see a number of violations of international humanitarian law. Earlier today, we discussed the situation in Sudan, where we have also seen restrictions on aid. Those are unacceptable. Civilians must be protected in war, and the UK Government will continue to advocate strongly for that.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Minister for her answers and for her clarity, which is much appreciated. Does she accept that Israel did not take this decision lightly, but based it on intelligence gathering which indicated an infiltration of Hamas within UNRWA? Does she agree that we must work to find a solution to ensure that charitable foundations are free to supply the aid that is so desperately needed? While the UN has a role to play, will she liaise with Israel to determine how we can get help on the ground to those who need it throughout Gaza and Israel?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to the hon. Member for his questions and, as ever, for his sincerity in discussing these issues. The UK Government will continue to work with charitable foundations and organisations. A number of them, including many based in the UK, provide incredibly important support for the people of Gaza. However, we are clear that when it comes to the delivery of aid and services, there is no other organisation that can fulfil the role that UNRWA performs because of the need for scaled and deep support, and also because of its critical mandate from the UN.
Mr James Frith (Bury North) (Lab)
I join the Government in condemning the decision by the Israeli Parliament. Does the Minister agree that cutting ties and undermining UNRWA leaves us aghast at a time when we need institutions to work effectively, independently and without prejudice to build any prospect of peace and a future after a ceasefire and the return of the hostages? Worst of all, the ban further compounds the misery for the Palestinians and for those of us who still hope for a two-state solution.
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for taking a long-term perspective on these critical questions. Given the humanitarian catastrophe, we agree that this decision, if implemented, will be deeply harmful not just currently, but in the future. As we just discussed, we will continue to work towards the ceasefire that is so desperately needed. When that ceasefire is achieved and we see a cessation of hostilities, it will be incredibly important that the reconstruction continues. We will need to see UNRWA and other UN agencies, as well as other countries in the region, involved in that process. A number of different partners will need to be engaged in the very important effort of rebuilding, which the UK Government have discussed with many partners.
Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)
Has the Minister seen the latest letter from the Commissioner-General of UNRWA? It states unequivocally:
“Today, even as we look into the faces of children in Gaza, some of whom we know will die tomorrow, the rules-based international order is crumbling in a repetition of the horrors that led to the establishment of the United Nations”.
Does she agree with him that the implementation of the UN mandate
“may become impossible without decisive intervention by the General Assembly”
and UN Security Council members?
Anneliese Dodds
I have discussed these issues directly with Commissioner-General Lazzarini and other members of the UNRWA leadership, as my hon. Friend would expect. I agree that we all need to do what we can to preserve the rules-based international order. On the possibility of the UN General Assembly taking action on this issue, I spoke for the UK when the matter was discussed at the UN General Assembly in New York about three weeks ago.
Steve Yemm (Mansfield) (Lab)
It is incredibly concerning that the Knesset is pursuing legislation to restrict UNRWA’s work. Does the Minister agree that the international community needs to put in place mechanisms to fully monitor and incentivise the implementation of the Colonna reforms in order to assure and give comfort to Israelis and Jewish communities in the UK that UNRWA’s staff will never again be able to participate in terrorism?
Anneliese Dodds
I appreciate the considered question that my hon. Friend has just asked. The Colonna report itself, and the work that has been undertaken since, has focused on how we can ensure that the reforms—particularly those relating to neutrality—are implemented but then continuously reviewed, so that we know that neutrality is carried out throughout the organisation. The UK Government have supported this endeavour financially with a £1 million contribution. We believe that it is important, and we will continue to discuss this issue with UNRWA and, indeed, other multilateral bodies and bilateral partners in the future.
Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)
Does the Minister agree that the way to stop this conflict is to get the hostages released? Can she explain to the House what connections have been made through diplomatic channels with those who are holding the hostages so that we can get them released, which I believe would end the fighting?
Anneliese Dodds
I very much agree that we must see the hostages released. I know that many of us have been thinking about the immense pain of the families and friends of the hostages, who have now been in captivity for such a long period; it is an incredibly concerning situation. As one would expect, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have met a number of the hostages’ families, as have I. We will continue to do all that we can to make it clear that the hostages must be released. We will continuously advocate for that, for the ceasefire that is so desperately needed, and for the aid that is so desperately required in Gaza.
Bills Presented
Children’s Hospices (Funding) Bill
Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)
Ian Byrne presented a Bill to require the Secretary of State to conduct a review of the funding of hospices specialising in the care of children and to publish proposals for measures to guarantee access to hospices for all children who require palliative care; and for connected purposes.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 29 November 2024, and to be printed (Bill 115).
Registration of Death (Religion) Bill
Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)
Preet Kaur Gill presented a Bill to make provision about the collection of religious information of the deceased where the death has been registered; to make provision for religious data to be provided on a voluntary basis; and for connected purposes.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 17 January 2025, and to be printed (Bill 116).
Firearms (3D Printing) Bill
Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)
Preet Kaur Gill presented a Bill to create an offence of possessing a blueprint for the production of a firearm by 3D printing; to create an offence of possessing part of a firearm produced by 3D printing; and for connected purposes.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 17 January 2025, and to be printed (Bill 117).
Microplastic Filters (Washing Machines)
Tuesday 29th October 2024
(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Microplastic filters (washing machines) Bill 2024-26 View all Microplastic filters (washing machines) Bill 2024-26 Debates Read Hansard Text Watch Debate
A Ten Minute Rule Bill is a First Reading of a Private Members Bill, but with the sponsor permitted to make a ten minute speech outlining the reasons for the proposed legislation.
There is little chance of the Bill proceeding further unless there is unanimous consent for the Bill or the Government elects to support the Bill directly.
For more information see: Ten Minute Bills
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Alberto Costa (South Leicestershire) (Con)
I beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to require manufacturers to fit microplastic-catching filters to new domestic and commercial washing machines; to make provision about the promotion of the use of microplastic-catching filters in washing machines and raising awareness about the consequences of microplastics from washing machines for pollution in rivers and seas; and for connected purposes.
Two years ago, I presented this ten-minute rule Bill to the House, and I am grateful to the many colleagues who have since approached me to express support and encourage me to present it to the House again. I thank colleagues who have co-sponsored my Bill this time round, and I am pleased to inform you, Madam Deputy Speaker, that it has cross-party support, with co-sponsors from the Labour party, the Liberal Democrats, the Green party, the DUP and the Conservatives.
Microfibre plastic pollution is one of the most pervasive and preventable forms of microplastic pollution; in fact, around half a million tonnes of microfibres from synthetic textiles are released into the oceans each year due to washing clothes. I am introducing this Bill to encourage the Government to collaborate with washing machine manufacturers and set standards to ensure that all new domestic and commercial washing machines are fitted with cost-effective microfibre-catching filters.
Microfibres, which are shed during the wash cycle, are too small to be captured by existing washing machine filters. They make their way into wastewater systems, where they either end up as sewage sludge, which is later spread on our agricultural land, or escape treatment entirely, ending up in rivers and seas. Research now indicates that these fibres, once released, not only contaminate aquatic environments but travel up the food chain, making their way into an alarming amount of the fish that we all eat.
The growing body of scientific literature on microplastics is truly alarming. We are not only eating and drinking these particles, but the latest research from the University of New Mexico shows that they have now, sadly, crossed into our blood, into human placentas, into breast milk and even into our brains. Our bodies are now contaminated by microplastics. We should all be concerned that in lab studies conducted by Hull York Medical School, microplastics have been shown to damage human cells, and while the full impact on our health is still unknown, the evidence is mounting that numerous adverse health effects—including endocrine disruption, respiratory disorders, autoimmune issues and certain cancers, to name but a few—are caused or exacerbated by microplastics in our bodies. Researchers have even found microplastics in human testicles, and this may be a major factor in the dramatic drop in sperm count over the last 40 years.
I hope the Government are convinced that microplastics pollution is a now major problem to our environment and our health, but how effective can microplastics filters in washing machines be in addressing microplastics pollution at source? There are two factors that should persuade the Government. First, they may be surprised to learn that a 2017 study revealed that 35% of all microplastics released into the environment are shed from our own clothing. That means that over a third of environmental microplastics are coming from a single source, which we know how to reduce. Secondly, evidence shows that washing machine filters can reduce the release of microfibres by 78% in every wash cycle, with some manufacturers now claiming that their new products are able to take up 90% of these offending plastic pollutants.
Countries such as France have already taken legislative steps to require microfibre filters in all new washing machines from next year, and Australia has an industry-led goal of introducing these filters in six years’ time, so the UK can and should do its part. The United States Senate introduced the Fighting Fibers Act earlier this year. This is a promising federal initiative, which, although still in its early stages, is a mandate for filters in washing machines. The world is starting to wake up to this problem, and the UK has an opportunity to show leadership by introducing legislation that could make a substantial difference. This is not just about setting an example; it is about honouring our commitment to the environment and the health of the British people.
As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on microplastics, I have worked alongside numerous stakeholders including the obvious ones such as environmental groups, but also with industry leaders, washing machine manufacturers, academics and, in particular, the Women’s Institute, which first brought this to my attention seven years ago when it was here lobbying MPs. They have all helped to identify viable solutions. Together, we believe that fitting microfibre filters on washing machines is a cost-effective, achievable, near-term solution that would have a significant impact on reducing plastic pollution and its effect on our health.
British companies are already leading in the design and manufacturing of these filters, showcasing the innovation and capability needed to support this measure. I urge the Government to work with these businesses to position the UK as a global leader in the fight against plastic pollution. My Microplastic Filters (Washing Machines) Bill is a low-cost, practical approach to a serious problem, and it aligns with the UK’s ambition to build a sustainable and environmentally conscious society. Microfibre pollution is an urgent environmental issue, and this Bill represents a clear, immediate and simple step we can take to address it, with the backing of washing machine manufacturers. I urge my colleagues in Government to support the Bill and to work with white goods manufacturers to enact a solution that has virtually no cost to the consumer and that provides the safeguards that we need for our environment and our health.
Question put and agreed to.
Ordered,
That Alberto Costa, supported by Sarah Champion, Jim Shannon, Sir Julian Lewis, Ellie Chowns, Ruth Jones, Peter Dowd, Siân Berry, Carla Denyer and Mr Alistair Carmichael, present the Bill.
Alberto Costa accordingly presented the Bill.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 7 March 2025, and to be printed (Bill 114).
Great British Energy Bill
Tuesday 29th October 2024
(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Great British Energy Bill 2024-26 View all Great British Energy Bill 2024-26 Debates Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: Consideration of Bill Amendments as at 29 October 2024 - (29 Oct 2024)
17:58 - The House divided: - Ayes: 96 / Noes: 353 - Question accordingly negatived.
18:14 - The House divided: - Ayes: 124 / Noes: 361 - Question accordingly negatived.
18:29 - The House divided: - Ayes: 115 / Noes: 361 - Question accordingly negatived.
18:53 - The House divided: - Ayes: 361 / Noes: 111 - Question accordingly agreed to.
Claire Coutinho (East Surrey) (Con)
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:
New clause 2—Nature Recovery Duty—
“(1) In exercising its functions, Great British Energy must take all reasonable steps to contribute to the achievement of targets set under sections 1–3 of the Environment Act 2021.
(2) Under the duty set under subsection (1), Great British Energy must consider opportunities to incorporate nature-based solutions in—
(a) the design and maintenance of any assets in its ownership, and
(b) its investment decisions.”
This new clause would give Great British Energy a new duty, requiring it to contribute to the achievement of Environment Act targets. The duty specifies the incorporation of nature-based solutions (including nature friendly design and building measures) in all assets owned by and invested in by Great British Energy.
New clause 3—Prohibition of investments which would increase greenhouse gas emissions—
“(1) Prior to making any investment, Great British Energy must publish an assessment of the impact of the investment decision on—
(a) greenhouse gas emissions and
(b) the production or combustion of fossil fuels.
(2) Where the assessment carried out under subsection (1) showed that the investment was expected to contribute to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, Great British Energy must not make that investment.”
This new clause would require Great British Energy to publish an assessment of potential investments on greenhouse gas emissions and the production or combustion of fossil fuels. Any investment which the assessment showed was expected to increase greenhouse gas emissions would be prohibited.
Amendment 3, in clause 1, page 1, line 3, at end insert—
“within 6 months of the day on which this Act is passed.”
Amendment 4, in clause 3, page 2, line 18, at end insert—
“(e) an emergency home insulation programme with targeted support for people on low incomes, and
(f) the expansion and development of renewable energy and technology.”
This amendment would set objects for Great British Energy of facilitating, encouraging and participating in an emergency home insulation programme with targeted support for people on low incomes, and the expansion and development of renewable energy and technology.
Amendment 1, in clause 5, page 3, line 8, at end insert—
“(1A) The statement of strategic priorities under subsection (1) must include a priority to reduce household energy bills by at least £300 in real terms.”
Amendment 5, page 3, line 8, at end insert—
“(1A) The statement of strategic priorities under subsection (1) must include a priority to advance the production of clean energy from schemes owned, or part owned, by community organisations.”
This new section would require the statement of strategic priorities to make specific regard to facilitate community-based clean energy schemes.
Amendment 6, page 3, line 8, at end insert—
“(1A) The statement of strategic priorities under subsection (1) must include the reduction of household energy bills by £300 in real terms by 1 January 2030.”
Amendment 8, page 3, line 8, at end insert—
“(1A) The statement of strategic priorities under subsection (1) must include the creation of 650,000 new jobs in the United Kingdom by 2030 resulting directly or indirectly from Great British Energy’s pursuit of its objectives under section 3.”
Amendment 11, page 3, line 8, at end insert—
“(1A) The statement of strategic priorities under subsection (1) must include a priority to allocate 3% of Great British Energy’s budget to marine energy projects.”
This amendment would require 3% of Great British Energy’s budget to be allocated for marine energy projects.
Amendment 12, page 3, line 8, at end insert—
“(1A) The statement of strategic priorities under subsection (1) must include a priority to work with Great British Nuclear on the development of nuclear energy projects.”
This amendment would require Great British Energy to work with Great British Nuclear on developing nuclear energy projects.
Amendment 13, page 3, line 8, at end insert—
“(1A) The statement of strategic priorities under subsection (1) must include a priority to require any renewable energy development located in Wales that Great British Energy owns or invests into offer a minimum of 10% community and 10% local ownership for each project.”
This amendment seeks to ensure that all renewable energy projects in Wales which are owned or invested in by Great British Energy would be required to offer a 10% stake in community ownership i.e. for individuals and households, and a 10% stake of local ownership, i.e. any Wales-based organisation.
Amendment 15, page 3 line 16, leave out “consult” and insert “receive the consent of”.
This amendment would require that the Secretary of State receives consent from Welsh ministers before including in the strategic priorities and plans any matter concerns a subject matter provision about which would be within the legislative competence of Senedd Cymru, if contained in an Act of the Senedd.
Amendment 7, in clause 6, page 3, line 38, at end insert—
“(1A) The Secretary of State must give a specific direction to Great British Energy that it must report to the Secretary of State on the progress made by Great British Energy towards the strategic priority of reducing household energy bills by £300 in real terms by 1 January 2030.
(1B) A report under subsection (1A) must include a projection of how Great British Energy’s activities are likely to affect consumer energy bills over the following five years.
(1C) A report under subsection (1A) must be made within two years of the date of Royal Assent to this Act and annually thereafter.
(1D) The Secretary of State must lay a report made under subsection (1A) before Parliament.”
Amendment 9, page 3, line 38, at end insert—
“(1A) The Secretary of State must give a specific direction to Great British Energy that it must report to the Secretary of State on the progress made by Great British Energy towards the strategic priority of creating 650,000 new jobs in the United Kingdom by 2030.
(1B) A report under subsection (1A) must be made within two years of the date of Royal Assent to this Act and annually thereafter.
(1C) The Secretary of State must lay a report made under subsection (1A) before Parliament.”
Amendment 10, page 3, line 38, at end insert—
“(1A) The Secretary of State must give a specific direction to Great British Energy that it must report to the Secretary of State on—
(a) Great British Energy’s in-year return on investment, and
(b) A forecast of the following year’s expected return on investment.
(1B) A report under subsection (1A) must be made within two years of the date of Royal Assent to this Act and annually thereafter.
(1C) The Secretary of State must lay a report under subsection (1A) before Parliament.”
Amendment 14, page 3, line 38, at end insert—
“(1A) The Secretary of State must, in particular, direct Great British Energy that any revenues generated from activities of Great British Energy in relation to resources located in Wales must be invested back into projects located in Wales.”
This amendment would require the Secretary of State to ensure that all revenue generated by Great British Energy from resources in Wales are invested back into energy projects in Wales.
Claire Coutinho
It is nice to be back discussing Great British Energy, and on the day before the Budget, too. I am sure that Labour Members are worrying about what kind of horrors they will be forced to defend next. They will have had a miserable summer trying to explain to their constituents why they are scrapping the winter fuel payment for pensioners in poverty, just weeks after a general election in which no mention was made of that. They will have spent the last few weeks explaining that the term “working people”—the people they promised to protect in their manifesto—does not include small business owners, or employees with savings, and that their use of the term “national insurance” does not prevent a national insurance rise for employers. They will be getting a bashing from companies, who were told that Labour would be pro-business, yet have been clobbered by post-election announcements of tax rises and trade union charters, and who have a Prime Minister with an optimism about Britain that puts him on the charts somewhere between Eeyore and Victor Meldrew. And tomorrow Labour Members will have to explain why the Chancellor who said before the election that any change to the fiscal rules would amount to fiddling the figures is now changing them to open the door to billions of pounds of borrowing.
This is a timely return to the Great British Energy Bill. Our amendments today will give Labour Members an opportunity, which I am sure they will welcome, to hold their leadership to account for at least some of the promises that they were told to go out and sell. Let us take a look at a few of the promises that Labour Members made during the election. The hon. Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler) wrote on her website:
“We will set up Great British Energy…cutting energy bills by an average of £300 a year.”
The hon. Member for Bracknell (Peter Swallow) posted on Facebook:
“Why am I backing Labour’s plan to set up Great British Energy? It will save £300 off average household energy bills in the South East by 2030.”
The hon. Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) said on Facebook:
“everyone in the east of England will get £300 off their energy bills…no ifs, no buts, no maybes, these will be measurable and you will be able to check our progress at the end of the next Parliament.”
At least 50 MPs made similar claims.
Why were Labour candidates up and down the country saying these things? Perhaps they were simply listening to the Cabinet. The Science Secretary said on “Good Morning Britain”:
“I can tell you directly…by the end of this Parliament that…energy bills will fall by up to £300.”
The Work and Pensions Secretary said:
“Great British Energy will get people’s bills £300 a year lower.”
This is my personal favourite: the Chancellor—the woman of the hour—said,
“Great British Energy, a publicly owned energy company, will cut energy bills by up to £300.”
