Debate on the Address
Cat Smith Excerpts(5 months ago)
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Cat Smith (Lancaster and Wyre) (Lab)
After nine years on the Opposition Benches, it is a disorientating experience to find myself on the Government Benches, and things just got a little more topsy-turvy when I found I was speaking after the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon). I do not think that has ever happened before, but it gives me an opportunity to thank him for his friendship and to let new Members know that in this House they will find friends in perhaps the most unlikely places. I thank my hon. Friend for his friendship and support, and I know in that I speak for many on the Government side.
This is my first opportunity to give a substantive speech as the new Member for Lancaster and Wyre, as my constituency underwent some significant boundary changes at this election. I will break with convention slightly by paying tribute to the MP I have replaced, in the sense that most of my constituency was represented in the previous Parliament by Ben Wallace. He had served as an MP in Lancashire since the 2005 general election, first for Lancaster and Wyre and latterly for Wyre and Preston North. Ben was the MP elected in the first general election I voted in, in Lancaster and Wyre. I confess that I did not vote for the winning candidate, but his assiduous service should be noted, especially his service to the country in his role as Secretary of State for Defence.
This is also an opportunity to acknowledge the change to our electoral map at the general election. The country voted very clearly for change. I am excited to see much of the content in the King’s Speech, particularly when it comes to getting Britain building through planning reform. I was pleased to hear talk about both infrastructure and housing; it is clear to me that when we build housing it has to go with infrastructure. I hear loud and clear from my constituents along the A6 corridor, particularly around the Garstang area, that building new houses without infrastructure puts more pressure on our public services, GP surgeries and school places.
I was also pleased to see in the King’s Speech that local leaders will be allowed to take control of local bus services. This week, Stagecoach, which runs the bus services in my community, has increased the price of the under-19s DayRider, which has been met with quite a lot of response, shall we say, from my constituents—not only those attending schools and colleges, but their parents, who are often the ones picking up the tab for what is a very expensive and often unreliable service.
As a north-west MP, I am served on the west coast main line by a train company called Avanti, so believe me, Mr Deputy Speaker, bringing rail back into public ownership is something my constituents welcomed. I heard loud and clear on the campaign trail that Avanti is not a fit company to be running a so-called train service down the west coast of our country, right the way from Glasgow into London Euston. It let passengers down on a regular basis and I think it knows its time is up.
Some of my youngest constituents are running campaigns at the moment on sewage dumping. We know that Ofwat needs to have more teeth and more powers to regulate the water companies. I know that some of my youngest constituents will be very pleased to see that part of the King’s Speech.
I turn now to the point about strengthening the integrity of elections to encourage wider participation in the democratic process. In the last Parliament I had the privilege of being the spokesperson for the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, so you will forgive me, Mr Deputy Speaker, if this turns into something of a hobby-horse of mine. I am deeply concerned about the state of our democracy and look forward to playing a full role from the Back Benches, supporting the Government in improving the integrity of our electoral process.
We cannot lose sight of the fact that 52% turnout nationally at a general election should concern every one of us. In Lancaster and Wyre it was 58%, but I take no comfort from the fact that we are marginally higher than the national average. That is what keeps me up at night. We need to engage people in our democracy, because the alternatives are unthinkable. I support the idea of automatic voter registration.
Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield South East) (Lab)
As my hon. Friend is aware, the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee published a report in the last Parliament proposing exactly that. We went to look at the system in Canada, which gets near to 97% or 98% registration accuracy. Some 8 million people could not vote in our election because they were not on the electoral register. We need to address that.
Cat Smith
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the work of his Committee in the last Parliament, and I urge the Government Front Benchers to heed that report. Millions of people are missing from our electoral roll. If Members are concerned about the 52% turnout at the general election, they will be even more concerned to note that that figure is probably much lower because our electoral roll lacks accuracy.
However, that is not all. We need to look again at the ID requirements. During the general election, we all came across people who thought that they could not vote because they did not have ID and were not aware of the voter authority certificate. A conversation that I had in Skerton in my constituency stands out to me. A gentleman who had voted in every general election since the 1970s said: “I don’t have ID, so I can’t vote now.” He had been totally unaware that the voter authority certificate was an option, and it was far too late to apply for one a few days from polling day. That was replicated up and down the country. If we are concerned about and want to increase turnout at elections, we need to fix that. Personally, I think that that means scrapping the entire scheme, which was always a solution to a problem that did not exist, but adding more forms of ID, or including polling cards, would make it so much easier for people to take part in our democracy.
