House of Commons
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Oral Answers to Questions
(1 year, 6 months ago)
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Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)
Bobby Dean (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting) (Lab)
Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Yvette Cooper)
Before I respond, I am sure that the whole House will want to remember PC Rosie Prior, who was tragically killed on Saturday while helping at the scene of an accident, and Ryan Welford, who was also killed. PC Prior’s death is a tragic reminder of the dedication and bravery that police officers show every single day to keep us safe. All our thoughts are with her family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time.
As the Prime Minister announced last month in the “Plan for Change”, we are determined to restore neighbourhood policing and to put 13,000 additional police, police community support officers and special constables back on the beat.
Shockat Adam
I refer the House to my registered interests, and I echo the sentiments expressed by the Home Secretary.
Last year, the Leicestershire police panel raised serious concerns about being underfunded, having received a real-terms cut of 20% over the past 13 years. Due to this funding crisis, the police simply do not have enough manpower for night-time patrols. In the Clarendon Park area there has been a wave of burglaries in local businesses—the Christopher James Deli, Loros and Spice Bazzar are three of eight that have been smashed and grabbed over the past two months. At the local crime summit that I arranged to discuss the situation, one owner, Jaskaran Dutta, said:
“We do everything we can to survive in this incredibly difficult economic time. All we ask is that the government supports us by improving policing and security”.
What is the Secretary of State doing to address these concerns?
Yvette Cooper
Under the previous Conservative Government, neighbourhood policing was decimated. The proportion of people who said that they never saw the police on the beat doubled. They took police off the beat and did not put them back, which is why we are setting out a neighbourhood policing guarantee. We have increased funding for police forces by £1 billion next year, including £100 million specifically to kickstart recruitment for neighbourhood policing.
Bobby Dean
A Carshalton resident had her car stolen from her driveway. There is video footage of it, but the police just gave her a crime reference number and closed the case. Local businesses on Wallington high street tell me that organised shoplifters are acting with impunity. The Home Secretary touched on recruitment being part of the solution, but what else can the Government do now to help my constituents feel safe?
Yvette Cooper
The hon. Member is right to talk about the deep frustration felt in communities, including local businesses and town centres, about not just the absence of neighbourhood policing, which we need to turn around, but the weakening of powers over the past 14 years on things such as shoplifting. That is why we are introducing new respect orders and strengthening powers on shoplifting and assaults on shop workers.
Dr Allin-Khan
We all know that well-resourced neighbourhood policing, with bobbies on the beat working in the community, is central not just to solving crime but to preventing it. We saw some great results in Tooting just last year, with a special operation resulting in a 70% cut in crime. Fourteen years of Tory government have decimated our local police teams, despite our brilliant London Mayor pulling out all the stops to bolster the numbers. Will the Secretary of State pledge that our local communities will have properly resourced policing teams under the new Labour Government?
Yvette Cooper
My hon. Friend is right about the importance of having neighbourhood policing teams working in communities with local residents and businesses, knowing the kinds of crimes and challenges that that area faces. That is why we are determined not just to get neighbourhood police back on the beat, with funding in place to do so, but to ensure that, as part of a neighbourhood policing guarantee, the officers are not abstracted to deal with other things.
Perran Moon
In 2022 the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall Police was suspended for misconduct, and last November the interim chief constable was also suspended. Now the deputy police and crime commissioner has also resigned. Does the Home Secretary share my concerns about the leadership of Devon and Cornwall Police and the impact on neighbourhood policing morale, as well as the fact that the taxpayer is paying for three chief constables, two of whom have been suspended?
Yvette Cooper
I am aware of the points that my hon. Friend raises, and I do have concerns. It is really important that all police forces can strengthen their neighbourhood policing and have strong leadership right through the police force. We will set out a new police reform White Paper to ensure that measures are in place to strengthen leadership and standards across policing.
Dame Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) (Con)
A focus on neighbourhood policing is welcome; we have seen it in Staffordshire for some time. Police leaders have said that if they do not have the flexibility to recruit as they need to, there is a risk that police officers will end up having to fill vacancies in specialist areas. Will the Home Secretary listen to police leaders and give them that flexibility?
Yvette Cooper
The Chair of the Home Affairs Committee makes an important point. We have said that the neighbourhood policing teams, which we are determined to support, should include police officers and police community support officers, as well as special constables, who too often are underused and underappreciated, in order to recognise the mix of disciplines that we need for the strongest and most effective policing.
Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)
Excellent partnership work between Gwent Police, Newport city council and our business improvement district saw crime down by 25% in our city centre at the end of last year, although there is still much to do to improve confidence after neighbourhood policing was slashed under the previous Government. Does the Home Secretary agree that visibility is key, and will she update us on police numbers in Wales?
Yvette Cooper
My hon. Friend makes an important point, because this is about visibility, partnership and powers, and she rightly talks about the impact that this kind of work can have. We want to strengthen the work of police officers across England and Wales by strengthening the powers they have to tackle shoplifting and street theft—snatch theft—which have both increased in recent years.
Matt Vickers (Stockton West) (Con)
The previous Government left office with record police numbers, but police and crime commissioners are deeply concerned that the funding formula and settlement, combined with the Government’s national insurance tax raid, will force cuts to frontline police numbers. My Labour police and crime commissioner faces a £3 million shortfall, and there are projections of 3,500 officers being lost nationwide. Will the Home Secretary take responsibility if police numbers fall in the coming years?
Yvette Cooper
I should point out to the hon. Gentleman that his Government took neighbourhood police officers off the streets, meaning thousands fewer on the streets—the number of PCSOs halved and the number of special constables dropped by two thirds. That is the Conservatives’ shameful record, which people know because they can see it—they do not see police on the streets, as a result of his Government’s actions. He raises the issue of funding. This Government have had to add an additional £170 million to police forces this year because the settlement that his party left them with was not enough to cover this year’s pay rise. They let policing down.
Matt Vickers
The Home Secretary proudly quotes the funding settlement while failing to mention that £230 million of it will be snatched straight back as a result of her Government’s national insurance tax raid on our police forces. What can be invested in frontline policing is largely determined by how she manages the Home Office budget. Does she agree that it was wrong to spend £10,000 on a swanky dinner for civil servants, and how will she ensure that never happens again?
Yvette Cooper
I am afraid I have to say to the hon. Gentleman that his party not only let policing and communities down by taking neighbourhood police off the streets, but let police down on the funding. This Government are providing an increase in police funding of up to £1 billion next year, on top of the additional funding we had to provide for policing this financial year because his party left a huge black hole in not just Home Office or police officer funding, but overall funding for public services across the board—a shameful legacy that we have had to turn around.
Brian Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth) (Lab)
The Minister for Border Security and Asylum (Dame Angela Eagle)
We engage regularly with the Fire Brigades Union and we take very seriously the health and safety of firefighters, who risk their lives for our communities every day. The Home Office is reviewing recent academic research to evaluate risks posed by contaminants and the effectiveness of decontamination procedures. We will share our findings with the fire and rescue authorities, which hold the legal responsibility to protect firefighters against those risks.
Brian Leishman
I thank the Minister for her answer. Exposure to toxic substances is an avoidable risk and every firefighter should have access to the resources they need to protect themselves. The dangerous nature of being a firefighter has also been amplified as the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has had more than 1,400 frontline firefighter jobs cut since 2010, a reduction of nearly 20%. Does the Home Secretary agree that the fire service needs proper investment and a national body with legal standing to set standards on fire cover, training, equalities, and health and safety?
Dame Angela Eagle
My right hon. Friend the Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention is looking at all fire and rescue issues and considering all possibilities, including potential reorganisations, as we move the services forward.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
Will the Minister look at early diagnosis for firefighters because, very sadly, many suffer very bad ill health in retirement? If they are diagnosed early, treatment can be provided to improve the quality and the length of their lives.
Dame Angela Eagle
I agree that this is an important area and that much more work needs to be done to consider effective contaminants and risks from the dangers that firefighters put themselves in every day to protect life.
Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Suffolk Coastal) (Lab)
Charlotte Cane (Ely and East Cambridgeshire) (LD)
The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention (Dame Diana Johnson)
We all understand the devastating harm that crime can cause in rural communities. The Government are committed to taking action, which is why we will be enacting the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 to tackle the theft of agricultural machinery and equipment. We will strengthen enforcement on fly-tipping and antisocial behaviour, and we will deliver more rural patrols through our neighbourhood policing guarantee.
Helen Morgan
I thank the Minister for her answer. She will know that the funding allocations for policing are based on reported crime, not underlying crime rates. In rural areas such as North Shropshire, people say that they do not always report a crime when it happens. Residents in Oswestry and Whitchurch tell me that they do not bother to phone the police because they do not think anyone will come. Will she consider reassessing the formula to ensure that in rural areas the funding reflects the level of underlying crime?
Dame Diana Johnson
I reassure the hon. Lady that funding for the year 2025-26 for her police force will be £316.3 million, an increase of £80 million on the figures from this year. I encourage all people who are victims of crime to report it. We need that information so that the police can then make the required resources available.
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter
In my constituency, fly-tipping on farms and private land and the targeted theft of heating oil are causing profound problems for families and businesses alike. Will the Minister update me on progress to tackle rural crime, and will the Home Office consider setting up a rural taskforce, working across Departments, to tackle these issues?
Dame Diana Johnson
I absolutely share my hon. Friend’s concerns about the extent of rural crime, particularly fly-tipping. Recent research shows that 80% of farmers say they are affected by fly-tipping. I am particularly concerned about the targeted theft of heating oil from families and businesses at this time of year. As I said, we will be strengthening neighbourhood policing and we will see more patrols in rural areas, which will help. We will also have forthcoming legislation to provide the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with the powers it needs to support local authorities in exercising new fly-tipping enforcement powers.
Charlotte Cane
Will the Minister meet me to discuss the effect that rural crime, particularly hare coursing and, as we have heard today, theft from farms and sheds, has on residents in Ely and East Cambridgeshire?
Dame Diana Johnson
I am always very happy to meet hon. Members. The national wildlife crime unit has been doing some very good work, including overseeing the national police response to hare coursing and Operation Galileo, which has resulted in a 40% reduction in offences in that area, but I am very happy to meet the hon. Lady.
Alistair Strathern (Hitchin) (Lab)
Right across the towns and villages I represent, people have seen, as the rural policing presence has declined, predictable increases in shoplifting, antisocial behaviour, farm break-ins and fly-tipping. We cannot allow that to be tolerated. What steps will the Minister take to ensure that my local police have the resources and powers they need to take those crimes seriously?
Dame Diana Johnson
The neighbourhood policing guarantee applies not just to towns and cities, of course, but to rural communities, so we will see a far greater police presence out and about in those communities. The Home Office is currently working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council on a rural and wildlife crime strategy, to crack down on some of the crime and disorder that has worsened in recent years.
Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)
The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention (Dame Diana Johnson)
Burglary is a particularly invasive crime that has a profound impact on the security of individuals—as I know from personal experience—as well as on the wider community. For too long a culture has been allowed to develop whereby victims of burglary and other crimes fear that even if they report what has happened, no one will come and nothing will be done. That is the culture we are determined to tackle through our safer streets mission and our commitment to neighbourhood policing.
Monica Harding
In my local authority area, 92% of burglaries went unsolved, with police failing to identify suspects—that is the worst figure for any community in the country—and in Surrey as a whole, 63% of burglaries were not even attended by police. This has contributed to a decline in confidence in local policing among my constituents. How, specifically, will the Government’s new police performance unit and their neighbourhood policing guarantee ensure that my constituents can feel safe in their homes, and will the Minister join my party in committing to a statutory burglary response guarantee to ensure that all domestic burglaries are attended by a police officer?
Dame Diana Johnson
The police have made a commitment in England and Wales to attend the scene of every home burglary, so I am concerned by what the hon. Lady has said about her local force. The College of Policing has set out good practice for the investigation of burglaries, which should be followed by police forces, and which sets standards for what should be expected as well as explaining how best to deal with victims. I am mindful of what she has said today and will write to her with details of what more can be done.
Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)
Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)
Steve Witherden (Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Jess Phillips)
This Government will treat violence against women and girls as the national emergency that it is, and later this year our new comprehensive violence against women and girls strategy will spell out how we plan to fulfil our unprecedented commitment to halve that violence. In the interim, we have announced Raneem’s law, whereby domestic abuse specialists will be embedded in 999 control rooms, and we are working with police to develop a national framework to track and target high-harm offenders. We are piloting new domestic abuse protection orders in selected areas, and we have outlined new measures to protect women against stalking and spiking.
Dr Chambers
The entire country was appalled by the terrible crime of girls being groomed by gangs of older men, and outraged by the lack of action taken by authorities to help protect those victims. It is about 10 years since these crimes first came to light. Since then we have had the Jay inquiry, which has made 20 recommendations. Will the Government commit to implementing all those recommendations, in full and at pace, to help protect future victims?
Jess Phillips
I thank the hon. Gentleman for both the tone and the sentiment of his question, and I hope that everyone in the House agrees with him. I spent the weekend in my surgery dealing with cases that are live today involving the grooming of both boys and girls by organised groups of varying sorts. It is, in fact, 15 years since the original Jay report on the events in Rotherham. As for the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, we will work at pace with the stakeholders, including the victims and Professor Alexis Jay, to ensure that what was intended in those recommendations can happen. I will do that as quickly as it can possibly be done, but I will not do what was done by the last Government and just say, “Yeah, sure” and then leave it to chance.
Alison Hume
North Yorkshire is the largest rural county in the country. Behind the beauty of the villages and hamlets in my constituency of Scarborough and Whitby lies an ugly truth: on average, victims in rural areas are subject to domestic abuse for 25% longer than those in urban areas and are half as likely to report it. Can the Minister reassure the House that more funding to tackle rural domestic violence is part of the Government’s strategy to halve violence against women and girls?
Jess Phillips
The strategy to halve violence against women and girls is for every single part of our country. The Government recognise that victims in rural and remote areas face particular barriers in fleeing abuse and accessing support. We are already driving forward a range of activities that will support rural victims. The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 will require local commissioners to develop joint needs assessments for victims of domestic abuse, to identify gaps in support. I encourage all Members to engage with that process when it comes to their local area, and I will happily work with rural MPs in this House to make sure that that is the case.
Steve Witherden
Palestinian women detained in Israeli prisons face sexual assault, beatings and threats of rape and death, according to United Nations reports. Given our commitment to tackling violence against women and girls, what discussions is the Minister having with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office colleagues about the implications of the gender-based violence faced by Palestinians, particularly as Israel continues to deny access to detention sites?
Jess Phillips
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. My FCDO colleagues sit on the violence against women and girls sub-group for the mission, and I have every faith that they take the issues that he talks about incredibly seriously. We have to protect women the world over.
Danny Kruger (East Wiltshire) (Con)
A consistent finding of the serious case reviews into child sexual exploitation is that the authorities have turned a blind eye in cases where they believe that a child, often as young as 13, is in a consensual sexual relationship with an older man. Of course, regardless of whether the girl believes that she has given consent or not, the adult is committing a criminal offence. Does the Minister agree that one way we might stop the next child rape gang is by insisting that, in all cases, adults who have sex with children are investigated and prosecuted?
Jess Phillips
Absolutely. From my years of working on the frontline, I know that the boyfriend model of consent to get young people into these groups is undoubtedly one of the most common in that field. I absolutely agree that in any case where any adult has sex with any child, they should be investigated, charged and convicted. A fundamental part of our violence against women and girls strategy is about prevention and working with young people, who are a growing cohort of both abusers and victims in this space, to ensure that we are acting to prevent and not just to protect.
Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)
When it comes to keeping children, especially girls, safe from violence and abuse, there has been a lot of talk about inquiries over the last week; indeed, some comments have been more constructive than others. Inquiries can be a powerful tool for uncovering the truth about injustice, but they only reach their full potential when there is a duty of candour that requires public officials and authorities to co-operate fully. The Government have committed to bringing that duty into force, so can the Minister and her colleagues commit to a timeline for introducing the Hillsborough law to Parliament?
Jess Phillips
The number of national public inquires that we have had—for example, into Hillsborough, for which nobody has been held accountable—shows the importance of the Hillsborough law and the duty of candour. Obviously, we committed to it in our manifesto, and it will absolutely be introduced by this Government. We will keep in touch about the timeline for that.
Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)
The Minister for Security (Dan Jarvis)
I commend the hon. Gentleman’s work in bringing forward this legislation and reiterate the Government’s commitment to safeguarding rural communities. We will implement the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, and we fully support its intention to tackle the theft and resale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.
Greg Smith
I am grateful to the Minister for his kind words and to the Government for their support for what was my private Member’s Bill and is now the Act. The commencement date for the Act was in January last year, but it requires a statutory instrument to be moved to bring it into full force. When will that statutory instrument be moved? Can he assure me that there is no delay because of the equipment manufacturers, who of course benefit massively from crime because they get to sell another one?
Dan Jarvis
Let me reassure the hon. Gentleman. As he knows, the Act requires secondary legislation to take effect. We are currently considering the views of those who may be affected by the legislation, but we intend that the regulations will be in place by the summer.
Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)
The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention (Dame Diana Johnson)
We are strengthening how we tackle crime throughout the country, including in Newcastle-under-Lyme. Our safer streets mission aims to halve knife crime and violence against women and girls and to restore confidence in the criminal justice system. The Young Futures programme will divert young people from a life of crime and the neighbourhood policing guarantee will deliver an additional 13,000 neighbourhood policing roles.
Adam Jogee
Can I say how excellent it is to see the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), in her place on the Front Bench? I have heard concerns from many constituents in recent days about the grooming of young people, particularly young women, and those are concerns that all of us in this House clearly share. Given that only 6.9% of violent or sexual crimes in the west midlands were solved in the year ending June 2024, what steps are being taken to hold the thugs to account and to protect young people, particularly young women and girls in Newcastle-under-Lyme, so that they can live their lives safely?
Dame Diana Johnson
I echo my hon. Friend’s comments about my hon. Friend the Safeguarding Minister. On the point he raises, there is an interesting article in the papers today where the Minister is quoted as saying:
“It is completely unacceptable that fewer and fewer violent and sexual crimes are being solved, with more victims being let down time and time again.”
I cannot think of a better champion to take forward the work to protect young women in particular than the Safeguarding Minister.
Mr Speaker
There will be wizardry in the way this question from Sir Julian is delivered.
Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Does the Minister accept that it would greatly assist the police to investigate crime in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and indeed elsewhere, if they were not spending an estimated 60,000 hours investigating and recording so-called non-crime hate incidents?
Dame Diana Johnson
The Prime Minister, the Home Secretary and I, as the Policing Minister, have said that we want a common-sense approach to dealing with these matters. The Government have been very clear on this. We have set out our priorities as the incoming Government: halving knife crime; halving violence against women and girls; restoring confidence in the justice system; and—one of the big issues for me—tackling antisocial behaviour through our neighbourhood policing guarantee.
Joani Reid (East Kilbride and Strathaven) (Lab)
Yuan Yang (Earley and Woodley) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Yvette Cooper)
We remember those who have lost their lives to knife crime, including 17-year-old Thomas Taylor, killed in Bedford, and 14-year-old Kelyan Bokassa, killed in Woolwich just last week. Kelyan’s mother said:
“I tried to prevent it. I’ve tried so many, so many times.”
No mother should live with that grief or feel that level of fear for her teenage son. That is why this Government have set up the coalition to tackle knife crime, which involves families, alongside taking new action on serious violence.
Joani Reid
I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer, and of course my sympathies also go out to that mother this weekend. Recently published data showed a sharp rise in serious violent crime in Scotland, particularly in our cities and towns. Too many of my constituents feel unsafe in East Kilbride town centre and the Village, particularly at night. Meanwhile, the SNP Government’s chronic underfunding of Police Scotland has resulted in officer numbers being at their lowest level since 2008. Does the Secretary of State agree that the SNP now has the funding in place to increase police numbers, and that protecting our community and citizens should be its priority?
Yvette Cooper
My hon. Friend is right to say that the Scottish Government have a significant increase in funding, so they can take action to improve public services. This Government have made it a mission to halve knife crime over the next decade, including taking action to get dangerous weapons, such as zombie knives and ninja swords, off our streets by preventing the unlawful sale of these lethal blades, particularly to children.
Yuan Yang
My constituents in Whitley had their Christmas disrupted by an alarming threat of knife crime. We have seen too many tragedies of this kind in Reading over the last few years, so I wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s mission to halve knife crime. I have applied for my Earley and Woodley constituency to be a trial location for the new respect orders. Will the Home Secretary meet me and my constituents to discuss how we can tackle the root problems that cause people, particularly young people, to carry knives?
Yvette Cooper
The Policing Minister and I will happily talk further to my hon. Friend. She is right that we need to prevent young people from obtaining and carrying knives in the first place, as well as making sure there is swift intervention. We are also taking action, working with police forces across the country, to tackle knife-enabled robbery, which is one of the areas that has seen the biggest increases in recent years.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Home Secretary for her response. Over the past five years, there have been 900 convictions for knife-related crimes in Northern Ireland. There is an epidemic in Northern Ireland, with almost 200 convictions in the last year alone. What discussions has the Home Secretary had with the relevant authorities, including the Police Service of Northern Ireland, to help us address this issue?
Yvette Cooper
The hon. Member will know that the PSNI takes this issue extremely seriously. The issues of knife crime are devastating to families, and he is right to be deeply concerned about the increases we have seen. Frankly, it is still far too easy for young people to get hold of knives. That is why we asked Commander Stephen Clayman to conduct a detailed review of the online sale and delivery of knives, and we expect his report back shortly.
Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)
A nurse was stabbed in an emergency department in Oldham over the weekend. Will the Home Secretary join me in condemning any attack on our health and social care workers, and especially the one at the weekend?
