Oral Answers to Questions
Emma Foody Excerpts(2 weeks, 3 days ago)
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Jonathan Reynolds
My hon. Friend and his colleagues are incredible champions for bringing investment into the area, and I recognise and thank him for that support. He is right to say that some of the perhaps more traditional industries, though very exciting for the future, are not just the only story in his area. He has mentioned tech and the creative industries too, and I would say they are huge opportunities. Specifically, our investment in skills to make sure that there is a pipeline of talent in every part of the country is a formidable and significant contribution to delivering on those opportunities. I look forward to continuing to work with him on these issues.
Emma Foody (Cramlington and Killingworth) (Lab/Co-op)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Gareth Thomas)
By the end of last month, approximately £1.1 billion had been paid in total redress to almost 8,000 claimants. This represents a fourfold increase over the past 12 months, with more than 5,000 victims receiving compensation for the first time. We have also committed to extending redress to family members. As the House knows, there is still much left to do, and we are considering carefully the recommendations that Sir Wyn Williams made last week in this regard.
Emma Foody
I thank the Minister for his answer. He will be aware of a Northumberland constituent of mine who was a victim of the faulty Horizon system, leading to her losing her job and her business and becoming a victim of abuse in her own community. Despite my assistance, my constituent remains without an outcome to her claim. Will the Minister please look into this case and ensure that her claim is progressed as quickly as possible, so that she can receive justice?
Gareth Thomas
My hon. Friend describes just one example of the terrible human impact that the Post Office scandal has had on many good people up and down our country who served their communities and who were treated unbelievably badly by the Post Office. I will of course look into the case that my hon. Friend has raised. We are determined to do more to help not just her constituent but all those who are still waiting for compensation.
Scunthorpe Steelworks
Emma Foody Excerpts(3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Sarah Jones
I will repeat what I have said: we are looking at all the options on the table; we are talking to British Steel about the right outcome; and we will do what is right for our country and our industry. On energy prices, the hon. Member is right to raise the high costs of energy. The supercharger comes into effect this month, and British Steel will get support from that, as will other high-end energy-intensive industries. But he is right to point to that issue and we are looking at it.
Emma Foody (Cramlington and Killingworth) (Lab/Co-op)
I thank the Minister for her answers. As she will know, there has been intense media speculation that the blast furnaces will close before the consultation is complete. Will she reassure me and workers that everything is being done to ensure that does not happen, and that Jingye conducts its affairs with respect to UK law?
Sarah Jones
My hon. Friend is right, and we will do that. The offer that was put to British Steel and which was refused included conditions to do exactly that, as well as including a number of other things around jobs, as we would expect. It is very important that any deal using British taxpayers’ money is done in a way that we know is within the law and is a good use of taxpayers’ money. I am very mindful of that, and I am constantly mindful of the insecurity that people who work at British Steel will feel, as well as the need for all of us to try to work as hard as we can to ensure that we get a good outcome for those people.
Post Office Redress and Funding
Emma Foody Excerpts(7 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)
Last but by no means least, I call Emma Foody.
Emma Foody (Cramlington and Killingworth) (Lab/Co-op)
I welcome the Minister’s statement and his commitment to providing redress as soon as possible. One of my constituents, a former sub-postmaster who wished to remain anonymous, attended a surgery recently to share their experience. Accused of stealing over £40,000 due to the Horizon system, they lost their home, their job and their business, and were forced to pay thousands from their and their family’s savings. Compounding the financial loss was the reputational loss: ostracised by the community, experiencing racial abuse and forced to move away—appalling in its own right but, as we have heard today, just one of many, many examples. Does the Minister agree that any redress must address not just the financial loss, but the further damage done to people’s lives as a result of the actions of the Post Office?
Gareth Thomas
I am sure I speak for the whole House when I say that I wish the experience that my hon. Friend has described was just an isolated example, but sadly there have been far too many similar examples of what sub-postmasters have been through. We absolutely must get more speed into the compensation process, and we are very much working on that, but we will also look carefully at the recommendations of the Sir Wyn Williams inquiry when they are published next year. His work will be crucial in helping to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.
Bill Presented
Public Procurement (British Goods and Services) Bill
Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)
Sarah Champion presented a Bill to make provision about public procurement in respect of British goods and services; and for connected purposes.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 24 January 2025, and to be printed (Bill 153).