Oral Answers to Questions

Keir Starmer Excerpts

Wednesday 11th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I did not think that the Prime Minister was so popular on the Opposition Benches.

[The Prime Minister (Keir Starmer)]

Mr Speaker, may I start by saying that my thoughts, and I am sure the thoughts of the whole House, are with the two children stabbed at Kingsbury high school in Brent? My heart goes out to everyone affected by this appalling attack. We thank the police for their rapid response. It is important now that we give them the space to pursue their investigation.

This morning I conveyed the UK’s deepest condolences to Prime Minister Carney and the people of Canada after the devastating shooting in Tumbler Ridge.

Mr Speaker, I am determined to fix the broken SEND—special educational needs and disabilities—system. No parent should have to fight for the support their child needs. Today we announced a 10-year plan to fix the crumbling school estate that we inherited, delivering more modern and inclusive classrooms that meet the needs of every child.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues—there have been quite a few of those this week. [Laughter.] In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

[Mr Perkins]

I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s remarks.

The Prime Minister’s commitment to 1.5 million more homes will require 48,000 new entrants to the construction industry every year. In Chesterfield we are doing our bit: our construction skills hub brought 70 new entrants into the construction sector. We saw a welcome increase in numbers across the country last year, but we need a step change and we need numbers to double. What steps is the Prime Minister taking to get more people to commit to construction industry careers and get those numbers up where we need them to be to deliver on his housing ambitions?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right: the task of rebuilding our country is a huge opportunity to give young people a brilliant career. We are backing apprentices with a record £3 billion budget, and we are making sure that companies that bid for major contracts commit to high-quality apprenticeships here in the United Kingdom. We are creating 13,000 new opportunities for young people as plumbers, engineers and bricklayers, securing their future and rebuilding this country.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Leader of the Opposition.

[Mrs Kemi Badenoch (North West Essex) (Con)]

May I associate myself, and those on the Opposition Benches, with the Prime Minister’s words on the horrific stabbing in north London yesterday, as well as the shooting in Canada?

When he was Leader of the Opposition, the Prime Minister said, “I never turn on my staff. When they make mistakes, I carry the can.” What changed?

[The Prime Minister]

I have accepted responsibility and apologised for the mistakes that I made. But let me say this: Morgan McSweeney helped me change our party and helped me win a landslide election victory, which delivered for the Conservatives the smallest Tory party in over 100 years. And what is the right hon. Lady’s great achievement? To make it even smaller.

[Hon. Members]

More!

[Mrs Badenoch]

The Whips have done a great job today—[Interruption.] Labour Members say, “Yes, exactly.” The Whips have done a great job today getting them cheering. We all know that they have been sick for the last week. Let us remember that just last week the Prime Minister told us he had “full confidence” in his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney. On Sunday he sacked Morgan McSweeney—[Interruption.] Oh, “He resigned.” Last week the Prime Minister was defending the Cabinet Secretary. Now he is sacking him. What changed?

[The Prime Minister]

In January the Leader of the Opposition said that she had full confidence—“100% confident”, she said—that there would be no more defections from her party. Forty-eight hours later, her shadow Foreign Minister defected. Eight days after that, the former Home Secretary defected. The only question now is: who is next? She needs to wake up—her party is dying.

[Mrs Badenoch]

The Prime Minister is demonstrating stratospheric levels of delusion if he thinks the problem is on the Opposition Benches. He did not say anything about why the Cabinet Secretary is going, but we know the truth: it is because he is throwing everyone under the bus except himself.

The Mandelson episode was not an isolated incident. A few weeks ago, the Prime Minister announced a peerage for one Matthew Doyle, his former director of communications. Immediately after that, The Sunday Times published on its front page that Doyle had campaigned for a man charged with child sex offences. Despite the Prime Minister knowing that, he gave Doyle a job for life in the House of Lords anyway. Why?

