Standards

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Thursday 31st October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Ordinarily, I would go to the other side of the House, but it seems appropriate to call the Chair of the Standards Committee first, and I hope the hon. Gentleman will accept that.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

Forgive me, but I was myself perfectly clear on that point, although I am grateful to the Leader of the House for making it clear to colleagues. It was always intended that, if the House accepted the report, the suspension would take effect after the election. Whether the Committee wishes to revisit the issue, in the light of what the hon. Member for Christchurch (Sir Christopher Chope) and others have said, is, if he will forgive me saying so, a slightly different point.

[Kate Green]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. My understanding is that in the event that the right hon. Member is returned, we would like the next Leader of the House to bring forward a motion to continue the suspension, but neither this Parliament, this Leader of the House nor any Member of this Parliament can compel that. It would be a matter for the next Parliament. In so far as the next Committee is concerned, any Member is at liberty to make a complaint about the conduct of a Member at the time that he was serving as a Member. We have recently introduced new provisions around historical cases, but the Committee would be a new Committee, and would not be able simply to pick up an old case conducted by our current Committee.

[Mr Speaker]

Thank you. That was by way of a public information notice from the Chair of the Committee, which I hope is helpful to colleagues.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House—

(1) approves the First Report of the Committee on Standards, Keith Vaz, HC 93;

(2) endorses the recommendations in paragraphs 99 and 101; and

(3) accordingly suspends Keith Vaz from the service of the House for a period of 6 months.

Business of the House

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Thursday 12th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am grateful to you, Mr Speaker, because I know that you are accommodating me while the Leader of the House is still on the Bench, and I appreciate that. I have given both the Leader of the House and the hon. Member for Bridgwater and West Somerset (Mr Liddell-Grainger) notice that I intended to raise this issue.

On 21 June, during business questions, the hon. Member for Bridgwater and West Somerset, speaking about the arrival of Travellers in Taunton, described this as “an enormous invasion”. In her response, the Leader of the House spoke of “the problem of Travellers”. She has kindly written to me this morning to explain that she was not referring to Travellers as a problem, but specifically to the concern about unauthorised encampments. She added that she had the “greatest respect” for the travelling communities and celebrates their “unique culture”.

Mr Speaker, you will be aware that Travellers are recognised as a protected race under the Equality Act 2010. I appreciate the correspondence of the Leader of the House with me today, but Traveller groups have told me that they found the exchange on 21 June hurtful, offensive, stigmatising and discriminatory. I doubt whether the terms would have been used about any other racial group. May we have your advice, Mr Speaker, on the need for respectful and non-stigmatising language in the Chamber for all ethnic minorities?

[Mr Speaker]

I obviously wanted the hon. Lady to have the opportunity to put her point, and the Leader of the House was notified of that and was perfectly content with that as far as I am aware and there seems to be an apposite quality about this exchange. If the Leader of the House wants to say something, we look forward to hearing her.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kate Green]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

We cannot continue the debate. [Interruption.] Order. I have heard what the Leader of the House has said. We cannot have a debate on the matter today. If there is a procedural point, I will hear it, but if there is just a difference of opinion, we had better leave it there for now. The hon. Lady has expressed her point with considerable force, and the Leader of the House has responded in similar vein, putting her point of view and that seems to be appropriate.

Business of the House

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Thursday 7th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Unless I am much mistaken the votes for women cause is very impressively represented in the Gallery today. We welcome the people who are here and thank them for articulating their views, not least through their magnificent rosettes, and it is great to see that among the adults there are also children who are conscious of their future rights and who will take pride in them.

I call Kate Green.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

I am glad you have called a woman, Mr Speaker.

Will the Leader of the House arrange for an urgent statement to be made in response to the letter signed by me and more than 70 colleagues to the Home Secretary this week asking for an extension to the consultation on the Windrush compensation arrangements, which is due to close tomorrow? Black church leaders and Windrush defenders movements say that the community have not yet had enough time fully to submit their ideas and concerns about this process.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Tuesday 5th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I did not hear that. It would be most helpful if the Minister would look at the House as she answers, because I was looking forward to savouring the reply but unfortunately did not hear it. [Interruption.] You are going to have a chat with the fella about it. That is very useful to know. We are deeply grateful.

