Business of the House

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Thursday 14th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. Just a little reminder that we have several statements and then two debates, so questions should be fairly brief.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

In 2018, I was approached by an elderly constituent who had fallen victim to a bank fraud because of an abuse of trust. It took six months for the bank to admit fault. I raised the issue with Durham Constabulary in 2019, but the case remains unresolved after nearly five years, mainly due to a severe lack of resources, with only one forensic accountant in the constabulary. Tragically, my constituent lost her husband during this time and her own health has suffered, more from the stress of the long investigation than from the initial crime. This is not justice—we are failing victims of crime. Will the Leader of the House intervene and give her advice on how best to seek a resolution?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am very sorry to hear about the distress suffered by the hon. Gentleman’s constituent. He will know this is an area of huge concern, particularly at this time of year, and the Government and our agencies are running public information campaigns to try to ensure that people do not fall victim to this kind of crime. Every single crime must be investigated, and people brought to justice where possible. I will ensure that the Home Secretary has heard what the hon. Gentleman has said today, as Home Office questions are not until the new year, and see what more can be done on the particular case that he raised.

Business of the House

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Thursday 7th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sorry to hear about the situation in the hon. Lady’s constituency and local area. The date of the next Environment, Food and Rural Affairs questions has not been announced, so I will write to the Secretary of State to make sure that he has heard what she has said. She will know there has been recent debate about what the Environment Agency and other monitoring bodies are actually monitoring, how it is being monitored and what is in the public domain, and about making sure that the monitoring systems of individual water companies are really fit for purpose. I will write on the hon. Lady’s behalf today.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

May I draw the attention of the Leader of the House to an emerging problem? The Department for Work and Pensions requires an estimated 5,000 net increase in staff every quarter if it is to undertake the increased workload arising from recent Government announcements, including some very recent ones. Yet the shocking new dossier published this week by the Public and Commercial Services Union warns that the target is nowhere near being met. Staff morale is at rock bottom due to excessive workloads, real-terms pay cuts and new restrictions on home working. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on the staffing crisis in the DWP, and will she urge her ministerial colleagues to meet the PCS trade union as a matter of urgency to try to find a way forward?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for bringing this to the House’s attention and mine. I will certainly raise it with the Secretary of State. It is incredibly important for the general public that staff are able to answer their inquiries. There may be more we can do in this place in providing swift answers to people in the DWP who will want to know what recent announcements mean for them, and I think we can also provide a great deal of reassurance to members of the public in that respect. The next Work and Pensions questions will be on 18 December, and he can raise the matter then, but I shall also write on his behalf.

Business of the House

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Thursday 14th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that matter. She knows I will not be able to give her specific dates, but I will announce them in future business. I can give her the assurance that we are committed to the Renters (Reform) Bill. She will note that the Bill had its first reading on 17 May, and it will include measures to abolish the section 21 so-called no-fault evictions.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

I hope the Leader of the House is aware of the Miners’ Strike (Pardons) (Scotland) Act 2022, which was enacted in Holyrood and provides a pardon for miners who were wrongly convicted of certain non-violent offences in the 1984-85 miners’ strike. Can we have a debate on extending that Act to cover England and Wales? Many miners were subject to trumped-up charges and convictions, including Ray Patterson from Dawdon Colliery in my constituency who has sadly passed away. Many others, like Ray, who lawfully exercised their democratic right to withdraw their labour and protest, were wrongly pursued and prosecuted. Extending the provisions of the Scottish Act would be a good start to repairing existing deep divisions, which, sadly, too many are taking to their grave.

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that. He will know that Justice questions happened this week. Given that the next opportunity for questions is a little time away, I will write on his behalf. If he could provide me with some further information, that would be helpful. I shall ask the Ministry of Justice to contact him.

