Alan Johnson

Labour - Former Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle

First elected: 1st May 1997

Left House: 3rd May 2017 (General Election)


Alan Johnson is not a member of any APPGs
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
8th Oct 2010 - 20th Jan 2011
Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
12th May 2010 - 8th Oct 2010
Home Secretary
6th Jun 2009 - 6th May 2010
Secretary of State for Health
28th Jun 2007 - 5th Jun 2009
Secretary of State for Education and Skills
5th May 2006 - 28th Jun 2007
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
6th May 2005 - 5th May 2006
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
9th Sep 2004 - 6th May 2005
Minister of State (Education and Skills) (Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education)
13th Jun 2003 - 9th Sep 2004
Minister of State (Employment Relations, Industry & the Regions)
11th Jun 2001 - 13th Jun 2003
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Trade and Industry)
29th Jul 1999 - 7th Jun 2001
Trade & Industry
9th Jul 1997 - 19th Feb 1998
Member, Labour Party National Executive Committee
1st Aug 1995 - 1st Aug 1997


Division Voting information

Alan Johnson has voted in 1680 divisions, and 8 times against the majority of their Party.

2 Dec 2015 - ISIL in Syria - View Vote Context
Alan Johnson voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 56 Labour No votes vs 139 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 211 Noes - 390
2 Dec 2015 - ISIL in Syria - View Vote Context
Alan Johnson voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 65 Labour Aye votes vs 153 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 397 Noes - 223
24 Nov 2010 - Bookmakers and Planning (Haringey) - View Vote Context
Alan Johnson voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 6 Labour Aye votes vs 211 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 338 Noes - 216
24 Nov 2010 - Bookmakers and Planning (Haringey) - View Vote Context
Alan Johnson voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 14 Labour No votes vs 204 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 520 Noes - 27
2 Mar 2009 - Political Parties and Elections Bill - View Vote Context
Alan Johnson voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 93 Labour No votes vs 155 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 235 Noes - 176
7 Mar 2007 - House of Lords Reform - View Vote Context
Alan Johnson voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 126 Labour Aye votes vs 184 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 155 Noes - 418
7 Mar 2007 - House of Lords Reform - View Vote Context
Alan Johnson voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 132 Labour Aye votes vs 177 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 178 Noes - 392
7 Mar 2007 - House of Lords Reform - View Vote Context
Alan Johnson voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 156 Labour Aye votes vs 157 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 305 Noes - 267
View All Alan Johnson Division Votes

All Debates

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Theresa May (Conservative)
(49 debate interactions)
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Conservative)
Foreign Secretary
(19 debate interactions)
George Osborne (Conservative)
(19 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Home Office
(101 debate contributions)
Department of Health and Social Care
(44 debate contributions)
HM Treasury
(39 debate contributions)
Cabinet Office
(21 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Alan Johnson has not made any spoken contributions to legislative debate
View all Alan Johnson's debates

Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petitions with highest Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle signature proportion
Petitions with most Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle signatures
Alan Johnson has not participated in any petition debates

Latest EDMs signed by Alan Johnson

17th November 2016
Alan Johnson signed this EDM on Tuesday 14th March 2017

DISABLED STUDENTS ALLOWANCE SCHEME

Tabled by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
That this House notes the importance of the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) scheme for disabled people in Higher Education and the beneficial effect it has on recipients' academic achievements; acknowledges that DSA is associated with improved degree qualifications that result in significantly increased earnings; condemns the Government's reform of DSA, …
33 signatures
(Most recent: 14 Mar 2017)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 13
Scottish National Party: 12
Democratic Unionist Party: 3
Independent: 2
Ulster Unionist Party: 2
Social Democratic & Labour Party: 1
Liberal Democrat: 1
20th February 2017
Alan Johnson signed this EDM on Monday 6th March 2017