These were not one-off promises; it was the party line, as dictated by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. These promises are still up in writing. In fact, the Labour party website still says that its energy plans will cut bills by £300 on average. Oddly, Ministers now do not seem so keen on that pledge. We have asked them about it in this House, as have the media, but the number seems to have vanished. They have even taken down the Great British Energy website, and the newly appointed chair even said in Committee that cutting bills is
“not the scope of Great British Energy.”––[Official Report, Great British Energy Public Bill Committee, 8 October 2024; c. 6, Q5.]
This is not trivial; these are promises that people care about. Every single Labour Member will have had constituents vote for them because they believed that Labour’s promise of £300 off their energy bills would make a meaningful difference to their lives. Amendments 6 and 7 in my name will hold the Government to account on their election promise to cut bills.
Our amendments would give Great British Energy a strategic priority to cut people’s energy bills by £300 by 2030, and would require Great British Energy to produce an annual report on progress towards meeting that target. Surely all Labour Members who made these promises and kept them up on their social media accounts will want to track the Government’s progress on this important issue for their constituents. Well, tonight is their chance.
But £300 off bills was not the Secretary of State’s only promise at the election. He also claimed that Great British Energy would create 650,000 new jobs, but he did not mention that figure on Second Reading, and the Energy Minister, the hon. Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks), did not mention it in Committee. It does not appear in Great British Energy’s founding statement, nor does it appear in the Government’s explanatory notes on the Bill.
The only detail we have heard about the number of jobs to be created by Great British Energy came from the Secretary of State’s hand-picked chair of that body, who said that “hundreds” of people will be employed at its Aberdeen headquarters. We have since found out that the chair himself will be based in Manchester. It is a funny kind of headquarters if the head will not be based there, but that is the kind of sophistry that the public are starting to expect from this Labour Government.
More importantly, those few hundred people will hardly make up for the 200,000 jobs this Government are putting at risk through their plans to shut down the North sea, or the missed opportunities for jobs thanks to their go-slow on nuclear. On the Secretary of State’s watch, we have already seen thousands of jobs in industry lost.
The Secretary of State can talk about skills passports and Government transition projects all he likes, but the truth is that they do not pay the bills. He likes to say that we need to cut carbon at an extreme pace, faster than any other major economy, in order to show climate leadership and save the planet, but if our gas production, steelmaking or energy-intensive manufacturing moves to Asia, which is still powered by coal, he will be adding to emissions. That would mean more carbon in the atmosphere, and would be devastating for the hundreds of thousands of people who would lose their livelihoods here in Britain. I say that as someone who, before entering Parliament, worked on regenerating some of our most deprived communities once the jobs were gone.
As with our amendments on the Government’s £300 pledge, amendments 8 and 9 in my name would give Great British Energy a strategic priority of creating 650,000 new jobs by 2030, and would require an annual report to Parliament on progress towards this aim. That is important, because even the trade unions that normally support Labour have warned the Secretary of State and his team that his plans will lead to the mass deindustrialisation of Britain. The general secretary of the GMB has said that the Secretary of State’s plans are
“hollowing out working class communities”,
and will amount to “decarbonisation through deindustrialisation.” He said that importing more from China is
“bad for communities, not great for national security and it makes no sense in terms of the environment.”
He also said, and I hope the ministerial team are listening closely to this one:
“Our message to Ed Miliband is very clear: We are worried about a lot of promises that are not being delivered on jobs.”
Those Labour MPs who are members of the GMB, including the Energy Minister, have the opportunity tonight to hold the Government to account by voting for annual reporting on the jobs being created. The question is, will they listen to the general secretary’s concerns?
The next promise was that Great British Energy would turn a profit for the taxpayer. The Secretary of State admittedly got himself into a mess on this one. He has never had to make commercial investment decisions, and neither has any of his ministerial team, which is why they have been caught out promising the British public that they can turn a tidy profit, while at the same time telling multimillion-pound energy companies that they will take the least attractive parts of their investments off their hands. That is important, because the Secretary of State has written this Bill to give himself powers of direction. That was not the case for the UK Infrastructure Bank, and there was a recurring question in Committee about how much independence the supposedly independent Great British Energy will have.
This is my proposal: if the Secretary of State wants the power to meddle, he should be duty-bound to report the results of that meddling—its profits and losses—to this House. Amendment 10 in my name would require Great British Energy to produce an annual report on the performance of its investments, including its in-year return on investment and a forecast of the following year’s expected return. That is the bare minimum we can expect, so that British taxpayers can see what he is doing with £8 billion of their money.
I tabled clause 1 because it is crucial that we have proper oversight of the wider activities of Great British Energy. New clause 1 would require the appointment of an independent reviewer to assess Great British Energy’s effectiveness in achieving its objectives and strategic priorities. In Committee, the Energy Minister said that the Government want Great British Energy to be
“accountable, transparent and clear about how it is delivering on its objectives.”––[Official Report, Great British Energy Public Bill Committee, 15 October 2024; c. 168.]
I agree, and that seems a perfectly good reason to support new clause 1.
As I have said previously, Great British Energy is pretty much a carbon copy of the UK Infrastructure Bank, which was set up to provide loans, equity and guarantees for infrastructure to tackle climate change, backed by £22 billion. No Minister has been able to tell us the real difference between Great British Energy and the UK Infrastructure Bank, or why the taxpayer has to pay for two headquarters, two chief executives and so on. The one difference appears to be that Great British Energy will mean additional powers for the Secretary of State.
If Labour Members are so intent on handing this Secretary of State billions of pounds to gamble with, I expect they will also want to replicate the independent review enacted by the United Kingdom Infrastructure Bank Act 2023. New clause 1 would provide that scrutiny and, although I intend to withdraw it this evening, if the Minister would like to table a similar amendment in the other place to follow the precedent set by the Act, I assure him of our backing.
The Secretary of State and his ministerial team have made big promises. It is crucial that this House can hold them accountable, as the consequences could not be more important for people’s energy bills, people’s jobs and businesses’ ability to succeed. As the respected energy and climate economist Dieter Helm has said, the risk is that this Government will head towards a 2029 election with industries lost and bills higher—exactly the opposite of what the electorate has been promised.
The Government’s refusal to publish evidence for their claims, to set out the details of their plans or to engage in any meaningful policy discussion outside their normal slogans and mantras means that their policies are more likely to fail. For example, the Secretary of State has said that this Bill and Great British Energy are part of his plan to ramp up renewables at breakneck speed because every wind turbine and every solar panel constructed will lead to cheaper energy and greater security, but that is simply not true. First, it depends on the price we pay for them. Expert analysis by Cornwall Insight found that the contracts for difference round that the Secretary of State bumped up, and that he now boasts about, will actually increase people’s bills by £5. Moreover, he has advertised to the multimillion-pound energy companies that he will buy whatever they sell, no matter the cost, up to 2030. People do not need a business background to work out what that will do to prices.
Secondly, if we are building renewables faster than we can connect them to the grid, the constraint payments needed by 2030 could add hundreds of pounds to people’s bills. Then there are the network costs, the green levies and the cost of dispatchable power. If the Secretary of State wants to replace gas, which is our main form of dispatchable power, he should set out the cost of what will replace it.
The options in this country are coal, which I assume Labour Members do not want, biomass, carbon-capture gas or unproven technologies, none of which will make our system cheaper. All the signs are that, far from making energy cheaper and more secure, this Secretary of State and his ministerial team will send people’s bills through the roof, and more and more people are sounding the alarm about whether he can even keep the lights on. Perhaps that is why he never commissioned an accurate assessment of his plans. Labour Members had 14 years in opposition, 14 years hankering for the jobs and the responsibilities they now have, but when we asked for the full-system cost of the Secretary of State’s approach, he could only say that it will be published “in due course.”
Luke Murphy (Basingstoke) (Lab)
I am enjoying the right hon. Member’s lecture on energy security, but where was that argument during the last Government, when they left our country reliant on Putin and volatile fossil fuels, and when we saw energy bills soar? This Government are cleaning up 14 years of mess that the right hon. Member’s Government left behind.
Claire Coutinho
I suggest the hon. Gentleman does some homework. We do not get our oil and gas from Putin. Instead, some 50% of our domestic gas supply comes from the North sea, which the party in government is trying to shut down. If he wants to talk about energy markets, he should do some reading about how they work. On that note, I commend our amendments to the House.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
I call Natalie Fleet to make her maiden speech.
Natalie Fleet (Bolsover) (Lab)
It is the honour of my life to be in this Chamber as the Member for Bolsover, a seat made famous by the legend that is Dennis Skinner. From Calow to Pilsley, they tell me stories of him singing to them on the phone, and they remind me of his witty one-liners. He showed the very best of politics: what can be achieved when we send one of our own here to fight for us. I accepted a long time ago that I will not fill his shoes, but when I feel like I do not belong here, I remember that I am following in the footsteps of a “beast”, whose legacy is that kids like me can be here against the odds.
Dennis famously praised half the Members on the Conservative Benches for not being crooks, and I like to think that he would have included his successor, Mark Fletcher, in that group. Mark saw that kids in Bolsover were 10% less likely than those in the rest of England and Wales to get higher education qualifications, and he fought to change that. He worked so hard to get us our own sixth form within Bolsover. I am also passionate about smashing down barriers to opportunity, so that is a fight that I am delighted to take up. Mark made the most of his time here. He appreciated the privilege of serving and continues to show that there is more that unites us than divides us. I wish him so very well.
In his maiden speech, Dennis spoke about the more than 10,000 working miners he represented. I do not have that pleasure. Born at the start of the strike, I grew up seeing our pits go. I had to stop visiting the canteen that my Dar took me to on the way to race the pigeons, because it closed. My community grieved, and I grew up seeing more kids like me go to prison than to university.
In place of industry, mine is a story of the state—stepping in, once again, to pick up the pieces and make sure that every child can reach their potential. I was really lucky to have a Government that prioritised my education, and that gave teachers like Mrs Gregory the opportunity to nurture me, as she did. When my home was dangerous, there were police to keep us safe. When I did not have a home at all, the state stepped in. When I was pregnant at 15, I had a Government that wrapped their arms around me in the form of Sure Start. Better still, they implemented a long-term strategy that meant that when I visit schools in Bolsover now, fewer children are facing parenthood. That is really cool.
I always felt like the exception, but I am seeing more families struggle than ever before. That is why it has been so heartbreaking to see the state ripped back again. A care home in Shirebrook and a day centre in Bolsover face closure. Kids in South Normanton are waiting years for special educational needs support. Some 52% of children in Carr Vale live in poverty although their parents work hard to earn. It is not just our most vulnerable who are struggling. Professionals in Cresswell are accessing food banks that used not to exist. There is more antisocial behaviour in Whitwell because there are fewer police. Mortgages are up in Barlborough. The amount that people can buy with their money in Tibshelf has gone down.
The reason I am here—the reason I leave my family every week to do this—is because I feel so deeply about the difference that politics can make. Things have been better before, and they will be again. That change has begun. I am here to make sure that this powerful state has the most positive impact on lives in Bolsover.
This Great British Energy Bill will mean that fewer children in Pleasely have their lights switch off as they are doing their homework. Kids in Holmewood can start the day with full tummies because they will have free breakfast clubs. Children in Glapwell will not have to feel the shame of asking their parents to pay for their school trips, because those parents will have good jobs, and great terms and conditions. Families in Clowne will get access to dentists, and entrepreneurs can succeed in Wessington, with global companies investing in Markham Vale. My daughter can start her own family in Pinxton, making me the world’s proudest Nana, knowing that this Government will make getting childcare that much easier.
For my daughters and my soon-to-be granddaughter, and for your daughters and granddaughters, I stand here proudly as the first woman MP for Bolsover. It is a privilege to be a part of the most diverse Government in our country’s history, because representation matters. I stand on the shoulders of the women who came before me, and who raised, supported, educated and mentored me. They threw that ladder down and would not take it up until I had grabbed it.
They were women like Gloria De Piero, who showed me that we are not all the same, and who proved to me that we can carry the scars of poverty and still belong in this House; Bess of Hardwick, who never took no for an answer, built the best of Tudor England and put her initials on the top of her house for us all to see; Margaret Cavendish, who was not mad but a difficult woman ahead of her time; and Arkwright’s Norma Dolby, who kept her community together during the strike, faced police intimidation and made sure the miners’ families were fed.
Being the first woman to stand in this post is a huge privilege, but it comes with a greater responsibility. It is my duty to speak up for the women in my constituency whose stories are not being told, even when it is difficult to do so, and even when I wish they were stories that they did not have—like those women who have been raped and are having to wait years for trial; attempting suicide as they fear that nobody will believe them. I have a moral obligation to speak on behalf of the women who have been hurt in the worst possible way and then told that it is their own fault.
So, to the women in my constituency, who I represent, who will be raped today, raped tomorrow and raped every day of this Parliament, I say: “I do not know where you are, I cannot find you, but you can find me. I will believe you, I will support you, and I will fight to make sure that we can all tell our truth, backed by a Government who will make it easier for us to get justice, determined to make sure that our daughters grow up safer.” Being able to speak your truth until you can—that is privilege.
So, to the people of Bolsover, I say that I am thrilled to be here, for my family and for yours. I will not let you down.
Dr Kieran Mullan (Bexhill and Battle) (Con)
It is a pleasure to follow the maiden speech of the hon. Member for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet), who showed real courage in talking with emotion, pride and passion, which is not always easy in this place.
Today we are debating a number of amendments related to the strategic priorities of Great British Energy, and that will be the focus of my remarks today. I rise to ask the Government to assure the House that, given that this is not specifically mentioned in the Bill, they understand that one of the biggest challenges we face when it comes to decarbonisation is in relation to heating, and to make that a strategic priority. The UK has more than 28.5 million homes, and another 1.9 million buildings, offices, hospitals, shops, warehouses and more, the majority of which are heated by gas boilers, which also provide hot water. Nearly one fifth of all the UK’s emissions come from these buildings. The Climate Change Committee considers decarbonising heat to be one of the greatest challenges we face in getting to net zero, but that is not specified in the Bill.
Getting to net zero by 2050 will require us to pull every possible lever available. GB Energy needs to encompass the full thermodynamic meaning of the term energy, rather than focusing just on electricity. Although there is much to be said for the current plan to use air source and ground source heat pumps alongside other methods of using electric to heat buildings, attempting to convert our entire housing stock to this approach will place enormous strain on our electricity grid and supply chains.
When we consider this issue, there is one stand-out technology that will help us: geothermal energy, both shallow and deep. I am pleased to tell the House that there is cross-party consensus on this topic, and I have been able to work with a number of Members across the House, including the hon. Members for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth), for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham), for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon), for Rushcliffe (James Naish) and others to form the deep geothermal all-party parliamentary group. Although I have mentioned shallow geothermal, which includes technology such as coal mine water, promoted by the hon. Member for Ashfield (Lee Anderson), my remarks will focus on deep geothermal.
When I was first introduced to deep geothermal technology, my reaction was that it must be too good to be true: an environmentally friendly, dependable and cost-effective source of heat and power that can be found right under out feet—surely not. But over the past few years I have been pleasantly surprised to learn that deep geothermal is, in fact, just as good as it sounds. This technology uses the heat from naturally occurring sources of hot water deep underground to generate a large amount of usable heat and energy. In the UK, heat, rather than electricity, is the key benefit of deep geothermal, as that best matches the resources in counties such as East Sussex. This naturally occurring heat is a real resource—just as wind and sunlight are for other technologies, but unlike them it is there all year round whatever the weather.
Suella Braverman (Fareham and Waterlooville) (Con)
May I applaud my hon. Friend for really championing this innovative source of energy? May I officially log my support for Hampshire as well, because in our previous conversation we have spoken about the potential for parts of my county to exploit this energy source? Does he agree that, whether Labour says that it will not raise taxes on working people, or that GB Energy will reduce energy bills by £300, its promises are falling apart and the real way to lower energy costs is not by setting up quangos that cost the taxpayer billions of pounds, but by investing in innovative energy forms such as geothermal and other forms such as North sea oil and gas, which the previous Government did.
Dr Mullan
My right hon. Friend is right that the Government have made some big claims in this House, but the detail of the work and how to get us over the line in an affordable, cost-effective way is 10 times more challenging than that, and that reality is fast catching up with them.
Torcuil Crichton (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to follow the maiden speech of my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet), who has proved by her passion and ability that she will soon emerge from the shadow of the beast and make the constituency her own.
I welcome the Report stage of the Bill, which will be the first to pass into law in this Parliament. Labour is delivering change within weeks of coming into office. The Bill has the potential to transform not just the way in which we produce power in this country and the impact that we have on our burning planet, but the way we live our lives. It could also have a transformative effect on the communities we serve. I commend the work of the Secretary of State and, in particular, of the Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks), who has seized the agenda and grasped the potential of that transformation, which could be huge. It will match the scale and ambition of Tom Johnson, the legendary Labour Secretary of State for Scotland who brought power to the glens through the creation of the hydroelectric dam schemes that are now part of the highland landscape.
Moving to renewables and transitioning away from carbon must involve balancing and maintaining jobs in the North sea, which are such a vital element not just of our economic and energy mix, but of the incomes of many families in Na h-Eileanan an lar. That is why I welcome the move to introduce a skills passport to help workers transition from one industry to the other, and why I welcome the co-operation this week between the UK Government and the Scottish Government in reviewing the outdated bureaucratic processes building new infrastructure and creating large energy projects. Untangling that regulatory framework and rewiring the national grid is a hugely complicated exercise. The Bill will achieve that by setting up a company, GB Energy, which will itself be the vehicle for reducing bills, involving communities and transforming the way we produce energy.
If the shadow Minister, the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), is looking for £300 off energy bills, she can accompany me to the village of Tolsta in my constituency, where one community-owned turbine has just distributed, as it happens, £300 per household to help people with their household bills and energy needs. Community energy will be a large part of what GB Energy does. We heard in evidence from Juergen Maier, who will chair GB Energy, that he and the Labour Government are committed to community energy as part of that mix.
Some of the amendments will seek to make community energy a part of the founding structure of the Bill. It will be part of the company, as set out in the explanatory notes to the Bill, but there is no necessity—[Interruption.] It is not necessary—
Torcuil Crichton
I could have said it in Gaelic. [Laughter.] It is not necessary for that to be part of the Bill or the company.
Communities must be at the heart of what GB Energy does, and community energy is at the heart of much of the wind production in my constituency—although there are commercial plans, too. Scotland’s community-owned wind farms provide, on average, 34 times more benefit payments to local communities. I have given the example of just one village with one turbine, so imagine what three estates with nine turbines could do in terms of community benefit. Let us be in no doubt, the transformative move towards wind-farming—onshore and offshore—will be mean an extremely profitable, multibillion-pound industry. Communities that host such infrastructure, or which have serious infrastructure passing through their areas, must benefit as well. People will not mind the pylons going past as long as some of the profit comes to them. That will be a critical part of the contract between GB Energy, developers and communities. Communities settling and making deals should not be left to chance.