[The Prime Minister]

Matthew Doyle did not give a full account of his actions. On Monday I promised my party and my country that there will be change, and yesterday I removed the Whip from Matthew Doyle. I will tell you what other actions we have taken, Mr Speaker: along with the Safeguarding Minister, I and this Government have introduced the most far-reaching violence against women and girls strategy. This Government have also introduced a pay rise for millions of working-class women. What did the Leader of the Opposition do? She opposed it. This Government are introducing greater protections for women at work. What did the Leader of the Opposition do? She opposed it. I will tell you what else she opposes, Mr Speaker: this Government removing the disgusting rape clause that her Government put in place.

[Mrs Badenoch]

The Prime Minister pretends not to know about Matthew Doyle, but it was on the front page of The Sunday Times. He cannot explain why he gave this man a peerage—I think Labour Members should be wondering why they are still cheering for him after that. The Prime Minister sometimes likes to claim that he cares about violence against women, as he just did, but the truth is that he cares about the victims only when he is trying to save his own skin. Labour Members can shake their heads at that, but we saw it with grooming gangs, we saw it with Mandelson and now we see it with Doyle. Is that not what a former prosecutor would call an established pattern of behaviour?

[The Prime Minister]

I will take no lectures from the Tories on standards in public life. The Leader of the Opposition defended partygate for months and months, and even now she says that it was overblown. The shadow Foreign Secretary broke the ministerial code by bullying, but Boris Johnson kept her and the Leader of the Opposition promoted her, and now she sits on her Front Bench. Her former shadow Justice Secretary complained about not seeing enough white faces in Birmingham, and the Leader of the Opposition was too weak to sack him for racism.

[Mrs Badenoch]

Nobody buys it, Mr Speaker—not even the Labour women, because they know that the Prime Minister always puts the Downing Street boys club first. How dare he criticise us? The Conservatives were not the ones stuffing Government with hypocrites and paedophile apologists. He cannot build a team and he has no plan. He cannot even run his own office, let alone the country. He is now dealing with a new scandal of appointing someone who campaigned for a man convicted of having indecent pictures of girls as young as 10. Is the Prime Minister not ashamed that that will be his legacy?

[The Prime Minister]

My legacy is changing my party and winning a general election. Let me tell the Leader of the Opposition this: I kicked my former leader out of my party, while her former leader, Liz Truss, broke the economy and has descended into bonkers conspiracy theories. I kicked her out of Parliament, but the Leader of the Opposition is too weak to kick her out of their party.

[Mrs Badenoch]

The Prime Minister has not apologised for appointing Matthew Doyle, because he will not take responsibility—he never does, and Labour Members know it. The Prime Minister is now telling everyone that he has never lost a fight, but that is because he will not step into the ring. He has never lost a fight because he has walked away from welfare reform, he will not stand up to the unions, he will not stand up to China—he cannot even stand up to Mauritius. He has had three Cabinet Secretaries, four chiefs of staff and five directors of communications in just 18 months, and now he is mired in yet another scandal. Does he ever look in the mirror and ask himself if the real problem is staring him in the face?

[The Prime Minister]

I delivered a landslide victory for our party. Only four people have ever led the Labour party to victory at a general election, and I am one of them. The Leader of the Opposition talks about numbers. Let us remember what the Conservatives had: five Prime Ministers, seven Chancellors, eight Home Secretaries, eight Foreign Secretaries, and 16 Housing Secretaries—all were completely useless; all failed Britain. This Prime Minister is cleaning up the mess. The right hon. Lady comes here every week desperately fighting to save her dying party. I am fighting to change our country. Interest rates—down. Inflation—down. Waiting lists—down. Child poverty—down. And I can tell her another thing that is down: the number of Tory MPs.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

Q3. The Government have delivered the funding needed to rebuild the new Frimley Park hospital after the Conservatives made empty, unfunded promises to my constituents. Now we urgently need to get on with announcing the preferred site, along with the investment needed to improve public transport, road access and parking. Will the Prime Minister urge NHS England to make this a priority and help give much-needed clarity to Bracknell Forest residents?