EDUCATION: STUDENTS FEES, AWARDS AND SUPPORT

Tabled by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Education (Student Fees, Awards and Support) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 (S.I.,2017, No. 114), dated 7 February 2017, a copy of which was laid before this House on 9 February, be annulled.
93 signatures
(Most recent: 25 Apr 2017)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 76
Independent: 6
Scottish National Party: 5
Social Democratic & Labour Party: 2
Liberal Democrat: 2
Non-affiliated: 1
Green Party: 1
Ulster Unionist Party: 1
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
View All Alan Johnson's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Alan Johnson, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


Alan Johnson has not been granted any Urgent Questions

4 Adjournment Debates led by Alan Johnson

Thursday 17th July 2014
Thursday 1st March 2012
Wednesday 2nd March 2011

Alan Johnson has not introduced any legislation before Parliament

Alan Johnson has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 31 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
2 Other Department Questions
1st Jul 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, in light of the collapse of Comet and the recent industrial tribunal ruling on employee compensation, what plans he has to issue guidance on the law relating to the role of administrators in consulting employees regarding redundancy.

I will be looking at the employment tribunal ruling in the Comet case, and its consequences, carefully. As the appeal period has yet to elapse, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage.

27th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he expects the report from the Insolvency Service into the collapse of Comet to be published.

The Insolvency Service's fact-finding inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the insolvency of Comet Group Ltd is being conducted under section 447 of the Companies Act. Publication of the findings of such investigations is prohibited by law although when an inquiry results in the winding up of the company, or the prosecution or disqualification of its directors, this is publicised.

21st Mar 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when the Government plans to implement its policy of providing three days' paid volunteering leave for employees of large organisations.

The Government will be setting out plans for taking this policy forward in due course.

9th Feb 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) have been made in the last two years; how many such arrangements have been renegotiated due to a change in circumstances; and for what reasons those CVAs have been unsuccessful.

The number of company voluntary arrangements for the calendar years 2014 and 2015 is shown in the table below.

Total Number of Company Voluntary Arrangements in the UK, 2014 – 2015

Company Voluntary Arrangements

Year

England & Wales

Scotland

Northern Ireland

Total

2014

552

14

37

603

2015 (e)

357

4

35

396

Total

909

18

72

999

Source:

Insolvency Statistics: October to December 2015

Notes:

(e) = estimated

The Insolvency Service analysed individual records filed at Companies House, in respect of a sample of 53 CVA proceedings which commenced in 2012/13. This analysis showed that, by summer 2015, around 60 per cent had been unsuccessful under the original terms of the arrangement (including those that were renegotiated). No information was collected on the reasons behind the CVA being unsuccessful.

.

27th Nov 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding her Department plans to allocate for specialist services for kinship carers in the period to March 2019.

We will set the Department’s individual budgets as part of the internal business planning process. We will announce the future of specific programmes in due course.

10th Jun 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans reductions in spending on education and training for 16 to 19 year olds in order to implement the decision announced on 4 June 2015 to reduce the funding of her Department.

The savings announced by the Chancellor will come from a variety of measures including expected departmental underspends in demand-led budgets, efficiencies and some small budgetary reductions.

29th Jan 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked-after children in each local authority were in a foster care placement on 31 March (a) 2013 and (b) 2014; how many such children in each local authority were in a foster care placement with a relative or friend (i) inside and (ii) outside the authority boundary on each date; how many such children in each local authority were under (A) an interim and (B) a full court order on each date; and how many such children in each local authority area were looked after under a voluntary agreement under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 on each such date.

The number of children looked after in foster placements at 31 March 2014 is published in Table LAA3 of the ‘Children looked after, including adoption’ statistical first release.[1]

The further breakdowns requested are not published at local authority level but have been provided and placed in the House Library.

[1] www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption--2

28th Oct 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked-after children in each local authority were in a foster care placement on 31 March (a) 2008, (b) 2010, (c) 2013 and (d) 2014; how many such children in each local authority were in a foster care placement with a relative or friend (i) inside and (ii) outside the authority boundary on each of those dates; how many such children in each local authority were under (A) an interim and (B) a full court order on each of those dates; and how many such children in each local authority area were looked after under a voluntary agreement under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 on each of those dates.

