Oral Answers to Questions

Catherine Fookes Excerpts

Wednesday 13th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I do understand the concerns of those who save to send their children to private school because they believe in aspiration and opportunity. Every single parent shares that aspiration to opportunity, whichever school they send their children to. Under the last Government, we did not have enough teachers in basic subjects in our state secondary schools. The Tories were prepared to tolerate that. I am not.

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

Q13. Three million people across the country, including an estimated 70,000 in Wales, will benefit from Labour’s Budget measures on the minimum wage and the national living wage. Members should contrast that with the Leader of the Opposition, who said that the minimum wage was hurting businesses, or the shadow Chancellor, who called the minimum wage a “burden”. Does the Prime Minister agree that those comments underline that the Tories have no interest in protecting working people or boosting the income of the lowest paid?

[The Prime Minister]

It was the last Labour Government who introduced the national minimum wage—in the teeth of opposition from the Tory party. I am proud that this Government have now increased it by over 16%. That means an increase of over £2,500 a year for a full-time worker aged 18 to 20. Whether it is our Employment Rights Bill or decisions at the Budget, this is a Government who are proudly on the side of Britain’s working people.

Infected Blood Inquiry

Catherine Fookes Excerpts

Friday 26th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

I am sure the whole House sends its sympathies to the Blake family on the loss of their son Stuart in such appalling, tragic circumstances. As I indicated a moment or two ago, I do not think any of us can conceive of the grief of losing a child in those circumstances, but Stuart’s parents are clearly people who are affected—they are exactly the kind of people whom the scheme has in mind. Whether they are partners, parents, children, siblings or those who provided care, it is absolutely critical that the compensation body recognises their suffering.

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. I would like to talk about Linda, one of my constituents, who sadly lost her husband Bill Dumbelton because of the infected blood scandal. He contracted HIV and hepatitis C, and lost his job when he told his employer that he had HIV. He had no life insurance—he was unable to get life insurance at that time because of his HIV status—so Linda had to pick up the pieces and deal with all the financial problems when he died. Can the Paymaster General please update the House on how the scheme will be used to compensate those affected by the scandal, including spouses such as Linda? Are the Government still aiming to make those final compensation payments by the end of the year?

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. We are looking to make and start those compensation payments by the end of the year. Again, I am sure the whole House offers its sympathies to Linda on the loss of her husband. My hon. Friend highlights another problem when she speaks about the fact that Linda’s late partner could not secure life insurance at that time. Another aspect of this scandal was that the people who were both infected and affected were, in decades past, unable to access the support that they should have been able to access.