International Aid: Treasury Update

Florence Eshalomi Excerpts

Programme motion
Tuesday 13th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall) (Lab/Co-op)]

Many right hon. and hon. Members have already spoken about the different areas that will be impacted by the proposed cut to the international aid budget, and I will focus my remarks on a subject that is really important. Last month marked 40 years since the first reported AIDS case and the subsequent discovery of HIV, and although we have made big progress in fighting HIV in the UK and across the world, AIDS remains a leading cause of death for women of reproductive age. Although it is preventable, over 1.5 million people acquired HIV last year, and 690,000 people lost their lives to an AIDS-related illness. The HIV epidemic continues to devastate communities right across the world, yet screening has fallen by 40% in Africa and Asia over the past year.

Ending new HIV transmissions in the UK is a global effort, yet shamefully, our funding of the UN AIDS budget has been reduced by a staggering 83%. As we know only too well, pandemics can only be beaten together. Up until now, the UK has been instrumental in reducing the stigma around this terrible disease and helping to save the lives of millions of people, and I pay tribute to the Terrence Higgins Trust for its new campaign launched today, called “Life really changed”, celebrating people who live with HIV.

I represent Vauxhall, a constituency with a large migrant population and one of the highest rates of HIV prevalence in the country. Now more than ever, if we are truly committed to global Britain, it is so important to step up and meet our responsibilities, not step back. The UK should take a leading global step to help reverse the devastating spread of HIV and AIDS, otherwise how are we supposed to meet our target of zero transmissions by 2030? I hope that Members will reflect on that, and the fact that this is about issues not just in our country, but right across the world. I hope that they will join me in voting against this motion.

G7 and NATO Summits

Florence Eshalomi Excerpts

Wednesday 16th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes. I thank my right hon. Friend because NATO’s project 2030, set out by Jens Stoltenberg at the summit, is completely in accordance with, and almost an echo of, the integrated review set out by the Government, with its emphasis on cyber and space defences.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall) (Lab/Co-op)]

I have listened to the right hon. Gentleman’s statement this afternoon. One of the things I am proud of is visiting my schools in Vauxhall and speaking to young people. Last week, he said that girls’ education is the best way that we can lift countries out of poverty and lead the global recovery. I heard his response to the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) on the fact that the G7 leaders did not mention the global aid cut. If that is the case, does the Prime Minister agree that his actions show a gaping hole between his words and actions? Will he respect this House by bringing that vote to Parliament and bringing that decision here?

[The Prime Minister]

Again, what I did hear from leaders around the world was massive, overwhelming support for the objective, which the hon. Member supports, of girls’ education. The G7 committed $2.75 billion, I think, towards the Global Partnership for Education, with the UK increasing our commitment by 15% in spite of the pandemic. I hope the message she will give to pupils in Vauxhall is that we are absolutely committed to that end.

Debate on the Address

Florence Eshalomi Excerpts

Tuesday 11th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

It is an honour to follow the hon. Member for Southend West (Sir David Amess), who has been an MP since I was the age of two. I am grateful to be called to speak during this important debate, and it was wonderful to see Her Majesty in the Lords Chamber today highlighting these important issues.

As we start to recover from this dreadful pandemic and rebuild our society and economy, the role of Parliament has perhaps never been more important in determining the direction of travel for our recovery. This occasion is always an opportune moment for us in this House and in the other place to reflect on what we achieve and how we want to achieve it in the coming year and beyond. This year is a poignant time to reflect on where we are going.

I listened to the Prime Minister’s speech earlier, and I welcome some of the measures that he announced. The ban on conversion therapy—a practice that is so desperately cruel and immoral—is long overdue, and I urge the Government not to delay in bringing that Bill to the House. Vauxhall has a long and proud history of supporting the LGBTQ+ community, and we have been waiting far too long for this to be made law.

I welcome the Government’s focus on jobs and skills, but the devil will be in the detail. So many of my constituents became unemployed as a result of the pandemic. They come from a range of sectors, including retail, hospitality, tourism and the creative industries. Many lost their incomes almost overnight and were not eligible for any vital Government support. Will they be able to get their jobs back in sectors now having to restructure and downsize? Will the job opportunities be evenly spread across these sectors, and what about the long-overdue reform of zero-hours contracts and the gig economy?

The Prime Minister rightly prioritises the lifelong development of skills, but will our long-established adult education institutions, such as the historic Morley College in my constituency, founded in 1889 in Waterloo to support working men and women, be properly supported and funded to deliver on the Government’s agenda? What plan do the Government have to tackle the structural inequalities and digital exclusions that prevent so many of our young people from accessing job opportunities in high-value, fulfilling careers?

Last week, I visited Archbishop Tenison’s School in Oval and spoke to a group of year 7 students. Eleven-year-olds have faced such a difficult year in transitioning to secondary school from primary school, missing so much vital education during their last year. However, this group was so bright and ambitious, and it is so important that they have the access to all the opportunities so that they can fulfil their potential. This is what levelling up should mean.

