Business of the House
Jim McMahon Excerpts(1 day, 13 hours ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
The water supply shortages are an unacceptable failure by South East Water in every regard. We are holding the company to account and being clear with it that restoring supply must be its priority and that those affected must receive compensation. This is further evidence that the water system is broken. I could go on to talk about other companies, not least Thames Water. The hon. Lady may wish to table an urgent question, if appropriate, or apply for an Adjournment debate to raise these matters further. She rightly alluded to the fact that there needs to be a longer-term response, which is why we already have the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, which includes the toughest enforcement powers in a decade. Those powers must be used.
Jim McMahon (Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)
Reports that the Government might be looking to bring forward a support package for our pubs are very welcome—we know just how important pubs are for our communities and for bringing people together—but the pressures being felt by pubs are also being felt across hospitality in our restaurants, bars, cinemas and nightclubs. Will the Leader of the House use his good office to impress on His Majesty’s Treasury that if a package comes forward, it should be a whole-of-hospitality package?
Sir Alan Campbell
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this point on behalf of hospitality in his constituency. I gave a fuller answer on this matter previously. The Government are actively looking at how best we can help pubs and, more widely, at what further support we can provide.
Business of the House
Jim McMahon Excerpts(1 week, 1 day ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
First, I pay tribute to the staff who are currently working across our NHS and who worked throughout the holiday period, in what is still a challenging situation, despite the progress that this Government are making. We are committed to investing in the NHS not just for today but for the future, to improve waiting times and access to care. Spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms by 2028-29. We are committed to cutting waiting lists, which have fallen for the first time in years, and we are investing £450 million in our urgent and emergency care plan.
The Secretary of State understands the scale of the challenge that we inherited and the challenge going forward. However, I will draw the hon. Gentleman’s comments to his attention, because the Secretary of State is not short in coming forward to this House to update it about the challenges but also the progress we are making in the NHS.
Jim McMahon (Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)
Happy new year to you and to the House, Mr Speaker.
High street banks have left many towns high and dry, leaving whole communities and businesses without even basic banking facilities. The roll-out of banking hubs is welcome, but our ambition should be for every town to have a bank, including Chadderton and Royton, where postmasters at the post office are ready and willing to take on that challenge. May we have a debate in Government time on banking hubs, to explore that further?
Sir Alan Campbell
I appreciate the issue of high street banks, which has been raised with me on a number of occasions. The Government are making progress with the roll-out of 350 banking hubs, but we have been clear that that is not the end of our ambition and that we intend it to go further. This sort of issue resonates across the House, and should my hon. Friend seek an Adjournment debate on the matter, he may get from the Minister our further plans going forward.
Business of the House
Jim McMahon Excerpts(1 month ago)
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Mr Speaker
Order. We will expect to run business questions until around 12.30 pm. Hopefully we can help each other, and the Leader of the House will certainly help with shorter answers. Jim McMahon will be first.
Jim McMahon (Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Credit unions make a significant contribution, providing safe, ethical and community focused financial services, and they remain an important part of the wider co-operative family. Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on the role of credit unions in promoting financial inclusion and supporting local economies, and will he ask the relevant Minister to confirm what steps the Government are taking to strengthen the credit union sector, update regulations and increase public awareness?
Sir Alan Campbell
I join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to credit unions, which do a fantastic job in many communities across our country. Were he to seek an Adjournment debate, I am sure that he could find common cause with hon. Members from across the House in raising the profile of credit unions and seeking the answer to his question. I remind the House that this time next week we will be approaching the pre-recess Adjournment debate, when Members will have the opportunity to raise whatever they want.
Business of the House
Jim McMahon Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
The Government are very clear that they are against religious intolerance wherever it happens and whichever community or faith it comes from. The news from Nigeria is very worrying indeed; let us hope for a suitable outcome. The hon. Gentleman may wish to seek an Adjournment debate or speak in the pre-recess Adjournment debate to give further evidence about his concerns.
Jim McMahon (Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)
One issue that literally keeps my constituents awake at night is noisy fireworks. It happens around weddings and around car meets, with young people setting them off at night. That is why I was pleased to support the ten-minute rule Bill introduced yesterday by my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton South and Walkden (Yasmin Qureshi). Given that this is a big issue around the country, affecting veterans, those with sensory issues, animals and others, will the Government consider taking over that ten-minute rule Bill, so that we can get it into law?
