Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kate Osamor and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 20th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

That was brilliantly put; I could not have put it better myself.

[Kate Osamor (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q8. The Windrush compensation scheme was launched in April 2019. In the time since, we have seen this Prime Minister come and go. Meanwhile, just one in four applicants has received compensation so far, and sadly at least 28 have passed away without receiving compensation. Is it not about time for the Government to make the scheme independent of the Home Office, and finally provide justice to the victims before it is too late?

[The Prime Minister]

Actually, I think more people have got compensation. I renew my apologies to the Windrush generation for what they have suffered, but we have greatly increased the compensation available. We have paid out, I think, more than £51 million. We are working with voluntary groups to ensure that people get what they are entitled to. I may say that Labour has never apologised for its own part in the Windrush scandal.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kate Osamor and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 27th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is completely right about Eastleigh Borough Council and the debts it has run up. I cannot even see the leader of the Liberal Democrats in his place here. He is not even delivering value for money for his own constituents.

[Kate Osamor (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)]

10. The cost of household food bills is set to rise by £271 this year as prices soar. The supermarkets are lowering their prices to help customers who are struggling to buy food. The Resolution Foundation has reported that 1.3 million low-income Britons will be pushed into absolute poverty by the cost of living crisis, but this Government are doing nothing to protect people who are struggling. If the supermarkets are stepping in to protect people’s pockets, what will the Prime Minister do?

[The Prime Minister]

What we have done in just the last few months is put in £22 million to help people with the cost of living. I want to pay tribute to those businesses that are now trying to protect consumers from the impact of the global inflation crisis. The fact is that many, many businesses now have the cash reserves not to take prices, as they put it, but to shield consumers from the impact, and I hope that they do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kate Osamor and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 26th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kate Osamor (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)]

1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 26 January.

[The Prime Minister (Boris Johnson)]

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland remarked to the House earlier this morning, this Sunday marks a tragic day in our history, one of the darkest days of the troubles: the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. I echo his call to learn from the past, to reconcile and to build a shared, peaceful and prosperous future.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

[Kate Osamor]

I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s remarks on Bloody Sunday.

Did the Prime Minister agree to the Chancellor of the Exchequer writing off £4.3 billion of fraud? That is £154 from every household in the country that went directly into the pockets of fraudsters.

[The Prime Minister]

No, of course not. We do not support fraudsters or those who steal from the public purse, but what I can tell the hon. Lady is that everybody in this country should be very proud of the huge effort that was made by Lord Agnew and others to secure ventilators and personal protective equipment. At the time, Captain Hindsight and others were calling for us to go faster.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kate Osamor and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 10th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Kate Osamor (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

People like my constituent, Tessa Stevens, have had to keep their salons shut despite shrinking Government support, unchanged overheads and decreased profits. I am urgently seeking the Prime Minister’s support to protect the immediate and long-term recovery of beauty businesses and the jobs they support. Will the Prime Minister explain why his Government refuse to listen to the beauty industry, which is calling for VAT to be temporarily reduced to 5% for hair and beauty businesses, similar to what has happened to businesses in other sectors such as hospitality, tourism and culture?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right in what she says about the importance of beauty businesses. They do an amazing job, and we want them to bounce back very strongly from the pandemic. I want high-street beauty salons to be opening up in the way that they were in the past, rather than people going round and giving services and cutting hair at home. It is very important that we revive high-street salons, and that is why we are continuing with the cautious, but irreversible road map out of this, which will enable a full recovery for the entire sector. In the meantime, as she knows, the Chancellor has extended furlough and all the other provisions that are necessary.