Business of the House

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Thursday 16th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I will just add that I support the Leader of the House. Members should be treated with respect, and Ministers are here to answer to Members of Parliament who represent their constituents. I hope this message has gone back pretty clearly: get it sorted quickly. I am sure the Leader of the House will take this up and I will also take it up.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

Tomorrow is St Patrick’s day [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] Exactly. But it is also the first anniversary of P&O Ferries’ appalling assault on the legal and employment rights of almost 800 UK-based seafarers. RMT, Nautilus and the TUC reminded us all this week that, despite assurances from Ministers, neither P&O nor the parent company DP World has received any punishment or sanctions for their law-breaking and egregious treatment of their loyal workforce, so may we have a debate in Government time on the Government’s Maritime 2050 strategy and on why previous ministerial commitments to hold P&O Ferries to account have apparently sunk without trace?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. He will know that my prime concern in this has been with regard to the Seafarers’ Wages Bill, but I will write to the Department and make sure that the Secretary of State has heard the hon. Gentleman’s concerns today and get him an answer.

Business of the House

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Thursday 12th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that. She will know that we have Education questions on Monday, and I urge her to raise it with the Secretary of State then. It is important that there are routes to leave a situation that is not working and, perhaps more importantly, that there is the right level of consultation before such agreements are entered into, to cause the least possible disruption to communities and, particularly, the education of children. I encourage her to raise it then, but I shall also raise it on her behalf with the Secretary of State.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

With four prisons in close proximity to my constituency, a large proportion of my constituents are prison officers and members of the Prison Officers’ Association trade union. At the last Cabinet Office questions, I had a question about prison officer pensions transferred to the Ministry of Justice just before Question Time, only for the Ministry of Justice to say that it was the responsibility of Cabinet Office after all. I have since tabled written parliamentary questions asking who is in charge, but both Departments are pointing the finger at one another. Could the Leader of the House help to resolve this confusion and find out who is responsible for the pension age of prison officers, which, at 68, is far too late?

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Gentleman asks a question that is exactly why we have business questions. I will certainly find out and give him a definitive answer a bit later today.

Business of the House

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Thursday 8th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

The fact that the issue is being debated and that its profile has been raised as a result of Labour party policy is an opportunity for the independent sector. Some schools do a huge amount for other schools and for their community—this is their opportunity to talk about it.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

At the last Justice questions, the Minister of State, the right hon. Member for Charnwood (Edward Argar), admitted that

“convictions based on joint enterprise appear from some studies…disproportionately”—[Official Report, 22 November 2022; Vol. 723, c. 135]

to affect certain communities and minority groups. That admission was subsequently picked up and reported on by The New York Times. Does the Leader of the House share concerns about how the offence of joint enterprise in UK law is being applied? Can we have a debate on whether it could potentially be considered a miscarriage of justice in future appeals?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the issue. He knows that the next Justice questions are on 10 January. I encourage him to raise the matter directly with the Lord Chancellor then.

Business of the House

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Thursday 22nd September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I suggest that the hon. Lady comes to the House tomorrow and raises those issues directly with the Chancellor. I know it is his intention to set out the plan for growth and how that will assist her constituents, and she will have ample time to question him then and in the future.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

I would like to ask about the Government’s commitment to transparency and the protection of whistleblowers. Whistleblowers such as my constituent Paul Calvert are being left in limbo and suffering great stress. Many bereaved families are questioning the decision to appoint NHS insider Dame Marianne Griffiths to lead the review of systematic cover-ups by the North East Ambulance Service. Can we have a statement or a general debate in Government time on the whistleblower protection and ensuring transparency in the public service, so that we can learn any lessons that need to be learned?

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Gentleman raises an important constituency matter, which I will be happy to raise with the Secretary of State for Health, but he is right: we owe whistleblowers a huge debt, and they need to be protected.

Business of the House

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Thursday 9th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am beginning to think that the hon. Lady has access to my diary, because last week she raised a question relating to the Royal United Hospital, with whom I had a meeting the following day in which I raised some of the points that she made, and tomorrow, I am having a meeting with the chief executive of Curo, which is a social housing company that does a really good job. I have found in my dealings with Curo that it is consistently receptive to issues that their tenants face and quick in response, so I can discuss some of the points that she raised today.