I just say to disappointed colleagues who did not get in on substantive questions that they might with advantage stay for topicals. I know they are very busy with many commitments and very full diaries, but if they feel able to hang around, they might find it to their advantage.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

Rail Timetabling

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Monday 4th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

People lower down the alphabet should not suffer discrimination. I call Kate Green.

[Kate Green]

These are not recent problems. They predate the introduction of the new timetable. They predate the delay in the infrastructure improvements, and I have been talking to the Secretary of State, in this Chamber and in private meetings, for month after month about the problems my constituents are experiencing. He says that he took advice from industry experts, and of course he should, but why did he not also take advice and ask questions based on the information coming from Members of this House and on the information from the travelling public that has been all over social media for months? What questions did he ask these industry experts?

G4S: Immigration Removal Centres

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Tuesday 8th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Before I call the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green), I say not for the first time, and I am sure not for the last, that the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) is correct: this is indeed an urgent question, and on the principle that the House and perhaps those attending to our proceedings like to have a bit of extra information, I can vouchsafe to all present that this is the 465th urgent question that I have been pleased to grant.

[Kate Green]

I have to say to the Minister that a two-year extension—what she calls a “short” extension—to the contract will seem to many like a reward to G4S for its failure. If she is now reopening and rerunning the tendering process, will she take the opportunity to do that in tandem with a review of the tendering and provision of healthcare services in immigration detention centres, which seem to be woefully inadequate to meet the needs of the very vulnerable detainees who have been mentioned this afternoon?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Thursday 14th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I appeal now to colleagues for shorter questions. I want to try to get through the bulk.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

5. What assessment his Department has made of the economic effect of the UK leaving the EU on different sectors of the UK economy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Thursday 2nd November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

10. What steps he will take to maintain children's rights contained in the EU charter of fundamental rights in the event that that charter no longer applies in the UK once the UK leaves the EU.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Minister Walker.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Thursday 29th June 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am sure the hon. Gentleman will require no encouragement whatever.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

T5. Further to my earlier question to the Secretary of State, there are concerns that the tendering process for BBC Radio could lead to a weakening of pay and terms and conditions. Will the Minister join me in asking the BBC to reconsider that figure and the impact it could have on people’s employment?

Point of Order

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Monday 20th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

I understand that the point of order flows directly from a question, so, exceptionally, I will take it if it is brief.

[Kate Green]

I am very grateful, Mr Speaker. I wish to follow up the answer that the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work gave me a few moments ago about the work-related activity component of the employment and support allowance. The Minister said that no one would be affected by the change before the summer, but the DWP website says—and, indeed, I think we always understood—that it will take effect in April. I wonder whether you, Mr Speaker, will invite the Minister to clarify or correct the record.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Tuesday 20th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. This question is about England, rather than Scotland or Wales.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

Will the Minister advise GP practices in my constituency, who have been massively inconvenienced by the chaos of the Capita contract, that full compensation will be available for the inconvenience they have been put through?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Tuesday 13th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

There are some very clever people in Wycombe, you know.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

Food production and food processing is an important part of the north-west economy that is not necessarily susceptible to export beyond the European Union because of different consumer tastes and preferences in the rest of the world. What negotiations are the Government considering or already undertaking to protect this important industry? Can the Minister confirm that specialist negotiators who understand the industry are in place to carry out those negotiations?

Point of Order

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Thursday 26th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. As you know, we had the first ever topical questions session in Women and Equalities orals this morning. I warmly welcome that, and I want to put on record my thanks to the Leader of the House and to the Minister for Women and Equalities for supporting their introduction. Unfortunately, we had a few teething problems with the new arrangements that meant that I was unable to raise the topical—indeed, imminent—issue of the importance of the impending European Union referendum for women. Given the alarming suggestion by the Employment Minister that we could scrap half of what she called

“the burdens of…employment legislation”—

like maternity leave and part-time workers’ rights—by leaving the European Union, may I ask you, Mr Speaker, whether she has indicated to you her intention to come to the House to make a statement about her intentions?

