Jas Athwal
Main Page: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)Department Debates - View all Jas Athwal's debates with the Leader of the House
(2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lucy Powell
The hon. Lady raises an important matter, and I know that the building of new pylons is an issue of concern for local people in many constituencies. We need to build the energy infrastructure of the future, which includes new pylons, but we are bringing forward measures to ensure that those who live near new pylons will receive £2,500 off their energy bills in the coming years. Putting cabling underground is an innovative approach, and the example that she gives is one that I am sure the Secretary of State will be keen to look at.
Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)
May I, too, offer my condolences to the shadow Leader of the House?
Women’s rights have come a long way; indeed, we have had three female Prime Ministers, and we now have our first female Chancellor and a female Leader of the House. However, many women and girls in the UK are still being denied the right to feel safe in their communities, on the streets, in their homes and even online. Although charities and Governments continue to work tirelessly to combat sexual violence—indeed, our Government have a landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls—some of my constituents say that many agencies, including the police, still do not take sexual violence seriously, respect victim-survivor testimonies or take serious action to stop the harm. Will the Leader of the House provide time for a debate—
Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)
Order. We really do have to have shorter questions. Can the hon. Gentleman please get to his point?
Jas Athwal
Will the Leader of the House provide time for a debate on how state agencies can work to protect victim-survivors better?
Lucy Powell
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Tackling violence against women and girls is a national emergency, which is why this Government have a really ambitious mission to halve the levels of violence against women and girls within a decade. That will take a huge effort. We have already taken a number of steps, such as banning sexually explicit deepfakes and taking action on stalking and spiking. We are introducing many other measures in forthcoming Bills, and I look forward to debating them with him.