I have heard a lot from constituents who have looked at the results of the general election and raised questions about proportional representation. In the last Parliament, the Government changed the voting system for electing police and crime commissioners from the alternative vote to first past the post, and they did so in a statutory instrument Committee. I do not think that is an appropriate way to go about changing our voting systems. The public should be involved in that conversation. The general election results have led to a lot of conversations in Lancashire with people who feel that the first-past-the-post system is regressive and that we can find more progressive ways of improving our voting systems.
The Electoral Commission’s strategy and policy statement makes the electorate question the commission’s independence. If we want to build trust and faith in our democracy, the public need to believe that the commission is independent and empowered to hold political parties and candidates to account for our conduct in these things, and that it can take on new challenges, including the intimidation of candidates, which has already been mentioned. I associate myself with the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater), who is no longer in her place.
Finally, if I may, I will squeeze in an ask of the Government on sodium valproate. There are many victims of that scandal, and they are waiting for a compensation scheme. That should have happened under the last Government, but the chaos that we have had for the past 14 years meant that it did not. I hope that those who have campaigned long and hard over many years for justice following that scandal will get it under the Labour Government.
I recognise that the Government have hit the ground running. The King’s Speech is full of legislation that I look forward to supporting to bring about the change that the country voted for.
Election of Speaker
Cat Smith Excerpts(5 months, 1 week ago)
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Cat Smith (Lancaster and Wyre) (Lab)
I beg to move, That Sir Lindsay Hoyle do take the Chair of this House as Speaker.
As far as I am concerned, the best thing about having Lindsay as Speaker is how good it is to have someone in the Chair who does not have an accent. I have been talking to lots of my constituents over the past six weeks, and they agree with me! So I have figured it out, Lindsay. We are not the ones with the accents; it is everyone else.
But seriously, Lindsay is a great champion for Lancashire, just as he is for this House of Commons. None of us in Lancashire could have imagined that Nancy Pelosi would walk those famous cobbles of Coronation Street, but Lindsay, you did it. It seems that no part of Lancashire’s cultural reputation is out of bounds for Lindsay when hosting international speakers—indeed, having a pint of mild in the Rovers Return with Nancy Pelosi.
It is a great pleasure today to be able to speak about my good friend from Chorley. I have several friends from Chorley, including my office manager Steven, who often regales my Lancaster constituency office with tales of his childhood in Lancashire’s second town. One of my favourite anecdotes is of Chorley zoo—I did not know that Chorley had a zoo. Apparently, it is known as Chog zoo; that might be the first reference in Hansard to Chog, which is the slang for Chorley. Upon further investigation, the zoo was in fact Pets Corner in Astley Park. However, to this day, I suspect that a young Steven was mistaking the Hoyle household menagerie for an actual zoo. With cats, dogs, parrots and tortoises, Lindsay Hoyle really does live out the truism that we are a nation of animal lovers.
If you head three hours south from Lancashire, you will find yourself here. Arriving in this grand building as a newly elected Member is daunting—the weight of pressure that you feel to deliver for your constituents, using parliamentary procedures that seem so confusing to bring about the change you have promised, can be immense. It can be difficult to know where to start, but a good place to start is by electing a good Speaker of the House of Commons, one with experience of eventualities that could not be foreseen. Lindsay recalled in his remarks the covid restrictions we needed to adapt to at speed during the pandemic. Indeed, he is the Speaker who steered us through that pandemic and steered us through those Rees-Mogg congas. He adapted procedures for the times we found ourselves in.
It is also important to know that we have a Speaker who champions the voices of us Back Benchers, and one who ensures that all voices—Government and Opposition—are heard. Our Speaker is fair, impartial and independent. Newly elected Members will find a great friend in our Speaker, and I know I have. Being from Lancashire myself, I had the good fortune of knowing Lindsay before I was elected, and over the years he has been a great source of advice and guidance, some of which I took and some of which I chose to ignore. All I can say is that the advice I ignored I regret ignoring, and live to tell the consequences. Despite being annoyingly right about many things, which is a good Lancashire trait by the way, he will ensure that his door is open to all Members at times of need. I can vouch that he does a good brew—it is Yorkshire Tea though—but for those who prefer something from the right side of the Pennines and from the red rose county, I can say that his is the only place on this estate outside my own office I have managed to get a hot Vimto.