Richard Tice (Boston and Skegness) (Reform)
Does the hon. Member seriously think that people in my constituency and across Lincolnshire and the east of England will be happy with thousands and thousands of huge pylons going through their area, damaging the value of their properties and businesses?
Torcuil Crichton
I remind the hon. Member that to switch on one lightbulb in Lincoln from a turbine on the Isle of Lewis will require a link and a chain of dominos to fall in order, on a scale that we have only ever seen in the Guinness record books. For each of those dominos to stay in place, the communities along that line must be involved and rewarded locally, or nationally with a sovereign wealth fund, to ensure that they play a part and have a sense of ownership in the transformation. The only way for this to succeed is if we all benefit. The wealth of wind is owned by no one man, and we should all share in the transformation. That is what I think GB Energy will deliver, and it is why I support the Bill.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
Pippa Heylings (South Cambridgeshire) (LD)
I start by thanking the Minister for how constructively he has worked with me, and by thanking the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton) for his words just now. I also thank all the colleagues who have sat on the Great British Energy Bill Committee. It is encouraging that this legislation has been given a prime spot at the beginning of this Parliament, and I thank the Clerks and the Speaker’s Office for their diligent work in administering the Bill thus far, as well as all the Members who have taken the opportunity to represent their constituents’ aspirations and concerns regarding the Bill. As many Members know, this is my first Bill as spokesperson for energy security and net zero, and I have appreciated all the support I have been given.
I also acknowledge colleagues from across the House who have lent their support to the amendments to which I am going to speak, and have also tabled their own. In particular, I recognise the contribution made by the hon. Member for Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay), whose amendment promotes a nature recovery duty. He will know that nature recovery is close to my heart, and that I raised that topic in Committee. Last week, I had the privilege of attending the UN conference on biodiversity in Cali, Colombia—a poignant reminder of how it is impossible to address climate change and energy security without tackling the nature emergency. National energy infrastructure must therefore be nature-positive and aligned with the obligations in the Environment Act 2021.
As the Minister knows, the Liberal Democrats support the Bill in principle, because we want a nationwide energy system that will bring down energy bills and provide clean, green energy. Amendment 3, which stands in my name, would guarantee that Great British Energy is established within six months of the Bill becoming law. We all know that as a result of the Conservative Government’s delay and dither, we are not on track to meet our ambitious targets.
Steve Darling (Torbay) (LD)
I echo that. Torbay has an oven-ready solar scheme that would power our hospital and our council, yet because the national grid is not fit for purpose, that scheme has remained a blueprint. Does my hon. Friend agree that building capacity in the national grid is absolutely essential if this Bill is to be successful?
Pippa Heylings
I agree very much with my hon. Friend. National grid capacity is critical if we are to unblock all of these projects, which are so critical to powering our community services, our public services and the national economy. That is why we need to ensure there is no delay, and that is what amendment 3 speaks to.
Amendment 4, which also stands in my name, would ensure that Great British Energy has an explicit duty to help deliver energy efficiency through
“an emergency home insulation programme with targeted support for people on low incomes”,
as well as the expansion of renewables. This Bill has the power to transform lives, but also to protect lives. Warm hubs are becoming too familiar in my constituency of South Cambridgeshire: Comberton, Duxford, Melbourn, Meldreth and Toft are just a few of the village hubs run by amazing volunteers in the local community that provide warmth to those who have to make the heartbreaking choice between heating and eating. It is frankly astonishing that this is now a reality for so many in the UK in 2024, and is a damning indictment of the last Government’s record on prioritising home insulation. Insulated homes mean warmer homes, which in turn means safer homes. The NHS spends an estimated £1.4 billion annually on treating illnesses associated with people living in cold and damp housing, and amendment 4 would seek to address this.
Amendment 4 also seeks to capitalise on our unique opportunity to be world-leading in renewable energy, which the Lib Dems know from our own track record. We must ensure that Great British Energy is duty-bound to support those activities. If renewable energy and home insulation can be rolled out at speed so that we can meet those vital climate targets, that will reduce energy demand, bring down energy bills and provide green, future-proofed, well-paid jobs for the UK.
I turn to amendment 5 on community energy. At every stage of the Bill, the Liberal Democrats have raised our concerns, and those of many MPs from other parties and of the many community energy groups and communities that we represent, that as it stands, the Bill is missing a vital limb. It lists four objects for Great British Energy, but nowhere does it mention supporting the growth of community energy.
Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way. She mentions community energy and I wonder if she recognises, as I do, the value of projects such as Stockport Hydro in Romiley in my constituency, which since 2012 has been using its two Archimedes screws, Thunder and Lightning, to power around 60 homes, thereby saving more than 100 tonnes of CO2 a year. Is that the sort of project that she thinks the Bill should do more to support and encourage, so that we can tackle climate change and ensure that communities benefit from community energy projects?
Pippa Heylings
I thank my hon. Friend for that fantastic example from her constituency, which is exactly the kind of project we are talking about. We know that
“Local power generation is an essential part of the energy mix, ensuring communities own and benefit from clean power projects, and reducing pressures on the transmission grid.”
In fact, those words are taken from the Government’s founding statement for Great British Energy, and the Minister said in this Chamber that
“Great British Energy will deliver a step change in investment in local and community energy projects, putting local authorities and communities at the heart of the energy transition.”—[Official Report, 5 September 2024; Vol. 753, c. 530.]
Yet the community energy sector was brought almost to a standstill by the former Conservative Government, and barriers still exist in selling directly to customers and in the cost of connecting to the grid, so welcome words are not enough.
Ms Polly Billington (East Thanet) (Lab)
I thank the hon. Lady for giving way. I would like to clarify what she said about there not being anything in the Bill about community energy. It is in the founding statement of GB Energy, because we know the importance of locally delivered community energy in facilitating this transformation. I want to correct that for the record, because the suggestion that community energy is not one of the aims of this legislation is a misunderstanding.
Pippa Heylings
I appreciate that, which is why I quoted from the founding statement. The problem is that those words are not enshrined in the Bill itself, which is why we are surprised that the Government continue to vote down amendments that would put communities at the heart of the Bill. We will continue to push on that.
I thank the 58 Members from different parties who have supported amendment 5, which requires that the statement of strategic priorities for Great British Energy has specific regard to community-based clean energy schemes. I would also like to give recognition to my colleagues who are leading the way in promoting the benefits of community energy, including my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart), as we have just heard.
Torcuil Crichton
Does the hon. Lady recall the evidence of Juergen Maier, EDF, SSE and the Minister to the Committee? They all gave commitments to community energy and to the local power plan being almost an eighth—almost £1 billion-worth—of GB Energy’s plans.
Pippa Heylings
In fact, I said at the beginning of my contribution that I welcomed the constructive debate in Committee.
Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
If the Government have bought into the idea of community energy, does my hon. Friend not think it odd that they are so afraid to put it in the Bill?
Pippa Heylings
I could not have put it better myself. I thank my hon. Friend for leading the fight for the Liberal Democrats as the former spokesperson on energy security and net zero. That question goes to the crux of the matter.
We have fantastic examples from many communities of how important community energy is. My hon. Friend the Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire (Mr MacDonald) led the recent Westminster Hall debate, in which there were fantastic examples from rural communities of how they feel about community benefits. There are also the efforts of my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine) in supporting the Aikengall community wind farm, which provides a direct benefit of an amazing £120,000 for the community.
Community energy is not just for Scotland. In my own county of Cambridgeshire, there is the Swaffham Prior community heat network, and the village is the first of its kind to switch to reliable zero-carbon heating. It was started by the Swaffham Prior Community Land Trust, and it addresses fuel poverty and the village’s reliance on oil heating. The Liberal Democrats will continue to promote those who have pioneered community energy schemes, proving their worth and championing their critical importance to our energy future.
While the Government have not previously backed our amendments, which is incomprehensible to us, I am grateful to the Minister for the conversations we have had recently and the assurances he has given us that the Government really do want to make provisions in the Bill for community energy in the Lords. I look forward to supporting our colleagues in the other place in this endeavour, but the interventions from Labour Members—saying that this will be in the founding statement and the strategic priorities, but not in the Bill—are causing us to doubt that commitment. I therefore urge the Government to make good on their promises. We know their commitment to community energy, so let that be understood clearly and let us put it in the Bill.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
I call Adam Thompson to make his maiden speech.
Adam Thompson (Erewash) (Lab)
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for your kind invitation to present my first speech. May I first congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet) on her deeply moving and powerful speech this afternoon, alongside the many Members who have spoken for the first time in this House in recent days and weeks? If the high bar set by the newest Members of this House is indicative of the quality of debate to follow in the coming Parliament, I am very confident about the future of our nation.
In my own first speech, I will lay out why I stood to represent my home of Erewash, my plans for my time in Parliament and why I love the area it is now my honour to represent. By the way, before I start in earnest, for the information of all Members present, the constituency is pronounced “Eh-ruh-wash” or occasionally “Eh-ree-wash”, but never under any circumstances “Ear-wash”. I look forward to seeing how that is recorded in Hansard.
I begin my speech by thanking my predecessor, Maggie Throup, for her efforts in serving the people of Erewash over the past nine years. Maggie worked diligently for our community, consistently lobbying for funding to support our towns and villages. Given her background in the health sector, Maggie regularly contributed to health policy throughout her tenure, and she served the nation admirably through the latter stages of covid-19 as Vaccines Minister. While Maggie and I rarely saw eye to eye on policy, our relationship across the political divide has always been courteous and collegiate, and I wish her the very best for the future.
I would also like to pay tribute to my colleague Liz Blackman, who served Erewash as our Member of Parliament throughout the last Labour Government. Liz’s guidance during my campaign to become the MP for Erewash was invaluable, and I am sure I will continue to seek her advice throughout my tenure.
In my first months in Parliament, as I have met colleagues from across the country, the question I have most frequently been asked is: “What even is an Erewash, anyway?” Named for the river and the canal, we comprise two towns—Ilkeston and Long Eaton—the five villages of Breaston, Draycott, Risley, Sandiacre and Stanton-by-Dale, and other communities in Sawley, Kirk Hallam and Cotmanhay. More often, though, I find it easiest to answer, with a reference to our geography, simply, “We’re junction 25 of the M1.”
Like many towns that operate as a binary star, Ilkeston and Long Eaton exist in a delicate balance, with residents of Ilkeston—or “Ilson”, as we call it—regularly declaring, “Long Eaton gets everything.” It is probably no surprise then, Madam Deputy Speaker, that if you spent 10 minutes talking to someone in Long Eaton, you would similarly and resoundingly hear the mantra, “Ilkeston gets everything.” I should note that I have sanitised these statements somewhat; references to the other town in my constituency are often a little more colourful.
In truth, both of our towns have been hard done by in the past 14 years. Despite the hard work of incredible and passionate teaching and support staff, for example, many of our schools struggle with underfunding—something I witnessed at first hand when I trained as a secondary physics teacher. Both high streets have declined, and while towns funding is helping to support Long Eaton’s regeneration, the underlying problems remain: antisocial behaviour, crime, shopkeepers forced out by online giants, and a general malaise and the feeling that nothing will fix the foundations.
Despite the difficulties we face, I would like to explain why Erewash is a fantastic place by paying tribute to the people and the groups in our towns who are doing everything they can to lift the area up by its bootstraps—people like Joe Cahill, who, by liaising with shopkeepers and landlords through a local Facebook group focused on incredible independent shops, has empowered our community and begun restoring Ilkeston as a thriving market town. Similarly, I commend the work of Paul Opiah and others in building the new Friends of Ilkeston Town Centre, providing grassroots regeneration to our town. The efforts of Joe and Paul have been fantastic and I want to provide them with more support. Joe recently noted that he had done as much as he could without changing the law to bring the remaining, rotting shop units back into service—units that are currently held hostage by absentee landlords. I am therefore excited about the Government’s proposals to revive our town centres, and I will do everything in my power to support local people in their efforts.
In Long Eaton, I pay tribute to Scott Clayton and his team, who have created a beautiful new community focused on supporting mental health through the joy of song, where men of all abilities can come together to sing and discuss their issues. It was a pleasure during my campaign to become a Member of Parliament to join Scott and the Bluetonic community and to dive head first out of my comfort zone to sing with new friends.
I also pay tribute to Chris and Jackie Brookes, along with the team at Long Eaton rugby football club. The club serves Long Eaton so well, providing access to sport in our local park for children and adults, and supporting local charities and the armed forces community. After growing substantially over the past decade in the men’s game, in the women’s game and now with its new minis side, Long Eaton RFC has become a pillar of our community.
Then there is Lindsay Rice and her team, who have built a food bank and a lunch club, and are on their way to creating a brand-new Ilkeston carnival through their Every One Eats institute, alongside the collective churches in Long Eaton that have similarly supported those in our community struggling through poverty. Lindsay recently asked me, “Adam, as a food bank, when are you going to shut us down?” I responded, “As soon as possible, Lindsay, as soon as possible.”
Erewash has a thriving veteran community, and as a member of the Royal British Legion, I am very proud that our current mayor, Councillor Kate Fennelly, is a Royal Air Force veteran. I recently met the local charitable trust, Forces Veterans Afloat, which does incredible work housing veterans for whom bricks and mortar are not the answer on narrowboats. As a cadet warrant officer in 1344 (Cardiff) Squadron ATC for much of my childhood, I have long supported our forces and veterans; without 1344 and the citizenship, leadership and community spirit instilled in me by the wider cadet movement, I would not be standing here as a Member of Parliament.
Erewash is the birthplace of many national stars, from Douglas Houghton, Baron Houghton of Sowerby, who served our country in the first world war and in Harold Wilson’s Government as the last British Cabinet Minister born in the 19th century, through to Robert Lindsay, who has played countless parts, including the infamous Wolfie in “Citizen Smith” and the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair. We also have Bru-C, who today is putting Long Eaton on the map in the grime scene. Our towns, villages, and people are fantastic, but they have been let down by the previous Government, by politicians and by their country.
So what do I bring to this place, and what do I hope to do for Erewash? My background is in academia and education. In my previous day job, I taught engineering apprentices at the University of Nottingham. I worked there for a decade, specialising in metrology research and training the next generation of world-leading manufacturers. I believe I am the first metrologist elected to this place, metrology being the science of measurement and definitely not meteorology—as I said in the opening quote to my PhD thesis, it has nothing to do with clouds.
Erewash, and the wider east midlands, has long been the engine of our nation’s manufacturing base, producing everything from drain covers—look down on nearly every street in the country to see the logo of the famous Stanton Iron Works—to the fine lace worn by the Princess of Wales on her wedding day, produced by Cluny Lace in Ilkeston, to tunnels for HS2 made by Sateba UK, and composite motorsport and aerospace components from Atlas Composite. I want to see an expansion of our manufacturing base through an industrial strategy and reform of the apprenticeship levy, so that we can cement Erewash’s position as a centre for advanced manufacturing.
We also need new infrastructure to build the new homes to support our local economic growth, which I am glad to see the Government commit to. As the Stanton industrial regeneration site grows, I will fight every day for infrastructure works. We need a new junction on the M1 to support the growing industry in the area and to reduce the impact on residents in Sandiacre and Ilkeston, who currently endure a huge volume of heavy goods vehicles passing through the towns.
Siân Berry (Brighton Pavilion) (Green)
I am pleased to speak in this debate, and the Green group of MPs is pleased to back this Bill. I will be speaking in support of new clauses 2 and 3, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay), which are designed to make the Bill even stronger. The new clauses would create a new nature recovery duty for Great British Energy and prevent investments that increase climate emissions.
I thank the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings) for her statement of support for my hon. Friend’s work and for making the Bill better for nature recovery. I also thank her for her proposals on insulation and community energy, which we support. All those things are vital for the Bill’s success.
Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)
If nature recovery is to be important in the Government’s present drive, does the hon. Member accept that renewable energy has been destructive of nature? Some 17 million trees have been cut down in Scotland to facilitate windmills. Now, there are studies indicating that offshore wind is leading to dead porpoises, dead dolphins and dead whales being washed up on beaches because of the effects of drilling.
Siân Berry
I do not agree with all the assertions that the right hon. Member makes, but the duty is intended precisely to ensure that every single project would have a positive impact on nature. Under new clause 3, they would all be renewable projects.
The nature recovery duty under new clause 2 would help GB Energy invest only in projects that deliver significant biodiversity benefits and meet targets under the Environment Act 2021, by building nature-friendly design features into renewable energy projects and creating and restoring habitats on development sites in and around clean energy infrastructure.
The Bill Committee heard from Shaun Spiers of Green Alliance, who made a strong case for a nature recovery duty being created for GB Energy. The ensuing discussion saw the Crown Estate used as an example for how a public body could deliver for nature without having a statutory duty to do so. However, the Crown Estate is a highly relevant case study that demonstrates why non-statutory duties are not enough. The Crown Estate’s lack of a statutory duty to consider nature in its own decision making has led to its involvement in a number of environmentally damaging schemes.
For example, let us consider mining proposals in the Sperrin mountains area of outstanding natural beauty in Northern Ireland. The Crown Estate entered into an initial mineral extraction agreement with a mining company there in 2016, leading to proposals for goldmining. That has provoked significant environmental concern about harmful chemicals and waste from mining operations polluting nearby rivers and degrading the surrounding AONB. An application was submitted in 2017 and is now subject to a public inquiry, following nearly 40,000 objections from local people. So an abundance of warm words about protecting and conserving the environment, and about the Crown Estate’s status as a public body, did not inhibit it from playing a role in a project that threatens nature.
Sammy Wilson
The hon. Lady mentioned Northern Ireland and particularly the Sperrin mountains, which is an area of great natural beauty. It has many features, including wildlife and wild uplands, but it has been industrialised. I took a motorbike journey around the area three weeks ago, and there are hundreds of huge wind turbines. The peat has been dug up, the landscape has been destroyed and thousands of birds are killed every year. What has happened in the Sperrin mountains is hardly a good example of renewable energy being nature-friendly.
Siân Berry
I am sure we can have those debates in the context of a statutory duty. These are important questions to consider.
I want to give some other examples of public bodies damaging nature, because they abound—from the granting of new oil and gas licences in marine protected areas by the North Sea Transition Authority, to Highways England pursuing damaging road construction projects on the edges of national parks. Without legal backing, nature considerations can be and are brushed aside.
There is no reason to think that Great British Energy, without a duty to consider nature recovery, will be any different. A statutory duty to deliver for nature’s recovery would be complementary to GB Energy’s other objectives around clean energy, energy efficiency and energy security. It would also reflect the Government’s manifesto commitment to tackle the interconnected nature and climate crises together. I hope the Government will carefully consider those arguments.