Let us not forget that it was the public sector that kept all of us going through this past year, led by our wonderful health services, our local councils, the police, our schools and social services. There is nothing in today’s announcement that will reward them for their hard work during the pandemic, including saving the life of our Prime Minister at St Thomas’s Hospital, just a stone’s throw away from Parliament. As the head of my union, GMB, said today:

“This is an historic missed opportunity at a time when unscrupulous employers are exploiting the pandemic to attack good quality jobs.”

Finally, it is always welcome to hear the Government say what they want to do, and that they want to build more houses. We know that increasing supply is one of the tools we have in the box to solve this housing crisis, but what about the poor-quality, overcrowded homes that so many of my constituents are living in? They will not be able to afford any new homes. The recent fire at New Providence Wharf is a harsh reminder of the thousands of victims still living in buildings with dangerous cladding almost four years after Grenfell. There are no excuses: this is yet another missed opportunity by the Government to enshrine in law the right of leaseholders to not have to pay for mistakes they did not cause.

Integrated Review

Florence Eshalomi Excerpts

Tuesday 16th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We are determined to look after all the wonderful men and women of our armed services, not just by protecting them after they have served, and by protecting veterans who may be at risk of vexatious litigation in the way I have described; we also have to ensure that we look after people during their service. In particular, we must look after families, who often bear the brunt of the commitments and sacrifices that our armed services make. That is why we have committed to wraparound childcare for those involved in our armed services.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

—[Inaudible.]

[Mr Speaker]

We cannot hear. We will come back to Ms Eshalomi.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

Let us go back to Florence Eshalomi.

[Florence Eshalomi [V]]

Many of my constituents are concerned that much of this review seems to have prioritised the global projection of hard power. The Government have chosen to cut our aid budget to countries in need, such as Syria and Yemen, and this will have serious knock-on effects. My constituent wrote to me and said:

“Britain has a good track record in recognising the crucial role that aid has in alleviating poverty and enhancing health equity.”

Does the Prime Minister agree that this Government’s cuts to aid will not just let the world’s poorest down, but make it more difficult for the Government to achieve their foreign policy objectives and maintain Britain’s global moral authority?

[The Prime Minister]

No, I do not remotely agree with that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Florence Eshalomi Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly can. It was a former Labour Planning Minister who said, “The Green Belt is a Labour achievement, and we intend to build on it.” That is what he said. The Government’s approach is entirely different. Our planning reform will not change. That is what the Opposition want to do. We will not change existing policy to protect the green belt, and our housing targets, which are very ambitious, will focus, as my hon. Friend rightly says, on brownfield.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

Unsafe cladding is leaving hundreds of leaseholders across Vauxhall unable to sell or remortgage their properties. The EWS1 forms are not being used as intended, leaving my constituents trapped between risk-averse lenders and irresponsible building owners. They have been waiting three years already, so can the Prime Minister tell me what steps he is taking now to resolve this really dangerous situation?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Lady, because I am aware of this problem of people facing real disadvantage—leaseholders and others—because of unsafe cladding still on their buildings. I think it is disgraceful, and both ACM and HPL cladding, in my view, should come off as fast as possible. We are investing massively to achieve that as fast as we can, but I sincerely appreciate the problem that she raises.

Oral Answers to Questions

Florence Eshalomi Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am very grateful for that multiple-choice question from the hon. Member. It reminds me that when I sat my O-levels and multiple-choice exams when I was a schoolboy in Aberdeen, Scotland’s schools were stronger than England’s schools. Now, after 10 years of SNP Government, Scotland’s schools have fallen behind. The record of the SNP in government, I am afraid, has been one of complacency and neglect. That is why I believe we need to have a strong UK Government working alongside MSPs from every party in order to make our United Kingdom stronger than ever.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall) (Lab/Co-op)]

If he will make an assessment of the potential effect of reductions in civil service headcount on the ability of Government to implement its policies.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Michael Gove)]

The Government were elected with an ambitious agenda. The civil service must continue to change to deliver that agenda, which means focusing laser-like on improving citizens’ lives. I was proud to be able to talk to civil servants yesterday at Civil Service Live and to be able to share with them an ambitious reform programme that has the support of public servants across the United Kingdom.

[Florence Eshalomi [V]]

A number of my constituents are civil servants, and they have written to me to express their understandable shock and upset about the recent announcement about their jobs, which will be cut. Given the extraordinary challenges that our public sector now faces—dealing with covid, the economic downturn and Brexit—can the Minister tell me why the Government have chosen to shrink the civil service at this crucial time, and will he commit to reviewing this decision?

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising that question on behalf of her constituents. We value everyone who works in the civil service. I will look at the specific cases she mentions, because we want to ensure that everyone who has talent and commitment, and who wants to serve the public, has a chance to do so. If she would be kind enough to write to me about the specific cases, I will respond as quickly as I can in support of her constituents.