Yvette Cooper
The hon. Member makes an extremely important point. Our public servants, particularly our nursing and medical staff, work to save lives, support people and help patients. They do so trusting that the people who come to see them are asking for their help. He is right to talk about the devastating attack at the Oldham hospital, and we are all thinking about the nurse and all those working in the hospital, as well as about the police investigation that I know is under way.
Rosie Duffield (Canterbury) (Ind)
Neil Coyle (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (Lab)
The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention (Dame Diana Johnson)
The Government are committed to tackling antisocial behaviour and the harm and misery that we all know it causes in communities. This is part of our safer streets mission that will introduce respect orders and put 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles so that each community has a visible presence and an accountable police team.
Rosie Duffield
Last year, on average, at least three instances of antisocial behaviour per day were reported to Kent police in the city centre of Canterbury alone. We have great beat officers who I know keep our city as safe as they can, but given that the economy of our historic UNESCO city relies so heavily on tourism, how will the Government work with Kent police to further tackle this issue so that residents, businesses and visitors feel safer?
Dame Diana Johnson
The hon. Lady makes an important point about how antisocial behaviour has to be tackled, particularly in areas where we have lots of tourists. The neighbourhood policing guarantee is important because it will deliver an additional 13,000 police officers, PCSOs and specials in our town and city centres and in rural areas by the end of this Parliament. In the provisional policing settlement, announced just before Christmas, there is £100 million to start the recruitment of the 13,000 police officers.
Neil Coyle
How will the Minister ensure that the safer streets mission is delivered in communities like mine in Southwark, where too often officers are extracted to police protests and the Met is divided between its neighbourhood and national policing roles?
Dame Diana Johnson
My hon. Friend makes an important point about the conflicting and competing interests in the Metropolitan police. We have committed to putting police back on the beat through the neighbourhood policing guarantee. A neighbourhood policing team will be in every area. It will be out policing, with intelligence-led, visible patrols, and will ensure officers are protected from being deployed elsewhere. That is part of the guarantee.
Sir Ashley Fox (Bridgwater) (Con)
The Minister for Border Security and Asylum (Dame Angela Eagle)
The Government are committed to reducing hotel use through reform of the asylum system, including through streamlining asylum processing and establishing the Border Security Command to tackle people smuggling gangs at source. Since the general election, there has been a net increase of six hotels in use, but nine are scheduled for closure by the end of March.
Sir Ashley Fox
The Government’s new policy of smashing the gangs has enabled them to close seven asylum hotels, but unfortunately they have had to open another 14. Will the Minister tell us when the number of asylum seekers in hotel accommodation will be lower than when she took office?
Dame Angela Eagle
Because of the size of the backlog we inherited from the Conservative party and an asylum system in chaos, with tens of thousands of people in limbo and very little processing happening, the problem cannot be solved overnight. However, we are working very hard to close hotels. I just gave the hon. Gentleman the figures: nine more hotels are scheduled to close by the end of March, and there has been a net increase of six, so by the end March there will be fewer.
Chris Murray (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab)
The previous Government wasted a scandalous amount of public money on asylum accommodation. For example, in Northeye, they paid double what the previous owners had paid, without checking that the building did not have asbestos and contaminated ground, and it could not be used. Will the Minister commit to being more effective in providing value for public money, to ensure that taxpayers’ money is not wasted as we fix the asylum backlog?
Dame Angela Eagle
I certainly will. We should also remember the £60 million the Conservative party wasted on RAF Scampton and the £15 million on a derelict, asbestos-ridden former prison in Bexhill. We will not take any lessons from Conservative Members about value for money in Government expenditure.
Mr Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield) (Con)
In the royal town of Sutton Coldfield, we understand that we must do our bit to help house asylum seekers, but the Ramada hotel on Penns Lane has always been the wrong place because it is too far away from inner-city Birmingham-based services. Under the last Government, the facility was slated for closure, so will the Minister look urgently at winding it down and closing it as soon as possible?
Dame Angela Eagle
It is our intention to close all asylum hotels as soon as possible, once we deal with the backlog that we inherited from the Conservative party.
Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)
Asylum accommodation hotels were once emergency measures but have now lasted several years because of the mess the Tories made of our asylum system. Scrapping the Rwanda scheme and recommencing the processing of claims has led to a substantially lower backlog than we would have had if we had continued with the Tory policies, but there is still much more to do. Will the Minister update the House on progress towards ending asylum hotel accommodation and cutting waiting times for asylum application decisions?
Dame Angela Eagle
We inherited a system where very few decisions were being made. We have ramped up decision making to over 11,000 decisions a month and we are dealing with the backlog, but backlogs cannot be abolished overnight, and there are also appeals backlogs. We inherited a huge mess, but we are methodically getting through it.
Katie Lam (Weald of Kent) (Con)
Housing asylum seekers in hotels—of which there were 6,000 more cases in just the first three months of this Government—is spectacularly expensive. The Home Secretary’s policy is to make asylum decisions quickly, so that any costs of the migrants she accepts can be hidden in the welfare system. The Home Office admits in its impact assessments that it has no idea how much her policy will cost in benefits claims and council housing bills. Will the Minister commit today to recording and publishing all those costs for migrants whose asylum claims she accepts?
Dame Angela Eagle
I will take no lessons from the Conservative party, which spent £700 million to send four volunteers to Rwanda and left huge backlogs of more than 90,000 stopped asylum claims—people in hotels, unable to leave because the Conservatives were trying to get their fantasy Rwanda programme off the ground.
Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)
My constituent Majida and her three children are asylum seekers from Syria, living in one of the two asylum hotels in my Hazel Grove constituency. They have been living in limbo for nine months as they wait for a decision on their asylum claim. Like all Syrian asylum seekers, their applications have been temporarily paused following the fall of Assad. Many in my community are keen to support those seeking asylum, but also very keen to see an end to the use of hotels. The cost of housing families in that way is too high, both to the mental wellbeing of those living there and to the taxpayer. What circumstances is the Minister waiting for to resume decision making on asylum applications from Syrians, and when does she expect that to happen?
Dame Angela Eagle
The fall of the Assad regime was a welcome development, given that he was a tyrant, but 5,500 Syrian asylum seekers are currently in our system, many of whom fled the Assad regime. Until Syria’s future becomes a little more settled, it is difficult to decide those claims, which is why both this country and most of Europe have had a temporary pause while the situation in Syria settles and develops. I cannot tell the hon. Lady exactly when decision making will resume. All I can say is that we are keeping the matter under close observation. As soon as there is any development in this area, we will ensure that the House knows about it.
Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Seema Malhotra)
This Labour Government are determined to put right the appalling injustice suffered by members of the Windrush community. We will ensure that those affected receive the compensation they deserve, and that cultural change is embedded permanently in the Home Office. At the end of November 2024, over £100 million has been paid to individuals across almost 3,000 claims under the Windrush compensation scheme. We have also re-established the Windrush unit to drive forward the action needed to ensure that what happened to the Windrush generation never happens again.
Harpreet Uppal
Members of the Windrush generation who struggle to submit compensation claims do not have access to legal aid, leaving them unable to navigate the complex process. I have recently been contacted by a constituent who is struggling to navigate the claims process, and has no other support available to him. What steps is the Minister taking to tackle those barriers, and will she commit to providing additional support to ensure that every eligible individual can access the scheme, regardless of their capacity or circumstances?
Seema Malhotra
My hon. Friend makes an important point. We are committed to making changes so that the scheme is accessible and so victims of the Windrush scandal are far better supported in applying for compensation. It is why, in July, we brought in a single named caseworker approach to streamline the process, improve consistency and remove duplication, and it is why we announced £1.5 million of grant funding for organisations to provide extra support for applicants. If she would like to meet to discuss her constituent’s case further, I would be happy to do so.
Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)
The Windrush scandal involved people coming to this country in good faith who were then falsely labelled as illegal immigrants. One thing that the Minister could do to avoid such circumstances happening again is make it easier for people to come here through a reduction in the English language requirement. Is that something that she would consider?
Seema Malhotra
Our priority is to understand and learn from the events in the past and focus on the future by ensuring that the Department is inclusive and considers the impact of all its work on people from every background.
Jack Rankin (Windsor) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Seema Malhotra)
The Government are committed to bringing down net migration after it hit record highs under the last Government. We will do that by taking a different approach, linking skills and migration policy so that immigration is not used as an alternative to tackling workforce problems in the UK. The Home Office publishes migrant journey analysis, which shows the proportion of migrants granted indefinite leave to remain over time, helping to inform on who might seek to remain in the UK in the long term.
Jack Rankin
The mass import of low-skilled workers could cost the taxpayer more than £61 billion—a financial ticking time bomb. Will the Minister commit here and now to extending the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain or bringing in new qualifying criteria?
Seema Malhotra
The hon. Gentleman would do well to hold his own side to account for their record on net migration. The Government recognise and value the contribution that legal migration makes to our country. There is always a place for overseas recruitment for firms looking to grow, but it must not be the first port of call, and we must ensure that our migration system is controlled, managed and fair.
Chris Philp (Croydon South) (Con)
Since the Government came to office, 23,000 illegal migrants have crossed the English channel—an increase of 29% compared with the same time last year. Do the Government now accept the National Crime Agency’s advice that a deterrent like the Rwanda scheme, which they cancelled before it even started, is needed? Last week, the Government were trumpeting their removals figures. Will they honestly accept that only a tiny fraction of removals relate to people who arrived by small boat? In fact, in their first three months, the removals amounted to only 5% of people who entered the UK by small boat. Will the Minister accept that allowing 95% of small boat arrivals to stay is no deterrent at all?
Seema Malhotra
The shadow Home Secretary appears to have forgotten what happened when he was in Government. In fact, he will know that for the first six months of last year the numbers of those arriving on small boats was the highest for any six months on record. He will know that the previous Government spent over £700 million on a failed Rwanda scheme that saw four volunteers go to Rwanda. I will not take any lessons from the shadow Home Secretary. The Conservatives should take responsibility for their record and apologise for it.
Gill Furniss (Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Yvette Cooper)
Immigration asylum rules need to be respected and enforced, and for too long that has not happened. Since the general election, we have ramped up removals for those who have no right to be in the United Kingdom, with 16,400 individuals successfully returned in the first six months of this Government—the highest level of returns over a six-month period since 2018. Wider work to strengthen border security is under way, including the new sanctions regime announced by the Foreign Secretary to target smuggling gangs and new co-operation agreements, including with France, Germany, Italy, Iraq and beyond. Because vile criminal smuggler gangs operate across borders, law enforcement needs to co-operate across borders, too, to bring them down.
Gill Furniss
Knife crime continues to have a devastating impact on all too many lives in Sheffield. I recently chaired a roundtable in my constituency, which brought together local leaders, police, schools and voluntary organisations that are all on the frontline. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is vital to work together with key stakeholders so that we can build a collaborative approach to ending knife crime once and for all?