New clause 3, which was also tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney Valley, is vital to guarantee that our energy investments are not only financially responsible but aligned with the legal requirement to reach net zero by 2050. As legislators, we have a duty to hold GB Energy accountable, preventing investments that will lock us into high-carbon energy pathways and undermine our net zero commitments. The new clause mandates environmental impact assessments before any investments are made, ensuring that each decision is grounded in evidence. It forces us to ask, “Will this investment push us at speed towards, or risk pulling us away from, our climate goals?” Publishing those assessments opens the process to public scrutiny—an essential principle in democracy. The public deserve to know exactly how their tax money is being used, particularly when it comes to funding projects that may exacerbate the climate crisis.
The new clause would also bar public money from being spent on fossil fuel and unsustainable high-carbon projects such as biomass. We cannot ignore the facts: Drax, the largest biomass-burning plant in the UK, emitted over 11 million tonnes of CO2 in 2023. Worse still, it receives nearly £900 million in Government subsidies a year. If we allow investments in projects such as Drax or new fossil fuel infrastructure, we risk undermining the very goals we are trying to achieve. The new clause would close the door on such contradictions.
When we talk about greenhouse gas emissions, it is crucial to acknowledge that carbon dioxide is not the only danger. Methane is a greenhouse gas with over 80 times the warming potential of CO2 over a 20-year period. Methane emissions, often associated with fossil fuel extraction and agriculture, must be tightly controlled to ensure that the UK meets its climate commitments. The new clause would ensure that all climate emissions, including methane, are thoroughly assessed before any public investment is made. If we do not account for methane and other greenhouse gases, we risk underestimating the climate impact of certain energy projects, and particularly those related to natural gas production and transport.
Fossil fuel infrastructure does not just burn carbon; it locks us into long-term dependence on dirty energy. Every pound spent on high-carbon infrastructure makes it harder and more expensive to transition away from fossil fuels in the time that we have. This amendment ensures that we avoid that trap, by making it impossible for Great British Energy to invest in projects that would limit our ability to end our reliance on carbon-emitting technologies.
Great British Energy should also be a true trailblazer in the global transition to clean energy. The amendment strengthens that mission by making clear that only projects contributing to emissions reductions should receive investment. With countries around the world watching, we have a unique opportunity to lead by example. A failure to act boldly now will leave us behind in the global race for climate leadership.
We are in a climate and nature emergency, and we cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past by further locking ourselves into harmful high-carbon infrastructure. These amendments reflect that. The stakes could not be higher. These decisions are about securing a liveable planet for future generations. I hope the Government will listen.
Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)
Let me begin by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Adam Thompson) on his maiden speech. I am delighted that he gave us a lesson on how to say his constituency name. How can I say “Erewash” to further confuse Hansard? I also congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet), who is no longer in her place, but I think everyone in this House felt the passion in her speech. I look forward to hearing more from her on a number of issues.
I will focus my remarks on how to ensure that GB Energy delivers effectively for Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. To do that, it must generate investment that delivers tangible results and brings jobs and economic growth, along with the energy security that we all want. In Committee, witnesses said that one of the challenges for GB Energy will be finding a balance between accelerating renewable energy delivery and ensuring a return on investment, while supporting less mature technologies. I agree that it will be a difficult balance to strike, but we are more likely to succeed in our investments if they are encouraged in areas where there is likely to be a warm welcome and strong understanding of electricity generation, and where the foundational skills and engineering heritage already exist. They include former coalfields across Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom, including in west Fife in my constituency.
Although the mines closed decades ago, the heritage of electricity generation lived on in the Longannet power station near Kincardine, on the banks of the River Forth. Constructed in the 1960s, Longannet was once Europe’s biggest coal-fired power station and one of the largest carbon emitters on the continent, before shutting down in 2016. Having represented that community as a councillor, I know that people across west Fife accept that coal had to go and things had to move on, but they want something to replace it. Like so much of our past energy infrastructure, and like in so many industries, Longannet was closed down with little or no consideration for what might replace it or how the thousands of jobs lost could be replaced and the skills maintained, particularly in the rural villages of west Fife, where losing even a few families or employees can put their whole sustainability at risk.
I believe that GB Energy and the investment opportunities that it presents is a chance to change that. The site is currently being safely demolished by ScottishPower, but there are still no clear plans for the future of the site. Longannet is perfectly situated to play its part once again in helping to provide electricity for our country and leverage some of the £60 billion possible investment that could be available via GB Energy. The site is designated for major employment, and due to its location right on the coast it is likely to be suitable for major industrial use only. It has the potential to bring jobs and investment to the coalfield villages of west Fife and the whole of central Scotland, securing opportunities for those communities to fulfil the aspirations of the people living there.
Despite being listed as a strategic priority site by the Scottish Government, they have had no plans for it, and from what is available in the public domain, it seems they have not prioritised any action at all in recent years. Promises made of train manufacturing being brought to the site came to nothing, and the decision by that company to withdraw from an agreement came to light only because of a freedom of information request I made back in 2022. Nothing was discussed publicly at all. Indeed, some people in that community still talk about when the train manufacturer is coming. Similarly, both Fife council and Scottish Enterprise have struggled to engage with ScottishPower about the future of the site, although I have a meeting with ScottishPower this week, and I hope to gain more clarity after that. Will the Minister, in winding up, agree to meet me and other stakeholders to ensure that sites such as Longannet, once a symbol of Scottish and UK electricity generation and the skills that come with it, are priorities for GB Energy? How will it work with the industry to create the right plans to bring investment to the area?
We know the wreckage that the Conservative party made of UK and Scottish industry over the past decades: change without a plan. GB Energy offers an opportunity not only to have a plan for our low-carbon secure energy future, but to fix yet another part of the mess left for us by the deliberate actions of the Conservatives and the incompetence of the SNP in Scotland. The Bill is a huge opportunity for Scotland. We must ensure that it is passed today, so it can get on with its work as quickly as possible.
David Chadwick (Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe) (LD)
I pay tribute to the two excellent maiden speeches that we have heard so far in this debate, from the hon. Members for Erewash (Adam Thompson) and for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet). I hope that people from former mining communities are listening to this debate, because I am sure they will have some choice words to say about a Conservative talking about de-industrialisation. In Wales, we will never forget what the Conservatives did to our industries, and the jobs and futures they took away from people.
Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)
Does the hon. Gentleman therefore appreciate why Conservatives are so concerned that the plans coming forward from the Labour Government will do exactly the same to north-east Scotland if this is not handled properly?
David Chadwick
I thank the hon. Member for that contribution. De-industrialisation has been happening for a very long time across the United Kingdom, and we are yet to see a real industrial strategy that would restore the wealth, prosperity and jobs that used to exist across our industrial areas in the entire United Kingdom.
Wales stands ready to play its part in powering the United Kingdom once again, but this time Wales would like to experience the tangible benefits from these projects. In my constituency, Llangattock Green Valleys has the ambition to develop plans for a large, community-owned renewable energy scheme to supply premises in the Crickhowell region. The scheme will have a mix of technologies, such as solar, hydro, wind and storage, to give a year-round supply of energy. It will be developed from the start in consultation with the community. It will be managed by the community and the profits will benefit the community itself.
We Liberal Democrats are firm believers that this is exactly the model of community ownership that will provide communities with security and prosperity well into the future. It is for this reason that I urge all Members to support amendment 5 and ensure that the Bill puts the principle of community ownership at the very front and centre of what the Government are trying to achieve.
Sarah Champion (Rotherham) (Lab)
I welcome the Bill, which brings us one step closer to establishing this much-needed, publicly owned energy company. To quote the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster North (Ed Miliband), at the UN General Assembly, this is a Government who are
“willing to tell the truth”
and “show international leadership” when it comes to climate change. In that spirit, I would like to bring to the attention of the House the importance of upholding human rights and the principles of a just transition in our renewable energy supply chains.
I am heartened by the determination of our Front Bench to see human rights protected across our energy transition. When questioned on forced labour in the solar industry, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, my right hon. Friend the Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (Jonathan Reynolds), stated that he
“would expect and demand there to be no modern slavery in any part of the supply chain”—[Official Report, 5 September 2024; Vol. 753, c. 418.]
In a similar vein, the Minister for Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds), recently spoke about
“galvanising just energy transition partnerships, to making sure that everyone feels the benefits of green innovation”.
While GB Energy must ensure that everyone benefits from green innovation, it must also guarantee that no one suffers from it. However, I have grave concerns that if we charge ahead with our net zero transition without safeguards in place, we will knowingly be doing that on the backs of those in slavery. Let me outline why.
Wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles and battery storage all require large quantities of critical minerals. There is conclusive evidence of human rights abuses associated with critical minerals. The abuse is most severe and systemic in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region of China, where the Chinese Government are systematically persecuting millions of Uyghur, Turkic and Muslim majority peoples on the basis of their religion and ethnicity. It is well documented that the lower tiers of our solar supply chains are concentrated there, and have a sinister dependency on state-imposed Uyghur forced-labour programmes. Those programmes have bolstered China’s global market share, which exceeds 80% across the whole solar PV supply chain. I raise these concerns not to undermine our business relationship with China, but because through the purchasing power of GB Energy, we can protect human rights around the world.
Graham Stringer (Blackley and Middleton South) (Lab)
My hon. Friend says that she does not want to undermine our commercial relationship with China. I do. China is carrying out genocide of the Uyghurs. It is an appalling country—or, rather, it has an appalling leadership, to be precise. It is trying to monopolise crucial supply chains around the world in order to oppress people. Surely we should be reducing our relationship and making ourselves independent.
Sarah Champion
I appreciate that my hon. Friend has put that on the record. I think that what we need to be doing is reducing our dependency—some might say “stranglehold”—on China for some of our most critical resources.
Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)
I agree with my hon. Friend about China. Does she agree with me that we should be looking at domestic production of critical minerals such as tin, lithium, tungsten and manganese? In Cornwall we have plenty, and we are very hopeful that the Bill will support the opportunities that they offer.
Sarah Champion
I completely agree with my hon. Friend, and that, to my mind, is what GB Energy should be doing. It is using its purchasing power around the world to increase human rights and improve working conditions, for example, but it also needs to be supporting British-based businesses, because our businesses need that support more than ever before. What we need to be doing is applying pressure on all our trading partners around the world, not just China, to improve standards. There are allegations of child labour in cobalt mining for EV batteries in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and there is evidence of labour exploitation in nickel processing in Indonesia.
With those examples in mind, I ask the House a simple question: do we turn a blind eye to modern slavery in our energy supply chains, or do we lead the way with a just transition? As the Chancellor outlined in her conference speech, this Government are
“Calling time on the days when government stood back…and turned a blind eye to where things are made and who makes them.”
It is vital that we follow up her words with real, meaningful action, because, as things currently stand, we are a global outlier. In 2021 the United States enacted the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, banning the importation of products from the Uyghur region, including shipments of solar panels with connections to Xinjiang. That has been highly effective, with the market responding with new, ethical supply chains. Canada and Mexico have followed suit with similar regulations, and this year the European Union passed the corporate sustainability due diligence directive, which will ensure that companies prevent and address the adverse human rights impacts of their actions.
Ms Billington
We should bear in mind that the regulations established by those other countries apply to all companies. It seems to me that we should be going in that direction, rather than simply saying that we will focus on one company, GB Energy. Given our high ethical standards, this is the kind of sectoral approach that we should be able to create ourselves, as an international leader.
Sarah Champion
My hon. Friend pre-empts me. This will work only if we do it across the whole of Government and in all sectors, and I want my Government to be leading the way on that. We have a hugely important role to play internationally, as well as in our own industries.
The UK’s failure to keep pace with our partners has resulted in the global supply chain splitting. Slave-made renewable products are being redirected to countries with weaker regulations, such as the UK. As the other place’s Modern Slavery Act 2015 Committee recently recognised, without forced labour import bans, the UK risks becoming a dumping ground for tainted products. Current legislation, such as the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the Procurement Act 2023, cannot meet the scale of the problem, especially while human rights due diligence remains optional for companies.
I appreciate that the Department is looking into these issues through the solar taskforce’s upcoming solar road map, which I really welcome. However, the solar taskforce, made up mostly of industry voices, needs to have civil society and trade unions on the team for its work to be truly credible. That is especially the case given my concerns about Solar Energy UK’s solar stewardship initiative, or SSI, as I am doubtful that an industry-led solution can meet the scale of the challenges I have outlined today.
A just transition is not only about international workers’ rights; it is also about securing UK jobs and industry. Our energy strategy must prioritise green jobs and wealth creation here, and avoid fuelling growth in economies known for cutting corners. Following my discussions with the industry and unions, it is clear that the UK’s inadequate response to these issues is creating a competitive disadvantage for businesses here and an uneven playing field internationally. If GB Energy allows exposure to state-imposed forced labour, it creates a distinct risk for investors and businesses here in the UK.
The arguments I have laid out today have the support of unions, businesses and human rights advocates alike. They echo the sentiments of our Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Business Secretary and Energy Secretary. For too many years, tackling modern slavery has received a siloed, disjointed response from Government. We now have an opportunity to change that and to embrace cross-departmental, collaborative working. Renewable energy has a key role to play in our transformation to a low-carbon economy, but without placing human rights at its centre, our green transition will come at a grave cost.
This Bill is aptly named the Great British Energy Bill. It simply cannot live up to its name if it depends on modern slavery to achieve its aims.
Mr Angus MacDonald (Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire) (LD)
I invite hon. Members to refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings) for her commitment to our essential amendments, both in Committee and here today. I also thank the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton), who has been incredibly supportive of our ambition for communities to benefit from renewable energy. I have one little correction: Tom Johnston, who invented the hydro boards, and the Labour Government did not actually put in place a proper system whereby local communities could benefit. They supplied a lot of power to the south and the cities, but it was of very little benefit to those of us living in the highlands, even then.
The Government have argued that nothing in this Bill limits community ownership. That is almost certainly true, but as my colleagues and I have emphasised, amendment 5 would not restrict GB Energy; it would simply clarify that community-led energy is a priority.
The Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, the hon. Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks), recently experienced a powerful story of community-driven energy on his visit to the island of Eigg. Just 25 years ago, Eigg’s residents, frustrated by years of poor management and a lack of investment, took matters into their hands and purchased their island. The Eigg buy-out succeeded in 1997, sparking what is now a beacon of self-sustained energy. Since then, Eigg has moved away from fossil fuels, becoming the world’s first island to generate 24-hour electricity from a variety of different renewables. This small community of just 110 people demonstrates the innovation and resilience that flourish when communities are empowered.
Eigg’s journey is a true example of prioritising community ownership and how that drives forward sustainability and local resilience. To paraphrase the Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, the hon. Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks), community involvement is critical, not a mere “nice to have”. If we are to build the infrastructure of the future, we must ensure that communities benefit directly. Community-driven projects are key to making that a reality, so let us follow Eigg’s lead and put the Government’s own words into action.
The current Government have an opportunity here to show their commitment to cross-party collaboration by embracing community energy. We are all aligned on the goals, so let us not get bogged down by technicalities or party politics. The Minister knows of the huge cross-party support for community energy ownership. If this goes to a vote, do this Government really want to vote against community energy ownership? Let us show the people of Britain that this Bill truly supports the right to own and benefit from our natural resources through Great British Energy.
Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)
It is an honour to welcome this Bill as it is moving forward, and I want to commend the leadership of the Secretary of State and the Energy Minister. To show such leadership so early on in the Parliament on such an important topic is really commended in my community.
My community of Bournemouth, and Britain, have suffered the worst cost of living crisis in a generation, driven by the energy shock that followed Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. This cost of living crisis has been a disaster for businesses. Typical energy bills have nearly doubled in the space of a year. It has been a disaster for family finances, with millions struggling with fuel poverty and many still facing enormous debts. It has been a disaster for public finances because the Government that we replaced left our country so unprepared. They were forced to spend an eye-watering £94 billion to support households with the cost of living—almost as much as our entire defence budget over the entire period. Because energy costs underpin economic performance, inflation soared, growth sputtered and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent inflation in the UK to over 10%, with a full third of that directly due to rising gas prices as a direct result of our vulnerability over the last 14 years.
We risk paying an even heavier price if we stay exposed to fossil fuels. We still depend on gas to generate more than a third of our electricity and to heat more than four out of five of our homes. No more. We must make sure that we are energy secure, and we must be able to bring down our bills. The Office for Budget Responsibility has warned about our exposure to surges in energy prices, and the potential costs to bill payers, taxpayers, consumers and businesses alike. The OBR now estimates that another fossil fuel price shock would cost the economy 2% to 3% of our GDP in the 2030s.
The crisis is not over. It still casts a long shadow and we cannot go on like this. We must learn the lessons, and the fastest way to reduce our vulnerability is to end our dependence on volatile global fossil fuels. The cheapest way to meet our energy needs is to enhance our home-grown renewables and British-based nuclear. I was intrigued to hear the Conservative spokesperson, the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), saying that this Government want to go slow on nuclear, so I have to ask: what nuclear projects were built over the last 14 years of the Conservative Government and five Prime Ministers? What small modular reactors actually moved ahead? What did those Prime Ministers do with the investment and the work that developers wanted to bring forward? Nothing. Our nuclear industry has been starved of funding and attention, but no more. When the energy is produced here and consumed here, Britain is protected against the volatile international markets that send our bills soaring.
The Climate Change Committee’s report, published two weeks after the Labour Government came into office, laid bare the true reality of energy policy under the last Conservative Government. It states:
“Last year…the previous Government signalled a slowing of pace and reversed or delayed key policies”.
We did not hear about that from the right hon. Member for East Surrey. It also stated that
“announcements were given with the justification that they will make the transition more affordable for people, but with no evidence backing this claim”.
We did not hear anything about that. The assessment of the committee was that
“only a third of the emissions reductions required…are currently covered by credible plans”
by the previous Government. We did not hear anything about that. That is this Labour Government’s inheritance, for a target that has to be achieved in just five years’ time. Britain is way off track to hit our 2030 international target of a 68% reduction in emissions. That is why the Government are in a hurry, and it is why they introduced the Bill so early in this Parliament.
In the five years ahead, our big challenges will be building an energy system at speed and supporting people through the energy transition. We need to demonstrate the benefits of the infrastructure we are building and make sure that host communities benefit in return. When we ask our communities to host this infrastructure, I am confident that they will say yes. They will do so on behalf of our nation. They will do so for cheaper bills in the long run, for good jobs that pay well and to benefit our communities.
National Grid estimates that five times as many pylons and underground lines will need to be constructed by 2030 than in the past 30 years. Underground cables cost six to 10 times more than overground cables. If part of our challenge is to cut bills and to reduce overall costs in a time of scarcity, we must be willing to invest in our infrastructure.
