Business of the House

Dan Carden Excerpts

Thursday 25th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

It is incredibly important for our communities that we celebrate important anniversaries, and I congratulate all who are working to make Newcastle-under-Lyme’s 850th anniversary so very special. I am sure the whole House would want to congratulate Mayor White, Councillor Tagg and Mr James on the part they are playing.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

As Lord Etherton completes the LGBT veterans independent review, may I say thank you to the 1,155 veterans, serving personnel, families and professionals who returned to their darkest days and stepped forward to give evidence? For those who lived lives blighted by the historic ban on homosexuality in the armed forces, they now wait, as they have waited for decades, to hear their fate. I know the Leader of the House will fully appreciate the significance to those service personnel affected. There are rumours of a delay, so can she confirm that Lord Etherton has submitted his review and that it will be published on 8 June, not delayed, to allow for full parliamentary scrutiny?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I applaud the hon. Gentleman and I know that all Members of this House will want to echo the thanks he has given to those individuals for the contribution they made to that review. The next Defence questions is not until 26 June and his question is clearly time-sensitive, so I will make sure the Department has heard his remarks today and ask it to update him and the House.

Business of the House

Dan Carden Excerpts

Thursday 15th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

Year on year, the number of people who lose their life to alcohol rises in this country. It has risen 7.4% in the last year—that is 2,000 more people dying from alcohol this year than in 2019. Every death is a tragedy, and it is also preventable, and yet this Government seem to have done very little, if anything at all, to tackle this public health crisis. They even fail to implement evidence-based policies, which baffles not just me but many professionals. How many more people must die before the Government accept that alcohol harm is out of control in this country? Will the Leader of the House speak to Cabinet and the Prime Minister about whether the Government will conduct an independent review of alcohol in the style of the Dame Carol Black report on drugs?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. Our healthcare policy is evidence-based, and it is also important that we scale good initiatives that are taking place in the NHS—for example, alcohol screening for people who come into accident and emergency, which has had a huge impact on getting people into treatment when they need it, and the work we have done over the last five years in particular that has led to homelessness being reduced by 50%, which has wrapped the care and support that those individuals need around them. However, he raises an important matter, and I will write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on his behalf to flag his concerns.

Business of the House

Dan Carden Excerpts

Thursday 30th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I know that my hon. Friend, who is a former teacher, is a huge advocate of developing the skills of young people. I share his enthusiasm for our new industrial strategy that sets out how we will build a Britain fit for the future and ready to take advantage of the extraordinary advances in technology that can really transform lives for the better.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House might remember that my first question to her, back in June, was about gun crime and police cuts, following 10 such incidents in my constituency that month. It has not gone unnoticed that there was no mention of police cuts continuing in the Budget last week. More and more of my constituents are raising crime and fear of crime as one of the blights on their lives, and Merseyside police are stretched to the limits, having lost 1,000 police officers and £100 million a year from their budget. The situation, as is, is unsustainable. We need a debate in Government time on police cuts and the effects of crime in our constituencies.

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Gentleman raises a serious issue, and of course we know that the fear of crime is widespread around the country, but I am sure he will be pleased to know that the rate for crimes traditionally measured by the independent crime survey for England and Wales has fallen by 9% over the last year, which is a continuation of the overall downward trend. He should also be reassured to know that we are protecting police budgets in real terms and that the proportion of officers in frontline roles has increased since 2010 to over 93% now. There are, of course, individual issues in particular policing areas, however, and if he feels that that is the case in his area, I would encourage him to raise the matter through an Adjournment debate.

Business of the House

Dan Carden Excerpts

Thursday 19th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I can absolutely give the hon. Lady an assurance. As I have said several times today, universal credit is designed to help those looking for work. According to three independent studies, it has resulted in many more people finding work than was the case under jobseeker’s allowance. It is improving opportunities to get jobs, it enables people to keep more of the benefit as they increase their hours, and it helps much more with childcare costs.

In accordance with the DWP’s statement to the House yesterday, the scheme is also being improved so that the costs of calls to the helpline will be waived, and more instruction will be given to jobcentre officials to ensure that people know that they can get up-front emergency payments. The Department has taken away a list to consider and Ministers have assured me that they will come back with further updates as soon as they have more to tell the House about progress on addressing those issues.

The House called for a pause and the Department has been clear that it has just had one to ensure that it can update and upgrade systems. It plans another in January. Members should therefore be reassured that the Government are listening carefully and acting on the points that Members raised.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

I am gravely concerned about the chaos in Walton prison in my constituency. It had a snap inspection, and received one out of five, the worst possible score. The governor was removed last week and the NHS trust that provided healthcare at the site has today pulled out of its contract. The mayor of Liverpool and I have learned all that through the media, with no contact from Ministers or the Prison Service. I wrote to the Minister for Prisons and Probation on Monday and I am waiting for a reply. Will the Leader of the House advise me on the breakdown in communication between the Government, the Prison Service and local representatives? Can we at least have a debate or statement on health, safety and welfare across our prisons network? What more can I do to get answers about Walton prison?

[Andrea Leadsom]

That sounds like a very concerning issue and the hon. Gentleman is right to be worried about it. I understand that the Secretary of State for Justice will meet the chief inspector of prisons today to discuss the specific issue and I am certainly happy to raise the matter with the Secretary of State after business questions.

However, the hon. Gentleman will know that we are putting an extra £100 million a year into the frontline to recruit 2,500 more prison officers by the end of 2018 and investing £1.3 billion in a modern, fit-for-purpose prison estate, with up to 10,000 new modern prison places during this Parliament. The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the issue and I will happily take up the specifics with the Secretary of State.

Business of the House

Dan Carden Excerpts

Thursday 29th June 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

This is an absolutely key issue. As the hon. Gentleman points out, today is the deadline for new Ministers to be appointed, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is working flat out to try to encourage that, along with Irish politicians and, of course, members of the Northern Ireland potential Executive. All parties in Northern Ireland are working very hard to try to ensure that we get an arrangement signed today.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

The real impact of police cuts can be measured by the rising tide of gun crime across Merseyside, where there have been 100 shooting incidents in the last 18 months and 10 in this month alone. Merseyside’s chief constable has said that he has “never known a situation” in which a police force has been so stretched “to the limits” as Merseyside’s is today. The people of Merseyside need urgent action from the Government and proper funding for the police. Can we expect a statement from the Home Secretary, or a debate, so that we can rid our streets of gun crime?

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Gentleman raises an incredibly important point about policing. As the Prime Minister said yesterday, police budgets have been protected. There has been a big increase in investment in intelligence, counter-terrorism and attacking cybercrime, for instance, to try to ensure that the police have all the tools that they need to do the job, but of course the Home Office will be listening carefully to what is said about particular issues. It sounds as though there is a very specific issue in Merseyside, and the hon. Gentleman may wish to raise it during Home Office questions.