Yvette Cooper
I agree with my hon. Friend. That is why we have set up the coalition to tackle knife crime. It is also why we have a knife-enabled robbery taskforce working with chief constables. At local level, we have discussed setting out prevention partnerships—part of the Young Futures programme—so that all organisations can come together and be part of a mission to halve knife crime over the next 10 years.
Chris Philp (Croydon South) (Con)
I know that the thoughts of the whole House will be with the victims of the grooming and rape gangs. Will the Home Secretary agree with the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and the hon. Member for Liverpool Walton (Dan Carden)—a Labour MP—that we need a proper national public inquiry?
The independent inquiry into child sexual abuse report touched only on grooming gangs and covered only six of the towns affected. Local inquiries such as the Manchester one that the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister referred to do not have the legal powers to compel the production of evidence, which is why the Manchester chairs resigned. One Oldham victim, Jane, who was groomed and gang-raped at the age of 12, has called for a full national inquiry—
Mr Speaker
Order. Mr Philp, this is topicals. You could have got this in earlier with a lengthier question. The first part of your question was absolutely accurate, but you cannot just roll on at topicals or nobody else will get in.
Yvette Cooper
These are horrendous crimes involving rape, sadistic violence and cruelty, exploitation, intimidation and coercion, so we need action, truth and accountability for those terrible crimes. That is why we support further investigations, inquiries and action into child sexual exploitation and grooming gangs, including new action to get police reporting evidence on the scale of grooming gangs, including on ethnicity, which has still not been done. The most important thing is to get more police investigations to get these criminals behind bars.
Chris Philp
Does the Home Secretary agree that it is untenable for the Government’s own anti-corruption Minister to be under investigation for benefiting from the proceeds of corruption? Should she stand down while the investigation continues?
Yvette Cooper
The right hon. Member will know that the Minister has referred herself to the ministerial standards adviser, and that is the appropriate way for this to be addressed. More broadly, we take seriously the full range of crimes that our country faces and will continue to work closely with the police always to take action against crime.
Sarah Coombes (West Bromwich) (Lab)
The Minister for Security (Dan Jarvis)
It is a top priority to protect our country and our elected representatives from interference, intimidation and harassment. The defending democracy taskforce brings together a cross-Government response to these threats. We will use all the tools at our disposal to protect our democratic security and resilience.
Pete Wishart (Perth and Kinross-shire) (SNP)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Seema Malhotra)
I will shortly be visiting Scotland to discuss these issues. The hon. Member will know that we will not be introducing a Scottish visa scheme or devolving control of immigration policy. He will also know that the Migration Advisory Committee has found that labour market needs are similar across the UK. It continues to engage at length with many UK stakeholders, including from Scotland.
Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)
Seema Malhotra
The UK’s support for Ukraine remains steadfast. The scheme will provide an additional 18 months’ temporary permission to Ukrainians here under one of the existing Ukraine schemes. When a person’s Ukraine scheme leave expires during their course and they are granted further leave to remain—for example, on a student visa—they will continue to be able to complete their studies. I will be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that further.
Edward Morello (West Dorset) (LD)
The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention (Dame Diana Johnson)
Of course, the hon. Gentleman’s force area is getting more money in the settlement that was announced just before Christmas. Clearly, we keep all formulas under consideration and, as the hon. Gentleman knows, we are going to go through a police reform package and programme. Finance will be part of that.
Rachel Taylor (North Warwickshire and Bedworth) (Lab)
The Minister for Border Security and Asylum (Dame Angela Eagle)
Yes. Foreign nationals who commit offences and are sentenced to 12 months in prison have no right to be here, and I can assure my hon. Friend that we will work tirelessly to ensure that they can be removed. The 23% increase in six months is a good start, but we will not take our foot off the gas.
Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)
Yvette Cooper
We want to see an increase in neighbourhood policing right across the country. That is why we set out £100 million as part of the police settlement for next year to kick-start and increase recruitment of neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs, alongside stronger powers to tackle neighbourhood crime.
Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)
Sarah Bool (South Northamptonshire) (Con)
Laurence Turner (Birmingham Northfield) (Lab)
Since October 2023, my constituent has been separated from her husband and the father of her children, who is a Palestinian citizen of the state of Israel. I have deep concerns about the Home Office’s handling of this case, and it has not replied to my last two representations. Will the Minister agree to look into this case?
Seema Malhotra
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that case, and I am very happy to meet him to discuss the issues he has raised.
Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)
Penselwood in Glastonbury and Somerton is regularly blighted by unlicensed music events, leaving residents feeling frightened and vulnerable, as organisers pay scant regard to them or to the police. How will the Minister support the police to give the public confidence that they will crack down on these illegal raves?
Dame Diana Johnson
If the hon. Lady writes to me with details, I will certainly look into that issue.
Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)
Recently, the owner of social media site X has used his sizeable platform to undermine the democratic result of last July’s general election; has stirred up hatred towards my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), putting her safety at risk; and has sought mechanisms to depose the Prime Minister. Can the Minister say what actions the Defending Democracy Taskforce is taking to prevent this kind of foreign interference in British politics?
Dan Jarvis
I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. The Government consider this work to be urgent. We have seen some utterly unacceptable activity, both during and beyond the general election. I hope that work to address this issue will be a shared endeavour right across the House, but the Government are working at pace to address it.
Richard Tice (Boston and Skegness) (Reform)
What actions will the Home Secretary be taking following the news that eight UK companies and organisations have been deemed terror groups by the United Arab Emirates?
Dan Jarvis
The UAE is an important international partner for the UK, but of course other countries have their own rules on designation and it would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on their processes. I can say to the hon. Member that extremism has no place in our society and that we work very closely with law enforcement, local communities and our international partners to tackle groups and any individuals who seek to sow division and hatred.
Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)
My deepest condolences go to the family and friends of 17-year-old Thomas Taylor, who was fatally stabbed in Bedford last week. Bedfordshire has some of the highest knife crime rates in the country. While I welcome the increased funding for the force and the progress made on tackling knife crime in the region, will the Secretary of State ensure that the special grants awarded to Bedfordshire police in recognition of the high level of serious and violent crimes in the region are maintained? Will she outline what further steps are being taken to deter young people from carrying lethal weapons?
Yvette Cooper
I think the thoughts of all of us will be with the family and friends of Thomas Taylor, who was a constituent of my hon. Friend. He is right to say that we need comprehensive work to prevent knife crime and to prevent young people from carrying knives in the first place, but also to make sure that there is swift action where crimes take place.
Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
The National Crime Agency estimates that £100 billion of illicit funds flow through the UK yearly. Despite the existence of the David Cameron-created unexplained wealth orders, only 11 orders in total have ever been issued, relating to four or five cases. What is my right hon. Friend doing to stop these orders from becoming pointless, as they were under the Tories, because we cannot afford to use them?
Dan Jarvis
Among many other things, the Government have appointed Baroness Hodge as the Government’s anti-corruption champion. We will be working very closely with her and other ministerial colleagues to address the issue that my hon. Friend has raised.
Nick Timothy (West Suffolk) (Con)
Can the Home Secretary confirm that none of her Ministers or officials engages with or is in touch with the Muslim Council of Britain, and that there is no correspondence between No. 10, the Home Office and other Departments about restoring ties with the organisation?
Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)
Several of my constituents in South Oxhey have unfortunately been the victims of burglary or attempted burglary. Will the Home Secretary outline the measures her Department is taking to allow the police to invest in technologies such as live facial recognition, which can make crimes such as burglary easier to solve?
Dame Diana Johnson
We are currently looking into whether there is a need for more regulation of live facial recognition, but I recognise that it is a very important tool to which the police should have access. I am having a series of stakeholder meetings with various groups to discuss how we take this forward, but I do recognise how important the technology is and how it can be a really positive way of identifying people and solving crimes.
Tracy Gilbert (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab)
Can I place on the record my thanks to the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), who I know will ensure that this Government do more to tackle violence against women and girls than any other Government? In doing so, will the Government amend the strategy to consider prostitution and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation as violence against women and girls?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Jess Phillips)
I thank my hon. Friend for her kind comments about me. The violence against women and girls strategy that the Government will launch later this year will absolutely root adult sexual exploitation, which so often actually stems from childhood sexual exploitation, into the Government’s violence against women and girls strategy—for the first time ever.
Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
Is the Home Secretary aware of the growing link, as highlighted by a recent Durham University report, between rural crime and serious organised crime? If not, could she ask her officials to bring it to her attention? Given the transnational element to this serious organised crime, could the National Crime Agency start to take a closer look at rural crime?
Yvette Cooper
I am aware of this, and I think there is a very serious issue about how serious and organised crime has increasingly been targeting rural areas and things such as the GPS equipment used by farmers. The point about those involved in serious and organised crime is that they will always target areas where they think they can get away with it. That is why the issue is partly about the work of the National Crime Agency, but also about the work of police forces across the country and the work we need to do to take forward a rural crime strategy with the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Gas Storage Levels
(1 year, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero if he will make a statement on gas storage levels.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Michael Shanks)
Energy security is a key priority for this Government, and at no time was there any concern about Britain’s energy system being able to meet demand. Our systems worked entirely as intended. We had capacity to deal with market constraints, and that has been backed up by the two authoritative voices on this issue in the country—National Gas, which runs the gas network, and the National Energy System Operator.
We have sufficient gas supply and electricity capacity to meet demand this winter, due to our diverse and resilient system. While storage is an important flexibility tool in the gas system, our varied sources of gas supply mean that the UK is less reliant on storage than some other European countries that have a more limited supply options. Our diverse options include the UK continental shelf, our long-term energy partner Norway, international markets via the second largest liquefied natural gas onshoring capacity in Europe, and two interconnectors.
Gas storage is used throughout the year, but typically operates in winter to help meet peaks in demand. Through colder spells, storage levels are expected to fluctuate across the winter period. That is what happened last week following the severe cold weather, and it is a sign that the gas and storage markets are working exactly as they should. That is precisely why we have those systems in place. In their winter outlooks, National Gas and the National Energy System Operator assessed that there is sufficient supply to meet winter demand, including the role of storage. On Friday, National Gas, the owner and operator of Britain’s gas networks, confirmed that
“the overall picture across Great Britain’s eight gas storage sites remains healthy.”
We will continue to work closely with National Gas, NESO and storage operators to maintain continued security of supply. I reiterate: Britain’s energy system is working to continue to meet the demand of consumers across the country.
Andrew Bowie
All our constituents will be aware of the freezing temperatures experienced across the United Kingdom last week, dipping to minus 18° in the north of Scotland. However, many will not be aware of just how close this country came to an energy shortage, blackouts, or demand control—closer than at any point in the past 15 years. On Friday Centrica, the owner of British Gas, issued a stark warning that freezing weather and a spike in demand had reduced our gas storage to “concerningly low” levels—26% lower than this time last year. At a time when temperatures dropped below freezing for an extended period of time, our stores were set to last for less than a week.
