Oral Answers to Questions

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 9th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Steve Barclay]

The assessment is a sobering one. If I just take online scams as one example of cyber risk, there has been a fourfold increase from 2020, with the national cyber strategy seen as thwarting 2.7 million online scams. I am sure the hon. Member and the House will agree that this is a UK-wide threat. That is why we are working closely with the devolved Administrations and industry to look at our skills, taking both a whole of society approach and a whole of the United Kingdom approach to countering that risk.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

19. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of civil service staffing to support timely responses to correspondence from hon. Members.

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Michael Ellis)]

The Government attach great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence. Officials remain committed to providing the highest level of service. As part of our commitment to transparency, we have published data related to letters from MPs and peers answered by Government in 2021, which shows that Cabinet Office timeliness improved each quarter, with 89% of letters—89%—received from hon. Members in quarter four responded to within 20 days.

[Rachael Maskell]

To get a response: the Equalities Minister, four months; the Health Minister, often four months but can be six months; and the Defence Minister, seven months, with our staff chasing and chasing, while being on the phone for three hours, or up to five hours to UK Visas and Immigration. Behind every letter and every call our office makes is someone in need—often pressing need. We all know that this is due to capacity, so how can the Government state that they plan to cut 20% of civil servant jobs, 91,000 people, when they cannot even cope with undertaking the most basic of tasks?

[Michael Ellis]

I recognise the importance of the correspondence for those constituents who write in. It might be instructive to know that Departments have continued to receive a significantly higher volume of correspondence in 2021, mainly due to the pandemic, and that has had an impact on resource and timeliness of responses. During 2021, most Departments continued to receive a significantly higher volume of correspondence. The Department for Transport was able to answer 92% of 13,363 letters, the Ministry of Defence 88% of 3,773 letters, and the Department for International Trade 84% of 2,182 letters, within 20 days.

Sue Gray Report

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Wednesday 25th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I will continue to work productively with the Government in Scotland, as we did throughout the pandemic, not least in delivering the fastest vaccine roll-out in Europe, the furlough programme and everything else that we did together, which shows that we are stronger together.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

In response to the question put by my hon. Friend the Member for Wirral South (Alison McGovern), the Prime Minister said that he had not had time to apologise to the cleaning and security staff. Is he telling this House that Sue Gray and no official apprised him of one of the eight conclusions of this report prior to his coming to the House today—or are those staff just not his priority?

[The Prime Minister]

No, since I saw the report this morning I have not had time to identify the custodians or cleaners in question, but as I told her hon. Friend, as soon as I can, I will apologise to them in person.

Debate on the Address

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Tuesday 10th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

The bare bones of a list of Bills has now been revealed to us all by what I call a skeleton of a functioning Government. Bill titles conceal their contents and aim, and this Parliament must ensure that they address the community’s greatest needs. Distracting attention with divisive laws will not mask the deep inequality we see across our communities or the cry of the people we represent—a cry that is getting louder day by day as they are plunged into abject poverty. I will reserve judgment until I see the detail of the Bills, but I will make the case for my constituents in this debate.

In light of the economic crisis, where the few profit, and seriously profit, many of my constituents are paying, and they are seriously paying. This Queen’s Speech should have been a cost of living speech. We have heard many speeches in this place to confirm why: 4.3 million children in poverty, 2.1 million pensioners in poverty and 11 million people in our country overall in poverty—a number that, when we put in housing costs, rises to 14.5 million.

This should have been a housing Parliament debating housing measures. For York, measures on housing and planning will be the most significant. Reforming the planning system and giving residents more involvement in local development will be important. In York, after 76 years without a local plan, the inquiry has commenced. We have a serious housing crisis, but the measures I have seen coming forward from Government will not address that.

As things stand, developers and property tycoons have found ways to profit from virtually every scheme, sucking money and eventually people out of our communities while ticking Government boxes. Many people have nothing left in their pockets. For my constituents in York, housing is the greatest driver of inequality, yet a home can provide the greatest source of stability and security. The ownership generation may rest easy, but renters are at the mercy of their landlords extracting every last penny, causing house prices and rents to explode, with easy profit.

Far too often, new-build developments are luxury apartments, which no one in my community can even think of affording, for investors to buy up and Londoners to find a bolthole. Existing stock is now being hoovered up for buy-to-lets, houses in multiple occupancy and Airbnbs. Families in York are being priced out of their community and we are regressing.

The council is slow to build and the number of people now on waiting lists has tripled during my time in this place. Housing poverty is soaring. Leaseholders are becoming enslaved, renters are trapped and more and more people are forced to move away. Jobs are left vacant, with the local economy and public services understaffed and suffering. It feels as if everything is spiralling down and imploding. The system is broken and Ministers know it, but they need to put in place the frameworks to repair it—something Labour would do if we were in power now.

Local plans are nothing if they are not prescriptive, especially regarding the tenure of housing that is needed. People and planning are not two separate entities, but must be together in one united purpose. Take short-term holiday lets and Airbnbs: we must leave this Parliament with regulation on them, and I will do all I can to secure that.

