Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between David Lammy and Roz Savage

Wednesday 8th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right to champion the huge potential of Cornwall. We are absolutely committed to devolution and putting power in the hands of local leaders. Conversations with local authorities such as Cornwall are ongoing, and we will confirm next steps as soon as possible. I know that Ministers will be happy to update him.

[Dr Roz Savage (South Cotswolds) (LD)]

Q8. My constituency is the ninth most sewage-polluted constituency in the entire country, with thousands of hours of sewage pouring into the Thames, Avon and Coln, but that metric of hours conceals the truth. It does not convey the actual volume, and clearly a trickle is very different from a gush. Will the Deputy Prime Minister arrange for me to meet the relevant Minister on requiring water companies to report on the volume and concentration of sewage discharges, as well as the number of hours?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

The hon. Member is right that we inherited record levels of pollution, and we are determined to tackle that and clean up our waterways. We have acted by banning unfair bonuses, introducing jail time for lawbreaking bosses and unlocking £104 billion of private investment to rebuild vital infrastructure to deliver cleaner waters, and we also have the clean water Bill. Of course I will arrange for her to meet the Minister.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between David Lammy and Roz Savage

Tuesday 16th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

My hon. Friend will be pleased that we are recruiting more legal advisers and we are increasing capacity in the system. He is right that magistrates courts particularly are the bedrock of the system, which is why I was so appalled that the previous Government cut back our magistrates courts so extensively. It is important that we support our magistrates to do their very important work.

[Dr Savage]

Crown courtrooms are sitting empty for up to 75% of the time. Judges used to be booking in trials three to six months into the future, but now they are booking well into 2027 or even into 2028, which is to save the cost of bringing in a recorder at £830 a day. However, these cases still need to be tried at some point, so that is not actually saving costs, just deferring them. In the meantime, there is a terrible impact on complainants, and in fact on justice itself. What will the Secretary of State do to clear this backlog and ensure that cases come to trial?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We have a lot of questions to get in.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between David Lammy and Roz Savage

Tuesday 2nd September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

The hon. Gentleman will have seen that I led the Sudan conference, at which I brought third-party countries together to discuss those issues, co-ordinate across them, and ensure that nothing is done to exacerbate the conflict on that continent. As I indicated earlier, I expect to do more as we head towards UNGA, and to gather those third parties so that we get a pause and can get aid in.

[Dr Roz Savage (South Cotswolds) (LD)]

3. What diplomatic steps he is taking to help ensure humanitarian aid can reach people in Gaza.