Earlier in the week the National Energy System Operator issued a call for electricity providers to step in to provide extra electricity to meet demand and limit the risk of blackouts, paying 10 times the average daily amount to keep the lights on, all of which will end up on the energy bills of our constituents. With an incredibly tight margin between demand and available power generation, we were once again forced to rely on reliable gas power plants to keep the lights on in this country, showing that gas is and will be a vital component of our energy security for decades to come.
With their rush to meet the Secretary of State’s ideological target to decarbonise the entire electricity grid by 2030, this Government are playing fast and loose with our ability to keep the lights on. They are rushing headlong into a renewable energy dominated system—a Chinese renewable energy dominated system—but Ministers cannot escape the fact that when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine, wind turbines and solar panels will not keep the lights on in Britain. We should be in no doubt that this Government’s ideological plans for our energy supply will leave the UK dependent on foreign imports, send bills soaring, and leave us teetering on the brink of blackouts.
Interestingly, when Labour was last in government in 2010, the Secretary of State whipped his then Ministers to vote against Conservative proposals to increase gas storage capacity in the United Kingdom, with a Labour MP on the Energy Bill Committee saying that
“the climate of this country, other than in the past month, is usually such that we do not quite need the same storage facilities as other countries in mainland Europe?”––[Official Report, Energy Public Bill Committee, 19 January 2010; c. 282.]
Does the Minister think the Secretary of State regrets not backing that proposal in 2010? Does he accept that the push towards renewables will lead to higher levels of intermittency, and does he accept that we will need to urgently review our gas storage capacity in the immediate future?
Michael Shanks
The shadow Minister’s point would be well made were it not for the fact that it is completely untrue. If we look at the facts, the capacity market notice that he mentions was cancelled—
Mr Speaker
Order. The Minister has made a direct hint that what the Member said was untrue. Is he sure of that, or does he want to rephrase it?
Michael Shanks
I apologise, Mr Speaker; I think the shadow Minister was confused in the facts that he gave to Parliament today. I am happy to set that right.
Let us look at the facts. The National Energy System Operator—the people who run the system—stated clearly:
“At no point were electricity supplies less than anticipated demand and our engineers were able to rebalance the system without the need to consider any emergency measures.”
If we listen to the experts—to National Gas and to NESO—they both confirmed over the weekend that there was resilience in the system. I reiterate the point that the system operated exactly as it was intended to do.
If the shadow Minister has complaints about how the system operates in the country and the gas storage situation, he may want to look at some of his colleagues who were in power over the past 14 years. He knows the truth about his party’s record. He is a very smart guy, and he knows they left us exposed. He knows they did not do enough to build the system that we need and he knows what caused the worst cost of living crisis in living memory. While his party is busy crowdsourcing policy advice on Twitter from net zero sceptics, it would be far better if they looked at their own record in government and, instead of criticising us, recognised that we are getting on with building a resilient energy system for the future.
Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)
The shadow Minister missed from his story the role of Liz Truss. When she was the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2017, she made the decision to close our gas storage facility. Does the Minister agree that if we want energy security and lower prices, that all depends on reducing our reliance on the volatile nature of the international fossil fuel market? Does that not mean that his clean power action plan for 2030 is exactly the right policy to address the events of the past few days?
Michael Shanks
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The decisions that the previous Government took on storage are for them to answer, and anyone who looks at their record will rightly raise questions about that. On the broader point, he is right. The only plan for how we can get off the volatile fossil fuel markets, to which the previous Government left us far too exposed, is the clean power action plan that we have announced. If the Tories oppose that, they need to come up with their alternative to deliver the resilience in the system that we are fighting for every single day.
Pippa Heylings (South Cambridgeshire) (LD)
The hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie) is right to raise this important question about energy security. Gas supplies are running low because of the unexpected cold snap over the past two weeks. While those who can afford it have continued to use gas, the energy crisis has left energy prices skyrocketing and energy bills spiralling, with many having to make the decision between putting food on the table or staying warm. That is the case for too many families in my constituency of South Cambridgeshire.
The shadow Minister accused the Government of playing fast and loose, but it is due to the decisions of the last Conservative Government that we find ourselves in this mess, with their reckless dither and delay over insulation and decarbonising our homes and the irresponsible decision around our gas storage capacity. This is about overreliance on gas. For too long—
Mr Speaker
Order. You are over time, so I am sure you are coming to the end.
Pippa Heylings
I am. What steps are the Government taking to reduce overreliance on gas by bringing in an emergency home upgrade scheme that will enable people to insulate and to keep their homes warm with heat pumps this winter, rather than waiting until spring?
Michael Shanks
The hon. Lady is right; this is an incredibly important issue that gets to the heart of the fact we inherited from the previous Government not just an economic mess but a series of policy decisions not made, and an energy system that needed us to take serious decisions quickly to build resilience for the future.
On the broader point about consumers, she will know that my hon. Friend the Minister for consumers is doing a lot of work on exactly what the warmer homes scheme will look like, to ensure that people have as warm a home as possible. She is right that at times such as this, the people in the poorest households struggle the most. We are doing what we can to ensure that homes are insulated and, in the long term, to bring down bills. The only way to do that is to deliver clean power by 2030—faster than the previous Government would ever have managed.
Ms Polly Billington (East Thanet) (Lab)
The shadow Minister comes to the House with no shame. As has been referred to by my hon. Friend the Member for Sefton Central (Bill Esterson), the shadow Minister’s party closed Rough in 2017, leaving us exposed. I commend the Minister on taking urgent steps through our clean power mission to secure our energy system, and I urge him to ignore the political distractions of the Conservative party.
Michael Shanks
My hon. Friend is right that this Government are moving as fast as possible to build a more resilient system to get the country off the rollercoaster of volatile fossil fuel markets. The Conservatives seem to oppose that, but they have been on something of a journey in all these questions: they used to champion net zero and recognise that climate change was a clear and present danger to the world, but now they are drifting further away from that, looking for more extremist views on Twitter and elsewhere to crowdsource their policy. We are getting on with building the energy system to bring down bills, deliver energy security and, yes, to deliver climate leadership.
Sir Bernard Jenkin (Harwich and North Essex) (Con)
The National Electricity System Operator issued a warning of a 1,700 MW shortfall at the evening peak. It revised that down to barely more than 1,200, and it was running at one point with only 580 MW of margin. How are the Government so complacent about this? It is astonishing. As someone who has followed the energy debate for the past 30 years or so, I warn the Minister that this is almost unprecedented. For him to say that everything is absolutely fine is incredibly irresponsible, when his own Government’s policies are contributing to the tightness of the generating margin. If the lights go out, will he resign?
Michael Shanks
That is the kind of extremist scaremongering that we have come to expect from the shadow Secretary of State on Twitter, but we are now hearing it in the House. It is thoroughly irresponsible to use such language. In my answer, I read the very clear view of the National Energy System Operator, which runs the system and is the expert. I repeat it for the benefit of the House:
“At no point were electricity supplies less than anticipated demand and our engineers were able to rebalance the system without the need to consider emergency measures.”
The shadow Minister and Back-Bench MPs can repeat the phrasing around blackouts all they like, but at no point was that a concern. The reality is that while the Conservatives are happy to throw around such phrases without any evidence, we are building the resilient system of the future, and we will get on with doing that.
Luke Murphy (Basingstoke) (Lab)
In government, the Conservatives saw the closure of Rough and reduced gas storage. In opposition, they oppose our proposals for clean power, and would see this country more reliant on volatile gas markets and higher energy prices. Is it not the truth that the Conservatives want us more reliant on gas, with higher bills and more likelihood of blackouts, because they oppose our plans for clean power and tackling runaway and accelerating climate change?
Michael Shanks
The decision on whether to run gas storage sites is a commercial one for Centrica. The storage site at Rough was closed between 2017 and 2022—hon. Members may remember that that was when the “beast from the east” was attacking the country. The previous Government will have to answer for the decisions that they made on that. We are making it clear that the only way to build the energy system that we need in the long term is the clean power action plan. The Conservatives used to support much of that but, increasingly, they have decided to walk away from it. They will either keep us attached to the volatile fossil fuel markets, with all the price spikes that our constituents continue to pay the price of, or they will have to come up with an alternative plan. We are getting on with doing the work.
Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
Can I encourage the Minister to come out of combat mode for a second and consider a constructive proposal? If we are not to become re-dependent on gas when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine, and we do not want to be dependent on foreign countries indefinitely, can he see a future role for modular nuclear reactors?
Michael Shanks
If I am in any kind of attack mode, it is because the Opposition do not seem to be dealing with reality, and I think it is important to correct that. The right hon. Gentleman is right that the future energy mix, as we outlined in the clean power action plan, will involve a range of technologies. We outlined the range we would expect for each of those, and nuclear—in particular small modular reactors—will play an incredibly important part in that. We are moving forward with the programme we inherited from the previous Government, which was yet another incomplete process. We will make it happen as quickly as possible, and SMRs will play a key role in our energy mix.
Derek Twigg (Widnes and Halewood) (Lab)
Following on from a previous question, clearly, the previous Government did delay investing in and starting up more nuclear power opportunities and options. What progress has been made since this Government came into power on plans to take forward nuclear power as part of our supply?
Michael Shanks
Conservative Members ask, “When?” —they had 14 years in power, and in 14 years did not build a single new nuclear project. The former Minister for nuclear, the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie), loves to shout about all the consultations that he launched, but he did not build a single new nuclear power station.
My hon. Friend is right to make the point that we should move forward with nuclear—we want to see nuclear projects move forward as quickly as possible. My hon. Friend the Minister for nuclear is moving forward with two of the biggest projects, as well as the small modular reactor competition. We are quite rightly going through a process to ensure that it is as robust as possible, but we will have more to say in due course.
Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
Last Friday, I met Wales & West Utilities, which runs the gas grid in my constituency and beyond, where I heard that hydrogen is still a very viable option for home heating. Although there have been a number of pilots, the Government have recently gone quite quiet on hydrogen in home heating. Will the Minister update us on the steps he is taking to progress hydrogen for home heating?
Michael Shanks
The hon. Lady raises the potential of hydrogen in our energy mix. Of course, one of the real strengths of the gas network is that it can be changed into other things in the future; that is a real strength of what we have, and we are looking at what those options might be. There is a mix of options available with hydrogen, including home heating, but it could still play a really key role in industrial projects, for example, in the shorter term. We are looking at those projects. We need to ensure that it is financially viable and that we have worked out all the technological details on how we would make it happen. We will have more to say on that in due course.
Clive Efford (Eltham and Chislehurst) (Lab)
My understanding is that these notices are issued at times of high demand, and that they are evidence of the system working in order to prevent power cuts or the system breaking down. I would have thought the Conservatives would have learned their lesson from the spike in international gas prices that caused the crisis in people’s fuel bills and led to a cost of living crisis, but they have learned nothing from that. Does my hon. Friend the Minister agree that this really underlines our policy of ensuring that we have a secure provision of renewable energy, which leaves us less open to spikes in prices on the international market?
Michael Shanks
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is worth saying that electricity margin notices are not unexpected, particularly at this time of year. They mean that there is enough generation available to meet demand, but that NESO would like to see a larger safety cushion; that is the important point for people to understand what margin notices are about. The notice was cancelled, of course, because there was sufficient supply to ensure that cushion.