Imagine a beautiful city such as York, which I have the privilege of representing, now prey to the weekend stags and hens chasing local families out of our city centre, with tourists leaving in disgust. The city then spews out the crowds into our communities; every street fears the arrival of a party house, an Airbnb or a short-term let. We have 1,785 of them in my constituency alone and the number is rising sharply. That is why the legislation is so crucial.

For some, the parties and antisocial behaviour are there all weekend, every weekend. These were once family streets, but no longer. Residents must live with the misery or sell up, and when they move, guess what happens to their home? Then comes a string of party houses, hosting maybe 30 guests, turning up the volume. Investors are buying up York’s housing stock where local families should reside. It is easy money. It denies local people a chance to live in their city, work in their city and contribute to their city, pushing up house market prices even further; in York Central alone they have increased by 29% since July 2019. That is destroying my community.

These are not individuals letting out a spare room; they are organised businesses that are not paying their way through council tax or business rates. It is completely unregulated. That is why legislation, however we can find a way, must address this crisis. The Government need to get a grip on that, and not just register but license these places. There must be regulations for councils to license all current and future Airbnbs and short lets, with full powers to refuse them or fine them for noise, as they do in Nice; restrictions on ownership and how long they can be let for, as in London, and on how a licence can be revoked; a doubling of council tax, as in Wales; and a right to place a blanket ban on certain communities, all with a licence fee to cover costs. That must be a major focus, or else my community will be destroyed—not just the community but the economy too.

We all know that this is not just about party homes; landlords are also converting family homes into HMOs, and then very rapidly into Airbnbs. Those should demand full planning, with proper community engagement—I will be interested to see what the Government’s proposals are—and then licensing, with no weakening of permitted development rights. Local authorities must have the right to refuse. In some student areas, streets no longer have a mix of residents and communities are dying. Better regulation will bring better stability.

As for standards in the private rented sector, I welcome today’s announcement to strengthen the rights of tenants and ensure better-quality, safer homes, but I want to see the detail. We need to up the stability of homes and the sustainability of homes. Minimum levels of energy efficiency need to rise. That is why Labour’s programme to retrofit 10 million homes is needed right now. Things like infestations and damp—issues that come across my desk so often—must be able to be assessed by people inspecting these homes. We need a register of landlords, an inspectorate and enforcement. If landlords break the law, they should lose their right to rent on any of their properties—plain and simple.

However, we cannot talk about standards if we do not talk about rents. Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 must be repealed. Its abuse is now widespread as it enables private landlords to repossess their properties from assured shorthold tenants without having to establish fault on the part of the tenants. No-fault evictions are seen as a way of getting more rent from their next tenants. However, with rents going through the roof as available properties are disappearing and with house prices rising so fast, landlords are simply able to name their price. That needs rent controls. Local authorities should be able to demand rent controls in places where housing costs are out of control. Leasehold properties are also dominating new build. Leaseholders need protection. As we have heard, leaseholds need to be something of the past, with people now paying extortionate amounts for services which, if needed, could be delivered locally for far less. Ending the leasehold model is crucial.

All this comes back to planning and good housing legislation. We must protect our current stock and build to meet local need. If it is in the hands of this Parliament to stop the extraction model, to stop evictions and exploitation, and to protect the existing stock and build a new generation for local people to have a safe and secure home, that would be a job well done by this Government. I fear that we will not get to that point, as our communities are under such pressure: food, energy and now shelter—the basic things that everyone should have as of right—are being stripped away. I want to see the Government’s response in the fine detail of that legislation, and I will be scrutinising it, because my community deserves so much better. The Government carry a heavy weight in this Parliament, and I trust that they will listen carefully and ensure that our communities are left stronger, safer and more sustainable.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Wednesday 20th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[Alok Sharma]

At COP26, all countries agreed to phase down the use of coal domestically, and we will continue to urge them to deliver on that commitment. As a result of the current energy security and pricing issues, I do believe that we will see an acceleration of renewables and clean energy capacity globally.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

T2. To keep the hope of 1.5° alive, 28 billion tonnes of emissions need to be taken out by 2030. What steps is the right hon. Gentleman taking to advance green new deals such as the BioYorkshire project so that they can get on and bring that new technology forward?

[Alok Sharma]

As the hon. Lady will know, the Government are providing a significant amount of investment in new technologies, and, as I referenced in an earlier response, the contracts for difference auction process is one very good way of doing that.

Living with Covid-19

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Monday 21st February 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I can certainly assure my hon. Friend that we will retain that capacity.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

In order to have good surveillance, the Prime Minister will need data; in order to get that data, he will need testing, particularly for looking at future variants of the virus. Can he explain where he will get that data to trace the future mutations of covid?

[The Prime Minister]

That is exactly what the ONS survey does.

Sue Gray Report

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Monday 31st January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

No.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Today should have been about contrition and remorse, but it seems that the Prime Minister does not understand the meaning of “sorry”; instead, it has insulted the people who have suffered and sacrificed for the last two years. One question many people want to know is: who is paying for these investigations—the police and Sue Gray’s report—and who is paying for his legal advice? Is it the taxpayer?