Covid-19 Update

Florence Eshalomi Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd June 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly encourage customers to go to the fantastic local retailers in Rugby, and I am delighted that these measures obviate the need for the cursed one-way system that my hon. Friend describes.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall) (Lab/Co-op)]

We do welcome the restrictions being eased up, and a number of businesses across my constituency and along the south bank, including in the hospitality, leisure and cultural sectors, will see this as a step in the right direction, but it will still be hard for them. Businesses need to see detailed guidelines now. Research by the Federation of Small Businesses shows that the vast majority of small businesses say they will need to make changes in their premises for this to work, but there will be significant costs attached to that. What can the Government do to support small restaurants, cafés, hairdressers and other small businesses employing 10 or fewer people, whose balance sheets have been so impacted over the last few months, to make necessary adjustments to make their staff and customers safe?

[The Prime Minister]

As the hon. Lady knows, businesses have been eligible for £25,000 in grants. We have had 11 million people supported under the coronavirus job retention scheme and spent huge amounts of money— £26 billion in bounce-back loans alone. We will support businesses large and small for the duration of this crisis, but the best way to get all the hairdressers and nail bars—all these businesses—back on their feet as fast as possible is to make sure that we continue to depress the virus, keep it under control and keep the incidence down, and that way we will go forward. Our vision for the country is to try to get back to normality for as many as possible as fast as possible.

Local Government Finance

Florence Eshalomi Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall) (Lab/Co-op)]

I congratulate all my colleagues who have made their maiden speech today, including the hon. Member for Orpington (Mr Bacon), who is no longer here, with whom I serve on the London Assembly.

As a former councillor and a current member of the London Assembly, I am delighted to speak on an issue that is so important to us all. Local government may not be the hottest topic on everyone’s lips, but the decisions made by our councillors on local regeneration, housing, bins and potholes are important—many councillors have been taking pictures with potholes for their council websites—and they matter to the people we all represent.

Our local councils play a crucial part in all our communities and make a massive impact on our day-to-day lives, but the reality is that local government has suffered over the last 10 years under this Conservative Government and the coalition Government before them. Councils up and down the country have been crippled by budget cuts, and in Lambeth we lost over half of our core funding from central Government between 2010 and 2018. Lambeth Council has been forced to make over £200 million of savings just to make the books balance.

At the same time, the pressure on our councils has shot up. Social care has become a massive issue across the country. In Lambeth, we have also seen the number of families in temporary accommodation almost double between 2012 and 2019, at a time when the cost of housing and temporary accommodation has increased. Councils in England are spending 78% more on temporary accommodation than they did five years ago.

One of the biggest challenges we have seen in Lambeth has been the response to the Grenfell fire disaster. Lambeth has 122 medium-to-high-rise blocks and although the £600 million fund from the Government to remove dangerous cladding is welcome, that is just a small pot. The money must be spread across the entirety of the country and it will not be enough to cover the vital work to provide the fire safety improvements that residents deserve, nor will it reduce the horrific amount of time that it has taken some private block owners to remove hazardous cladding from their buildings. Councils and local authorities were not responsible for the regulatory failures that led to Grenfell, yet they are having to pick up the pieces, out of squeezed budgets, to make their areas safer. It is time for the Government to support our councils and provide the funding not just to remove dangerous cladding, but to provide other critical safety work needed in social blocks and to give powers and funding to councils to confiscate private blocks that fail to remove cladding and make their residents safe.

It is not just on the council level that the Government are failing administrations. Here in London, the Government are passing the buck to the Greater London Authority. Unfortunately, we have seen a stark rise in violent crime in the capital over the past few years. The Metropolitan police are taking the issue seriously, but they have been let down by this Government because their funding has also been cut. Thankfully we have a Mayor, in Sadiq Khan, who recognises the need for urgent funding. Just last week, he announced an increase to the City Hall precept in council tax, which will provide almost £15.7 million to fast-track the introduction of 600 new officers. I am sure all Londoners will welcome that change and I applaud our Mayor for taking that action, but why should a Labour Mayor be raising taxes to pay for a Conservative manifesto promise? If the Conservatives party wants authorities to deliver on its manifesto promises, perhaps it should give councils and authorities greater powers to raise funds through sensible borrowing for investment or through progressive taxation systems, instead of tying their legs and forcing the ideology of austerity on councils.

What links all these things is the fact that the Government continue to pass the buck on many of the issues that have a big impact on people’s day-to-day lives. It is councils that take the blame when council tax goes up but bin collections go down because our authorities have to fill the gaps left by the Government. In London, it is the Mayor who has taken the flack for increasing his council tax precept when the Government have cut the funding for the Met police since 2010. This is not bold governance; it is political opportunism, at the expense of hard-working councillors and local authorities. I urge the Government to take responsibility and give our local government bodies the funding they urgently deserve.