My hon. Friend’s broader point is important. We have outlined in great detail how we will deliver clean power by 2030. The Conservatives now claim to oppose that; in fact, they oppose much of net zero full stop. They will have to answer how they would deliver a secure and resilient energy system of the future that brings down bills and delivers on climate leadership.
Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)
I am unconvinced, to use parliamentary language, by the Minister’s reassurance that the lights did not almost go out last week. I am also unconvinced by his saying that the system is robust and resilient. This is the Minister who told electors in Scotland that energy bills would come down by £300 under this Government. They have gone up, and will go up twice more. Given the perilous gas storage situation—it is at 1%, compared to the 25% the EU enjoys—what steps will he take to de-stress the system by accelerating investment in long-duration energy storage?
Michael Shanks
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his characteristic question. On the first point, let me just say that it was not I who said anything about what the margins were. I quoted the National Energy System Operator, which actually delivers in this country—and will quote it again for the benefit of the hon. Gentleman:
“At no point were electricity supplies less than anticipated demand and our engineers were able to rebalance the system”.
He can take or leave my words—I am not particularly bothered—but those are the words of the people who actually operate the energy system.
On the hon. Gentleman’s final point, I absolutely agree with him on the importance of long-duration energy storage. That is why, for the first time in 40 years, this Government announced a new cap-and-floor regime to deliver new long-duration energy storage schemes. That is a huge step forward from the position under many previous Governments, and it will allow the building of the pumped hydro schemes and new innovative technologies that will deliver that energy storage. We are moving as fast as possible. I hope that he and his hon. Friends will support those decisions.
Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)
I thank the Minister for updating and reassuring the House and residents on the robustness of the system, and for his work taking forward a wider diversification of energy supply. Will he update the House on support for the take-up of heat pumps, to ensure that, in the long run, we are far less dependent on gas from overseas? Will he also say something about the importance of insulation and what the Government are doing to support further measures to encourage insulation?
Michael Shanks
My hon. Friend is right that as well as building an energy system that will deliver generation capacity for the future, we need to work as fast as possible to reduce demand. Part of that is about moving away from gas to heat pumps. That is important not just for our energy system and climate, but for individual households in reducing their bills. We already see a huge shift in the uptake of heat pumps across the country. There is, of course, much more to do on that if we are to reach our target, but the Government are committed to that, and it is important for households right across the country. I echo his points on insulation. Those in fuel poverty are more likely to live in houses that are cold. The more we can do to create warmer homes—that is what the Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Peckham (Miatta Fahnbulleh), is doing—the better for everyone.
Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)
Last week was the coldest week of the winter. Also last week, 41.9% of our energy mix was gas and just about 25% was wind. We have heard about issues with gas storage, and the Government are penalising the oil and gas sector by extending the windfall tax, not allowing new licences, and removing investment allowances. It feels like this Government are not taking our energy security seriously. Can the Minister reassure the House that that is not the case, and that he will engage with our oil and gas companies to ensure that we are secure in our energy today, despite what they are trying to do for the future?
Michael Shanks
I can give that assurance. Indeed, every month I have been in this job, I have been in Aberdeen, meeting oil and gas companies to discuss the issues. We are not going to agree on everything, but I have been very clear that there will be a long future for oil and gas in the North sea. Yes, we absolutely have said that we do not want to issue any new licences for new fields, but we will not revoke any existing licences. That means that there will continue to be work in the North sea for a long time to come.
I repeat that it is categorically untrue that our electricity or gas supplies have been at risk over the past week. We have robust systems in place, and they worked exactly as they should. Consumers lost absolutely no supply over the last few days, nor will they in the weeks and months ahead.
Laurence Turner (Birmingham Northfield) (Lab)
I draw the attention of the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests about my membership of the energy unions, GMB and Unite. In 2017, the then energy Minister, the noble Lord Harrington, said:
“the closure of Rough will not cause a problem with security.”—[Official Report, 27 June 2017; Vol. 626, c. 446.]
Will the Minister confirm that the five wasted years that followed before Rough was reopened at reduced capacity continue to impose restraints on the network? Will the Government take an open-minded approach to Centrica’s proposals to gradually convert that storage capacity to hydrogen?
Michael Shanks
These are commercial decisions for Centrica, although if it brings those decisions to us, we will of course look at them. Let me reiterate that the UK has a robust set of storage facilities to ensure security of supply. Rough is one of them, but at moments such as this, in the winter, it is not the most important, because it is the slowest to move gas into the system. The remainder are in an entirely robust state and will continue to deliver, but as I have said, what it chooses to do with its site is a commercial matter for Centrica.
John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)
We have heard in the House today about an over-reliance on gas, but surely, in reality, it is an over-reliance on imported gas. The forces of this Government seem to be driving us into the hands of foreign suppliers, and as much as 80% of our gas may be imported by 2030. Should we not support domestic sources of oil and gas, and back the 200,000 industry jobs found in constituencies across the land, rather than pushing those people off a cliff?
Michael Shanks
I take issue with two of those points. First, in the past decade, 100,000 jobs have already been lost from the oil and gas industry, and that happened under a Government whom the hon. Gentleman supported. The industry is changing. We are putting in place a robust set of plans to help the workforce into the jobs of the future, rather than burying our heads in the sand and pretending that the basin in the North sea is not super-mature. Secondly, even if we were to extract more gas from our continental shelf, given that it is traded on an international market, and the pricing is set not by us but by the international market, we would continue to pay more for it, whether or not it came from the North sea, so that would not deal with the pricing issue reflected in the hon. Gentleman’s question.
Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)
Did the Minister assume that after the Government had robbed pensioners of the winter fuel allowance, gas consumption would go down, or are this Government so obsessed with their net zero policy that they do not really care whether we have enough gas to meet our energy needs? Does the Minister not realise that being reliant on foreign suppliers will push up fuel prices in the UK? How does he justify the fact that under his net zero policy, the Government are ignoring the fact that we have 150 years-worth of gas naturally stored in the United Kingdom, and will not use it?
Michael Shanks
Let me repeat what I said a moment ago: even if we were to take much more gas from our continental shelf, it would still be traded on the international market. The reason why the right hon. Gentleman’s constituents and mine still face a cost of living crisis is our exposure to petrostates and dictators around the world. He would clearly like to expose us to them even more, and I think that the Conservatives would support him in that, but we want to get ourselves off the rollercoaster of volatile fossil fuels and deliver a clean power system that is cheaper in the long run and delivers energy security. That is what is best for consumers, and for all our constituents.
Sir Alec Shelbrooke (Wetherby and Easingwold) (Con)
The Minister has several times mentioned energy security, and has said that the drive to net zero will make us more energy-secure, but now that Europe has learned the lesson of taking fossil fuels from Russia, we will take our renewable resources from China, which manufactures and processes the vast of majority of the materials needed. What contingency plans has the Minister made in case China decides to get into a trade war with the UK on renewables, or to cut off supply? The threats that could come from China are exactly the same as those that came from Russia about fossil fuels.
Michael Shanks
Let me say two things to the right hon. Gentleman. First, our approach to China is that we will co-operate when it is in our interest to do so, and will challenge when necessary. That is the point that the Chancellor is making. Secondly, the way to ensure that what he describes does not happen, and that we build as much as possible in this country, is to build an industrial base in this country and to bring clean power jobs to the UK. The last Government failed to do that. We are driving forward an industrial strategy that will ensure that the jobs that arise from the clean power plan that we designed are in this country. The Opposition can either support that or oppose it.
Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)
This whole discussion underlines the importance of electricity storage, including at the battery energy storage system in my constituency, the Bredbury substation. How can we encourage more communities to welcome BESSs to their area, perhaps by considering community benefits, such as district heat networks?
Michael Shanks
The hon. Lady makes a really important point about energy storage in its various forms. Battery storage technology is moving forward extraordinarily quickly, and the short duration that we can get from batteries is improving quite considerably, so batteries will have a key role to play. Importantly, there is the potential for communities to drive some of that. We have been really clear in our local power plan that we want communities to be in the driving seat as much as possible, so that they can secure community benefits. We also want them to own some of the infrastructure. In a few weeks’ time, I will visit a scheme in Scotland where the community would be able to own not just a battery storage project, but a wind turbine that fills the battery. They would get a double benefit from the energy that they are generating and able to store. We would like to see more such schemes right across the country.
Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)
I have a certain amount of sympathy for the hon. Member for Widnes and Halewood (Derek Twigg), whom the Minister slightly fobbed off with his answer. Now that he has had a chance to calm down and check his notes, I will ask the question again on the hon. Member’s behalf: what have the Government done to advance the case for nuclear energy since they took power?
Michael Shanks
That is a very good question. I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving me a second chance to reiterate that we inherited a whole series of plans that were not delivered. We have moved forward as quickly as possible to deliver significant projects, but we have also moved forward the competition on small modular reactors. [Interruption.] The shadow Minister says, “All you had to do was sign it off.” Maybe he forgets the state in which he left some of his policies when he departed office.
Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)
As well as improving energy storage, we should be improving energy efficiency in our homes. The average energy performance certificate rating for properties in Caerfyrddin is D; it comes fourth-lowest in Wales in that respect. The Government plan to increase the EPC rating for rented properties to C by 2030. If we are to meet that aim through insulation, what lessons can be learned from previous schemes, such as the ECO4 scheme, which has been beset with problems, including contractors carrying out poor work on the properties of older and vulnerable people?
Michael Shanks
That is a really important point. My hon. Friend the Minister for Energy Consumers is leading a review of some of this work, and will have more to say about it soon. We need a scheme that rolls out far more insulation to retrofit homes. We have also driven forward a higher standard for new houses, but the delivery of the schemes has been questionable in places. I recognise some of her points, and that is part of what we have been reviewing. I recently met my Welsh counterpart to talk about planning regulations that are being brought forward in Wales, which will also make a difference to these kinds of projects.
Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)
In 2022, following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we saw a huge Government subsidy for household energy bills and an extra £15 billion per year in additional support for households. I appreciate that gas is traded globally and that the gas price moves globally, but if storage had been greater in 2022, could any of that £15 billion have been saved for taxpayers?
Michael Shanks
That is a really interesting question that I asked myself when I came into this role. Logically, we might assume so, but we do not empty the gas storage and then wait to refill it; we refill it constantly. That topping up will be done at whatever the price in the market at the time. The main reason why we would have used the gas in storage is that there is such demand in the system that the price is likely to be higher anyway. The hon. Gentleman makes a really important point, but I do not think that gas storage would have been the issue. I reiterate the point I made at the beginning: part of the reason why we have less gas storage than other European countries is that we have a different mix of routes to get gas in, and far more reliable supply chains for it, so we do not need to store quite as much as our European neighbours.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Minister for his answers and for what he has said so far. Approximately 330,000 homes and businesses in Northern Ireland are connected to gas, and there is also a scheme to enable social housing to use gas. That means that some of our elderly and most vulnerable people have no access to heating other than gas. How can the Government ensure that the most vulnerable in our society are guaranteed their gas supply over the next weeks, and how can the Government keep those in priority need at the top of the supply chain?