[The Prime Minister]

I must say I think the hon. Member is wrong in what she says. As for who is covering the police costs, the police are covering the police costs.

Covid-19 Update

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Wednesday 19th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes. My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and that is why we gave another £300 million of funding this December.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Now is not the time for complacency—1,000 people have died over the past week; 438 just yesterday. I am also concerned at complacency about putting everything into the vaccine. I really do encourage everyone to get vaccinated, but according to the Government’s own figures, the depletion rate of the efficacy of the booster vaccine is between 40% and 50% after 10 weeks. So what happens then? What are the next steps, and is it really worth sacking NHS staff for that?

[The Prime Minister]

I totally support what the hon. Lady says about combating apathy. I do think that apathy is our foe now, particularly among people who think that the variant is so mild that they do not need to get vaccinated. As the hon. Member for Ealing North (James Murray) was saying, people need to get their first dose and their second dose, and they need to get their booster.

Covid-19 Update

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Wednesday 5th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman is not right, because there are many reasons why NHS staff are sadly absent, but an inability to get testing kits is not one of them. They have access to the NHS supply, and to community supplies as well.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Letting covid rip through our communities has come at a serious cost, placing new burdens on business and putting more risk in our health and care system, along with unnecessary risks to lives. In York, infection rates are on a par with London, and are still rising sharply. Can the Prime Minister explain not only why tests have been rationed but why there is a doubling of the contact tracing time released to our local authorities, delaying the vital opportunity to lock down the virus quickly?

[The Prime Minister]

I know that the hon. Lady is pro-lockdown, but I do not think that that is the right way forward. We are taking a balanced and proportionate approach, and that is what this country is going to do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 25th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sally-Ann Hart (Hastings and Rye) (Con)]

1. What progress the Government have made in delivering civil service jobs outside London.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

7. What progress he is making on relocating civil service jobs from London.

[James Daly (Bury North) (Con)]

14. What progress the Government have made in delivering civil service jobs outside London.

--- Later in debate ---

[Steve Barclay]

The tests to which my hon. Friend refers do not assess political beliefs; they are focused on reasoning ability in relation to verbal and numerical skills. However, the point she raises is addressed through the Places for Growth programme, which, by recruiting civil servants in larger numbers from across the whole of the United Kingdom, will facilitate far greater diversity through our recruitment.

[Rachael Maskell]

York has been promised many jobs, including the House of Lords—remember that one?—a northern government hub, a conference centre, and now 600—or is it 200?—new Cabinet Office jobs, but nothing has materialised; it seems like chaos. Will the Minister meet me to talk about the potential of York Central and how this incredible opportunity could best be used to strategically serve the purposes and functions of government as well as my city of York?

[Steve Barclay]

I am a little surprised by that, because the Government are committed to York. The hon. Lady has already, along with other colleagues, made the case successfully. Not least, the Cabinet Office itself is committed to increasing its presence from about 400 to 600 in York. We are committed to York through Places for Growth, and I hope she would celebrate that.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

It will have to come at the end of the questions session.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

T3. Let me return to the subject of York Central. When the Government are looking at strategic sites, cross-departmental work is important, but it is not happening across my constituency, and people are therefore viewing their interests in a silo rather than in a co-ordinated way. Will the Minister meet me to discuss the opportunity that the York Central development will provide for my city as well as the Government, to ensure that the site comes forward in the most strategic way possible and provides the jobs that the city urgently needs?

[Steve Barclay]

I can add to what I said in my earlier answer to the hon. Lady. I agree with her about the importance of York, and I also agree with her wider point. It is not simply a case of one Department moving to York; what is key—and this is one of the lessons that we learnt from previous initiatives of Governments—is the ability to build a career in a location, and that requires a number of opportunities. For example, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is also considering placing 190 roles in York.

Now that the spending review has ended, there will be an opportunity to finalise departmental plans and see which other Departments can coalesce in York, but it is not only a question of Departments. I urge the hon. Lady to bear in mind arms’ length bodies that are often responsible for operational delivery across Government and are often located predominantly in London. Both Departments and arms’ length bodies will have the opportunity to consider how they might come together in areas such as York.

COP26

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Monday 15th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his plug for the Huddersfield-Penistone-Sheffield line. As he knows, I am a passionate enthusiast for new rail schemes, and he will be hearing a lot more in the integrated rail plan later this week.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Prime Minister was sent to Glasgow to keep 1.5 alive, and left it in intensive care. A year ago he committed himself to the BioYorkshire project, Yorkshire’s green new deal, but in a year not a penny or a green new deal job has been delivered. Will he turn his words into action and support the green new deal?

[The Prime Minister]

I do not think that any Government in history have done more to support green technology and green jobs across the whole country. As I just said to the hon. Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Deidre Brock), we are creating 440,000 new jobs as a result of the investments we are making. We are transforming the UK, including Yorkshire, with a green industrial revolution, and that is how we are going to continue.