Oral Answers to Questions
Bill Esterson Excerpts(2 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)
The Prime Minister (Keir Starmer)
I know the whole House will want to congratulate our Team GB Olympic and Paralympic athletes and support staff for their outstanding achievements so far.
Yesterday’s incident in the channel was shocking and deeply tragic, and our thoughts are with all those who have lost their life, and their families. We must have a renewed determination to end this.
The chair of the Grenfell Tower inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, has today published the inquiry’s phase 2 report. I know that the thoughts of the whole House will be with the bereaved and the survivors of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, and the residents in the immediate community. I will make a statement shortly after PMQs today.
This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later.
Bill Esterson
I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s remarks about the loss of life in the channel, and about Grenfell.
The latest suicide figures are a sobering reminder of the misery caused by mental ill health. Maghull Health Park in my constituency is a centre of excellence, with high, medium and low-security hospitals on the same site. The staff do an amazing job, but demand has gone through the roof, especially since the pandemic. Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that it is essential that we give mental and physical healthcare the same level of priority in this country?
The Prime Minister
Yes, and I thank my hon. Friend for raising this critical issue. So many are affected by the tragedy of suicide. I am pleased to hear about the work that he refers to, but 1 million people are not getting the mental health support that they need. That is why we will recruit 8,500 mental health workers to treat adults and children, and bring forward legislation to modernise the Mental Health Act 1983—an Act that I think is well overdue for modernisation.
Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation
Bill Esterson Excerpts(1 year, 8 months ago)
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Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)
Of the short-term giveaways to placate Conservative Back Benchers, a potholes hotline, after £400 million of cuts to highways budgets, is apparently their favourite in this sticking-plaster Budget after 13 years of failure. The bleak OBR analysis shows living standards 6% lower in two years’ time, and still below pre-pandemic levels by 2028. What was the Chancellor’s flagship announcement during a cost of living crisis? To prioritise those who are already the wealthiest.
Other countries have recovered strongly since the pandemic, but not the UK, so how absurd that the Chancellor should crow about avoiding recession when the UK will still be the only country where GDP will not have recovered to pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year. Low growth since 2010 has seen households £8,800 per year worse off on average when compared with average growth in the OECD, and a £40 billion gap in tax revenues. The party that has presided over low growth since 2010 and that crashed the economy was never going to have the answers to the deep-seated problems it has created, and so it was with the Budget the Chancellor has announced.
Whatever today was, it was not a long-term plan for business. Investment is at a record low level. Firms such as AstraZeneca are moving overseas. Small businesses have been forced to close by high energy bills, high business rates, shortages of supplies and a lack of skilled workers. What of our international competitiveness, when the United States is attracting investment through the Inflation Reduction Act and the European Union is implementing its own equivalent plan? Let us look at what business says.
Here is what Mike Hawes of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has said today:
“There is little…that enables the UK to compete with the massive packages of support to power a green transition that are available elsewhere.”
Make UK says that
“this does little to tackle the real and immediate threat manufacturers face with rocketing energy bills.”
That point was reiterated by the British Chambers of Commerce, which has also criticised the failure to reform business rates. Martin McTague of the Federation of Small Businesses has said that
“today’s Budget will leave many feeling short-changed”,
and that
“the Government’s lack of support for small firms in critical areas is glaring.”
Businesses want long-term help with their energy costs, the abolition of business rates, reform of the apprenticeship levy so that they can all use it for what they need, and greater access to procurement for businesses of all sizes. Labour is committed to all those as part of our industrial strategy. Businesses agree with our plans for self-sufficiency and renewable electricity generation to cut bills and guarantee supply, while playing our part in meeting our climate obligations, as well as the insulation of 19 million homes. They agree with our plans for eight gigafactories and the roll-out of EV charging points, with grants and low-interest loans for consumers being absolutely critical in the transition to electric, especially when new car sales are at a 70-year low. They agree with our plans because they have been drawn up in partnership with industry.