Michael Shanks
Characteristically, the hon. Gentleman raises an important point, and he has raised similar points with me before. It is important that the most vulnerable on the priority registers are prioritised for any additional support, and that is what we continue to do. Energy is a transferred matter in Northern Ireland, so I do not have a direct role to play in the gas system there, but I continue to engage with both Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive that have an interest in this topic, and we have talked about these issues most recently.
Sudan: US Determination of Genocide
(1 year, 6 months ago)
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Mr Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield) (Con)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Minister for International Development for a statement following the United States’ determination of genocide in Sudan.
The Minister for Development (Anneliese Dodds)
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for bringing this important urgent question to the House, and to you, Mr Speaker, for granting it.
The evidence of abhorrent atrocities against civilians in Darfur is mounting. I am appalled by reports from the UN fact-finding mission, including those referring to acts of murder, mutilation, sexual violence and torture committed by warring parties. Such despicable acts are completely unacceptable. As we have discussed previously in this Chamber, the situation in Sudan is the worst humanitarian disaster anywhere in the world. The UK has pledged millions in lifesaving aid to Sudan and the wider region, and we are clear that this aid must be able to reach those in need unimpeded.
On the precise question raised by the right hon. Gentleman, the long-standing position of successive British Governments is that it is for the courts to decide whether genocide has occurred. While the UK therefore takes a different approach to genocide determination from that of the US, we condemn what is happening in the strongest terms. Irrespective of any genocide determination, it is clear that atrocities have been committed in this conflict and that those responsible must be held to account.
We strongly support the International Criminal Court’s active investigation into the situation in Darfur, including allegations of crimes committed since April 2023. This support has included the secondment of expert investigators to support the ICC’s work in a number of countries, including Sudan. Since the outbreak of the conflict in 2023, the UK has frozen the assets of nine commercial entities linked to the rapid support forces—the RSF—and the Sudanese armed forces, the SAF. On 8 November last year, the UN Security Council also sanctioned two RSF commanders involved in perpetrating ethnically motivated atrocities. There is a long-standing UK arms embargo in place for Sudan, as well as a UN arms embargo on Darfur. The UK worked closely with the US to renew the UN regime on 11 September 2024. The UK has also led the establishment of the independent fact-finding mission at the Human Rights Council, and funds the Centre for Information Resilience to collect evidence of abuse and support accountability efforts.
In conclusion, we are determined to do all we can, as the UK, to work with others to press the warring parties to abide by international law and to protect civilians, collecting information, promoting prevention and ensuring accountability.
Mr Mitchell
My purpose today is not to criticise the Government but to urge them to do more on what is without doubt the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. I wish not to detain the House on the high politics of the region, but to focus on the unspeakable suffering of the Sudanese civilians, who for almost two years have borne the brunt of the most appalling violence perpetrated by the two warring factions. Today, 25 million people need urgent humanitarian assistance, with over 8 million internally displaced and a further 3 million seeking refuge in Chad, Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Above all, we face the unconscionable situation where a horrific famine looms over millions of people, which will lead unbearably to hundreds of thousands of women, children and men starving to death before our eyes. And if that is not enough, the violence perpetrated by the RSF—particularly, but not only, in Darfur—is explicitly identity-based, involving the targeting of black African tribes such as the Masalit and Zaghawa. Right now in El Fasher, Darfur, over 500,000 civilians face siege and the triple threat of identity-based mass violence, armed conflict and famine.
Last week, the US Secretary of State, Tony Blinken, called these horrors out for what they are: genocide. His determination is surely the clarion call for the UK, as the penholder on Sudan at the United Nations, to confront genocide and crimes against humanity in Sudan. Will the Minister set out the Government’s approach to atrocity crimes in Sudan? Will she consider funding Adama Dieng’s office as the African Union special adviser on the prevention of genocide?
Many of us have long warned that Sudan is the forgotten crisis. I saw this for myself on the border between Chad and Darfur last year. It has come to pass that the world’s neglect has allowed appalling crimes to thrive. Now, more than ever, it is time for British international leadership to shine the spotlight, to prick the world’s conscience and to bend every sinew of our capabilities to bring this indescribable horror to an end.
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his commitment to this issue, which I know is shared by many Members from every party in this House. We are determined to do something about these appalling events, and I am grateful for the passion and determination with which he rightly speaks.
The right hon. Gentleman talks about the dreadful violence unfolding in Sudan and the humanitarian situation. Since he and I last spoke in this place, the integrated food security phase classification was determined, on Christmas eve. It makes for truly terrible reading to see that five areas of Sudan are now classified as being in famine.
The right hon. Gentleman talks about the need for political leadership, which this new Government are determined to deliver at every level, from the Prime Minister down. The Foreign Secretary has prioritised this issue, as have I and the Minister for Africa. I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman saw that we, along with Sierra Leone, were determined to press the critical issue of protecting civilians at the Security Council. We were appalled that Russia decided to exercise its veto, as it absolutely should not have done, because this is an issue where human suffering is seen in such appalling relief.
The right hon. Gentleman asks about the UK’s work on atrocity prevention. I have talked about our work on the fact-finding mission. I was pleased to see the additional support from African countries when the mission was renewed. The UK has worked on this with the African Union, and we continue to do so. I raised this when I met the African Union in Addis Ababa.
Finally, the right hon. Gentleman talks about the need for this crisis not to be forgotten. We are determined to ensure that we use every mechanism available to us—bilateral, multilateral, within this Chamber and beyond—to raise the profile of this issue, and to ensure that the UK does what it can. Of course, we have doubled our aid to Sudan, reflecting this appalling crisis.
Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)
At this hour, the situation is horrendous, with 6.9 million people at risk of gender-based violence and 75% of children out of school. The US also announced new sanctions when it made the announcement. Will the Government review their sanctions policy, in relation both to the perpetrating networks on the ground and to the enablers abroad?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the matter of conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan, and for the work that she and others have undertaken on it. We had a debate on this subject in Westminster Hall last week, which raised the horrendous reports coming from Sudan about the impact on women and girls. She talks about the number of children who are out of school, and her figure probably includes informal schooling. It appears that around 90% of children in Sudan are out of formal schooling, which is terrible for them both right now and into the future. They really should be in school, and we will always ensure that we do what we can to ensure accountability. Our sanctions policy is always under review but we do not talk about the details in the Chamber, because to do so would reduce their effectiveness.
Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) for securing this important urgent question. It is right that we take seriously the fact that the US Administration have made a genocide determination in respect of Sudan and imposed what they call “accountability measures”. As the Minister has recognised, we have a distinct mechanism for determining genocide and it is right that the Government stand by that.
Notwithstanding that, we recognise that the US’s decision is designed to confront the abhorrent brutality that the world is witnessing against the innocent people of Sudan, with appalling atrocities, as we have heard already, committed against civilians and completely unjustifiable restrictions on humanitarian aid. With millions needing urgent food assistance, Sudan is hurtling towards a man-made catastrophe of unimaginable scale. The Government need to do everything in their power to press the warring parties into a ceasefire and to hold those responsible for the atrocities to account, because red lines have been crossed in the conflict and we cannot stand by.
As the Minister knows, the Conservative Government applied a regime of sanctions on those supporting the activities of the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese armed forces. In the light of America’s decision, do the Government intend now to go further on sanctions and to mirror the United States? What is her strategy for trying to deter non-domestic involvement in the conflict? Do the Government intend to provide additional expertise and resources to help ensure that the perpetrators of the crimes, including those in Darfur, are brought to justice? How will we leverage our position on the UN Security Council?
On the humanitarian side, what pressure are the Government exerting to smash through what are now arbitrary obstacles blocking aid delivery? What assurances can the Minister give the House that UK aid is ending up in the right places? Finally, what assessment do the Government make of the US’s new determination?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for the important points she raises, and I am pleased that there is cross-party agreement on so many of these matters. I agree with her characterisation of the relationship between UK and US activity on these issues, and the fact that the UK has a distinct mechanism on determination. She talked about the fact that this is a man-made crisis, and that is absolutely right. There is nothing inevitable about the extreme suffering we see in Sudan. We call on all warring parties to cease fire and to put the needs of civilians at the forefront of their minds, rather than continuing with this appalling conflict.
The right hon. Lady asked about the actions of other nations. I and other Ministers have made it clear from the Dispatch Box that there is no reason for any other country to be engaged in Sudan, other than to provide humanitarian support; they should not be involved for any other reason.
Anneliese Dodds
I am pleased to see the right hon. Lady nodding.
The right hon. Lady asked about the political pushes and the mechanism we have been seeking to use. We will keep up the pressure at the UN Security Council, and the Foreign Secretary has been seeking to use that mechanism as much as possible. When we last discussed these matters, it was before the UK special representative to Sudan, Richard Crowder, was able to visit Port Sudan in December last year. I was pleased that happened as it was the first time we had had a UK delegation in Sudan since the conflict began. It is really important that we can be there to put pressure on the parties to the conflict.
As I have mentioned, we keep our sanctions under review but will not comment on future designations, for reasons that the right hon. Lady fully understands. We have been seeking to use our expertise. We are determined to do all we can to support the International Criminal Court, across a whole range of different theatres of conflict and different situations where it is active. Part of that work includes its activities in relation to Sudan.
Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)
As we have heard, the situation for women and girls is particularly severe in Sudan, with reports of gender-based violence surging, including kidnapping, forced marriage, child marriage and intimate partner violence. In fact, the UN has reported a 288% increase in the number of survivors of gender-based violence seeking its case management services. Will the Minister outline what steps we are taking to ensure that those perpetrating gender-based violence are being held to account?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this matter. I know that she is deeply concerned about it and has experience of it from before she entered this place, as do a number of Members. She referred to some of the reports. The UN panel of experts released significant information, as we have already discussed in the House. Attacks have even taken place within special, theoretically protected areas such as camps for internally displaced people. The fact that women and girls have risked being raped within those camps, when travelling, at checkpoints and even in their own homes is truly appalling.
We must ensure that there is accountability. As I mentioned, we have been working to renew the fact-finding mission, as well as working with civil society mechanisms to collate related information from social media to ensure that it feeds into the overall picture. As in any situation where the facts need to be established, that will be critical for the accountability mechanisms, including but not limited to the ICC.
Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)
In three months, we will reach the second anniversary of the terrible conflict in Sudan. Can the Minister update us on the Government’s work to deliver a political process to secure a ceasefire before then, so that a civilian Administration can begin the work of reconstruction?