Data for 2008, 2010 and 2013 has been placed in the Library. Data for 2014 will be published in December 2014.

28th Oct 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked-after children in England also have a sibling in care; and how many looked-after children in England are (a) living with at least one of their siblings and (b) not living with any of their siblings.

The data requested is not held centrally.

8th Dec 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much British-grown wheat, of each grade type was (a) exported and (b) to which countries in the past five years for which figures are available.

According to HMRC trade data, the UK exported 7.4 million tonnes of common unmilled wheat to 54 countries over the last five years (2011-2015).

The top five countries accounted for approximately four fifths of these exports:

  1. Spain – 2 million tonnes
  2. Netherlands – 2 million tonnes
  3. Portugal – 0.7 million tonnes
  4. Irish Republic – 0.5 million tonnes
  5. Algeria – 0.4 million tonnes

HMRC trade data does not separately identify wheat by grade i.e. bread, biscuits etc. It is publically available (free of charge) at: www.uktradeinfo.com.

8th Dec 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much cattle feed has been imported to the UK in the last five years; what proportion of the total amount was soya products; and from which countries those imports came.

According to HMRC trade data, the UK imported 28 million tonnes of animal feed[1] from 94 countries over the last five years (2011-2015). Approximately one third of these imports were soya based.

The top ten countries accounted for approximately four fifths of these imports:

  1. Argentina
  2. Netherlands
  3. U.S.A.
  4. Irish Republic
  5. France
  6. Indonesia
  7. Brazil
  8. Germany
  9. Malaysia

Ukraine

[1] HMRC trade data does not separately identify imports of cattle feed. Therefore these figures relate to imports of all animal feed.

13th Jan 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on the A63 Castle Street Improvement Scheme.

The Highways Agency has continued to liaise with Hull City Council regarding the Princes Quay footbridge and other aspects of the scheme, in order to inform the development of the design.

In addition, they have continued to develop the traffic modelling required to inform aspects of the environmental and economic assessments. Further work has also been carried out in preparation for the ground investigation works in the Trinity Burial Ground, which will start shortly.

17th Jan 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the NHS Clinical Evaluation Team plans to make of manufacturers' feedback in the product review process.

Any feedback received from key stakeholders, including manufacturers, is reviewed as and when it is received by the clinical specialist lead and will be considered as part of the product review process.

17th Jan 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the NHS Business Services Authority has taken to provide right of appeal by patients and industry as part of the NHS Clinical Evaluation Team's process to review NHS products.

The Clinical Evaluation Team is not seeking to establish a set of standards for products, nor does it purport to make any recommendations for the National Health Service to use (or not use) particular products. Suppliers are to be given the opportunity to review the Clinical Evaluation Team’s reviews for their product(s) at least 72 hours in advance of publication so that any factual and material errors can be rectified. Any concerns expressed will be given appropriate consideration.

17th Jan 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what account the NHS Business Services Authority plans to take in its decision-making on the future procurement of NHS products of results from NHS Clinical Evaluation Teams.

Information from the Clinical Evaluation Team will be used by NHS Business Services Authority to support development of procurement strategy.

17th Jan 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria are used to review NHS products by the NHS Clinical Evaluation Team.

Clinical criteria will vary dependent upon the product range to be reviewed. The Clinical Evaluation Team has published an operating manual which explains the process of developing defined clinical quality criteria for each product group and is described in stage 4 of their pathway, as set out on pages 23 - 24 of the operating manual.

16th Jan 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether manufacturers will see evaluation reports and comparative summaries of products reviewed by the NHS Clinical Evaluation Team before they are made publicly available.