[Mr Speaker]

I have received no such indication at all, but I hope that the hon. Lady is satisfied that she has put her point on the record, which I think was her principal—indeed, perhaps her only—concern. If there are no further points of order—I sincerely hope there are not, because there should not be, and therefore there cannot be, and therefore there will not be—we come to the business question.

Points of Order

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Tuesday 3rd May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. You may be aware of a report published over the weekend by Citizens Advice indicating a 25% increase in the number of people coming forward with problems relating to pregnancy and maternity discrimination. This follows hot on the heels of a report shortly before the Easter recess from the Equality and Human Rights Commission indicating that three quarters of women have had negative experiences of work associated with pregnancy or maternity. I am very pleased to see the right hon. Member for Basingstoke (Mrs Miller), who chairs the Women and Equalities Committee, in the Chamber, because her Committee is conducting an important piece of research into this, and an inquiry. However, there has been no comment at all from Government Ministers and so far no indication that time will be made available in the Chamber to debate this important subject. Can you tell me, Mr Speaker, if Ministers have approached you indicating their intention to make a statement on the Citizens Advice report or on the EHRC report, with which the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was associated?

[Mr Speaker]

The answer to that is no. As far as I am aware, I have not been approached, certainly not directly, and I am not conscious of any document or missive circulating in my office on this matter. It occurs to me that Work and Pensions questions take place on Monday next week. That is by no means the only, or even necessarily the best, opportunity to raise the matter, but it is one such opportunity. If that does not suit the hon. Lady or other opportunities are sought, they may materialise. As far as the House as an employer is concerned, I am not aware that there is a problem, and I would be very concerned if there were. We must take steps to keep ourselves informed to satisfy ourselves that best practice, as well as the law, is followed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Tuesday 3rd February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I would have called the hon. Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams), but she “boinged” too late. I call Kate Green.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

13. What steps his Department is taking to encourage people to become magistrates and to train new magistrates.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Tuesday 16th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Simon Kirby. Not here.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

16. What steps he is taking to rehabilitate women offenders.

Mesothelioma Bill [Lords]

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Tuesday 7th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for the remarks that he made about my right hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Paul Goggins). He is a good friend and colleague to Members on both sides of the House. He is my parliamentary next-door neighbour and, as the Minister has said, for those who are new in this place or to a role, my right hon. Friend is a tremendous source of support, guidance, help and friendship. We miss him very much today.

I am delighted that some of the amendments that my right hon. Friend was able to table before he became unwell will be debated this afternoon, and I hope that the Minister and others will want to do all that they can to honour Paul’s intentions. I know from my right hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham), who has been in touch with Paul’s family, that they are hugely appreciative that we have the opportunity to debate these amendments this afternoon, and that can be the best tribute to Paul to wish him a full recovery so that we have him back with us as soon as possible.

[Mr Speaker]

I thank the Minister and the shadow Minister for their words.

New Clause 2

Research supplement

‘(1) This section makes provision about the research supplement mentioned in section 13.

(2) The research supplement—

(a) must be expressed by regulations under section 13 as a percentage of the amount set for the purpose specified in section 13(1) in accordance with section 13(2) to (5); and

(b) may not exceed 1 per cent of that amount.

(3) Regulations under section 13 must include provision about the application of the research supplement; in particular, the regulations—

(a) must include provision for amounts raised by way of the research supplement to be applied by way of grants or other financial assistance for research into mesothelioma;

(b) must require the scheme administrator to make arrangements for the application of the research supplement;

(c) may allow the scheme administrator to arrange for a body which handles applications for research funding to administer the research supplement on the scheme administrator’s behalf;

(d) may allow receipts by way of research supplement in respect of one period to be held for allocation in a later period, and for investment of receipts pending allocation.

(4) Before making regulations in respect of the research supplement the Secretary of State must consult—

(a) insurers;

(b) medical charities and research foundations; and

(c) other persons or bodies who the Secretary of State thinks are likely to be interested.’.—(Tracey Crouch.)

Brought up, and read the First time.

