Business of the House

Andrew Western Excerpts

Thursday 9th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for giving a plug to Linda Catling. I will have to google her knitted speed camera post box toppers—they sound very interesting indeed—and we send our best to her. I also thank my hon. Friend for raising such an important point. As she will know, one of the Bills that we announced in the King’s Speech will hopefully lead to much greater road safety in years to come, and I hope she will support that Bill as it makes its way through the House.

[Andrew Western (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

Last weekend, the Home Secretary turned her damaging and divisive rhetoric on the homeless, describing homelessness as a “lifestyle choice” and suggesting that her Government should prioritise stripping homeless people of their tents and fining the charities that provide them with that shelter. Although I am relieved that this disgraceful proposal did not make it into the King’s Speech, could I ask the Leader of the House to take this opportunity to apologise for her colleague’s callous remarks?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I have already given some statistics on this Government’s record on tackling homelessness, in terms of finance and how many people we have prevented from becoming homeless. Our Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 has already ensured that more than 6,000 people have been prevented from becoming homeless. I am here to answer for the Government’s record and the Government’s agenda, and I have.