However, we all have our character flaws, and regrettably Lindsay does not support Lancashire’s finest football team, Barrow, instead donning the colours of Bolton Wanderers.
Cat Smith
We have a Bolton Wanderers fan.
We should note that that team has both blue and red on its crest, and I think that exemplifies Mr Speaker’s even-handedness. As a proud champion of Lancashire’s rugby league tradition, outside Westminster his favourite place is cheering on Warrington Wolves, and in the summer months Lancashire county cricket club. Like all good sports people, Lindsay knows fair play and hard work. For all those reasons and so many more, I am proud and honoured to propose that Sir Lindsay Hoyle takes the Chair today.
Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 1A), That Sir Lindsay Hoyle do take the Chair of this House as Speaker.
Question agreed to.
Sir Edward Leigh left the Chair, and Sir Lindsay Hoyle was conducted to the Chair by Cat Smith and Sir David Davis.
Mr Speaker-Elect
(standing on the upper step): Before I take the Chair as Speaker-Elect, I wish to thank the House for the honour it has again bestowed upon me. I am aware that it is the greatest honour it can give any of its Members. I propose to do all within my power to preserve and cherish its best traditions. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] I also thank both Cat and David.
The Speaker-Elect sat down in the Chair and the Mace was placed upon the Table.
Oral Answers to Questions
Cat Smith Excerpts(10 months, 1 week ago)
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Kemi Badenoch
Female-led businesses often face particular challenges, and in the Department for Business and Trade we work with the British Business Bank to ensure that those businesses continue to have access to finance. We have the Investing in Women code and a taskforce for women-led entrepreneurs. We hope that all these actions together will help improve the lives of women in business.
Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
Maria Caulfield
The hon. Lady will know that the Government commissioned that report from the Patient Safety Commissioner to look at options for redress, specifically for those affected by sodium valproate, but also for those affected by mesh. The report has been published only today, so we will look at the details closely before reporting back to the House.
Oral Answers to Questions
Cat Smith Excerpts(1 year ago)
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David Johnston
As the hon. Lady knows, we are committed to publishing the first ever strategy for kinship carers before the end of the year. She will not have long to wait.
Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)
Cat Smith
The neuro drop-in centre in Lancaster provides a unique support network for those affected by neurological conditions, but my constituent, who travels there by bus from Bowerham to Torrisholme, is a wheelchair user, and if there is already is a wheelchair user on the bus, he cannot board. Does the Minister think that that is fair?
Mims Davies
That does not sound terribly fair at all. I am very interested in what the hon. Lady shares with the House. Of course, we have a Transport Minister answering questions today, so I am very happy for us to look at that issue for her. If she writes to me, I will see that the matter is looked at.
Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
The Prime Minister
I thank the hon. Member for raising this incredibly important question. I know she has been working alongside my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (David Morris) on this. I also thank the emergency services in her constituency. My understanding is that Lancaster City Council, the Environment Agency, the UK Health Security Agency and the emergency services are working together to ensure that the health risks and environmental consequences are minimised, but I will ensure that the relevant Minister understands the absolute urgency of the issue the hon. Lady has raised and make sure that she meets them as soon as possible.
Israel and Gaza
Cat Smith Excerpts(1 year, 2 months ago)
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The Prime Minister
We absolutely do not want to see regional escalation. One of the ways that we can help to ensure that that does not happen—my right hon. and learned Friend specifically mentioned Lebanon—is the deployment of our surveillance assets, which went into the region last week, with further to follow by the end of this week. One of the things that they can do is track and interdict armed shipments that might be going to Hezbollah, for example. That is something that none of us will want to see, which is why we have deployed those assets. Partners are grateful for our intervention, because no one wants to see an escalation of this conflict.
Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
Some of the most vulnerable citizens in the event of war are people with disabilities, so what representations have the Government made for the protection particularly of people with disabilities in northern Gaza who are unable to move?
The Prime Minister
In all our conversations we will continue to call on Israel to take every precaution to avoid harming civilians, and we will do everything that we can to bring humanitarian support to the region.
Oral Answers to Questions
Cat Smith Excerpts(1 year, 5 months ago)
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The Deputy Prime Minister
I know my hon. Friend is passionate in championing this issue. Almost 850,000 households have been helped to purchase a home since 2010. In 2021, the number of people getting on to the property ladder for the first time was at a 20-year high, thanks to initiatives such as First Homes and the Help to Buy scheme. Of course, that stands in contrast to the Labour party, which oversaw the lowest level of house building since the 1920s.
Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
The Deputy Prime Minister
It is important that the railways continue to reform after the record amount of money we gave them during covid. If the hon. Lady is concerned about her constituents getting anywhere on the railways, I gently say that she should condemn the totally unjustified strikes that close them down week after week.
Oral Answers to Questions
Cat Smith Excerpts(1 year, 8 months ago)
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The Deputy Prime Minister
My hon. Friend campaigns with typical gusto. I think he knows that changing the boundaries at local authority level is subject to an independent process, but I will ensure that he gets a meeting with the Minister for Local Government so that he can further discuss the aspirations for Leigh.
Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
The Deputy Prime Minister
It is an incredibly difficult time, and I thank the hon. Lady for her question. Obviously the pandemic has had a particular impact, but we are working very closely to make sure that we can continue the service. I will make sure that she gets a meeting with the relevant Minister to discuss her concerns further.
Oral Answers to Questions
Cat Smith Excerpts(1 year, 10 months ago)
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Mims Davies
I assure the hon. Lady that we will not be doing that. We monitor pension contributions and participation by gender, and publish data regularly through our workplace pension participation and savings trends publication. Key to this matter is our funding of returner programmes, which supports those who have taken time out of the labour market for caring responsibilities. Finally, pension sharing on divorce is an option that can help women if a marriage or civil partnership has broken down. As I have said, this is a focus for us all.
Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
The Minister for Women and Equalities (Kemi Badenoch)
The Government will publish a draft Bill setting out our approach to banning conversion practices, which will go for pre-legislative scrutiny in this parliamentary Session. We are committed to protecting everyone at risk of those practices from harm and we are clear that the legislation must not affect the ability of parents, teachers or counsellors to have open, exploratory and even challenging conversations with young people.
Cat Smith
Has the Minister had sight of the Health and Social Care Committee’s report into the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review and, particularly on paragraph 53, what conversations might she be having with Treasury colleagues to support women seeking redress?
Kemi Badenoch
I thank the Health and Social Care Committee for its IMMDS follow-up report. Our sympathies remain with all those women affected by sodium valproate. Patient safety is our top priority and we are committed to improving how the system listens to people, which is why I have asked the Patient Safety Commissioner, Dr Henrietta Hughes, to look into redress schemes. I am not committing to any specific next steps today, but the Minister for Women will provide an update in due course.
Ministerial Appointments: Vetting and Managing Conflicts of Interest
Cat Smith Excerpts(1 year, 10 months ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Jeremy Quin
I am not certain what the question was, but I certainly disagree with the tone taken by the hon. Gentleman. I think that we have an incredibly valuable organisation in the shape of the BBC. I for one support it, and I think it is unfortunate to start making allegations about the BBC as a whole on the basis of something the facts of which are disputed.
Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
Are any other Ministers currently in dispute with HMRC about their tax arrangements?
Jeremy Quin
It is a matter for individual Ministers to go through the proper process under the ministerial code, and that is what everyone does. It is a requirement under this Government, as it has been a requirement under all Governments. There is full disclosure in that process. The Minister needs to talk to his or her permanent secretary, and it is critical that no conflicts of interest or, indeed, perceived conflicts of interest are established.
Oral Answers to Questions
Cat Smith Excerpts(2 years, 1 month ago)
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The Deputy Prime Minister
I totally agree that we need to strain every sinew to stop this appalling trade in misery. There is no silver bullet, although I think the agreement the Home Secretary made with her French opposite number will help, and we are embedding UK officials with their French counterparts for the first time. My right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) is right to say that the Bill of Rights can also help, not least in preventing interim orders from the Strasbourg Court from being recognised in UK courts. On ID cards, we already have e-visas for people coming to visit and live in the UK, and they act as digital evidence of a person’s immigration status. What is clear, however, is that we will have to do all these things in the teeth of opposition from Labour Front Benchers.
Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
The Deputy Prime Minister
We are very sympathetic to the challenges that all our schools face. More will be said about specific measures tomorrow, but the hon. Lady should stand assured that we are the top spenders as a percentage of GDP on primary and secondary education in the G7, and that standards, which matter to pupils and parents the most, have increased, with the proportion of schools rated good or outstanding up from 68% in 2010 to 87% today.