[The Prime Minister]

Delivering the new Frimley Park hospital is a priority. Under the Conservatives, my hon. Friend’s constituents were given totally empty promises. They failed patients and they failed staff. We put forward a proper plan and the funding to match, and the trust is making real progress on the business case. I want to see spades in the ground as quickly as possible.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

[Ed Davey (Kingston and Surbiton) (LD)]

May I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s remarks about the dreadful stabbing of two children in Brent and the horrifying shootings in British Columbia? Our thoughts and prayers are with the children’s parents and the people of Canada, especially those grieving the loss of loved ones.

To appoint one paedophile supporter cannot be excused as misfortune. To appoint two shows a catastrophic lack of judgment. The right hon. and learned Gentleman once told this House that when a Prime Minister refuses to take responsibility, it

“only serves to convince people that things cannot get better, that Government cannot improve people’s lives, and that progress is not possible because politics does not work.”—[Official Report, 8 November 2021; Vol. 703, c. 44.]

Does he still agree with himself, and does he share my fear that that is exactly what is happening now?

[The Prime Minister]

Millions of people in this country have been let down for years and years, and one of the reasons for that was austerity, which the right hon. Gentleman’s party supported. He should take accountability and responsibility for what he has inflicted on this country! [Interruption.]

[Ed Davey]

Mr Speaker, I think I touched a raw nerve. I think the whole House will agree that the Mandelson scandal has shown yet again why we need a duty of candour for anyone and everyone in public office. There should be no more delays in putting the Hillsborough law on the statute book, after a long fight by the bereaved families and so many others, such as the Mayor of Greater Manchester. The Prime Minister once said that it would be one of the first things he did in No. 10. Will he finally do it now, even if it is the last thing he does?

[The Prime Minister]

The panel report on the Hillsborough case was when I started working on the Hillsborough case. That was in 2012, when the right hon. Gentleman’s party was in power. They could have passed this law a long time ago and saved a lot of grief. I am proud that this Labour Government are bringing in a Hillsborough law—something I have committed to for a very long time.

[Mr Richard Quigley (Isle of Wight West) (Lab)]

Q5. As the Prime Minister will have heard me say, the Isle of Wight is a fantastic place to live, work and learn, despite the Leader of the Opposition trying to give us to China. He will also be aware of some of the challenges we have in cross-Solent transport with reliability, frequency and price. The emissions trading scheme, which ironically applies only to hybrid vessels, might increase fares further. Exemptions have been granted for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the lack of grid capacity means that we cannot fully decarbonise. I am deeply concerned about the impact on our island community. Will the Prime Minister urgently ask Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Ministers to review this issue?

[The Prime Minister]

I know how important affordable ferries are to my hon. Friend’s constituents’ everyday lives. The ETS scheme will make journeys cleaner and we are working with ferry companies on the grid connections in ports that enable greener vessels. I will make sure that he gets a meeting with the relevant Minister.

[Stephen Flynn (Aberdeen South) (SNP)]

If I have just heard the Prime Minister correctly, he has essentially rolled the same pitch in relation to Matthew Doyle as he did with Peter Mandelson, in saying that they were not clear with him. He appears to be the most gullible former Director of Public Prosecutions in history. But he has a slight problem, because some of us do read the newspapers. Towards the end of last year, on 30 December, having written to the House of Lords Appointments Commission, I received a response from the chair, who advised me that as part of their vetting, they

“provide confidential advice to the Prime Minister on the propriety of the proposed nominees”.

Will the Prime Minister release that advice?

[The Prime Minister]

I have made my position clear. The right hon. Gentleman knows how the system works. He says he reads the newspapers. He will have read that in nine days, his party’s former chief executive goes on trial for embezzling money. He will have read that in the Queen Elizabeth hospital, we see one of the worst failures in Scottish public life, with vulnerable children and adults put at risk. Evidence of serious warnings to the SNP Government was ignored. He should have been looking at those warnings, not looking at the newspapers. The First Minister should act, because families deserve accountability.