Labour’s green prosperity plan is a response to the massive attraction of the Biden plan. Investors and businesses support us. It is the Labour party that recognises that the part of the worker has to be the party of business. That is why we will be partners of business and trade unions when we are in government. That is how modern industrialised economies thrive: partnership. No wonder John Allan, the chairman of Tesco and Barratt, says there is only one political team on the pitch: Labour.
The failure of the Government to take a strategic approach will continue to undermine our prospects and delay any recovery in living standards. That is what the OBR says. In the week of the Cheltenham Festival, I have two pieces of advice: first, come to the grand national in my constituency next month; it is, of course, the biggest horse race in the world. Secondly, after this sticking-plaster of a Budget, do not gamble at Cheltenham or Aintree—save your money for the sure bet of a general election and a Labour win.
Oral Answers to Questions
Bill Esterson Excerpts(2 years, 8 months ago)
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Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Iain Stewart)
I regularly discuss issues of importance to Scotland with Ministers, including support for Scotland’s renewable energy sector. The Government recently announced that their flagship renewable electricity support scheme, contracts for difference, will run more frequently. Scotland has benefited significantly from this scheme with 34% of all projects awarded to date located in Scotland.
Bill Esterson
Promoting renewable energy generation in Scotland is critical to supporting jobs in Scotland, but without action from the Government, it is not inevitable that Scotland’s renewable potential will lead to job creation at home. In fact, we have seen ScotWind sold off to foreign owners. Can the Minister tell me what discussions he is having with Scottish Ministers about the creation of jobs in Scotland in renewable energy?
Iain Stewart
I am happy to tell the hon. Gentleman that we are negotiating with and discussing with the Scottish Government, and I can point to a number of schemes in the city and regional growth deals that are promoting renewable energy, such as the CoRE—community renewable energy—project in East Ayrshire, Orion in Shetland and European Marine Energy Centre research in Orkney.
Oral Answers to Questions
Bill Esterson Excerpts(3 years, 9 months ago)
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The Prime Minister
I thank my hon. Friend, who is a fantastic campaigner for his constituents. I can tell him that we are indeed looking at expanding the free school programme—wave 14 of free schools will be announced very shortly—and I hope that he will not have too long to wait.
Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab) [V]
The Prime Minister
I am conscious that, as the hon. Gentleman says, there have been difficult cases with self-employed people who have not qualified for some of the support that we have offered. I would invite him to send the details of Alison’s case to us and we will see what we can do, but I must remind the House that we have spent about £18 billion supporting self-employed people throughout this pandemic and, as I say, we will continue to put our arms around the British people for the duration of the crisis.
Oral Answers to Questions
Bill Esterson Excerpts(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Douglas Ross
I think we have seen a slight divergence in some areas, but together the four nations continue to work strongly in lockstep to ensure that we can beat coronavirus and save not only lives, but livelihoods. I am encouraged that Scotland will shortly announce similar measures to the rest of the United Kingdom to release some of the restrictions that are in place, but it is important that these decisions are taken in the devolved Administrations where public health is devolved to the respective Governments.
Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Douglas Ross)
The UK Government are working tirelessly to procure PPE both internationally and domestically for UK-wide distribution. This is in addition to the Scottish Government’s own procurement processes. We are working with the devolved Administrations to ensure that the different parts of the UK do not compete against one another in the international market, and that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office can make a single approach to foreign Governments.
Bill Esterson [V]
The lack of PPE is a scandal. It is part of the reason for the high mortality rate in care homes across the UK. What discussions has the Minister had with the Scottish Government to ensure that nations are not competing against one another for the vital PPE that our essential frontline workers need?
Douglas Ross
As I said in my opening remarks, the UK Government are committed to ensuring that we work as a United Kingdom, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has taken a lead on this issue to ensure that that can happen. I have had regular discussions with Donald Macaskill of Scottish Care about PPE, but also about the outstanding work that our care workers are doing in care homes and around the community across Scotland and the whole of the United Kingdom; they deserve our praise for what they are doing.