The faster we go, the more secure we become. Every wind turbine we erect, every solar panel we install and every piece of grid we construct will help our families and protect them from future energy shocks. Conversely, every wind turbine blocked, every solar farm rejected and every piece of grid left unbuilt will make us less secure and more exposed.
The faster we go, the better our economy will work for working people by creating a new generation of good jobs that finally pay decent wages in our industrial heartlands. Labour Members do not seek deindustrialisation; we seek decarbonisation. And decarbonisation will be achieved through reindustrialisation and the creation of good green jobs. The faster we go, the more we will be early movers and lead the world in new technologies. Why should these jobs be created in Pennsylvania or Shanghai? Let us create them in Bournemouth and across our country. And the faster we go, the more we can tackle our climate challenge. This is no longer a future threat. It is right here, right now, and we need to be able to tackle it.
Over the past few years, the race for jobs and the industries of the future has accelerated across the world. For too long, our country has been opted out of that race against our will. We have lost out, and our communities have fallen behind. Pay has not kept pace, and jobs have not been created on the scale needed. Why did the previous Government allow other countries to lead in these industries and clean jobs? Why did they not bet on our country and our potential?
I am delighted to see this Bill make progress. I commend Ministers for introducing it, and I look forward to seeing true investment in our green industries and the jobs of the future.
Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)
I rise to support amendment 5, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings), to require a statement of strategic priorities on the facilitation of community-based clean energy schemes.
Energy supply is the second largest contributor to UK domestic greenhouse gas emissions, making up 20% of carbon emissions in 2022. Community energy should play a key role in reducing this and in helping the UK to meet its net zero targets. Community energy projects have positive impacts on equality, social cohesion and economic opportunity. We must therefore encourage local communities to take ownership of energy production. This way, we can ensure that decisions are taken in the best interests of local communities, and in collaboration with them, to better meet their needs.
The local economic benefits are clear, with community energy businesses in 2021 raising £21.5 million of investment for new projects and spending £15 million of community energy income to boost local economies. Community energy schemes currently produce just 0.5% of UK electricity but, according to studies by the Environmental Audit Committee, this could grow twentyfold over the next 10 years.
My constituency has seen the benefit of community energy schemes, with Avalon Community Energy in Street and South Somerset Community Energy in Wincanton providing services to the local area. Avalon is currently focused on delivering the clean energy project as one of the projects that make up the Glastonbury town deal. The £2 million project will develop renewable energy and carbon saving for the community. It is currently estimated that the project will save around 1,000 tonnes of carbon per year, and there will be an annual revenue surplus of over £100,000, some of which will be used for ongoing local community benefits. South Somerset Community Energy has installed three solar panels on the roof of Stanchester academy in Stoke-sub-Hamdon. Those solar panels produce around 100,000 kWh of energy per year, at least 70% of which is used by the academy.
The Liberal Democrats want to support the expansion of community energy schemes by requiring large energy suppliers to work with community schemes to sell the power they generate to local customers. If the Government want to drive a clean energy revolution, community energy has to be part of that. Community energy schemes have the potential to power 2.2 million homes, to save 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 a year and to create over 30,000 jobs. The Government have sadly neglected community energy provisions in the original Bill, as many of my Liberal Democrat colleagues have and will outline. That is a major missed opportunity.
Engagement and consultation with local communities is crucial if GB Energy is to be a success. GB Energy should also provide communities who host renewable energy infrastructure with the ability to realise community benefits from that. I have spoken on this point at length over recent weeks, because it is crucial if we are to boost the much-needed roll-out of renewable energy, particularly in areas like Glastonbury and Somerton. Communities must be part of the process. They have a critical role to play and a voice that must be heard. Through engagement, we can deliver clean energy, increase social cohesion and allow communities to invest in their place.
For the reasons I have laid out, I will be supporting the amendments tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire, and I urge the House to do the same.
Brian Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth) (Lab)
Before I make my contribution, I apologise to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and to the House for failing to mention during the Employment Rights Bill debate last week the financial donations made to me by Unite the Union of £7,500, and by the Communication Workers Union of £3,500. I appreciate that being a first time MP is no excuse, and I extend my sincere apologies to you and to the House. On that note, I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, where it also says that I am a member of Unite the Union, which I will refer to later in my remarks.
There is so much to like in the GB Energy Bill: a publicly owned clean energy company, the creation of skilled jobs, reindustrialising communities and cutting household bills. It is a transformative and bold idea, which is to be applauded and to be proud of. Since coming to this place, I have heard it said—indeed, I have said—that a nation’s energy security is linked to its national security. GB Energy should eventually help with both those things and create thousands of skilled jobs. That is excellent.
However, what about the jobs of the Grangemouth refinery workers, the same workers who are right now crucial to Scotland’s energy security, and therefore to Scotland’s national security? Those workers are nearing the end of their 45-day consultation process, during which the focus should be on how jobs can be saved and maintained for those workers. Recent comments include, “These workers will be okay and it will all be fine because they’ll get employment elsewhere.” If the workers have to leave, that will not help my community. Stopping refining does not help Scotland’s fuel or national security.
There can be no doubt that my constituency will be much weaker for losing the refinery—job losses will run into the thousands. There can also be no doubt that Scotland will be weaker for losing the refinery. After all, Scottish Enterprise has reported that the economic contribution of the Grangemouth refinery is north of £400 million.
Mark my words, stopping refining at Grangemouth and closing Finnart will have monumental consequences for all of Scotland. It will not take long for the pumps on forecourts all over the country to be impacted, and so too the public. Although this is not a problem of this Government’s making—the previous UK Tory Government and the current SNP Scottish Government have long since turned their backs on the refinery, and it was previous UK Ministers and Scottish Cabinet Secretaries who got us into this mess—make no mistake, it is our mess to clean up now.
Harriet Cross
There are few areas of the country that are as reliant on, and therefore as vulnerable to, the energy industry as my constituency of Gordon and Buchan and wider north-east Scotland. It is because of this that I want the Government’s energy strategy to be a success. Indeed, my constituents need it to be a success. However, that is why I have severe reservations about the Bill and why I believe that we must view the Great British Energy Bill not in isolation, but alongside the Government’s wider energy strategy.
I begin by considering the public money involved—the £8.3 billion of taxpayers’ money going into Great British Energy. Labour has cited international examples, such as France’s EDF, as inspiration for Great British Energy, but let us examine EDF’s recent history, which reads like a cautionary tale of state intervention gone wrong. In 2022, the French Government were forced to fully nationalise EDF, costing €9.7 billion, and in 2023, they had to inject another €13 billion. That huge expenditure of taxpayer money did not even solve EDF’s problems; the company now faces debts exceeding €64 billion. Therefore, is £8.3 billion of investment into Great British Energy realistic?
Let us move on to Labour’s wider energy strategy—perhaps there are assurances there that can help mitigate the apparent inadequate funding. Let us not forget that the UK will be using oil and gas for years to come, which is not disputed. The expectation that we should get this from our domestic oil and gas supplies should not be controversial, yet our energy security is being put at risk through the Government’s actions and words. Jobs and investment in Gordon and Buchan and across north-east Scotland are being lost, and a home-grown energy transition is being made ever more difficult. It is incoherent to pump public money into the energy sector, while at the same time scaring away private investment from the very companies that will be vital to the energy transition, whether by announcing that there will be no new North sea licences, extending and increasing the windfall tax or removing investment allowances.
Offshore Energies UK has warned that expected tax changes could see investments in UK projects by oil and gas producers fall by about £12 billion by 2029. Last week, Reuters reported that a North sea producer is looking to sell stakes in its North sea assets and relist on the US stock exchange. The same article quoted the chief executive officer of TotalEnergies, who said that his team had halted exploration in the basin, and that:
“With this political landscape, even if you find something you’re not sure you can develop it… The situation in the UK is very problematic.”
The CEO of Deltic Energy also announced plans to cut spending, telling Reuters:
“The clear message from key investors was ‘do not invest in the UK’.”
That is just a snapshot, but it puts the Government’s £8.3 billion into context, alongside the other decisions that they are making.
Torcuil Crichton
Does the hon. Member accept that my constituents and hers have earned energy security for this country for the last two generations, and will do so in the North sea for another two generations?
Harriet Cross
I certainly hope that we will have the opportunity to do so, but as I am setting out, the Government’s proposals for the North sea in respect of taxation and cutting down on licences do not guarantee that. As much as I and the hon. Member want and need for that to be the case for our constituents, we cannot guarantee it. That is why it is so important that we get the transition right.
The Bill must include consideration of the impact on the public. Communities such as Leylodge and Kintore in my constituency face unprecedented infrastructure pressures. Those communities have seen a 3 GW hydrogen plant, an expanded substation, multiple battery facilities and new pylons. What are their statutory protections? What assurances are there in the Bill that certain communities will not be over-saturated with an unsustainable amount of infrastructure?
Before the election, the Labour party claimed that GB Energy would reduce household bills by £300. Since then, Ministers have not repeated the promise and have not explained when or how it will be achieved. I am sure that the Labour Government would not want us to think that that promise was simply a headline-grabbing figure before an election, so I look forward to their clarifying that commitment and voting for our amendments on that figure.
Let me move on to the jobs of today and the jobs of tomorrow. We hear that GB Energy will create 650,000 jobs—apparently, 69,000 of them will be in Scotland, which, if delivered, would be welcome—but as is the running theme in this Bill, we do not have sufficient detail to offer even a grain of certainty to comfort those whose jobs are on the line now. Existing oil and gas and supply chain businesses in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and the north-east need a timeline so that they can plan their business and workforce. How, when and where will jobs be created? What kind of jobs and skills will be required?
Of course, we now have certainty that one job will not be coming to Scotland, as we hear that the CEO will be based in Manchester. Is Aberdeen a headquarters in name but not in nature? We already know that there will be satellite sites in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Which other executive management jobs will not be based in Aberdeen? We in north-east Scotland are not buttoned up the back, so will the Minister confirm today that Aberdeen is still the headquarters for GB Energy—and I mean that in no other way than the meaning that the general public would understand?
The funding may not be sufficient, the overall energy strategy is incoherent and there is no clarity on the delivery of jobs or any mention of £300 energy bill savings, but surely the Bill offers certainty to the very industry that will deliver the energy transition. That brings me to the strategic statement. One thing that we know for sure is that we do not know all we need to know about what GB Energy will do. As a result, the uncertainty will continue. For communities such as mine in Gordon and Buchan, and for businesses, supply chains and those working in the existing energy industry, that is profound. We need to know how those communities will be brought with us in the transition—if it is, indeed, to be a just transition.
GB Energy will not generate energy, but it cannot instead generate mass redundancies across north-east Scotland. As has been mentioned, the Bill gives the Secretary of State extensive power to dictate what is in the strategic statement, and he has given himself the huge responsibility of ensuring that GB Energy delivers its aims. The work of the existing energy industry, and of communities such as Gordon and Buchan, must be taken into account. If it is not, the transition to cleaner, greener energies will be less efficient, less affordable and less possible. As such, I sincerely ask that the Secretary of State prepares the strategic priorities in a timely manner, taking account of stakeholders in the industry, the impacted communities, the current jobs and skills, and the existing businesses that are the bedrock of our future energy generation.
Because the Bill gives us all but no clarity on what is going to happen, the strategic statement—which we are all waiting for—is going to be the key document in dictating whether it will or will not be a success. As I said at the start of my speech, I want it to be a success; I want the UK to be a clean energy superpower, just as we are, and always were, an oil and gas superpower. If we get this right, that superpower status will drive the economy and jobs of the future. We cannot allow investment to be lost, because that means that investment in new technologies will be lost.
If we lose the expertise, the supply chains and the private investment because of the way this Bill is handled and how GB Energy is handled—there is no guarantee that private investment will stay in the UK just because GB Energy has been created—we will look back at this time and wish we had done things differently. I really do not want to be in that situation, because it is my communities in Gordon and Buchan and in north-east Scotland who will suffer the most.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
In a debate like this, it is important for Members to ensure that they link their contributions to the amendments we are addressing. I call Polly Billington.
Ms Billington
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I will speak specifically to the amendments on community energy, and I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
Back in 2016, I founded UK100, a network of local government leaders who are ambitious about shifting their communities and their economies to net zero. It is because of that experience, working with local leaders of all political persuasions across the country, that I would like to highlight the importance of a local-led approach to reaching our net zero targets. GB Energy will be able to play a crucial role in doing so by facilitating and encouraging local authorities to meet the ambitious net zero targets that have been set across the country. People will be familiar with the ambitions of big cities such as Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol and Brighton—to name but a few—but towns and villages in rural and coastal communities have also made those commitments. That is why community energy is so vital, and why it is so much a part of this Government’s overall project and of this Bill.
Through the local power plan, GB Energy will be able to work with local and combined authorities to deliver hundreds of millions of pounds of funding to small and medium-scale clean energy projects, helping to turn those ambitious targets into reality. GB Energy will also be able to work with communities across the country to help deliver that local-led approach. I have seen some great real-world examples of community-led climate projects. For example, Green Meadows is a community climate action project in Nottingham, funded by the National Lottery’s climate action fund, that aims to deliver home insulation, clean energy generation for local homes, planting projects and workshops to give residents the tools and skills they need to install their own energy upgrades.
With no disrespect to the National Lottery’s fund, we need a more strategic approach to the local delivery of clean, home-grown, secure energy. That is the role of the GB Energy company. By working with communities and local people, GB Energy will be able to play a crucial role in building consent and support for clean energy projects, in order to reach our ambitious targets and avoid a backlash to net zero—we have already seen that backlash, particularly driven by some of the attitudes of the Conservative party. We have to bring people along with us and show them how they can tangibly benefit from the transition.
Net zero must not be something we do to people; it must be something we do with people. If we do not work with communities, we will face resistance across the country, but not because people are against tackling climate change. By involving people and showing them how they can tangibly benefit, we will face less resistance and deliver much quicker deployment of the energy projects we need to build. Swaffham Prior, which was mentioned by the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings), is indeed a valuable project, but we cannot leave the transition to projects of that scale. To support community projects at scale, we need a transformative approach that is about transforming the rules of the market as much as it is about establishing GB Energy. Lastly, de-risking those projects—both at scale and community assets—will be a vital role of GB Energy.
Reaching net zero will be a partnership between the state, the private sector and the community. Government investment to help “crowd in” that private sector and community investment will be crucial. In that context, we often talk about new and developing technologies, but it is crucial not to forget existing, proven technologies.
Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)
I rise to speak to amendment 5 alongside my hon. Friends. I welcome the fact that the Government are keen to increase the amount of energy produced by renewables—we have certainly waited far too long in this country for the priority and urgency needed to try to shift electricity production away from fossil fuels definitively. Unlike the shadow Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), I look forward to the day when I can turn my lights on knowing that the electricity has been produced by the sun or wind.
I will acknowledge four excellent projects in my constituency, which are brilliant examples—or potential future examples—of community energy. South Brent Community Energy Society runs a community energy fund with the surplus from the operation of the wind turbine and solar panels that have been erected in the village. The fund is directed to new energy saving measures and renewable energy generation projects for the benefit of the community. Charities, schools and community groups have all benefited from the surplus energy that it produces, and it is a brilliant example of what can be done in a village environment with a community energy project.
Totnes Renewable Energy Society has solar panels on the roof of the civic hall that I can see from my bedroom window, and that power the electricity in my house, along with others. We also have a turbine in the river, which sadly does not have a name such as Thunder or Lightning like the ones in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart), but does power the local high school. I also give a shout-out to Sustainable Blackawton, which is keen to find a site for a wind turbine, and to the Bigbury Fan Club, which is setting out on a long journey to try to get a turbine there.
I have spoken to many constituents who are excited by the prospect of creating new solar or wind projects on community or municipal buildings, or wind turbines in a village, but they are struggling. It is complicated to get planning permission, it is difficult to get funding, and it is virtually impossible to connect new projects to the national grid. We must make it easier, simpler and faster to connect up community energy projects, not only so that we can transfer to clean energy, but so that communities across the country, like the brilliant example from Eigg in Scotland, can connect to renewable energy in that way.
In the early 2010s, we had the Green Investment Bank—what a shame that we lost it in 2014, and with it 10 years of potential investment in green projects. We need to catch up for the lost decade since the Liberal Democrats did so much to grow offshore wind when we were in office. We will support the Government’s ambitions to transform our energy network, but community energy must be at the heart of it and baked into the Bill, so that every village that agrees to a wind turbine can benefit from it, knowing that they are using their own clean, locally produced energy for the benefit of their community, for lower bills and for cleaner energy.
We are calling for larger energy suppliers to work with community schemes across the country so that we can sell power to local customers at a discounted rate and provide community benefits.
Ms Billington
I would like further clarification about this interesting proposition from the Liberal Democrats about community energy groups working with the big energy companies. What plans do the Liberal Democrats have for the concept of securing ownership at community level? My concern about the model being suggested is that, rather than there being a community energy ownership model, it would instead be one of big companies investing in small communities.
Caroline Voaden
I thank the hon. Member for the intervention. The model would involve part ownership by the community and part ownership by large energy suppliers—
Caroline Voaden
And community energy groups—but, yes, I will hand over to my hon. Friend, if I am allowed to do so.
Pippa Heylings
I think I will intervene, if that is okay with you, Madam Deputy Speaker. We welcome that question from the hon. Member for East Thanet (Ms Billington). In fact, there are multiple ownership models, so it is quite right to get clarification. Some of these will need investments from other companies, but others will—
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
Order. Please be seated. We have a speech mid-flow. Is that correct?
Madam Deputy Speaker
Then please continue. If you wish to respond to that intervention, you may do so, and I will go to another speaker afterwards.
Caroline Voaden
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.
To guarantee that local communities receive a fair share of the wealth generated from community energy projects, it is crucial that these are at the heart of the Bill, so I would welcome the Government’s support for amendment 5.
Luke Murphy
I welcome the opportunity to speak at the Report stage of the Great British Energy Bill. It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friends the Members for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet) and for Erewash (Adam Thompson), who gave such eloquent and powerful maiden speeches earlier in the debate. It is also a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for East Thanet (Ms Billington), who showed such leadership on this issue prior to her being elected to this House. As well as commenting on the overall thrust of the Bill, I want to comment on new clause 1 and amendments 6, 8 and 5.
It is somewhat surprising and, indeed, interesting to hear Conservative Members calling for a review of the effective delivery of energy policy, for legislation to reduce energy bills by £300 and for the creation of jobs as a result, not least because a review of energy policy and the trajectory of bills and jobs created under the previous Government would reveal some stark facts. Every family and business in Britain paid the price of 14 years of Conservative failure through rocketing energy bills. Indeed, Britain faced a worse cost of living crisis than other countries, because the Tories left us exposed to international fossil fuel markets controlled by dictators such as Putin.