Points of Order

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Monday 16th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. In last Thursday’s business questions I asked for a statement on funding for 18-year-old students. I said that further education colleges such as my local college would be £800 per student worse off but that sixth-form colleges would not be affected. I have since been advised that sixth-form colleges will also suffer a loss in funding, so I want to apologise to the House for the erroneous information I gave last Thursday and to put the correct information on the record.

[Mr Speaker]

That is most gracious of the hon. Lady. The matter stands there.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Tuesday 12th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I hope the hon. Gentleman now feels fully informed.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

Can the Justice Secretary explain why the Mesothelioma Bill is cited in the Ministry of Justice review of the mesothelioma exemption as one of the recommended criteria for bringing into force sections 44 and 46 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012? Those sections have nothing to do with the Mesothelioma Bill.

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Tuesday 21st May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

[Mr Speaker]

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

New schedule 1—‘Consequential amendments—Marriage according to usages of approved organisations—

The following amendments are made to the Marriage Act 1949—

(1) In section 26 (marriages which may be solemnized on authority of superintendent registrar’s certificate) in subsection (1) after paragraph (c) there is inserted—

(ca) a marriage conducted under the auspices of an approved organisation;”.

(2) In section 35 (marriages in registration district in which neither party resides) after “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved organisation”.

(3) In section 43 (appointment of authorised persons) in subsection (3) after “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved organisation authorised by the Registrar General under section 47A”.

(4) In section 50 (person to whom certificate to be delivered), in subsection (1) after paragraph (d) there is inserted—

(da) if the marriage is to be solemnized according to the usages of an approved organisation, a registering officer of that organisation”.

(5) After section 52, the following section is inserted—

“52A Interpretation

In this Part of this Act “approved organisation” has the meaning given to it in section 67.”.

(6) In section 53 (persons by whom marriages are to be registered), after paragraph (b) there is inserted—

(ba) in the case of a marriage solemnized according to the usages of an approved organisation, a registered officer of that organisation;”.

(7) In section 54 (provision of marriage register books by Registrar General), in subsection (1) after the words “the Society of Friends,” there is inserted “registering officer of an approved organisation”.

(8) In section 55 (manner of registration of marriages)—

(a) in subsection (1) after the words “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved organisation”; and

(b) in subsection (1)(b) after the words “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved organisation” and after the words “the said Society” there is inserted “or organisation”.

(9) In section 57 (quarterly returns to be made to superintendent registrar), in subsection (1) after the words “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved organisation”.

(10) In section 59 (custody of register books) after the words “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved organisation”.

(11) In section 60 (filled register books) in subsection (1), paragraph (b), after the words “registering officer of the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved organisation”; after the words “members of the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of the said organisation”, and after the words “the said Society” there is inserted “or organisation”.

(12) In section 63 (searches in register books) after the words “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved organisation”.

(13) In section 67 (interpretation of Part IV), there are inserted in the list of definitions the following—

““approved organisation” means an organisation approved by the Registrar General under section 47A of this Act;” and

““registering officer of an approved organisation” means a person whom the principal officer of the said organisation certifies in writing under his or her hand to the Registrar General to be a registering officer in England or Wales of that organisation;”;

and in the definition of “superintendent registrar” after paragraph (b) there is inserted—

(ba) in the case of a marriage registered by a registering officer of an approved organisation, the superintendent registrar of the registration district which is assigned by the Registrar General to that registering officer;”.

(14) In section 75 (offences relating to solemnization of marriages) in subsection (1), paragraph (a), after the words “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved organisation”; and in subsection (2), paragraph (a), after the words “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved organisation.”.’.

Amendment 19, in clause 2, page 3, line 28, at end insert—

(iA) section 47A (marriage according to the usages of approved organisations).’.

Amendment 20, in clause 5, page 6, line 29, after ‘solemnized’, insert

‘and includes an organisation approved under section 47A(1).’.

Amendment 21, schedule 7, page 49, line 16, after ‘celebrated’, insert

‘and includes an organisation approved under section 47A(1).’.