Sir Alan Campbell
My hon. Friend raises an issue that is often mentioned around bonfire night but is also relevant as we approach end-of-year celebrations. It is important that we respond with proportionate measures. I am not familiar with the ten-minute Bill he mentions—I missed that one—so I cannot give him a commitment that the Government will take it over, but I am sure that the matter will continue to be debated. It is right and proper that he raises his concerns on behalf of his constituents.
Business of the House
Jim McMahon Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
I will draw that to the attention of the relevant Minister, but I also invite the hon. Gentleman to hear about this from Ministers, at first hand. We will arrange an appointment, if he wishes for that to happen.
Jim McMahon (Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)
Happy Lancashire day to you, Mr Speaker, and to all celebrating the historic county in Oldham, Chadderton and Royton. For 15 years, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs mileage rate has been 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles. In that time, the cost of buying and running a car, and of insurance and repairs, has clearly increased, but HMRC has not caught up. As a result of those cost rises, the NHS uprated its figure and will now pay 56p per mile for the first 3,500 miles.[Official Report, 1 December 2025; Vol. 776, c. 8WC.] (Correction) That means we now have a two-tier system, in which healthcare workers working for the NHS will be paid 25% more per mile than the home care worker in social care. Is it not time that HMRC got its act together, updated the rates, and finally treated working people with the respect that they deserve by paying them fairly for the mileage that they incur?
Sir Alan Campbell
That is a fair point. We owe a great debt to public servants, and it is important that they be treated fairly at work and in their tax matters. If my hon. Friend intends to speak in the Budget debate, he may want to raise this issue then.
Business of the House
Jim McMahon Excerpts(1 year, 8 months ago)
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Penny Mordaunt
I am very pleased to hear that the Prime Minister is continuing this tradition at Downing Street. It is important that we celebrate our counties and everything about their cultural identity: their food, their amazing landscapes and their heritage. Having heard what my hon. Friend has said today, I think there is no danger of our losing sight of that importance, with him on these Benches.
Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)
A significant issue across Oldham, Chadderton and Royton is the rapid increase in the number of houses in multiple occupation. It was previously a big issue for our pub industry, with pubs being converted into HMOs, but it is now increasingly an issue with family homes. Those homes are being taken off the market and sold at inflated prices, because of their potential rental income, which drives the end value. The result in Oldham is 500 children living in temporary accommodation in single hotel rooms, because of the lack of supply of family homes. This issue also brings into question the issue of Serco’s Home Office contracts. Can we have a debate in Government time on the overall impact of housing policy, which includes HMOs, the lack of supply and the Home Office allocation policy?
Penny Mordaunt
The hon. Gentleman raises an important matter. He is speaking to somebody who represents, bar London, the most densely populated city in Europe, so I understand the issues he is talking about. He will know that we have done a number of things nationally to help ensure that, where HMOs are being built, they are of good quality and do not cram people in—for example, the reforms that we have made to the Valuation Office Agency and council tax rebanding. I recommend that he speaks to his local authority, which should have a clear map of where HMOs are and have its own local policy about the density of those HMOs. It has the powers to do that, and that is what it should do, and its planning committee should be making decisions on that basis.
Business of the House
Jim McMahon Excerpts(1 year, 10 months ago)
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Penny Mordaunt
I thank my hon. Friend for being a champion for his constituents, in particular by trying to get levelling-up funding. He will know that the processes that assess where funding is directed are independent of Ministers, and that the criteria and grading are transparent. He will also know that where people have not been successful, the Department has quite often worked with local authorities and Members of the House to improve the bids put forward. I encourage my hon. Friend to go and talk to the Secretary of State, and I will ensure he knows that my hon. Friend has raised the issue today.
Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)
Oldham is a wonderful place but it is not without challenges. The local community is concerned about the number of young people who have been drawn into gang activity and who are at risk of child criminal exploitation. Figures over the last two years show that 312 young people have been identified as being at risk of exploitation. We have had five section 60 stop and searches in place over the last year because of the number of knife incidents. Can we have a debate in Government time on what is being done in urban areas where criminal exploitation is not being checked?
Penny Mordaunt
I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this important matter. I encourage him to raise it with his local police and crime commissioner, as I am sure he has. I will ensure that the Home Secretary has heard what he has said today, but I would encourage him to address the issue with his local constabulary and the police and crime commissioner.