In addition, the Government are committed to increasing house building. The sheer volume of house building is what ensures that there are houses for everybody. Whether it is social or affordable housing—however it is defined—we need to build more, which is why it was announced in the Queen’s Speech that there would be a planning Bill. However, I am grateful to the hon. Lady for helping me with my diary management.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

I reinforce the call from my good and hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon (Liz Twist) in requesting a debate on Storm Arwen, and particularly the need for an independent public inquiry. At no point have the local authority or Ministers shown any self-awareness of their failings over the lack of leadership and delays in getting welfare support to residents affected by the loss of power, some for 10 days. There seems to have been a collective effort by Conservative politicians at both local and national levels to push all the blame on to Northern Powergrid in the storm’s immediate aftermath. I believe that there are some similarities with the failure to accept responsibility for the No. 10 Christmas party debacle.

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

It is quite a leap of imagination to go from a party to power lines being blown down in a storm. The responsibility for power lines inevitably lies with power companies. The hon. Gentleman may never have been the greatest proponent of privatisation, but private companies have a responsibility to deliver service to their customers. The message that we had from his hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon (Liz Twist) was that, actually, society at large had rallied round. That should always be welcomed and viewed positively. The Government do not do everything; society has its place, as does private business.

Business of the House

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Thursday 28th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I will confirm the precise opposite. The House agreed to a six-month suspension for Mr Vaz on 31 October 2019, but Parliament was then dissolved on 6 November for a general election. A suspension cannot carry across into a new Parliament, so that ended Mr Vaz’s suspension. The recall petition process was also terminated by the election, as provided for under section 13 of the Recall of MPs Act 2015. But this is right, because we are here by virtue of our electorate, and the electorate is free to send here whomsoever they choose. I know my hon. Friend will not be happy with that answer, but I remind him about John Wilkes and the Middlesex election. It has not always been the case that this House has acted wisely in whom it has sought to expel, but the electors have had a right to send that person back. Although this may be a difficult case and although this may be disagreeable to my hon. Friend, these constitutional principles are fundamentally important and should not be changed for individual cases.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

I thank the Leader of the House for the reference to a debate on 4 November about Afghanistan, but is he aware of reports that journalists in Afghanistan who have previously worked for the BBC are now subject to grave risks? A number of examples have been highlighted by the National Union of Journalists. One such example, Abdul Malik Asem, survived an attack after armed men opened fire on him at his sister’s home just a few days ago, injuring his 20-year-old nephew, who is seriously ill in hospital. Can we therefore have a debate in Government time to discuss what actions can be taken urgently to ensure that such journalists can be safely evacuated?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The Government are doing what we can to help refugees from Afghanistan. I recently visited the RAF base at Brize Norton, whose staff have worked incredibly hard around the clock to evacuate people. People who are now able to get out of Afghanistan into other countries do have a route through. In the first year, the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme will welcome to the UK up to 5,000 vulnerable Afghans who have been forced to flee their country, with up to a total of 20,000 over a five-year period. The scheme will provide protection for vulnerable people and those identified as at risk, including women and girls and members of minority groups. The Government are doing what we can; there is a programme, and there is funding behind it.

Business of the House

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Thursday 23rd September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

My hon. Friend knows that locally elected police and crime commissioners are responsible for their allocated budget. I am afraid that I am rather austere when it comes to public spending, and I think it is a good thing if people underspend rather than overspend, so I might not give him the most helpful answer. I would encourage him to campaign locally with the police and crime commissioner on the important issue of keeping police stations open.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

I am sure my hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead (Ian Mearns), the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee, would support upholding the law, as I hope the Leader of the House does, particularly section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. I remind the House that, at the height of the pandemic, 560 employees of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency centre in Swansea contracted covid and one sadly died because they were working on site, at management’s request, despite Government advice that people should work from home. Can we have a statement on the background to the dispute at the DVLA in Swansea, not just the backlog but the robust allegations that political interference by Transport Ministers led to the industrial dispute with members of the Public and Commercial Services Union being prolonged?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

It is important to recognise that some people had to go into work to do their job properly, for security reasons or to ensure the integrity of systems, and the DVLA was one of those organisations. We are now getting back to work and people are going back to their offices, which is a thoroughly good thing.