New clause 14—Civil union—

‘(1) Two people, whether they are of different or the same sex, may enter into a civil union if—

(a) they are both aged 18 or over;

(b) they are not within prohibited degrees of relationship;

(c) they are not currently in a civil union with someone else.

(2) A civil union must be solemnized by a Registrar.

(3) No religious service is to be used while the civil union registrar is officiating at the signing of a civil union document.

(4) A civil union ends only on death, dissolution or annulment.

(5) The Marriage Act 1949 is repealed.’.

New clause 18—Marriage solemnized other than at a religious ceremony to be termed Civil Marriage—

‘(1) Any marriage solemnized (whether before or after the passing of this Act) under Part 3 of the Marriage Act 1949 (Marriage under Superintendent Registrar’s Certificate), the Marriage (Registrar General’s Licence) Act 1970 or an Order in Council made under Part 1 or 3 of Schedule 6 (other than a marriage according to religious rites and usages) shall be termed a Civil Marriage.

(2) The Secretary of State or Lord Chancellor may, by order, make such provision (including provision amending UK legislation) as the Secretary of Sate or Lord Chancellor considers appropriate in consequence of this section.’.

Amendment 58, in clause 9, page 9, line 5, at end insert

‘and such a marriage shall be a civil marriage’.

Amendment 59, in clause 15, page 12, line 15, at end insert—

‘(ba) an order under section (Marriage solemnized other than at a religious ceremony to be termed Civil Marriage).

[Kate Green]

I am moving new clause 15 to introduce humanist marriage, along with new schedule 1 and amendments 19, 20 and 21 that are consequential to new clause 15. May I start by paying tribute—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I will not say that I was heckled by the Clerk of the House from a sedentary position, as he was rather helpfully advising me from his usual position on a point on which we need to be clear. I am sorry if the hon. Lady thinks this is a pedantic point, but it is quite important procedurally. The hon. Lady can speak to the other amendments in the group, but the only item she is moving at this stage is new clause 15. We anoraks like to get these things right.

[Kate Green]

Thank you for that exceptionally helpful advice, Mr Speaker. I am, of course, moving new clause 15 and speaking to new schedule 1 and amendments 19, 20 and 21.

I should like to pay tribute to the British Humanist Association for its support with drafting and its general and wider advice. This proposal seeks to put right a long-standing injustice in a simple and uncontroversial way.

amendment of the law

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Monday 25th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

Not everything in the Budget is unwelcome, but the cumulative effect of this Budget and previous Budgets and spending reviews is dire. I am fearful that in some respects we will never escape their effects—family lives have been blighted and futures lost as a result.

I was startled at the total lack of ambition and vision for the economy expressed in the Budget. There were one or two welcome announcements—the employer national insurance break is welcome—but where is the strategy for improving the quality of jobs that is so necessary to improve our productivity and competitiveness? The rise in private sector employment that Ministers trumpet is, to a degree, illusory. It represents, in part, the fact that the working-age population has grown, so it is hardly surprising that more people are in work. It represents to a degree a re-characterisation of public sector jobs into the private sector. It is a reflection of wage cuts and freezes that mean that people are in work, but worse off, and that 80% of the increase in jobs is in involuntary part-time work.

As the hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Anne Marie Morris) said, business rates remain a serious burden. They have risen by 13% in the north-west in the past three years. There was deep disappointment in my region at the decision last year to delay the revaluation, and disappointment last week that there was nothing in the Budget to help in the meantime or to take the opportunity to use the period of the freeze to review totally the purpose and structure of the business rate.

As I said in an intervention, business will also be hit by the impact of welfare reform on household budgets. Work by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies has shown that for every £1 cut in social welfare reform, 63p is being lost to Stretford’s town centre economy, as people cut back on shopping, socialising and the use of taxis and local transport, while the loss to the local economy across the whole of Greater Manchester is estimated at £400 million. The business announcements in last week’s Budget will not put that money back into our local economy, and I am concerned by the warning of further restrictions on annually managed expenditure in the June spending review.