Business of the House
Jim McMahon Excerpts(1 year, 10 months ago)
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Penny Mordaunt
The hon. Gentleman will know that provision has been made for this, and the final scheme is being worked on. I can understand why people want to raise this issue; it is a moral issue and it stirs understandable passions. However, I just caution hon. Members to recognise—I believe they know this—that the scheme is about to be brought forward. I have already announced today that the Paymaster General will be going around the country to talk to people directly about that and the plans he is bringing forward. I care passionately about this issue, as I did when I gave evidence to the inquiry, and I do not want victims of this appalling scandal to worry about what is going to happen. I want us to be able to reassure them, so I hope I will be able to continue to do that every week. I ask hon. Members, who rightly want to know the detail of the scheme, to reflect that in the questions they ask both me and the Paymaster General.
Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)
Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Oldham Athletic football club owner Frank Rothwell on his sterling achievement in rowing the 3,000 miles across the Atlantic, in aid of Alzheimer’s Research UK, in his 70s for the second time? He managed to raise more than £350,000 for that charity, adding to the £1 million he raised previously on the first row. Will she also allocate Government time for a debate on the real issue of the near 1 million people affected by Alzheimer’s in the UK, and the funding and early diagnosis that supports work in that area ?
Penny Mordaunt
As the hon. Gentleman asked that question and revealed the full extent of his constituent’s incredible achievement, there was an audible gasp, so I am sure the whole House will want to join him in congratulating his constituent on those amazing achievements. I am close to HMS Oardacious, the Royal Navy’s rowing team, which regularly rows the Atlantic, so I am very familiar with the incredible ordeal that that is. Doing it at 70 years old is utterly remarkable, and I congratulate Frank deeply. I also thank the hon. Gentleman for raising his concerns about provision and care for those suffering from Alzheimer’s. I shall make sure that the Health Secretary has heard what he has said.
Business of the House
Jim McMahon Excerpts(1 year, 10 months ago)
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Penny Mordaunt
My hon. Friend is very diligent in pursuing these matters at all opportunities, including business questions. I suggest that the issue is perhaps best raised with the Secretary of State on 4 March in departmental questions.
Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)
A lot has been said about the events of yesterday, but let us not forget that the outcome was that this Parliament has given a clear mandate on our position on Gaza— [Interruption.] That is very important.
Let me move on to a constituency matter. People in Oldham work very hard for a house for their family to live in and they expect security for that, but some are having the roof literally taken from over their heads, including Mr Potter through an agreement with A Shade Greener, a solar installation company. Thousands of people are affected by companies who were not clear about the terms and conditions and are now taking out loans on the properties, making remortgaging almost impossible. Can we have a debate in Government time on the impact of mis-selling in the solar industry?
Penny Mordaunt
On the hon. Member’s latter point, I will certainly make sure that the Secretary of State has heard what he said, and he can put that to Ministers directly on 27 February. With regard to his former point, it is in the interests of the British people that democracy is protected. As I said, the interests of the Labour party are trumping democracy.
Business of the House
Jim McMahon Excerpts(4 years, 11 months ago)
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Mr Rees-Mogg
I think I am not allowed to refer hon. Members to what I wrote on this subject before I joined Government—which are, of course, not necessarily the views I hold any more. I will undoubtedly make representations on behalf of my hon. Friend to the Chancellor, because it is worth bearing in mind that cutting stamp duty has boosted an industry that employs nearly 750,000 people. However, it is also worth bearing in mind that the Government need some revenue to pay for all that the Government have to do.
Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Thank you for allowing me to raise a point of order in relation to what I believe was a misleading statement made by the Prime Minister yesterday. He said—
Jim McMahon
I am more than happy to take that advice, Mr Speaker. Thank you.
The Prime Minister said:
“It was only recently that the shadow Transport Secretary was saying that quarantine measures should be relaxed.”—[Official Report, 27 January 2021; Vol. 688, c. 366.]
He went on to repeat a similar comment. This relates to a statement that was made over 200 days ago in July last year and had nothing at all to do with current regulations or our current covid rates. It was in response to the Government themselves lifting quarantine restrictions for a list of countries. We have been critical of the Government for failing to have a proper track and trace system and failing to do pre-screening and testing on arrival, so, far from calling for relaxation, we were criticising the Government for their own failures. I think the record should be put straight.
Mr Speaker
That is not a point of order for the Chair, but hopefully those on the Treasury Bench will have picked up on it. If nothing else, it is now on the record. I will now suspend the House for three minutes to enable the necessary arrangements for the next business to be made.