[Mr Speaker]

Can I just remind the Prime Minister that we do not discuss live cases because they are sub judice?

[Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)]

Q7. Last week I met Lleyton, a T-level construction student at Bradford college. He was working on the remediation of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete at Airedale hospital. In the last few years, Bradford has made tremendous progress in reducing the rate of young people not in employment, education or training, so will the Prime Minister reconfirm his commitment to vocational and skills training and set out how this Labour Government are ensuring that young people like Lleyton have career opportunities in construction and other critical industries?

[The Prime Minister]

Lleyton’s success is a testament to what young people can achieve with the right support. We are creating technical excellence colleges and delivering training places for 60,000 skilled construction workers. Labour is creating opportunities for every young person while building the homes, schools and hospitals that our country needs, and that is what I am fighting for.

[Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)]

Q2. Last year, Plymouth was named the national centre for marine autonomy and given a defence growth deal. However, the small and medium-sized enterprises in the unmanned surface vessel sector, many of which are based at Turnchapel Wharf in my constituency, are having their work held back because of out-of-date regulations from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Last week, I was told that draft regulations exist, but that they require primary legislation. Without those new regulations, many of the vital SMEs developing autonomous vessels that have dual commercial and defence use are at risk. Will the Prime Minister show some backbone and consider finding a slot for primary legislation as a matter of urgency, or at least consider adding this to the King’s Speech later this spring, assuming that he is still in charge of the legislative programme by then?

[The Prime Minister]

We are taking action, but if the hon. Lady sends me or my team the details of the particular case in her constituency, I will see if there is anything we can do to provide support on what is obviously an important issue.

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

Q8. The Prime Minister will be aware of Lorraine Cox, a resident of Exeter who in 2020 was murdered by a man whose asylum claim had been denied but who was not removed from this country. Will the Prime Minister set out what more this Government will do to speed up deportations of people who have no right to be here and who have committed criminal offences? Will he meet Lorraine’s father to discuss the family’s campaign for justice for Lorraine?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises an awful case, and my thoughts and those, I am sure, of the whole House are with the loved ones of Lorraine. Tackling violence against women and girls is a critical mission, and I will ensure that a Home Office Minister meets the family. I want to be absolutely clear that illegal immigrants who commit such appalling acts should not be in this country. That is why we have already removed nearly 60,000 people with no right to be here, and deportations of foreign criminals are up by a third. We are also reforming human rights law to allow us to swiftly remove those with no right to be here.

[Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)]

Q4. My Oxfordshire constituents are sick of widespread potholes, particularly at Milton interchange, in Didcot and along the A417 serving Challow and Stanford in the Vale. Yet the Government are cutting funding for Oxfordshire county council by £24 million over three years, which is equivalent to its annual highways maintenance budget. The Prime Minister is of course entitled to dig a pothole for himself, but why is he cutting funding for Oxfordshire’s roads?

[The Prime Minister]

We have put a record amount of money into dealing with potholes. The hon. Member needs to ask his council, which is run by his party, why it is not using that money.

[Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)]

Q9. It is a source of great pride to Scottish Labour MPs that, as Chancellor, Gordon Brown lifted more children out of poverty than any other Chancellor before him. It is also a source of great pride that—[Interruption.]

[Douglas McAllister]

It is also a source of great pride that the torch has now been passed to our Government. By removing the two-child benefit cap, we will lift more children out of poverty in a single Parliament than ever before—2,260 children in West Dunbartonshire and 95,000 children in Scotland. Does the Prime Minister agree that this demonstrates true Labour values in action across Scotland and the UK?