I am glad that the Government recognise the pressures on those trying to buy their own home, and I recognise that home ownership is the aspiration of many of my constituents, but the Government refuse to recognise that renting is a valid and, indeed, necessary option for many families. The support being offered to renters is minimal and the policies divisive. If it is right to offer a public subsidy to enable a young person to get a mortgage to buy their first home, why is it wrong to give a proper subsidy, via housing benefits, to another young person aged under 35 to rent a home of their own? Let us remember that both young people could be in work.

If it is right to provide a public subsidy to a young couple wanting to buy a new and perhaps larger home for a growing family, why is it wrong to subsidise the same family if they want to remain in social rented accommodation and also need more space as kids grow and develop? As my hon. Friend the Member for Inverclyde (Mr McKenzie) said, Government support to buy a home or get a mortgage will be of no use to those of my constituents who are either not working or in short-term insecure employment, which means that they are not attractive to mortgage lenders and have no choice but to rent.

Failure to support working families on the lowest incomes and those on out-of-work benefits feeds across to other policy areas. The child care announcements will benefit many better-off families, but as the Resolution Foundation pointed out, only 40% of those on universal credit will benefit from the maximum 85% rate, while those looking for work will not get any help at all when engaged in a job search. The same is true of the increase in the personal tax threshold, which is of no help to those on very low wages whose earnings are too low for them even to pay tax. The poor and the working poor have therefore once again totally missed out in the Budget, and as a result deprived families and communities will become more deprived.

[Mr Speaker]

I will call the Opposition Front-Bench speaker no later than 9.36 pm.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Tuesday 22nd May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Barry Gardiner. Not here. I call Kate Green.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

T5. I did not hear the Deputy Prime Minister say anything about ethnic inequalities in his speech on social mobility this morning, yet black youth unemployment is twice that of white British young people, ethnic minorities are under-represented in apprenticeships and although increasing numbers are entering higher education, they are more likely to attend less prestigious universities. If the Deputy Prime Minister is serious about social mobility, does he agree that we need targeted policies to address ethnic inequalities in education and employment?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Thursday 15th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Well, the inquisitive appetite of colleagues in respect of substantive questions appears to have been exhausted. I call Mrs Sharon Hodgson. She is not here. We move on to topical questions.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

Points of Order

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Wednesday 9th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. You will be aware that I contacted your office first thing this morning to give notice of my intention to raise a point of order regarding amendments that I tabled last week on Report of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. Three of those amendments related to employment rights for workers at the Legal Services Commission. I was advised on those amendments by the GMB trade union. My entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests makes clear my membership of and relationship with that union, but I regret that I did not draw attention to that last week in the Chamber because the amendments did not relate specifically to the union, but to the rights of individual employees. None the less, I apologise to the House if hon. and right hon. Members have been misled. I am grateful to you, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to set the record straight.

[Mr Speaker]

That point of order was most courteous and the matter rests there. I am extremely grateful to the hon. Lady.

Points of Order

Debate between Kate Green and John Bercow

Tuesday 20th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Unfortunately the hon. Gentleman spoilt it a bit, as he was not able to keep a straight face towards the end of his attempted point of order, for the simple reason that he knows perfectly well that he was simply seeking to continue the debate.

I am conscious that we will shortly—not just yet, but shortly—have a ten-minute rule motion. The hon. Member for Southend West (Mr Amess) is waiting patiently—as, to be fair, is the Minister on the Front Bench—and we need to get on to that business before too long.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I will be brief. It was drawn to my attention this week that the Chancellor of the Exchequer visited my constituency—a matter of which I was not made previously aware. In order to be able to welcome senior members of the Government properly to my constituency in future, will you clarify for me your guidance, Mr Speaker, on such ministerial visits and what local Members should be made aware of?

[Mr Speaker]

The short answer to the hon. Lady is that if the Minister was undertaking an official visit—that is to say, on public ministerial business—the hon. Lady should have been informed by the Minister before that visit took place, preferably with reasonable notice. That is the answer.

bill presented

parliamentary Standards (Amendment) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Adam Afriyie presented a Bill to amend the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 to require the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to reduce the cost and change the schemes of payment of Members of the House of Commons; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 22 October, and to be printed (Bill 60).