Suppliers will be provided with copies of the Clinical Evaluation Team’s evaluation reports on their products at least 72 hours before the publication date in order to give them the opportunity to correct factual inaccuracies and errors about their products. After taking into consideration any such factual inaccuracies and errors notified by suppliers, the Clinical Evaluation Team will then publish the final report containing all products assessed on its website.

16th Jan 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the NHS Business Services Authority is taking to ensure that the criteria for the review of NHS products by the NHS Clinical Evaluation Team are made public to patients and industry.

The Clinical Evaluation Team has published an operating manual, entitled “NHS Clinical Evaluation Team: Operating Manual” which can be found on the Clinical Evaluation Team’s section of NHS Business Services Authority website:

www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/CET

This manual explains the process of developing the clinical criteria for each product group.

16th Jan 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons manufacturers have been given 72 hours to comment on the draft assessment results of their products as part of the NHS Clinical Evaluation Team's process to review NHS products; and whether this is considered best practice.

The Clinical Evaluation Team considered that in order for the team to be acting reasonably it should give suppliers the opportunity to correct factual inaccuracies and errors about their products before the team published their reports. The Clinical Evaluation Team considered that a minimum period of 72 hours ahead of publication would be a reasonable period for suppliers to alert the team to any such factual and material errors or mistakes that may have been made against those reviews. This minimum period is a starting point for suppliers and the team may give suppliers more time if in the circumstances it is reasonable to do so.

3rd Nov 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many families have received compensation and of what value in cases where a deaf child has received an incorrect diagnosis from NHS audiology services in the last five years.

The information is not routinely collected centrally.

22nd Mar 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has spent on sending out information on the Right to Buy scheme to people who are not housing association or council tenants.

The Department is committed to ensuring eligible council and housing association tenants have up-to-date information about their Right to Buy, so they can make an informed decision as to whether it is the right choice for them. A direct marketing campaign, to social housing tenants who could be eligible for the scheme, has proved a very effective way to reach them with this information.

Total spend on direct marketing from 2012 is £280,773 in 2012/13, £334,163 in 2013/14, £329,165 in 23014/15 and £195,757 to date in 2015/16. The 2015/16 figure does not include final costs for the most recent wave of direct marketing that took place in February 2016.

24th Nov 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will ensure that the National Cremation Working Group assesses the potential merits of changes to policy arising from the loss of the ashes of Jake, the son of Jenni Murray in 2002.

The Secretary of State recently met Diana Johnson MP and her constituent Tina Trowhill whose Action for Ashes Hull organisation represents parents in Hull. The Secretary of State expressed her deepest sympathy for all the parents who had not had their infants’ ashes returned to them after cremation and explained the government’s position.

The government is supportive of local investigations into historic infant cremation practices but does not plan to order such inquiries in Hull or elsewhere. Our clear priority since we received the Emstrey report in June 2015 has been to put measures in place across England and Wales to prevent such distressing infant cremation practice ever happening again. That is why we held a consultation which closed in March, announced our proposals in light of consultation responses in July, introduced a new statutory definition of ashes in October and have put in place a National Cremation Working Group of experts which is now advising us on more complex regulations and new statutory forms which will come into effect in 2017. The Working Group, which includes Action for Ashes Hull, will also assist us in developing new codes of practice, training and information for bereaved families.

Hull City Council has assured us that it has provided the information that it holds to all bereaved parents who have approached it about their babies’ cremations. This includes Jenni Murray, Angela Hughes and Louise Walker.

24th Nov 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will take steps to support an inquiry by Hull City Council into the loss of the ashes of Angela Hughes' son, Reece, in 1996.

The Secretary of State recently met Diana Johnson MP and her constituent Tina Trowhill whose Action for Ashes Hull organisation represents parents in Hull. The Secretary of State expressed her deepest sympathy for all the parents who had not had their infants’ ashes returned to them after cremation and explained the government’s position.

