Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jodie Gosling and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 15th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Wages have gone up more in the first year of this Labour Government than they did in 10 years of the Conservative party being in power. We took the decision at the Budget to cut energy bills across the country. As the hon. Lady knows, I was in Northern Ireland just a few weeks ago to make the announcement about heating oil, which is obviously of huge concern in Northern Ireland. I heard what people had to say, and we have put in place £53 million. The authorities in Northern Ireland will administer that, but we are looking more widely at what we can do.

[Jodie Gosling (Nuneaton) (Lab)]

Q7. Under this Government, George Eliot hospital in my constituency is thriving. It is rapidly soaring up league tables, ending corridor care and now welcoming the expansion of our community diagnostic centre with a new breast cancer diagnosis unit. Yet the same staff delivering this lifesaving care for Nuneaton are suffering horrific abuse, much of which appears to be racially motivated. The staff I have met believe that right-wing marchers—who do not even live in my town—doing Nazi salutes on our high street are fanning the flames of hatred towards their colleagues. Will the Prime Minister join me in condemning acts of violence against the dedicated staff at George Eliot hospital and in celebrating their achievements, possibly with a visit to our CDC to see their excellent work and show our deep gratitude for their service and resilience?

[The Prime Minister]

Let me be clear: violence against our NHS staff is despicable, and we are introducing a new offence to protect emergency workers from harassment. I congratulate and thank all our NHS staff for their hard work. They have delivered 5 million extra appointments in our first year in government.

We are going further. This week, we have announced 36 new and expanded community diagnostic centres across the country, including expanded services in Nuneaton. That is the difference a Labour Government make.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jodie Gosling and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 18th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising this important issue on behalf of her constituents. It underlines the critical nature of the NHS workforce plan that we will deliver next summer to ensure that the expert workforce is in place and get the NHS back on its feet. I am proud that we are investing an additional £22.6 billion to fix our NHS. I will of course ensure she gets a meeting with the relevant Minister to deal with the issues of concern to her constituents.

[Jodie Gosling (Nuneaton) (Lab)]

Q11. Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker. I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s comments and express my gratitude to all those who serve our communities over Christmas. I give special credit to foster carers in Nuneaton and across the UK for the incredibly important role that they play. We know that their care transforms lives. However, foster carers in Nuneaton tell me that there is simply not the support that there used to be, and that more than 17% of children are waiting more than four years for care. I was recently made aware of one child who had had nine home placements before the end of key stage 1. Can the Prime Minister ensure there will be a robust system to provide consistent and swift care when needed?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that issue, because every single child deserves the best start in life and there are far too many shocking cases of children being let down. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is being introduced today. That puts children’s interests at the heart of Government policy and I hope it will be supported across the House.