When I said in my intervention on the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), who has since vacated the Opposition Front Bench, that we were reliant on Putin, she responded that I did not understand energy markets. I am afraid that just shows that she does not understand energy markets, because the truth is that we are at the mercy of international markets of which Russia is a part. The previous Government did absolutely nothing to reduce our reliance on volatile fossil fuels, and as a result of their failure to invest in clean energy, they left us with a legacy of high energy bills, energy insecurity and a lack of clean energy jobs. With our plans for Great British Energy and clean power by 2030, the new Labour Government are determined to change that.
I am somewhat surprised by amendment 8, which calls for legislating the creation of 650,000 jobs, not least because we create these jobs not through legislation but by having a meaningful industrial strategy, which was lacking under the previous Government. Figures from the Institute for Public Policy Research—which, I must admit, is my former employer—show that around 4% of our GDP is made up of green goods and services compared with the European average of 6%. If we had had an industrial strategy and created jobs from offshore wind at the same rate as Denmark did from its offshore sector, we could have green goods and services making up 11.5% of the economy and we could have created 100,000 more jobs. So although I admire the chutzpah of Opposition Members calling for price reductions, and the creation of 650,000 jobs, through legislation, I welcome instead our approach of creating a publicly owned energy generation company—the first in 75 years.
Andrew Bowie
All we are asking through our amendments is for the Government to put on the face of the Bill what they promised the British people, in their manifesto and many election campaign commitments, that Great British Energy would achieve. Why will the hon. Gentleman not challenge his Ministers to put on the face of this Bill the very things on which he stood for election, such as the creation of 650,000 jobs and the reduction of bills by £300?
Luke Murphy
I have to say that, whoever is the winner of the Conservative party leadership contest, I am not sure legislating for the creation of 650,000 jobs is the direction in which they will be heading. I do not believe we can legislate our way to job creation; I believe that is done by introducing an industrial strategy, something that was so lacking in the last 14 years.
Harriet Cross
Does the hon. Member appreciate that the issue is not legislating for jobs but the lack of accountability in the Bill?
Luke Murphy
We have set out our industrial strategy, along with this Bill on GB Energy, and a few weeks ago, with the investment summit, the investment that will be coming in. I am confident that the best way of creating jobs is through the industrial strategy and the creation of GB Energy. Yes, we made those commitments and I am confident that by 2030 we will have met our clean power target, reduced bills and created jobs and revived the industry across the country.
Nick Timothy (West Suffolk) (Con)
If the hon. Gentleman is so confident in the policies of his Front Bench, will he take this moment to use the words that were used before the election by the Energy Secretary? He can repeat after me if it makes it easier: “We will cut bills by £300.”
Luke Murphy
I will take absolutely no lectures from Conservative Members about the need to reduce energy bills after they soared under the previous Government. Great British Energy’s core focus will be to drive clean energy deployments to create jobs, boost energy independence and ensure British taxpayers, bill payers and communities reap the benefits of clean, secure, home-grown energy. I am also surprised by the Conservatives’ opposition to a publicly owned clean energy company, not least because 50% of our offshore wind capacity is already publicly owned but by foreign states. I am surprised that Conservative Members are so happy with that scenario.
On amendment 5, I welcome the Liberal Democrats’ support for community energy, but as my hon. Friend the Member for East Thanet commented, it is in the founding statement. Labour Members are absolutely committed to community energy. It does not need to be on the face of the Bill, but it is important that it is part of the founding statement of GB Energy. Opposition Members can be reassured that we will champion community energy. In Basingstoke, we have Basingstoke Energy Services Co-op, which is a wonderful champion for this issue. I look forward to seeing what GB Energy will deliver for such community organisations.
Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)
I rise to speak in support of amendment 1, in the name of my right hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn), and amendment 5, tabled by the Liberal Democrats.
I am supportive of the Bill in the abstract, and I am certainly supportive of its headline ambitions, like many Members, but I trust that the Minister is hearing what the House is saying today about the substantive lack of information and detail, and the troubling direction of travel, which will place significant executive authority in the hands of the Secretary of State in discharging GB Energy’s responsibilities.
It is a pity, too, that the attrition to the original budget of £28 billion has nearly quartered it to £8 billion. I hope that the jobs associated with this implied investment do not go the same way as the budget, before they get the chance to take root in the north-east of Scotland and support my constituents and many others in that part of the country. It is a shame that the only person appointed to GB Energy is not working in Scotland at all. I am not sure that was on the script going into the election, but it seems to be what has happened afterwards.
Amendment 1 from the SNP asks the Labour Government to deliver upon what they said they would do ahead of the election. That does not strike me as particularly unreasonable. I do not think our amendment will be selected for separate decision, so I think we will be forced to vote with amendment 6 in the name of the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), which asks for basically the same thing. [Interruption.] The Minister is getting very excited. Of course, we would not have had to table an amendment if the Labour party had just put the measure in the Bill. It was in the leaflets, so I do not know why it was not in the Bill. It is also no longer £300 that we need to see reduced from hard-pressed working people’s bills. Since Labour made that claim, bills have gone up by £149, so the Government will need to get £449 off people’s bills before they can get back to where they started, certainly in terms of them having any credibility.
The Liberal Democrats have a well-worded and noble ambition on community energy, and the SNP would have been pleased to support it. One of the things missing from GB Energy is a statutory responsibility to develop and accelerate community energy at pace in a measured fashion. Referring back to my opening remarks, I am supportive of the Bill’s outline ambitions, but I am worried about the lack of detail. The more we discuss and debate the Bill, the more I am concerned that GB Energy will end up doing lots of things that nobody particularly needed it to do, because they were all done by a department within the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
What we do not have is what people want GB Energy to do. We do want it to generate energy independently and to have an effect on the energy market in the United Kingdom. We do want it to sell energy to the retail market. We do want it to buy community energy from community energy generators and to introduce it into the market. And we do want it to enable community energy and to lower bills.
Ms Billington
All the things that the hon. Gentleman mentioned are exactly what GB Energy will do. There is literally no reason why he cannot go through the Lobby with Labour Members this evening, because the Great British Energy Bill will do all the things he has asked for it to do. It is nothing to do with sucking up the energy of the civil servants doing policy; that is a completely different role, and they will continue their work.
Dave Doogan
I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention, but I politely disagree. No amount of emphasis on her part will change the detail in the Bill, and that is what MPs are concerned about.
Dave Doogan
No, I am going to make progress.
The Minister has advised us that GB Energy will not seek to displace foreign-owned energy companies but will instead crowd in investment. In reference to the previously mentioned £300 bill reduction, he has also said that GB Energy will play a role in lowering bills but that that will not happen immediately. When he sums up, perhaps he can tell us when that will be, because it is not unreasonable for people to hear that ambition and to want to see a timeline attached to it. I also mentioned the attrition in GB Energy’s funding. Given its now drastically reduced funding, will the Minister advise us what challenges he sees GB Energy facing?
When the Secretary of State was in opposition, he often made big play of the fact that there is a nationalised energy industry in the United Kingdom but that none of it is owned by the United Kingdom—it is all foreign. It seems a little odd that there is not the ambition, now that he is actually in power, to deliver that ownership.
Luke Murphy
Could the hon. Member update the House on the progress of the SNP Government’s commitment in 2017 to create a publicly owned energy company by 2021?
Dave Doogan
He can indeed. The hon. Member may think he is being terribly smart—he is a self-professed expert in the energy market—but he will know how difficult it is for someone to penetrate the UK energy market unless they happen to be a large plc or a multinational. When the Scottish Government took forward that noble ambition, they found precisely the same barriers to entry as community energy companies and trusts. If the hon. Member wants to get excited about that situation, I suggest he takes it up with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Mr Angus MacDonald
Will the hon. Gentleman explain why the SNP Government have left community benefit at the same £5,000 level it was in 2014, even though prices have gone through the roof? Their advisory information could have been changed. They have been pressed on the issue many times because it has severely damaged the income of rural communities.
Dave Doogan
I am not sure what the hon. Gentleman is driving at, but if he wants to get in touch with me after the debate, I will be happy to discuss it further.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
Order. We are debating the amendments to the Bill, not SNP policy.
Dave Doogan
Well, indeed.
Will the Minister advise us whether we are talking about GB electricity or GB energy? I would be keen to know what investments and ambition this supposedly state-owned company—I have to grit my teeth when I say that, because it is actually little more than a trading fund—will be involved in? Will it be involved in carbon capture, utilisation and storage? Will it be involved in attenuated hydro? Will it be involved in pumped storage, geothermal or hydrogen? What are the limits of GB Energy? That is not in the Bill, and we do not understand what it will deliver. As other hon. Members have asked, what is the Government’s ambition on GB Energy when it comes to Grangemouth? Is it just limited to the common or garden production of electricity?
I will not vote with the Government on the Bill. I do not want to condemn it as an election prop that is now desperately looking for some sort of function—I hope it amounts to more than that—but I will vote for the amendments, and so will my colleagues, to try to make some sense of the Bill.
Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)
The Bill’s job is to set up a new and unique public energy company, to work within the clear objects set out in clause 3(2)—not simply as an investment bank, but as part of a developing strategy for renewables across the UK.
Cornwall, where I am from, is set to benefit hugely from the investment from GB Energy into unblocking floating offshore wind in the Celtic sea, which will create jobs. Cornwall was post-industrial a long time ago, and we need the kind of investment that GB Energy can bring. We also have a strong local area energy plan, which is an integral part of Cornwall’s renewable energy offer. It has co-operative, community and local authority energy as part of that plan, and as a Co-operative MP I support the local power plan that the Government are proposing, which will be part of GB Energy. We could have partnerships for deep geothermal energy on council land, which would bring potential for partnerships with local authorities and others. In Cornwall we have had numerous community energy schemes, such as the one in Ladock at the end of last Labour Government, before the Conservatives cut the schemes and the feed-in tariffs. We could invest in infrastructure with GB Energy, in partnership with the Crown Estate, for the cables, the grid and, potentially, even the ports.
The Bill offers a huge opportunity. There is so much that GB Energy can do in future as part of a developing strategy to secure clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as it says in the Bill. As its ambitions and horizons expand, in partnership with the Crown Estate and others, so too must its object and its strategy be able to expand.
Sammy Wilson
I rise to support amendments 6 and 8. The Bill was promised in order to do a number of things. First, it was to reduce the cost of energy to consumers—during the election, the Government gave a specific promise that the reduction this year would be £300 per household. As others have said, and as the Government have accepted, that will not be delivered. That is not a great start. Secondly, it was going to deliver a certain number of jobs. Thirdly, it was going to deliver sustainable and clean energy, and energy security. The Government could argue that these things are in the Bill’s strategic objectives and priorities, but they are not. I do not believe that any of those things can be achieved, given the net zero strategy that we are pursuing.
Let us take the first claim: that costs for consumers would come down. We know that they will not come down this year, and given what needs to be done to deliver the strategy, huge costs will be imposed on consumers. We will turn our backs on a lot of the hard plans we already have in place, even though they are not defunct. We are going to build new power sources. Whether they are built by the state or by power companies, capital expenditure will be involved, and there will be a return on that capital. Who will give the return on that capital to the companies? It will be the consumers. We are going to build many of these power sources away from where people live, because the open areas for wind or solar are not beside centres of population.
We already know that putting in a totally new network will require a huge expenditure of billions—indeed, some have mentioned it here today. That will be costly and controversial. I have listened to Members today saying, “Oh, to ensure the lights are turned on and there is a supply of energy, my constituents will be quite happy to have huge pylons erected in their back gardens or down beside their houses.” Of course they won’t; it will be controversial. That is why the Government will have to change the planning system, too.
Graham Stringer
Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that this debate would be much easier if the Committee on Climate Change had produced a year-by-year estimate of the costs of getting to net zero by 2050? The previous Government always promised to do a proper impact assessment on costs, but they never did. I believe that this Government should do that, so we can have an objective and evidence-based debate. Does he agree?
Sammy Wilson
I do agree. There have been variations on the cost, from £3 trillion to £10 trillion by 2050. Those Monopoly money figures mean nothing to people. Setting out the cost on a year-to-year basis, where people understand and Members who vote in this House understand what they are putting in front of their constituents by way of bills, would at least be honest. It would also mean there could be a proper debate.
I support amendment 6, which includes the price commitment. The second commitment was on jobs. We are told there will be 650,000 jobs. I agree with the hon. Member for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy) who said that we cannot legislate for jobs. That is quite right. But if a promise is made about the job implications of a policy, there should be no fear of sticking it in the Bill. Not that the Government are going to produce those jobs; the companies are going to produce them. We could then measure that. If the Government cannot legislate for jobs, they should not promise that they are going to create 650,000 jobs, especially at a time when we know that jobs are being lost as a result of commitments relating to North sea oil and energy-efficient industries. The emissions trading scheme means that there is little or no investment in Grangemouth, for instance, and the place is going to close.
Luke Murphy
Successive Governments have made commitments on jobs, but can the right hon. Gentleman name any Government who have legislated for a jobs target? Can he specify a single Bill that has contained such a measure?
Sammy Wilson
As I have just said, it cannot be done. What I have said is that a Government should not make a promise if they believe that when the Bill in question is scrutinised, that promise will not be fulfilled—especially here, when it is known that the policy will cost jobs, and unions have already made that point.
I have some sympathy with the amendment tabled by the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion (Siân Berry) in respect of the impacts on nature. I come from one of the most beautiful parts of the United Kingdom—the Antrim coast is famous for tourism—and I am already seeing the impact of net zero policies on the landscape and the flora and fauna of the Antrim plateau. When I look out of my window in the morning, there is the wind farm that has been erected on top of the plateau, which involved stripping off 3 metres of peat and destroying a bird habitat; every year these windmills chew up birds and bats. I have already mentioned the admission that 17 million trees had been cut down in Scottish forests, and the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion was unfortunate to mention the Sperrins, another beautiful part of Northern Ireland of which I have some knowledge and which has been totally despoiled by hundreds of windmills.
Let us not pretend, then, that the policy of renewables is a green, clean policy, because it is not. Let us be honest: any energy production will require the extraction of fuels and materials from the earth, and that in itself will be destructive, so let us not describe it as nature-friendly or green. Let us just accept that what we need if we are to bring about economic growth and reduce the cost of living for our constituents is the cheapest, most available fuel that we can have. That will drive economic growth and decrease the cost of living, and that is the kind of energy policy that the Government ought to be following.
Perran Moon
The Conservatives are generally adamant that there very are few Labour Members with any business experience, so having spent more than 30 years in business—latterly in electric vehicle charging infrastructure—I was reassured to learn while listening to the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Dr Mullan) that there is at least one Conservative who is not a renewable-energy Luddite, and I am glad to see him back in his place. I wish that the right hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson) would spend a bit of time understanding a little more about geothermal energy, which does not require the wind to blow or the sun to shine.
I was honoured to be part of the Committee considering the Great British Energy Bill, a core plank of this Government’s policy programme whose benefits will be felt in every corner of the UK, including my own constituency of Camborne, Redruth and Hayle. I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks), for their diligent work on and defence of this transformational Bill. Let me also put on record my thanks not just to my right hon. and hon. Friends who sat on the Committee, but to other Members on both sides of the House who contributed to it.
I will refer to the amendments. In Committee we heard from experts and stakeholders, and we extensively debated the issues, from oversight to community benefit. Opposition Members who were on the Committee know that, because they were there. As I said when I made my maiden speech on Second Reading, my focus will be on using the opportunities of this Bill to unleash the Cornish Celtic tiger.
Renewable energy—onshore wind, offshore wind, geothermal, tidal and solar—and critical minerals such as tin, lithium, tungsten and manganese are fundamental for our transition away from fossil fuels. There is no silver bullet; we need a mix of renewable energy, which will form part of our policy going forward. That is what GB Energy will give us the opportunity to do.
There are few areas of the UK where there is a greater distillation of renewable energy and critical mineral opportunities than in Cornwall. I refer to the comments made by my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) about human rights and the opportunity to produce domestically an awful lot of the energy and the critical minerals that we currently import from places such as China, Indonesia, Australia and South America. As a result, there are extremely high expectations in Cornwall for local jobs in industries that support community initiatives and domestic supply chains in one of the most deprived areas of northern Europe.
Given the distillation of raw materials and natural resources in Cornwall, the fact that the new Centre for Critical Minerals, which will accelerate the move towards a green economy, opened very recently in Cornwall, and the fact that Exeter University, which has a campus in Penryn, has the largest number of top-100 climate scientists in the world, it will not come as a surprise to the Minister that I ask him to consider opening a satellite office for Great British Energy in Cornwall. They may not want it in Aberdeen, but we want it in Cornwall.
I support the Bill as it is. We discussed the amendments in Committee, and I look forward to the opportunities that this Bill will bring to the people of Camborne, Redruth and Hayle.
Several hon. Members rose—
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
Order. To ensure that I can call everybody in the time remaining, Back-Bench speeches will be limited to three minutes, after a maiden speech by Iqbal Mohamed.
Iqbal Mohamed (Dewsbury and Batley) (Ind)
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make my maiden speech today. I congratulate my hon. Friends the Members for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet) and for Erewash (Adam Thompson) on their excellent maiden speeches. They have set a high bar that I will struggle to match.
I thank the people of Dewsbury and Batley for the trust they have placed in me. I am honoured and humbled to be their representative and a voice for all residents. Dewsbury and Batley is a newly formed constituency, so I thank my two predecessors. First, I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater) for her service as the MP for Batley and Spen. She helped secure funding for the town centre, and became an MBE for helping to promote social cohesion and tackling loneliness. I wish her well as the new Member for Spen Valley.
Secondly, I thank Mark Eastwood for his service as the MP for Dewsbury. He was a man of great perseverance and helped secure over £40 million in funding for the town. I am honoured to follow Mark as the second locally born and bred MP for Dewsbury.
I stand here as the eldest of six children born to Gujarati Indian immigrants who came here in the ’60s. I am an immensely proud, passionate and no-nonsense British Indian Muslim Yorkshireman who grew up on a council estate in Dewsbury Moor on free school meals and uniforms. My late father, Gulam Ahmed, and my mother, Noorjhan Fatima, gave us love, put food in our bellies and taught us proper British and Islamic values, such as honesty, integrity, hard work, friendship, compassion and wanting the best for others.
My political journey started when I was around nine or 10 years old. I remember standing in front of my parents’ wardrobe mirror and asking God to make me one of two things when I grew up. I asked to be either a “Blue Peter” presenter, because a job that paid you to travel the world, do amazing activities and be on TV was surely the best gig in town, or—and I did not know why at the time—I asked God to make me a parliamentarian. I remember looking down at the colour of my skin and thinking that that might be difficult, but here I am today in the most diverse Parliament in history, where I look forward to breaking down barriers, making friends, doing good and preventing harm. If a “Blue Peter” producer is watching, however, I am still available for a guest appearance or a Christmas special.
Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)
I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
Energy is at the heart of our economy. It powers our homes, our schools, our workplaces and even our democracy. Most importantly, it is at the heart of our communities. This Bill must ensure that it brings those communities and community energy projects with it, which is why I am speaking wholeheartedly in support of amendment 5.
Local to Harpenden and Berkhamsted is the Grand Union Community Energy benefit society, which runs several community energy fund schemes, including solar canopies, and is investigating heating from aquifers. As a not-for-profit, it aims to use its proceeds to help householders, especially the most vulnerable, to reduce their energy bills and energy use. It also supports other community organisations that do not have a regular income. In Berkhamsted, it has worked with Sunnyside Rural Trust to review the energy strategy of its Northchurch site. I have spoken to passionate members, such as Sarah, Paul and John, about why they are making it work and the difficulties they face.
If we are to reach net zero, community energy is needed to fill a gap between individuals, businesses and councils. It was John who reminded me that if community energy is supported, there is a significant resource of people ready and waiting to put their voluntary efforts into getting schemes off the ground. By their very nature, they are embedded in their communities, and we must bring our communities with us if we are to make the change that is needed.
However, our community energy projects need support. Community energy projects face insurmountable costs when trying to sell the power they generate to local consumers. Grand Union Community Energy is nervous about taking on the delivery of projects, as there is uncertainty about how electricity prices may change in the future. Community energy needs stability too. As it stands, community energy schemes find it nigh impossible to sell their power directly to local consumers, which leaves pricing and some projects financially unviable without further support.
Previously, feed-in tariffs helped to provide pricing stability, but when that scheme ended in 2019, many planned community projects were scrapped and the number of new projects slowed significantly. Current access to funding has been vague, erratic and uncertain, especially since the rural community energy scheme ended, and I know many people have not bothered to apply for funding because they find it so difficult.
We must unlock the potential of our community energy projects, and that is why I support amendment 5. There are many ownership models. The Liberal Democrats are calling for large energy suppliers, when they work with community energy projects, to work with them to sell the power they generate to local customers at a discounted rate and provide community benefits. Overall, we must ensure that these projects are financially viable and supported with technical, commercial and legal advice, and we must seize this opportunity to bring our communities with us.
Wera Hobhouse
I welcome that the Government are taking renewable energy investment seriously and creating a mechanism for it. In common with many Liberal Democrat Members, I will focus on amendment 5, which would specifically require Great British Energy to support community energy projects as part of its strategic priorities.
Labour Front Benchers have supported community energy for a long time, and cross-party support was clearly displayed on Second Reading, as it is by the large number of Members’ signatures on amendment 5. The same was true of my amendment 2, which was sadly defeated in Committee. To their credit, the previous Government introduced the community energy fund, which made a difference, but more needs to be done to support community energy. Despite strong cross-party support for community energy, the Great British Energy Bill makes no mention of it. Liberal Democrat Members believe that it should be on the face of the Bill.
In Committee, the Minister said that including community energy in the Bill was not appropriate. I understand that GB Energy is not precluded from supporting community energy by the Bill, just as I understand the Government’s argument that if the new company is to be able to work flexibly, it should not be hampered by too many provisions in the Bill. However, our concern remains that unless something concrete is included in the Bill, future Ministers, Governments or chief executives of Great British Energy may decide not to support community energy and the full benefits of local energy may not be realised. Amendment 5 would strengthen the Bill in line with the clear parliamentary consensus in support of growth in this highly promising clean energy sector.
The community energy sector has seen minimal growth in recent years. It has suffered from damaging policies, such as the end of the feed-in tariffs that helped fuel growth. Since 2010, there has been no growth in the sector. Regulatory changes are required to ensure that communities receive the benefits they deserve for hosting clean energy infrastructure. All of these arguments are well understood and the benefits of community energy have been well researched. The new Government have said time and again that they support community energy and that it is a shared aim.
I welcome the conversation and the open debate on this issue. I understand that the Government take issue with putting the term “priority” on the face of the Bill. The passage of the Bill has not reached its final stages, and there is room for further debate. I very much hope that the Government recognise how strongly colleagues across the House feel about including specific support for community energy, and that such an inclusion will create cross-party support for the Bill as a whole.
Llinos Medi (Ynys Môn) (PC)
First, let me congratulate the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley (Iqbal Mohamed) on his passionate maiden speech.
I rise to speak to amendments 11 and 12, tabled in my name, which seek to provide certainty to particular energy sectors that they will be prioritised by GB Energy. I must declare an interest as an officer of the marine energy all-party parliamentary group, of which the UK Marine Energy Council is the secretariat.
Nick Timothy
I shall speak briefly about amendment 6 tabled by my right hon. Friend the Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho).
In this debate, we have heard much from Government Members about cleaner and cheaper energy, not much of which has been connected to reality. This has been exposed by Labour’s campaigning before the election, promising £300 off bills, only to drop that commitment as soon as the party entered government. That disconnect, as I have said, has been present throughout the debate.
Blind faith in renewable technology without the acceptance of the intermittency challenges and costs of wind and solar will lead to less security of supply and higher costs for industry and households. We cannot allow policy to run faster than technology without risking a crisis in the grid and, therefore, in our economy. We need baseload power, which means nuclear—where the Secretary of State is going slow—and oil and gas, where the Secretary of State is refusing new licences. To pursue the ideological objectives of the Secretary of State, we see giant solar farms forced on communities like mine, against expert advice by examining authorities, contrary to the quasi-judicial responsibilities of the Secretary of State and dependent on solar panels made by slaves in Xinjiang. I say enough of the nonsense about fossil fuels and the dependence on dictators.
Tomorrow the Chancellor of the Exchequer will announce her intention to borrow to invest. We know that the borrowing will not just be for investment, but what investment there is will be dominated by energy schemes that will cost more to do less. We do have an underinvested economy, but net zero zealotry will make the problem worse, not better.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Michael Shanks)
I thank all Members who have made contributions to the debate, and I am grateful for all the points raised in Committee. I thank the witnesses who gave their time to the Committee, as well as the Clerks, House staff and civil servants, who put so much work into legislation such as this. I apologise to the House in advance both for the speed of my speaking and the speed with which I will have to go through the amendments—there is not a huge amount of time left.
First, I want to highlight the three maiden speeches that we have heard today. My hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet) gave an incredibly emotional speech, and spoke passionately about the importance of the state having an impact on people’s lives. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Adam Thompson) for telling us, apart from anything else, how to pronounce his constituency, and to the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley (Iqbal Mohamed), who I am sure will at least receive a Blue Peter badge in the post for his speech.
Great British Energy is at the heart of our clean power mission, and the Bill provides the statutory basis for it, enabling the Government to deliver on the ambitions that we set out during the election and that the country voted for so resoundingly just a few months ago. Let me turn to the amendments. New clause 1, in the name of the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), would create additional reporting mechanisms for Great British Energy. I agree with her that Great British Energy should be accountable, transparent and open in all its dealings and in how it delivers a return on investment. That is why we have made provision in the Bill to ensure that regular updates are given in the form of annual reports and accounts, which will be laid before Parliament for all Members to review. Of course, as a company, it will undergo external audit in the usual manner. As I outlined in Committee, my view remains that adding additional requirements at such frequent intervals is disproportionate and will stop the company from getting on with delivering its mission.
On amendments 6 and 7 in the name of the right hon. Member for East Surrey, and amendment 1 in the name of the right hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn), every family and business in this country has paid the price for our dependence on fossil fuels during the cost of living crisis. Speeding up the roll-out of clean energy is the only way to get our country off the rollercoaster of volatile international gas markets and to protect families from future energy shocks. That is the argument that the Conservative party used to support but that it seems increasingly to distance itself from, as it has with so many principled positions.
Michael Shanks
I do not have time, I am afraid.
We are unapologetic that Great British Energy is a long-term project for this country, as part of a sustainable, long-term plan to protect bill payers for good. I stand by that commitment today. However, I also say, as we have said about so much of the mess that we have to clean up, that we cannot simply flick a switch and turn everything around, which is why these amendments are inappropriate. Conservative Members would never have made such amendments to a Bill when they were in government.
Let me turn to the amendments on jobs and industrial strategy. The Government are clear that clean energy is the economic and industrial opportunity of our time. Around the world, a race for jobs and industries of the future is speeding up, but for too long Britain has opted out and lost out. Great British Energy is at the heart of our plan to change that. It will help to rebuild the UK’s industrial heartlands through its investments across every part of the UK, and locating Great British Energy’s headquarters in Aberdeen will tap into the high-quality talent pool of Aberdeen and Scotland as a whole. We will use every tool at our disposal to win jobs for Britain. We have established the office for clean energy jobs, and are focused on developing the skills of the future, so that we have a workforce that can deliver what we need in future. Crucially, it is why the Government are, as many hon. Members have said, committed to a proper industrial strategy.
The amendments tabled by the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings) relate to the timeline for establishing Great British Energy, to energy efficiency and to community energy. Although I welcome and, frankly, share the hon. Member’s eagerness to get Great British Energy up and running as quickly as possible, we will not be supporting amendment 3. The Government have already shown themselves to be committed to setting up Great British Energy as quickly as possible, and there will be no further delays in doing so. Indeed, of all the things that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State could be accused of, not moving quickly is not one of them.
Michael Shanks
I do not have time—I have a minute in which to finish.
I hope the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire will recognise that there is really no need to put an amendment such as this one on the face of the Bill. Turning to her amendment on the topic of community energy, she will know, however, that I am passionate about community energy, as are the Government. It will form an integral part of Great British Energy’s local power plan, which will put communities at the heart of the energy transition, giving them a stake in the shift to net zero. As a member of not just the Labour party but the Co-operative party, that is at the heart of my politics and that of many of my hon. Friends. We have been advocating for community energy for decades—this is not a new idea for us—and empowering communities is critical. The hon. Lady and I share that passion and a commitment to community energy.
I can assure the House that the Department is looking to take a cross-government approach—not just through Great British Energy but, crucially, on a number of the points that have been made—to ensuring that community energy projects can be delivered, with all the changes to planning and governance that are required to make that happen. I always want to work with Members across this House, and have done so throughout the passage of the Bill. We continue to engage with the Liberal Democrats and other interested parties on this important issue, exploring options to ensure the Bill has the effects they are seeking. I look forward to further such discussions in the weeks and months ahead. I hope all who have tabled or spoken to amendments today will feel reassured by what I have outlined—albeit considerably more briefly than I was expecting—and will perhaps feel able to withdraw, or not move, their amendments.
This is a truly historic Bill, delivering on the Government’s promise to establish a new national, publicly owned energy champion for our country. It has been a privilege to take it through Committee, and I repeat my sincere thanks to everyone involved in that process. Great British Energy is the right idea for energy security, for bills, for jobs, and for delivering the climate leadership that the people of this country demand of their Government. It is the right idea for our time, hugely supported by the British public, and I urge all Members of the House to support it this evening.
Claire Coutinho
I also thank the Minister for his work in Committee, but I am afraid we are not reassured. Labour Members have a clear opportunity to prove to their constituents that they will stick to the promises they made just a few months ago. They promised to cut energy bills by £300 and to create 650,000 jobs; if Labour Members do not vote for amendments 6 and 8 this evening, we will know that they never had any intention of delivering on those promises. With the leave of the House, I will seek to withdraw new clause 1, which stands in my name, but we look forward to dividing the House on amendments 6 and 8.
I beg to ask leave to withdraw the clause.
Clause, by leave, withdrawn.
Clause 3
Objects
Amendment proposed: 4, page 2, line 18, at end insert—
“(e) an emergency home insulation programme with targeted support for people on low incomes, and
(f) the expansion and development of renewable energy and technology.”—(Pippa Heylings.)
This amendment would set objects for Great British Energy of facilitating, encouraging and participating in an emergency home insulation programme with targeted support for people on low incomes, and the expansion and development of renewable energy and technology.
Question put, That the amendment be made.
The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Ed Miliband)
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.
It is a privilege to open the Third Reading debate—another milestone in setting up Great British Energy. In less than four months, this Government have incorporated GBE as a company, appointed Juergen Maier as its start-up chair, and launched its first partnership with the Crown Estate. Next will be the national wealth fund. Earlier this month, we announced GBE’s partnership with key public bodies in Scotland. We have also announced its headquarters in Aberdeen. We are acting on our mandate from the British people.
I want to thank everyone who has played a role in getting the Bill to this stage: the Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks), who has done an incredible job steering the Bill through Committee; Members across the House who have scrutinised the Bill in Committee; all the parliamentary staff who have worked on the Bill; and the fantastic officials in my Department who have moved at such speed over the last four months.
I also want to thank the witnesses who gave evidence to the Committee, all of whom were in support of establishing Great British Energy. I am sure that the House will be interested in the list. They include SSE, EDF, Energy UK, RenewableUK, Scottish Renewables, the Carbon Capture and Storage Association, Nesta, the Green Alliance, the Net Zero Technology Centre, the TUC, Prospect and the GMB. And they are not the only ones. I can inform the House that they join a growing list of supporters, including the CBI, the Aldersgate Group, Octopus Energy, E.ON, the Hydrogen Energy Association, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, the Port of Aberdeen, the University of Aberdeen and, of course, the British people themselves, who overwhelmingly backed Great British Energy at the general election. Sadly, the only people you can find to oppose Great British Energy are the faction of a sect of a once-great party sitting on the Opposition Benches.
The reason for such support—this will be the argument behind politics for the next few years—is that this country recognises it is time to invest in Britain’s future and put an end to the decline of the last 14 years. That is the choice of this Bill and the choice of the coming years in British politics, and we should relish it: invest or decline.
Sarah Champion
I am fully supportive of GB Energy, but what assurances can my right hon. Friend give to the House that it will be a just transition, that it will be adopted across Government, and that the broadest sector will buy into it?
Ed Miliband
My hon. Friend has made really important interventions on this point. We have been clear that no company in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chain, and we will be working with colleagues across Government to tackle the issue of the Uyghur forced labour in supply chains that she has raised during the passage of the Bill. As part of that, we have relaunched the solar taskforce and we will work with industry, trade unions and others to take forward the actions needed to develop supply chains that are resilient, sustainable and free from forced labour.
Great British Energy is the national champion that our country needs, for three reasons. First, it is at the heart of our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. Every family and business has paid the price for our country’s exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets over the last two and a half years. A sprint to clean energy is the way to increase our energy independence and protect families and businesses. We need to invest in wind, solar, nuclear, tidal, hydrogen, carbon capture and more—geothermal too.
Secondly, Great British Energy will help to generate the jobs the UK needs, not just the power. Here’s the thing: our European neighbours recognise that a publicly owned national champion is a critical tool in industrial policy, and the good news is that after 14 years of industrial policy being a dirty, taboo phrase, it is back at the heart of policy making in this Government. Great British Energy is part of our plan to ensure that the future is made and built in Britain.
Thirdly, Great British Energy will ensure that the British people reap the benefits of our natural energy resources, generating profits that can be returned to bill payers, taxpayers and communities across the country. I know that many Members of the House are passionate about the issue of local power, so let me reassure them that the Government are committed to delivering the biggest expansion of support for community-owned energy in history.
Great British Energy is the right idea for our time and has in a short time won huge support. I am sorry that the Opposition have chosen to wallow in their minority status and stand out against it, but let me tell them: their vote tonight will have consequences. For every project that Great British Energy announces in constituencies around Britain, every job that it creates, every local solar project it initiates and every wind project it invests in, we will tell their constituents that they opposed it. They are the anti-jobs, pro-energy-insecurity party, and we will hang their opposition to GBE round their necks from here till the next general election. Invest or decline: that is the choice, and GBE is the right choice for energy security, bills and jobs. I commend the Bill to the House.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
Claire Coutinho
When we said that we could not support the Bill in its original form, it was because we had no detail to justify giving this Secretary of State a blank cheque for £8 billion of taxpayers’ money. In the intervening two months, I am afraid that we have not learned anything to give us confidence. We have not seen a business plan, a framework agreement or an explanation of how this is different from the UK Infrastructure Bank, which was set up to do exactly the same thing.
We know that there will be a headquarters in Aberdeen, with a head who will be based 360 miles away in Manchester. We know that that same head does not think that the scope of Great British Energy includes reducing bills. I remind the Secretary of State that, in an interview in June, he said not only that he was ready to launch Great British Energy within days—so he should have this information—but that it would lead to a “mind-blowing” reduction in bills by 2030. Now he has completed the embarrassment of the bright-eyed MPs behind him by forcing them to vote against their own election promises.
Tonight, Labour Members have voted against holding Great British Energy accountable for cutting people’s energy bills by £300 and for creating 650,000 jobs. The Secretary of State talks about hanging things around people’s necks. Well, he made his colleagues repeat those promises over and over again during the election, and we will see what the electorate remember. These are not trivial matters. This is about people’s energy bills, people’s jobs and businesses’ ability to succeed in this country. The risk is that this Government are heading towards a 2029 election in which industries have been lost and bills have gone up—exactly the opposite of what the electorate have been promised. That is not just my argument; it is the argument of the respected energy and climate economist Dieter Helm.
The Secretary of State, whether he is talking about Great British Energy or his plan for a zero-carbon grid by 2030, likes to talk in slogans and political mantras, but he does not deal in detail or fact. He knows that Great British Energy does not have the power to reduce household bills, which is why he has refused our attempts to hold him accountable for his own promises.
The Secretary of State argues that ramping up renewables at breakneck speed will lead to cheaper energy and greater security—I believe he just said that—but the latest renewable auction, which he bumped up, will increase people’s bills by £5. He has advertised to multimillion-pound energy companies that he will be buying whatever they are selling, no matter the cost, until 2030—he even named a few and said that they welcome his approach. I can understand why! I know that he does not have a business background, but he does not need one to understand what kind of signals he is sending.
The Secretary of State has not modelled the cost of constraint payments, network costs or green levies. He has deprioritised exciting new technologies such as small and advanced modular reactors, which will come online after 2030, and he refuses to address the question of dispatchable power. If not gas, what is he arguing for in its place and how much will it cost? Far from making energy cheaper and more secure, he will send people’s bills through the roof. And more and more people are sounding the alarm about whether he will even be able to keep the lights on, which we were able to do even during the height of an energy crisis.
Tonight, Labour Members have shown their true colours by voting against making their own energy company accountable. If the Secretary of State cannot even back up his own election promises, why should we back him on this Bill?
Question put, That the Bill be now read the Third time.