The government is supportive of local investigations into historic infant cremation practices but does not plan to order such inquiries in Hull or elsewhere. Our clear priority since we received the Emstrey report in June 2015 has been to put measures in place across England and Wales to prevent such distressing infant cremation practice ever happening again. That is why we held a consultation which closed in March, announced our proposals in light of consultation responses in July, introduced a new statutory definition of ashes in October and have put in place a National Cremation Working Group of experts which is now advising us on more complex regulations and new statutory forms which will come into effect in 2017. The Working Group, which includes Action for Ashes Hull, will also assist us in developing new codes of practice, training and information for bereaved families.

Hull City Council has assured us that it has provided the information that it holds to all bereaved parents who have approached it about their babies’ cremations. This includes Jenni Murray, Angela Hughes and Louise Walker.

24th Nov 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will take steps to support an inquiry by Hull City Council into the loss of the ashes of Louise Medlam's daughter, Chloe, in 1996.

The Secretary of State recently met Diana Johnson MP and her constituent Tina Trowhill whose Action for Ashes Hull organisation represents parents in Hull. The Secretary of State expressed her deepest sympathy for all the parents who had not had their infants’ ashes returned to them after cremation and explained the government’s position.

The government is supportive of local investigations into historic infant cremation practices but does not plan to order such inquiries in Hull or elsewhere. Our clear priority since we received the Emstrey report in June 2015 has been to put measures in place across England and Wales to prevent such distressing infant cremation practice ever happening again. That is why we held a consultation which closed in March, announced our proposals in light of consultation responses in July, introduced a new statutory definition of ashes in October and have put in place a National Cremation Working Group of experts which is now advising us on more complex regulations and new statutory forms which will come into effect in 2017. The Working Group, which includes Action for Ashes Hull, will also assist us in developing new codes of practice, training and information for bereaved families.

Hull City Council has assured us that it has provided the information that it holds to all bereaved parents who have approached it about their babies’ cremations. This includes Jenni Murray, Angela Hughes and Louise Walker.

24th Nov 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will ensure that the National Cremation Working Group assesses the potential merits of changes to policy arising from the loss of the ashes of Reece, the son of Angela Hughes, in 1996.

The Secretary of State recently met Diana Johnson MP and her constituent Tina Trowhill whose Action for Ashes Hull organisation represents parents in Hull. The Secretary of State expressed her deepest sympathy for all the parents who had not had their infants’ ashes returned to them after cremation and explained the government’s position.

The government is supportive of local investigations into historic infant cremation practices but does not plan to order such inquiries in Hull or elsewhere. Our clear priority since we received the Emstrey report in June 2015 has been to put measures in place across England and Wales to prevent such distressing infant cremation practice ever happening again. That is why we held a consultation which closed in March, announced our proposals in light of consultation responses in July, introduced a new statutory definition of ashes in October and have put in place a National Cremation Working Group of experts which is now advising us on more complex regulations and new statutory forms which will come into effect in 2017. The Working Group, which includes Action for Ashes Hull, will also assist us in developing new codes of practice, training and information for bereaved families.

Hull City Council has assured us that it has provided the information that it holds to all bereaved parents who have approached it about their babies’ cremations. This includes Jenni Murray, Angela Hughes and Louise Walker.

24th Nov 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will meet the constituent of the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Angela Hughes, to discuss the loss of the ashes of her son, Reece, in 1996.

The Secretary of State recently met Diana Johnson MP and her constituent Tina Trowhill whose Action for Ashes Hull organisation represents parents in Hull. The Secretary of State expressed her deepest sympathy for all the parents who had not had their infants’ ashes returned to them after cremation and explained the government’s position.

The government is supportive of local investigations into historic infant cremation practices but does not plan to order such inquiries in Hull or elsewhere. Our clear priority since we received the Emstrey report in June 2015 has been to put measures in place across England and Wales to prevent such distressing infant cremation practice ever happening again. That is why we held a consultation which closed in March, announced our proposals in light of consultation responses in July, introduced a new statutory definition of ashes in October and have put in place a National Cremation Working Group of experts which is now advising us on more complex regulations and new statutory forms which will come into effect in 2017. The Working Group, which includes Action for Ashes Hull, will also assist us in developing new codes of practice, training and information for bereaved families.

