Convention on Biodiversity COP15: Outcomes

Debate between Chi Onwurah and Thérèse Coffey

Monday 19th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Dr Coffey]

I certainly commend the children and volunteers to whom the hon. Lady refers. Fracking has nothing to do with what I am talking about today. That statement has already been made separately by Energy Ministers.

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

Addressing biodiversity loss is an essential part of addressing climate change, but as with climate change, we see no sense of urgency or leadership in action from this Government. Does the Secretary of State accept that her Department’s failure to set targets for water quality or habitat protections in England undermined talks at COP15? She calls nature the “Cinderella of the story”, but Cinderella was never forced by the ugly sisters to swim in sewage. That achievement belongs to this Government.

[Dr Coffey]

I can say that our beaches are cleaner than we inherited them in 2010 from the Labour Government—that is clear. The hon. Lady must be very proud of the last Labour Government’s record of achievement on that. I say to her that this matters not just in our countryside and on our coast, but in our urban environments as well. We already have targets on water quality. In fact, I was discussing today with the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton Deane (Rebecca Pow) who is responsible for environmental quality and resilience, the approaches we are going to take to try to improve water quality, particularly by thinking about the chemicals in our water, which are particularly problematic in urban areas. That is something on which we need to work with local councils, as well as with the Environment Agency, to try to get changes so that we clean up the water right around the country. I am sure that the hon. Lady will join us when we need to take appropriate action in her constituency in future.

Health and Social Care Update

Debate between Chi Onwurah and Thérèse Coffey

Thursday 22nd September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Dr Coffey]

I understand why my right hon. Friend makes that point, recognising that many other countries in Europe take that approach. However, that is not the approach we are going to take under this Government.

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

My constituents face intolerable delays in A&E, for an appointment, for referral for mental health treatment, or for an ambulance. Those who work in the NHS face plummeting morale, effective pay cuts and staff shortages. The Secretary of State’s response is to aspire to a GP waiting time that is seven times longer than Labour actually achieved. Is it not the case that the NHS is not, has not been, and never can be safe in Tory hands?

[Dr Coffey]

I do not agree with the hon. Lady at all.

Work and Pensions

Debate between Chi Onwurah and Thérèse Coffey

Thursday 4th February 2021 Ministerial Corrections

[Dr Coffey]

Kickstart has got off to a flying start and I am delighted to inform the House that to date over 110,000 kickstart jobs have been approved and 2,000 young people have already started. Around 10,000 jobs are available to young people now and I am expecting a further 33,000 or so to be placed fairly soon while we work with employers to finalise the detail of the job offer. We recognise that young people have been greatly impacted by the pandemic, which is why kickstart is such a pivotal part of our plan for jobs to help them secure a stable footing on the career ladder.

Topical Questions

The following is an extract from oral questions on 25 January 2021.

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[Dr Coffey]

Our kickstart scheme is putting the future of young people front and centre of our plan for jobs. I have already shared with the House that over 120,000 kickstart roles have now been approved, and we want to turn those into job starts. In addition to making it simpler for employers by removing the 30-vacancy threshold for direct applications, as was set out earlier, employers who cannot currently access kickstart at all—for example, sole traders with no pay-as-you-earn systems—can now join up through the gateway-plus model that is currently provided by the Federation of Small Businesses and Adecco joint venture. It is an exciting phase as we move up a gear.

[Official Report, 25 January 2021, Vol. 688, c. 16.]

Letter of correction from the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the right hon. Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey).

An error has been identified in my response to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Chi Onwurah).

The correct response should have been:

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chi Onwurah and Thérèse Coffey

Monday 25th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab) [V]]

If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Dr Thérèse Coffey)]

Our kickstart scheme is putting the future of young people front and centre of our plan for jobs. I have already shared with the House that over 120,000 kickstart roles have now been approved, and we want to turn those into job starts. In addition to making it simpler for employers by removing the 30-vacancy threshold for direct applications, as was set out earlier, employers who cannot currently access kickstart at all—for example, sole traders with no pay-as-you-earn systems—can now join up through the gateway-plus model that is currently provided by the Federation of Small Businesses and Adecco joint venture. It is an exciting phase as we move up a gear.[Official Report, 4 February 2021, Vol. 688, c. 8MC.]

[Chi Onwurah]

This weekend, Newcastle United fans food bank launched a virtual bucket so that fans can donate small sums online on matchdays to help to meet the massive increase in demand from hungry families. Will the Secretary of State congratulate the food bank organisers on their hard work and ingenuity, and explain to them why she will not cancel the cut to universal credit that will force many of the 16,000 claimants in Newcastle further into destitution, increasing debt, food poverty and demand for the food bank?

[Dr Coffey]

Of course I congratulate the organisation through the football club to which the hon. Lady refers: it is of great worthiness to undertake that. She will be aware of the support that has been ongoing and also the additional £170 million winter grant from which Newcastle City Council will be benefiting in order to help to make sure that no child goes hungry and every child stays warm this winter.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chi Onwurah and Thérèse Coffey

Monday 27th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dr Coffey]

I suggest that the hon. Lady lets the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, my hon. Friend the Member for North Swindon (Justin Tomlinson), know directly about her constituent’s particular circumstances so that he can follow up on that individually. I know that he believed that he had let hon. Members know about this matter. We take the issue seriously, and we will check after Question Time what happened regarding the communication.

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

Greggs in Newcastle has, as we know, given its workers a £300 bonus to share in its success as a company. Does the Secretary of State agree that that is the right thing for employers to do? Does she see why so many of the employees who are on universal credit will lose so much of that bonus because it is treated as a monthly income rather than an annual income, which is what it is?