Oral Answers to Questions

Ben Lake Excerpts

Wednesday 18th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right about the appalling inheritance, which included record numbers sleeping rough and almost 160,000 children living in temporary accommodation. We are delivering nearly £1 billion to councils to tackle homelessness, including increasing funding in Bolton over the next year. That includes dedicated support with housing, mental health and employment. We are also committed to tackling the root causes, which is why we are building 1.5 million new homes and abolishing section 21 no-fault evictions—something the Conservatives said they would do and repeatedly failed to.

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion Preseli) (PC)]

In 2022, the Prime Minister supported calls for fair and fast compensation for 1950s women impacted by the changes to the state pension. Yet, just yesterday, his Government rejected those same calls out of hand. Is that what the Prime Minister meant when he promised to lead a Government of change?

[The Prime Minister]

This is a serious issue. Between 2005 and 2007, there was a 28-month delay in letters to women born in 1950s about changes to pension age—that was unacceptable, and it was right that the Government apologised. In 2011, the former Chancellor George Osborne then accelerated those changes with very little notice. That, equally, was unacceptable, and Labour opposed it at the time. [Interruption.] It is a serious issue, and a complex one. As the hon. Gentleman knows, the research shows that 90% of those impacted knew about the changes that were taking place. I am afraid to say that the taxpayer simply cannot afford the tens of billions of pounds in compensation when the evidence shows that 90% of those impacted knew about the changes. That is because of the state of our economy.

Storm Darragh

Ben Lake Excerpts

Tuesday 10th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion Preseli) (PC)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government’s response to Storm Darragh.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Ms Abena Oppong-Asare)]

I would like to say how sorry the Government were to hear that two people lost their lives during Storm Darragh. I extend my sympathy to their family and friends.

Late last week, the Met Office issued a red weather warning for wind covering England and Wales, with wider parts of the UK covered by amber and yellow warnings. The Government immediately took action to prepare for the arrival of Storm Darragh. Ahead of the storm, we issued an emergency alert to over 3 million people in affected regions under a red weather warning, urging them to stay indoors. That was the largest use of the early warning system outside of a test scenario. Impacts, although widespread, were managed effectively and local response mechanisms worked to mitigate impacts.

For the households and businesses affected by disruptions, it would have been a very distressing few days. Over 2.3 million customers have had their power restored since the storm made landfall. As of this morning, just under 24,000 customers remain without power. Reconnections are continuing at pace, and operators expect to have all remaining customers reconnected by tomorrow.

I am grateful for the response from colleagues in devolved Administrations and local resilience forums around the country. I praise our emergency responders and utility workers, who have worked, and indeed are continuing to work, so hard in difficult conditions to help the public manage the impacts of the storm.

[Ben Lake]

Thank you for granting the urgent question, Mr Speaker. I thank the Minister for her reply and join her in expressing my condolences to the families of those two individuals who have tragically lost their lives. The storm left hundreds of thousands of homes without power and disrupted critical infrastructure. We are all grateful to the engineers who are working tirelessly to restore power under challenging conditions. I pay tribute to the emergency services and local authorities who have also worked hard to clear roads and offer support to households where possible.

However, I am deeply concerned about the thousands of people still without electricity. The storm has brought into sharp relief just how dependent other key utilities are on electricity: from heating to water supply and mobile phone networks. The latter concern is compounded in rural areas by the fact that many have lost their copper landlines in the recent digital switchover and now use a system dependent on mains power. Villages such as Blaenffos, Pont-rhyd-y-groes and Ponterwyd in my constituency, to name just a few, have therefore not only been without power but had periods without water, heat and any means of communicating for help and support.

The increasing frequency of extreme weather events such as Storm Darragh due to climate change underscores the need for robust civil protection measures encompassing both our immediate response and long-term resilience planning. In that regard, our experiences with Storm Darragh highlight a need to review the adequacy of current arrangements. For example, if rural areas such as mine are without mobile signal and no longer have copper landlines, how can they receive important emergency information, let alone call for assistance?

Will the Minister therefore commit to reviewing arrangements in the light of the storm, including whether the priority services register is adequate to address the needs of vulnerable residents during widespread power outages? Will she ensure that key utilities are equipped to mitigate the impacts of future extreme weather events? Finally, will she outline the Government’s immediate action to work with the Welsh Government and local authorities in Wales to support communities who are still without power, and their longer-term strategy to strengthen national resilience in the face of extreme weather events?

[Ms Oppong-Asare]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question and for his efforts over the weekend to provide advice and support to constituents. As he mentioned, many households across north and mid-Wales have been particularly affected by the damage and disruption caused by Storm Darragh. Again, I extend my sympathy to all those who have been affected by power cuts, flooding and other disruptions, which I know will have been distressing. Again, I pay tribute to the emergency services and utility workers in north and mid Wales who are continuing to work hard to support the households affected.

The UK Government have been working closely with our counterparts in the Welsh Government—the hon. Member raised concerns about that. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster spoke to the First Minister on Friday, and we are continuing to work closely together. I hope that reassures the hon. Member on that aspect. In my response I set out how work is under way to resolve the situation of properties without power and affected by flooding, which the hon. Gentleman rightly pointed out.

More broadly, we are continuing to work with partners to ensure that the disruption is addressed as soon as possible, and that support is provided to those affected. I hope that the hon. Gentleman feels reassured that we are constantly monitoring the work that we have done to see how to improve for future floods and storms. The Government are taking this seriously, and I hope the whole House supports these efforts.

Anniversary of 7 October Attacks: Middle East

Ben Lake Excerpts

Monday 7th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I can give that assurance. It is very important. We need to get British nationals who are in Lebanon out of Lebanon as quickly and safely as possible, and we certainly should not be returning people back to the conflict zone while the conflict is going on.

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion Preseli) (PC)]

Both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary delivered important statements at the UN last month, emphasising the importance of upholding both the principles and the purposes of the UN charter as a foundation for the rules-based international order. The Prime Minister rightly states today that a political settlement is the only route to a lasting peace and stability in the region. In working towards that aim, what consideration are the Government giving to official recognition of Palestinian statehood?

[The Prime Minister]

The question of recognition is a question of when, not if. [Interruption.] Well, at the point of greatest impact. We need a two-state solution. We need to work with our allies towards that end. We will continue to do so, because this conflict will not de-escalate until there is a political route through.