Communities and Local Government (CSR)
Debate between Alison Seabeck and George Hollingbery(13 years, 10 months ago)
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Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Moor View) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to speak under your chairmanship, Mr Robertson. To avoid misunderstandings, I should draw the Chamber’s attention to the entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests for the right hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Mr Raynsford), who is my partner.
I thank the right hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy) for seeking this debate, and the Backbench Business Committee for agreeing to allocate time for this extremely important matter. I commend the work of the Select Committee on Communities and Local Government, and the members of that Committee who have contributed today.
The debate has been wide ranging and well timed on the day when Manchester city council has had to announce 2,000 redundancies on the back of 1,400 job losses in Greater Manchester police as a result of the Conservative Government’s decisions—they made the decisions. We have been reminded all too clearly of the immediate relevance of the cuts to people’s lives, and to families throughout the country who will be watching the post every day for redundancy letters as the result of the cuts brought forward. I fear that Manchester will be the first of similar stories, which are tragic for the individuals and hard-working families involved.
George Hollingbery
Will the hon. Lady confirm that all the redundancies announced in Manchester today are voluntary, and that none is compulsory?