[The Prime Minister]

In Labour, we know the damage that growing up in poverty does to the life chances of children. The Tories put hundreds of thousands of children into poverty, and they will live with that for the rest of their lives. We are undoing their damage. Our decision will benefit almost 100,000 children in Scotland as we deliver the largest reduction in child poverty in any single Parliament.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

Q6. The manslaughter of baby Gigi Meehan at a nursery in Cheadle; 21 counts of child cruelty at Riverside nursery in Twickenham Green in my constituency; 56 charges of sexual assault and creating indecent images at a nursery in Camden; and, just this week, 21 counts of sexual abuse at a nursery in Bristol. CCTV was critical in convicting the criminals in most of those cases. Will the Prime Minister ensure that no parent ever has to fear for their child’s safety while they go to work by introducing mandatory CCTV in nurseries and a childcare workers register?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Member for raising those cases—they are harrowing cases for everyone in this country. The safety of children is of course paramount, and we are acting to keep them safe. We are implementing all the proposals consulted on to strengthen safeguarding as part of our early years foundation stage framework. An expert group is developing guidance on the effective use of CCTV—the point she makes—and considering whether it should be mandatory in early settings. I will ensure that she is updated as we take that work forward.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Friern Barnet) (Lab)]

Q10. This House legislated 126 years ago to make Alexandra Palace“available for the free use…of the public forever”, and last year Luke “the Nuke” changed darts forever by rewriting the record books. Today Ally Pally plays host to world championship darts, Masters snooker, Haringey Huskies and Haringey Greyhounds ice hockey, plus music, comedy, drama and more. Will the Prime Minister keep the palace competitive as the international venue for darts by supporting my campaign to raise a one-off public-private £500 million investment for urgent capital improvements?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend. The people’s palace is an iconic British venue—a home for darts, snooker and world-class music. It is vital that we support brilliant venues that give so much to our cultural life. That is why we are providing almost £200 million to preserve heritage buildings across the country, so that venues like Alexandra Palace can have a bright future.

[Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)]

Q15. Last week, Start bay was devastated by storm damage. Homes and businesses were wrecked, and an important A road was severed. The thousands of people who use it to commute to school and work, and to get to healthcare, are stranded. Bus routes are broken and emergency vehicles are blocked. The presence of the 300,000 visitors who come annually and underpin our fragile tourism economy is now in doubt. That place stepped up twice to defend our country: once when 1.5 million cubic metres of shingle were dredged out of the bay to build to naval dockyards in Plymouth, and again when it was used as the training grounds for the D-day landings, at a cost of 750 American soldiers’ lives. It is also the site of a unique national nature reserve, with rare species found only there. This storm damage is of national significance. Will the Prime Minister ensure that the myriad Government agencies and Departments will work together with experts to find and fund a sustainable long-term solution to the coastal erosion that is inflicting so much—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. It is an important question but I am sure that the Prime Minister got it in the first two minutes.

[The Prime Minister]

I know that communities have been badly affected by recent storms, and the damage to the A379 is very concerning. I am pleased that the hon. Lady is meeting the Roads Minister and the Floods Minister today. We are investing £10 billion to improve coastal and flood defences. I thank the Environment Agency staff who are working hard right now to put extra protections in place and support people ahead of further wet weather.

[Preet Kaur Gill (Birmingham Edgbaston) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q11. For too long, communities like mine in Bartley Green felt that decisions were made about them, not with them. Fourteen years of austerity did not just close neighbourhood offices and youth services; it broke trust. Through the Pride in Place initiative, the Government are helping residents to restore the Woodgate Valley café and so much more. What is the Prime Minister’s message to my constituents about how politics can be a force for good, and about how he will never walk away from my community and the country we love?

[The Prime Minister]

My message is that I have always believed that those with skin in the game make the best decisions about their communities. I know just how much her constituents want Woodgate Valley visitors centre back open. Together, we can make that happen. Hope in Britain is found in our communities. That is why we are investing so heavily in our Pride in Place initiative.

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

My constituent’s mum, sister and stepfather were killed in a horrific dangerous driving crime for which a foreign national offender was sentenced to 10 and a half years. However, the family have just been told that he may be released imminently in order to be deported, having served just three years. Will the Prime Minister look at the case and at what steps can be taken to prevent that release? Such a pitiful time served—three years for three lives—would be the final insult and undermine public confidence in our justice system.

