Business of the House
James Naish Excerpts(3 weeks ago)
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Lucy Powell
I thank my hon. Friend for all her campaigning on the important issue of palliative care, which so many in our country rely on at the very worst stage of their lives. I will ensure that the House is constantly updated on these matters, which I know are particularly important to the Secretary of State for Health.
James Naish (Rushcliffe) (Lab)
Several homes in my constituency were badly flooded, with more than 500 homes flooded internally across the east midlands. I express my sympathy to all those impacted. It was especially concerning to hear about the verbal abuse directed towards flood wardens, who work exceptionally hard to protect their communities. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that is unacceptable? Will she ensure that the House considers how best to protect these fantastic volunteers?
Lucy Powell
It is completely unacceptable that volunteers acting as flood wardens in these difficult times are on the wrong end of abuse from anybody. I will ensure that these matters are raised in government and that we send a strong signal that it will not be tolerated and that action will be taken against the perpetrators.
Business of the House
James Naish Excerpts(3 months ago)
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Lucy Powell
As the hon. Gentleman knows, he can raise any matter relating to the Budget in any of those debates, and a Cabinet Minister will respond. Just as I took issue with his colleagues, I take issue with him for his characterisation of the issue. We are committed to supporting farming, and farming communities. We have a settlement that provides £5 billion over two years for farming, and we are prioritising the farm recovery fund. I am afraid that this stands in stark contrast to what the Conservatives did for farmers with their botched Brexit deal, the phasing out of farming payments and so on. It is no wonder that Labour won so many rural constituencies at the last election, and we will continue to support those constituencies going forward.
James Naish (Rushcliffe) (Lab)
I have visited Cotgrave community garden in my constituency several times, and it is doing a fantastic job of addressing food insecurity, promoting nutrition education and enhancing mental wellbeing in our community. Does the Leader of the House agree that it is important that this House considers how such organisations are put on a secure financial footing, so that we can support the long-term sustainability of community-led initiatives?
Lucy Powell
I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the Cotgrave community garden in his constituency. As has been mentioned in business questions many times, including today, the role that community volunteers play in making our communities great places in which to live, work and raise a family is absolutely vital. The Chair of the Backbench Business Committee is still in his place; as I said earlier, this type of issue would make for a very good Backbench Business debate.