Hull City Council has assured us that it has provided the information that it holds to all bereaved parents who have approached it about their babies’ cremations. This includes Jenni Murray, Angela Hughes and Louise Walker.

24th Nov 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will meet the constituent of the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Louise Medlam, to discuss the loss of the ashes of her daughter, Chloe, in 1996.

The Secretary of State recently met Diana Johnson MP and her constituent Tina Trowhill whose Action for Ashes Hull organisation represents parents in Hull. The Secretary of State expressed her deepest sympathy for all the parents who had not had their infants’ ashes returned to them after cremation and explained the government’s position.

The government is supportive of local investigations into historic infant cremation practices but does not plan to order such inquiries in Hull or elsewhere. Our clear priority since we received the Emstrey report in June 2015 has been to put measures in place across England and Wales to prevent such distressing infant cremation practice ever happening again. That is why we held a consultation which closed in March, announced our proposals in light of consultation responses in July, introduced a new statutory definition of ashes in October and have put in place a National Cremation Working Group of experts which is now advising us on more complex regulations and new statutory forms which will come into effect in 2017. The Working Group, which includes Action for Ashes Hull, will also assist us in developing new codes of practice, training and information for bereaved families.

Hull City Council has assured us that it has provided the information that it holds to all bereaved parents who have approached it about their babies’ cremations. This includes Jenni Murray, Angela Hughes and Louise Walker.

24th Nov 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will take steps to support an inquiry by Hull City Council into the loss of the ashes of Jenni Murray's son, Jake, in 2002.

The Secretary of State recently met Diana Johnson MP and her constituent Tina Trowhill whose Action for Ashes Hull organisation represents parents in Hull. The Secretary of State expressed her deepest sympathy for all the parents who had not had their infants’ ashes returned to them after cremation and explained the government’s position.

The government is supportive of local investigations into historic infant cremation practices but does not plan to order such inquiries in Hull or elsewhere. Our clear priority since we received the Emstrey report in June 2015 has been to put measures in place across England and Wales to prevent such distressing infant cremation practice ever happening again. That is why we held a consultation which closed in March, announced our proposals in light of consultation responses in July, introduced a new statutory definition of ashes in October and have put in place a National Cremation Working Group of experts which is now advising us on more complex regulations and new statutory forms which will come into effect in 2017. The Working Group, which includes Action for Ashes Hull, will also assist us in developing new codes of practice, training and information for bereaved families.

Hull City Council has assured us that it has provided the information that it holds to all bereaved parents who have approached it about their babies’ cremations. This includes Jenni Murray, Angela Hughes and Louise Walker.

24th Nov 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will meet the constituent of the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Jenni Murray, to discuss the loss of the ashes of her son, Jake, in 2002.

The Secretary of State recently met Diana Johnson MP and her constituent Tina Trowhill whose Action for Ashes Hull organisation represents parents in Hull. The Secretary of State expressed her deepest sympathy for all the parents who had not had their infants’ ashes returned to them after cremation and explained the government’s position.

The government is supportive of local investigations into historic infant cremation practices but does not plan to order such inquiries in Hull or elsewhere. Our clear priority since we received the Emstrey report in June 2015 has been to put measures in place across England and Wales to prevent such distressing infant cremation practice ever happening again. That is why we held a consultation which closed in March, announced our proposals in light of consultation responses in July, introduced a new statutory definition of ashes in October and have put in place a National Cremation Working Group of experts which is now advising us on more complex regulations and new statutory forms which will come into effect in 2017. The Working Group, which includes Action for Ashes Hull, will also assist us in developing new codes of practice, training and information for bereaved families.

Hull City Council has assured us that it has provided the information that it holds to all bereaved parents who have approached it about their babies’ cremations. This includes Jenni Murray, Angela Hughes and Louise Walker.