Business without Debate
Ilkley Lido parking charges
(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate
Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)
The future of our iconic Ilkley lido, a crown jewel of my constituency since 1935, is under threat. Despite that, Bradford council’s latest act has been to introduce parking charges at the site for the first time ever, without public consultation and at odds with every other pool in the district. This petition of residents of the constituency of Keighley and Ilkley, and the wider Bradford district, notes these concerns, recognises the undue financial burden this will cause residents and local clubs who utilise the car park, including the Olicanian cricket club, which has no option but to use the Ilkley lido car park, and further notes that the Ilkley district is being treated unfairly by Bradford council compared with rest of the Bradford districts.
Following is the full text of the petition:
[The petition of residents of the constituency of Keighley and Ilkley,
Declares that for years, visitors have relied on free parking at Denton Road Car Park to make use of the Ilkley lido and other facilities; notes concern that Bradford Council have proposed parking charges at the popular site for the first time, which will impose an undue financial burden on residents and local clubs who utilise the car park, including Olicanian Cricket Club; and further notes that Ilkley is being treated unfairly compared to other pools and leisure facilities across the Bradford District, and that there has been a lack of consultation with the community.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to encourage Bradford Council to honour its previous commitment to ensure that parking charges at Denton Road Car Park do not adversely affect Ilkley Lido users and Olicanian Cricket Club, staff, players and members.
And the petitioners remain, etc.]
[P003017]
World Stroke Day
(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)
I am grateful to have this opportunity to address the House on World Stroke Day. Stroke is the UK’s fourth biggest killer and the single largest cause of complex disability in the UK. On our current trajectory, the number of stroke survivors will increase by 60% over the next decade, which will swallow up nearly half the current NHS budget. By that time, one in three people in Glastonbury and Somerton will be 65 or older, so we will disproportionately feel the impact of the increase in strokes over the next decade.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing this debate. She mentioned the age of 65, which is really important; in Northern Ireland, there are some 2,800 new strokes every year. While the majority of strokes affect people who are over the age of 65, they can strike at any age. Some 25% of people who have strokes are under the age of 65, so does the hon. Lady agree that we must get away from the notion that stroke awareness is only for older people, and that we must be very aware of the FAST signs—face, arms, speech and time—that can make the difference between death and recovery? It can happen to young people as well.
Sarah Dyke
The hon. Member makes a really important point. Although we often assume that it is older people who suffer with strokes, so many young people suffer in the same way.
Unless there are major improvements, Somerset’s poor ambulance response times and poor life-after-stroke care will mean that a disproportionate number of the 42,000 people who will die from stroke in 2035 will be from my constituency.
Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)
Further to the point that the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) made, although I fully accept that we have to do more in terms of stroke care, does my hon. Friend agree that the population of this country is generally unaware of the early warning signs of stroke to look for? When it actually happens, we recognise the symptoms, but we have no awareness of the long-term warning signs. We need to invest in teaching people what to look for and how to care for themselves to avoid a stroke.
Sarah Dyke
I thank my hon. Friend for making such an important point. I think we have progressed in our understanding of stroke awareness, but there is so much more yet to do.
Neither strokes nor the grim predictions I have made are inevitable. Stroke is preventable, it is treatable, and it is recoverable.
Alan Gemmell (Central Ayrshire) (Lab)
Will the hon. Lady allow me to place on record my thanks to the innovative team at the stroke unit in Crosshouse hospital, whose new treatment, thrombolysis, means that—as the hon. Lady said—there is a way for many people to recover following strokes? I would like to thank charge nurse Elizabeth, consultants Martin and Sundeep, and Julie and Debbie in the hospital management team for saving my former teacher, Christine Stewart, when she self-diagnosed with FAST.
Sarah Dyke
The hon. Member makes a very good point, and I also celebrate those people, who do such hard work within their communities.
The UK knows how to deliver world-class stroke care, and some parts of England are doing that as I speak. Stroke is one of the few conditions that takes patients through the entirety of the health and social care system, from emergency services and acute care to social care, specialist rehabilitation support and end-of-life care.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
I am really grateful to the hon. Member for securing this debate. Time is everything with regards to a stroke, particularly around diagnosis, but also if treatment such as thrombectomy is needed. Does she agree that we should be looking at ambulance response times in particular, and perhaps at recategorising stroke as a category 1 call-out?
Sarah Dyke
I thank the hon. Member for her intervention and for all the work she has done in this area. I will come to the issue of ambulance response times a little later in my speech.
Delays in urgent care are currently leading to high mortality rates, and post-stroke services that provide crucial emotional, practical and social support are often treated as optional, rather than essential.
Andrew Cooper (Mid Cheshire) (Lab)
I thank the hon. Lady for securing this important debate. She rightly talks about the need for stroke patients to receive urgent medical treatment. Last month, I attended a thrombectomy awareness event at which my constituent, Mark Paterson, was speaking as a stroke survivor. Mark’s remarkable recovery was thanks to the emergency thrombectomy procedure he received. Sadly, many others are not so lucky, with too many people dying or suffering disability due to the previous Government’s postcode lottery in care. About this time last year, the Stroke Association said that about 9.8% of patients receive that treatment in London, compared with 0.4% in the east of England. Does the hon. Lady agree that we need to see an increase in the proportion of patients receiving thrombectomies across the country?
Sarah Dyke
I thank the hon. Member for the intervention. He makes a strong point.
Our health and social care services are likely failing the 14,159 registered stroke survivors in Somerset at some stage in the system, but there is reason to be optimistic. If the Government put stroke at the heart of our health and social care system, each and every part of the system will be stronger and deliver better outcomes for everyone—not just stroke survivors.
Leaving aside the human cost, there is also an economic cost, as strokes lead to an avoidable £1.6 billion annual loss of productivity. I recently spoke to Garry, who works in Somerset and had a stroke in his 30s. He told me that he could have been back to work after nine months if he had had access to life-after-stroke care. Instead, he spent five years recovering, during which time he had to rely on the benefits system. At the start of the debate, I said that stroke is preventable, treatable and recoverable. If that is true—I know that it is—why are people like Garry forced to waste years in the prime of their life learning how to recover from strokes themselves?
Chris Bloore (Redditch) (Lab)
The hon. Lady is making an important point. Our clinical profession does an incredible job of saving many people who suffer from a stroke, but the rehabilitation work that follows surviving a stroke—the ability to get back into work, build emotional confidence and rebuild relationships—is so important. As she was detailing, too many people who survive strokes have to wait for years to get on with their lives, including their work, friendships and relationships.
Sarah Dyke
I wholeheartedly agree, and that is exactly the point that I was making.
Research from the Stroke Association shows that the NHS faces £1,300 of additional pressure for each person like Garry who does not receive life-after-stroke care, due to avoidable secondary strokes and other health complications. It is an injustice for stroke survivors who are suffering longer than they need to, for the taxpayer who could be paying less, and for the friends and families who often have no choice but to become unpaid carers to support stroke survivors, as my mum did for my dad after he suffered a stroke.
Unpaid carers currently bear 62% of the cost of prevalent strokes, with the NHS and social care bearing only a distant 9% and 22% respectively. Unpaid carers do a remarkable, important and often invisible job, and the Government must ensure they have access to the support that they need, including paid carer’s leave and a statutory guarantee of regular respite breaks.
There are not many easy answers when it comes to stroke. Constituents across Glastonbury and Somerton have written to me almost every month since my re-election because they are concerned about the closure of Yeovil district hospital hyper-acute services. It is right that steps are being taken to address the fact that 60% of people who arrive at hospitals do not get into a stroke unit quickly enough, so services are being reconfigured to provide patients with cutting-edge care in Dorchester or Taunton.
By concentrating hyper-acute services, wards can process patients more quickly, which is so important when caring for patients suffering from a stroke. After critical care has been provided, patients will be moved back to services closer to their home, such as Yeovil, so that family and friends will be able to visit their loved ones there rather than in critical care further away. I can understand why people are scared of potentially having to travel further in an emergency when response times are so poor. In fact, with an average response time of 42 minutes and 50 seconds, people in Somerset wait longer for an ambulance than anywhere else in England. For every minute a stroke is left untreated, nearly 2 million brain cells die, so fast ambulance response times are necessary for getting stroke patients lifesaving, disability-reducing treatments in time.
This is especially important for those living in rural locations, such as Glastonbury and Somerton, who may need to travel further for treatment. Liberal Democrat analysis has revealed that waits for life-threatening calls are 45% longer in rural areas than in urban ones. The average handover time for a category 2 ambulance call in Somerset has risen to over an hour, despite the ongoing 18-minute target, which results in ambulance crew being able to see only two or three patients per shift. The Government could lower these ambulance response times by increasing the number of staffed hospital beds, and ensuring our social care system is resourced well enough to allow people to recover outside hospital. We know that a matter of minutes can make all the difference in emergencies, so it is heartbreaking that ambulance delays are worsening and stroke victims are being left for hours for help to arrive.
I am inspired by the stroke quality improvement for rehabilitation project, which has helped over half the stroke survivors who were previously being failed by services in Somerset. The pilot has ensured that survivors have access to personalised and face-to-face support to help them with behavioural changes and re-entering work. Despite its success in preventing secondary strokes, and thus saving the health and social care system a great deal of money, the pilot is unlikely to receive funding from April next year, and 250 patients in Somerset face the prospect of losing access to good-quality life-after-stroke support.
I am particularly worried about stroke survivors in Glastonbury and Somerton, and elsewhere in Somerset, who will instead have to rely on Yeovil district hospital if this happens, as Yeovil district hospital provides only the minimum level of occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech and language therapy a week to less than half as many patients as the national average. There is a future where we no longer need to have a World Stroke Day, and that is what I am looking for—a future without a World Stroke Day.
Innovations such as the use of artificial intelligence in diagnosis could revolutionise recovery prospects for stroke patients, and preventive programmes could limit the impact stroke has on working-age people. We saw stroke mortality halved in just 10 years when stroke was prioritised in 2000, so progress can be made. If we are to reach that future, though, we must start by ringfencing budgets to enable the NHS to adopt innovative digital tools, invest in new technologies and develop a digital strategy.
This Government have already begun to make some progress with the Darzi report, which showed that the NHS is on its knees after years of mismanagement by the Conservatives, but we must ensure that stroke remains a top priority in their health mission.
Uma Kumaran (Stratford and Bow) (Lab)
I would just like to share my experience. On my first day here in the Commons, my husband suffered a stroke. This is a timely debate, so I thank the hon. Member for securing it. I am pleased to say that my husband is doing much better now, and he is here in the Gallery of the Chamber, as are those from the Stroke Association, who have been absolutely invaluable to our family and many stroke survivors across the country.
I would like to pick up a point that the hon. Member made about stroke. One in four strokes happens to people of working age, and one in three in this group will have to give up their jobs. It is very clear that, although the NHS has given excellent care to my husband and to families such as mine, there is much more to be done. The Darzi report revealed the scale of the challenges that our health service faces, especially with stroke services, and the severe impact of the underfunding of the last Conservative Government.
Sarah Dyke
I thank the hon. Lady, and it is so good to hear that her husband is making such a full and quick recovery.
World Stroke Day is a pertinent reminder that stroke must be well represented in the new 10-year health plan and that the Government must engage with patients, carers, and health and social care professionals, so that their lived experiences can help inform policy decisions.
The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)
I congratulate the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke) on securing a debate on this vitally important issue. It is important not only for her constituents but for her personally, I think, given her family circumstances; I know she really spoke from the heart and we appreciate that.
Good health should be fundamental to all of our lives, but sadly that is not the case for too many people. Over 100,000 people have a stroke in the UK every year—one person every five minutes. One third of them will be left with some form of long-term disability. As the fourth largest cause of death for adults, stroke has a devastating impact on individuals, their families and wider communities across our country.
For decades the NHS has served us well, and it is one of the proudest achievements of the Labour party that we were at the foundation of our NHS. Our staff have tremendous expertise and dedication; they are working hard every day to make a difference. But we have to face up to the reality that we have had 14 years of neglect and incompetence on the part of the Conservative party. We are now facing a very significant set of challenges in looking to get our health and care system back on its feet and fit for the future. That is the important context for this debate.
I am very grateful to the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton for giving me the opportunity to inform her and the House of the work that the Government have been doing since we came into office on 4 July, and particularly as today is World Stroke Day. The House will have seen that we have set out the three transformative shifts that we want to deliver in health and care, moving from care in hospitals to care at home, prioritising prevention over treatment, and advancing from analogue to digital solutions. These three strategic shifts will be the building blocks of our health mission, reducing time spent in poor health, tackling health inequalities and reducing lives lost from the biggest killers, which include cardiovascular disease.
We have to change the NHS so that it is no longer just a sickness service but a prevention service too. Prevention is always better and cheaper than cure. So we have to take preventive public health measures to tackle the biggest killers and support people to live longer, healthier lives. That is why in our health mission to build an NHS that is fit for the future, we have committed to reducing deaths from heart disease and strokes by one quarter within 10 years. The NHS health check, England’s flagship cardiovascular disease prevention programme, aims to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease and some forms of dementia. Each year the programme engages over 1.3 million people and, through behavioural and clinical interventions, prevents around 500 heart attacks or strokes.
To improve access to and engagement with this life-saving programme, we are developing a new digital NHS health check, which will be ready for testing in early 2025. It will enable people to undertake a check at home. We are also trialling more than 130,000 life-saving heart health checks in the workplace. These checks can be completed quickly and easily by people at work so that they can understand and act on their cardiovascular risk and reduce their future risk of a stroke.
Around 50% of heart attacks and strokes are associated with high blood pressure. Community pharmacies are providing a free blood pressure check service for anyone over the age of 40. In cases where this results in a high reading, pharmacists can make sure people receive the right NHS support to reduce their blood pressure. We know that there is more to do to prevent the causes of stroke, and the Department and NHS England are working together to tackle this issue.
I am also pleased to announce that on Monday 4 November NHS England is launching a new Act FAST campaign to increase knowledge of the main signs of a stroke and to encourage people to dial 999 immediately in response to any sign. The new campaign builds on the success of the previous Act FAST campaign and uses a revised call to action:
“Face or arm or speech, at the first sign, it’s time to call 999”.
Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)
I pay tribute to a young man who lived in Shepton Mallet named Will. He spotted what was happening to his father. He is a young man with some difficulties himself, but he recognised FAST. He had seen it on television, and it is testament to the power of television and radio campaigns in making sure that those messages get through, because that young man has difficulties in communicating and moving, but he managed to get the rest of his family to realise what was happening to his father sitting there across the breakfast table. I just wanted to mark that.
Stephen Kinnock
I thank the hon. Lady for that telling intervention. She is absolutely right: so much of the challenge and the opportunity before us is about how we use traditional media, social media, all forms of communication and awareness-raising campaigns and techniques. By definition, we are dealing with a situation in which speed is of the essence. It is truly a public health challenge, because it is only the public who can do what Will did in that circumstance. I certainly pay tribute to Will for acting so quickly and to the Act FAST campaign. I am sure Members will welcome that we are looking to build on the success of Act FAST and to replicate and renew it.
That campaign will run in England across TV, radio, social media, national press and ethnic minority TV and radio stations. The campaign includes specific communications for multicultural and disabled audiences. A higher reduction in mortality rates over the next 10 years will require a focus on NHS England stroke priorities, including rapid diagnosis and increasing access to time-dependent specialist acute stroke care. We know that so many deadly diseases can be avoided if we seek help in enough time. That is why we are working to improve access to treatments. Current targets include increasing thrombectomy rates to 10% and thrombolysis rates to 20% through facilitating ambulance service use of pre-hospital video triage and use of AI decision support tools for brain imaging in comprehensive stroke centres. I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Cheshire (Andrew Cooper) has a keen interest in that issue.
Andrew Cooper (Mid Cheshire) (Lab)
Building on the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell), does the Minister agree that stroke patients should have the highest priority for ambulance call-outs—as high as cardiac arrest, for example?
Stephen Kinnock
I am a little wary of generalising too much, because I know that so many decisions have to be made in real time by our skilled ambulance drivers and paramedics and the many others involved, but my hon. Friend makes a valid point. In a general sense, he is absolutely right that stroke needs to take priority. The red thread going through this entire debate is the need for speed. It is all about prioritising and acting quickly; he is absolutely right about that.
In the past year, we have seen a 30% increase in the number of thrombectomies delivered in England. Alongside that, our 20 integrated stroke delivery networks are looking to optimise care pathways. The General Medical Council is addressing critical workforce gaps through its thrombectomy credentialling programme, and our national optimal stroke imaging pathway is improving information sharing.
I am aware of the reconfiguration in the constituency of the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton. NHS Somerset integrated care board has decided to close the hyper-acute stroke unit at Yeovil hospital and to establish a single hyper-acute stroke unit at Musgrove Park hospital in Taunton to provide 24/7 emergency treatment. All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients. A high bar is set out in guidance for intervening in contested reconfiguration cases, and the reconfiguration of services should be a matter for the local NHS. I would expect all avenues of local resolution to have been exhausted before a call-in request is made. The Department has received a formal request to call in NHS Somerset ICB’s decision, and Ministers will make a decision on whether to use their call-in powers in due course.
Unfortunately, there is still significant variation across the country in access and outcomes in relation to stroke. For example, the percentage of suspected stroke patients who received the necessary brain scan within an hour of arrival at hospital varies from 80% in Kent to only around 40% in Shropshire. That variation needs to change, and we need to bring the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS. That will be one of the central challenges for the Government going forward.
The Government have a profound ambition to improve the lives and health outcomes of people who survive a stroke. At this point, I would like to pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford and Bow (Uma Kumaran) and to the man in the Public Gallery for what they have been through and for their fortitude. It was certainly not easy for my hon. Friend to come to this place and to have to go through the extremely difficult situation that she did. I also pay tribute to all the key partners and stakeholders who worked with her and her family to get through it. That really is a tribute to the immensely important work they do.
Rachael Maskell
As well as looking at acute triage to rapidly diagnose people who have had a stroke, it is important to invest in rehabilitation—something I did for 20 years in the NHS. I would be grateful if the Minister could set out how he proposes to have integrated rehabilitation teams that not only see people through the immediate aftercare, but continue to provide a top-up for them so that they do not backslide in their rehabilitation.
Stephen Kinnock
I can say a word about our national service model for an integrated community stroke service, which involves a number of specific projects aimed at improving delivery of psychological rehabilitation. The ICSS model is vital to support psychological recovery, return to work and improved quality of life, and I would be more than happy to discuss it further with my hon. Friend.
Before I close, I want to recognise the remarkable work of the charities that help people across the country to rebuild their lives after a stroke. Once again, I thank the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton for this important debate, and I encourage every Member of the House to go to change.nhs.uk and to get involved in the biggest conversation about our health and care service since its foundation in 1948.
Question put and agreed to.