In the light of the judgment of the US Administration, can the Minister give the House a date by which the Government will have determined whether genocide is being committed? Last October, the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) declared on behalf of the then Government that ethnic cleansing was taking place in Sudan. What have been the consequences of that designation, and what more can the UK do to gather evidence of those crimes? As the Minister mentioned, Russia’s veto of the Security Council resolution is yet one more example of its shameful role in world affairs, but the needs of children, women and ethnic groups for protection is greater, not less, as a result. Can she outline what actions the UK is taking to secure safe zones for schools and hospitals?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his important questions. He is right to refer to the fact that we are approaching the second anniversary of the conflict, which has had a truly awful impact on civilians. He asked about the political mechanisms that we will use to seek a ceasefire. I referred to the first visit to Sudan by a UK delegation since the conflict began. As I also mentioned, we are seeking to use our role within the UN Security Council and our leadership of the Sudan core group within the UN Human Rights Council. On top of that, we are seeking to use every instance of bilateral and multilateral engagement to put these issues at the forefront, because we see the immensity of the suffering within Sudan.
The hon. Gentleman asked about a date for determination. I do not want to bore the House by restating the Government’s approach, which is the same as that of previous Governments, but we believe that robustness and trust in the determination of these issues are important. That means ensuring that there are effective international instruments, driven by experts. In the International Criminal Court, it is through determinations of expert lawyers, based on evidence that is internationally trusted, that decisions on such matters will be reached, including this one. He asked about evidence. I refer him to my previous remarks about the work that we have been undertaking, especially with the fact-finding mission. We will seek to do all that we can to build on that in the months to come.
Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)
I welcome the Minister’s response, and ask that the Government continue to keep the House regularly updated. As the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) said, the House should not forget this issue. In December, I met Islamic Relief, which is based in my constituency, and it gave me an update on some of the work it has been doing. It told me that at least 50 aid workers had been killed and 45 wounded since the war in Sudan started. Several aid organisations have had to suspend their work due to attacks on their staff members, and over 120 humanitarian offices have been looted. Sadly, aid workers are the first line of defence for many of the innocent civilians we are desperately trying to help in this escalating conflict. The Minister outlined the additional funding from the UK Government, but what more can she say about specific actions that the UK is taking to prevent the targeting of innocent humanitarian aid workers in Sudan?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising those incredibly important issues. She is right that it is important that the Government keep Members of this House informed about developments. I can report that my officials briefed the all-party parliamentary group for Sudan and South Sudan. I am happy to ensure that that route for information is maintained, but I am also grateful to the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) for raising this urgent question and to any Members who wish to discuss the matter with me.
My hon. Friend talked about Islamic Relief, and I want to praise its work and that of other non-governmental organisations that are active in trying to ensure that support is received by those in such desperate need within Sudan. She talked about the impact on aid workers. We have recently passed through one of the most deadly periods globally for aid workers. As she mentioned, about 50 aid workers are assessed to have been killed in Sudan and about 300 in Gaza. We also see aid workers being held hostage in Yemen. The UK Government are determined to ensure that those issues are raised and that we enable those who spend much of their lives in situations of danger to help others to do so in safety and security, and with the protection of international humanitarian law.
David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)
I welcome this urgent question because it is an opportunity to shine a light on these appalling events. Unfortunately, following the right hon. Lady’s last statement, we did not get much attention—even national attention—on them, and we must all try to ensure that we do. Does she still think that the Jeddah process can bring the warring parties together? What specific action have the UK Government taken in relation to international partners, such as the United Arab Emirates, to encourage them to play a positive role in the conflict?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for raising those issues. I am keen to work across the House to elevate the salience of this dreadful situation. He mentioned the Jeddah process. The new UK Government are clear, as I believe were the previous Government, that both warring parties have to engage with those mechanisms. Of course, commitments were made by the warring parties during the Jeddah process that have not been held to. They must be held to, and they must both engage with the mechanisms being created to seek a ceasefire. Instead, we have seen a frustrating situation where there may have been engagement by the RSF on some and by the SAF on others. They both must engage for the sake of civilians within Sudan and the many refugees beyond it.
The right hon. Gentleman asked what we are doing in relation to other countries. I will repeat what I said before: the new Government are clear—again, as I believe were the previous Government—that there must not be engagement from other countries in this conflict, aside from delivering the humanitarian aid in Sudan that is desperately needed. That is very clear—the Sudanese people have suffered enough.
Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)
UNICEF’s latest figures estimate that 3.2 million children in Sudan face acute malnutrition this year, putting them at severe risk of death. The limited humanitarian access, which is limited by all warring parties, is to blame for this crisis. Will the Government tell us what discussions they have had with actors in Sudan and with regional actors to ensure full humanitarian access for those most at risk in Sudan, including, importantly, children?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that issue. I know he is deeply concerned about developments over recent months. Of course, a significant one has been the changes we have seen over time at the Adre crossing, which is critical for ensuring that aid can pass into some of the areas of Sudan that are under the most intense pressure, particularly when it comes to food supplies. It is important that the Adre crossing is kept open permanently. Of course, we welcome the agreement to extend the opening of that crossing beyond the initial three-month extension to 15 November, but it should be open for the future—that is important.
We also need the RSF to commit to urgently facilitating access across lines of conflict. We need openness to aid, both into Sudan and then within Sudan, across lines between the warring parties, to get support to those who are so in need, including children, as my hon. Friend rightly says.
Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)
When the Government last announced their aid package, one area was in famine and four were on the brink. Those five areas are now in famine, another five are expected to be by the spring, and a further 17 are at risk. As the hunger crisis spirals, less than 10% of those in affected areas are getting humanitarian assistance. What new diplomatic steps are the Government taking to get food into those affected areas, and will they are commit to further funding for humanitarian assistance in view of that ever-spiralling famine?
Anneliese Dodds
I will be brief so that we can get to more questions, Madam Deputy Speaker. I can inform the hon. Lady that, following that truly disturbing determination by the IPC, the UK requested an urgent open briefing at the UN Security Council on 6 January, in which we called for a lifting of all bureaucratic impediments, improved humanitarian access and a political solution to the conflict, so that the food and nutrition catastrophe does not deepen further.
Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith and Chiswick) (Lab)
The Minister says that the US process for identifying genocide is different from ours. Where does she think we are in that process, and what role does she see for the Law Officers in making a determination? If it is a question of evidence, would she not be wise to follow the suggestion of the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) to fund the office of the African Union special envoy on the prevention of genocide?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that subject, about which we talked a little previously. To underline the UK’s position, we believe it important that there are international mechanisms for determinations on these critical issues because there must be international trust for those determinations to carry weight. That is the UK’s approach. When it comes to accountability, evidence gathering and acting on the evidence, we have sought to ensure that the UK supports those mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court. I have talked before about the UK’s contribution to that Court.
Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
Since we last discussed this horror on 29 October, I am not aware of any major news coverage of it. How is it that it goes so under-reported? Is it simply too dangerous for journalists to be there? The Minister stresses the wish for no other country to intervene, but is it not the case that genocides tend to go on until someone stops the people committing them?
Anneliese Dodds
The right hon. Gentleman asks about media coverage. I was pleased that the BBC produced a major package on Tom Fletcher’s visit. I am very pleased that there was that UN engagement, which is incredibly important. We need more focus on the situation. Indeed, that is how I would respond—very briefly, Madam Deputy Speaker—to the right hon. Gentleman’s third point. One of the most important things in the prevention of atrocities is the ability for journalists, fact-finders, investigators and experts to visit, and the UK has been supporting that in our activity. Finally, he asks about how we can ensure that there is a greater profile on these issues from the UK side. As I mentioned earlier, I was very pleased that the UK’s Richard Crowder was able to visit Sudan. It is important that we have a presence in that country.
Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)
Following on from the previous question, there was a harrowing series on Sudan last week in which The Times reported that enforced starvation had been part of the arsenal of war. I know that the Sudanese community in Newport are deeply concerned for their friends and family, with no end to the conflict in sight. The doubling in November of the UK’s humanitarian assistance was vital, but my constituents want the Minister to reassure them on what the Government are doing to combat the deliberate restriction of aid.
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the commitment of the Sudanese diaspora in Newport to supporting people in Sudan. I have seen that from people from the diaspora in communities right across the country, and indeed more broadly, with so many people who have seen the details of what is taking place in Sudan being desperately concerned about it. I reassure her that we are determined to do all that we can to ensure that lifesaving aid in food, healthcare and other means is delivered to people in need so that the people who are suffering so much in Sudan are protected.
Chris Law (Dundee Central) (SNP)
We all remember the appalling comments of the Foreign Secretary in October when he said that genocide is a legal term, which
“must be determined by international courts”,
which is appropriate only
“when millions of people lost their lives”.—[Official Report, 28 October 2024; Vol. 755, c. 556.]
The special adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the prevention of genocide has said that the situation today in Sudan
“bears all the marks of risk of genocide”.
The US Secretary of State has determined that the RSF and its aligned militias have committed genocide. In the UK, Protection Approaches’ director said that
“the people of Sudan face unimaginable precarity under a triple threat of war, genocide and famine.”
Why is it that time after time in this House we are so reticent about using the word “genocide” when it is all around us and the evidence is there for us to see? Does the Minister stand by the Foreign Secretary’s assessment that it is only for international courts to make the assessment that millions must die before the term genocide can be used? Does she believe that the US Secretary of State’s use of the term “genocide” undermines its seriousness?
Anneliese Dodds
The Government believe it is critical that we have an approach to determining genocide that is consistent with our obligations under the genocide convention and the Rome statute. They are incredibly important. As I have said before, to have trust internationally in the system, it is critical that we ensure there is a clear, impartial and independent methodology for the determination of genocide. That is important because of the seriousness of the matter of which we speak.
John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)
In 2004, General Colin Powell, who was then the US Secretary of State, referred to events in Darfur as genocide, but action was not taken. A genocide took place in Rwanda—it was not prevented—and there were similar events in Iraq where the Kurds suffered a genocide. Irrespective of definitions of genocide, does my right hon. Friend agree that more external pressure is needed from the international community to deter those who would commit war crimes and ensure that humanitarian aid gets in, irrespective of local opposition?
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
Almost daily, we see reports about what is going on in Gaza or Ukraine, yet, as my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis) mentioned, we see hardly anything about the situation in Sudan. Clearly this is genocide, and the most important thing now will probably be the attitude that the incoming Administration in the United States take towards it. What discussion has the Minister, or any Foreign Office Minister, had with the incoming Trump Administration on the action they will take to support our penholder initiatives in Sudan?
Anneliese Dodds
It is critical that the UK works with the US, and as the hon. Member would expect we have been working with our US counterparts on this issue, but it is also important that we work with others, particularly within the region. That is why we have been having particularly committed and repeated discussions with the African Union, for example, and why we are working with Sierra Leone on the fact-finding mission renewal.
Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield) (Lab)
I pay tribute to the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) for his continued work on this matter. Reports from Sudan are deeply harrowing. With the UN highlighting the staggering scale of sexual violence being perpetrated, particularly by the RSF, there is credible evidence that some women and girls are taking their lives or contemplating suicide as a pre-emptive measure. That that is happening in 2024 is absolutely appalling, and it is horrendous that it is happening without any international attention. Will the Minister state what work we are doing with international partners to ensure that we are delivering as much humanitarian funding as possible?