Business of the House
Liz McInnes Excerpts(6 years, 5 months ago)
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Andrea Leadsom
My hon. Friend is raising an important point. The Boundary Commissions for England, Scotland and Wales published revised proposals for constituencies on 17 October, and the consultation does not end until 11 December. He is right to raise this issue in this place and to encourage more respondents to come forward before the closure.
Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)
Last month, I met my constituents Margaret and Richard in Parliament at an event organised by CRY—Cardiac Risk in the Young. Sadly, the reason they were there is that they lost their son, Tom Hardman, a talented local cricketer who died of sudden cardiac death. May we have a debate in Government time on the work done by CRY and how we might prevent the 600 such deaths every year?
Andrea Leadsom
I am so sorry to hear about that tragic case; and, as the hon. Lady says, there are too many of them—600 cases a year. It is right to raise these issues in this Chamber and I encourage her to seek an Adjournment debate on this.
Independent Complaints and Grievance Policy
Liz McInnes Excerpts(6 years, 6 months ago)
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Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)
Will the Leader of the House confirm that the helpline will be available not just to those who work in Parliament, but to everyone who works for an MP, such as non-pass holders, those working in constituency offices and, importantly, those who do not have access to parliamentary emails?
Business of the House
Liz McInnes Excerpts(6 years, 6 months ago)
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Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)
Will the Leader of the House inform the House when the results of the consultation on the penalties for causing death by dangerous driving will come before Parliament and be enshrined in law?
Sexual Harassment in Parliament
Liz McInnes Excerpts(6 years, 6 months ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
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Andrea Leadsom
As a constituency MP myself, I am certainly aware that some trade unions have done excellent work in protecting their members from bullying at work, and in doing so they fulfil a vital role. As for how we should go about resolving our own House issues, I incline towards a two-House solution. I think that there should be an independent grievance procedure, allowing anyone to make any allegations about bullying, intimidation, sexually inappropriate behaviour and so on, rather than separate streams of activity.
Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)
Will the Leader of the House consider providing assertiveness training for staff, so that they may be better equipped to decide for themselves what constitutes good-humoured high jinks and what constitutes sexual harassment?
Andrea Leadsom
That is a very good suggestion, and I would certainly support it. Such courses are often made available, and individual Members can choose to send staff on them. I myself have sent staff for assertiveness training. Another Member raised the issue of training for Members of Parliament in how to treat their staff, and I think that that has equal merit. All these suggestions should be up for discussion.
Business of the House
Liz McInnes Excerpts(6 years, 8 months ago)
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Andrea Leadsom
This is a very important subject that we try to address as a Government to do all we can to help people to end their addictions. It is absolutely vital that we do that. The Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 was designed to ensure that we can get on top of new addictive substances as they emerge. The hon. Gentleman is right to raise this point. I am sure that the Government will respond to the report as soon as we can.
Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)
This morning, the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, the hon. Member for Truro and Falmouth (Sarah Newton), informed me that my constituents were very satisfied with the service they were receiving from Greater Manchester police. Sadly, nothing could be further from the truth. My constituents regularly contact me about their fears and concerns for their safety, from the lack of visible policing to difficulties with the 101 system. May we have an urgent debate on funding and resources for Greater Manchester police?
Business of the House
Liz McInnes Excerpts(6 years, 10 months ago)
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Andrea Leadsom
I am incredibly sympathetic to the hon. Gentleman’s point. There have been some pretty awful examples of the behaviour of debt management companies. I am not familiar with the specific case, but I encourage him to take it up with the Financial Conduct Authority, which has responsibility for looking at some of these issues.
Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)
One of the many casualties of the recent general election has been the Government’s consultation on sentences and penalties for those causing death by dangerous driving. The consultation finished on 1 February 2017, and my attempts to find out the results have been met with evasive non-answers. May we have a statement on the progress of that consultation?
Andrea Leadsom
The hon. Lady raises an important point, and I will certainly look into it. If I may, I will write with any information I am able to give her.