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising what is obviously a terrible case. If he provides further details, I will ensure that it is looked into as quickly as possible.

[David Pinto-Duschinsky (Hendon) (Lab)]

Q12. Our democracy, in this House, relies on the spoken word, but many with speech disabilities are left without a voice. I have a speech impediment, and so do 2 million adults and one in 12 children. It can rob people of their confidence, lead to discrimination and limit our opportunities in work and in public life. It is time to tear down those barriers. Will the Prime Minister share what this Government are doing to help people with speech disabilities to get the support they need, so that their voices can be heard?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is an inspirational and powerful campaigner on this issue. By doing what he is doing, he will give great courage to other people to take the same steps. I am proud that we are increasing the number of NHS speech and language therapists. We are trialling new ways of identifying and supporting children with speech and language needs in their early years, because I agree that every child deserves the help they need to reach their potential.

[Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)]

My Surrey Heath constituent Christopher was discharged from the RAF in 1966 solely for being gay, but—despite the Government committing to restoring the medals and the berets, and indeed acknowledging the injustice of those who were discharged from our armed forces prior to 1967 for that reason—his case has been dismissed out of hand, with only a letter that contained the tracked changes from the template that the Ministry of Defence issued. Can I ask the Prime Minister to take a personal interest in this case to ensure that it is resolved swiftly, and to allow Christopher to march on Remembrance Day, as he wishes to, with his medals and his beret, and his dignity restored?

[The Prime Minister]

I will do everything that I can to ensure that that happens, which is absolutely what should happen. This was an absolute scandal—the gays in the military ban—and it is absolutely right that it was overturned, but we must follow through on that. I will do everything I can to make sure that we deliver on what the hon. Gentleman has asked me to deliver on.

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

Q13. Last week, the Government launched a consultation on establishing a growth development corporation for Cambridge. In the meantime, Peter Freeman, the chairman of the Cambridge Growth Company, is on the record as saying that Cambridge should aim to be“the most liveable city in Europe”.That is a fantastic ambition with which I entirely agree. Given that this will be good for growth, not just for Cambridge but for the region and the wider economy, will the Prime Minister set out what more the Government can do to help us, not least to help the generation of young people who can barely afford a home?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend’s constituency is already home to brilliant research, innovation and economic growth, and through a Greater Cambridge development corporation we will put in place the powers and resources to unlock its full potential. I want to let local people have their say. We will make sure that we create a fair plan, with attractive, well-connected and thriving new neighbourhoods.

[Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge) (Con)]

Does the Prime Minister share with me the concern that while some ambassadors retiring in disgrace get tens of thousands of pounds in pay-offs, many other civil servants are failing to get the retirement that they are due and are expected to turn to their old Departments for bridging loans? This is clearly a scandal. Will he put all his effort behind making sure that those who have served with integrity are treated with the dignity that they deserve?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes; we are taking steps, and the right hon. Gentleman is right that we should take further steps. I think there will be agreement about that across the House.

[Cat Eccles (Stourbridge) (Lab)]

Q14. The announcement that pubs and music venues will receive a much-welcome reduction in business rates is a positive step. However, in our manifesto we did promise root-and-branch reform of business rates. Hospitality and leisure businesses in my Stourbridge constituency are facing a projected £20,000 increase in business rates over the next three years, along with employment cost increases and energy costs. Hospitality and leisure play a vital role for our communities, providing jobs and spaces to socialise in, so will the Prime Minister consider a similar rates relief package for hospitality and leisure?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right that we need the conditions for flourishing high streets. That underscores the importance of six interest rate cuts, the £5.8 billion that we have put into Pride in Place, and the work to put money in people’s pockets. I am pleased that we have delivered a 15% cut and a two-year freeze for pubs and live music venues. That comes on top of the £4.3 billion to support businesses, and permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I thank the Prime Minister for raising the stabbing at Kingsbury high school yesterday. It is absolutely right that we allow the police to get on with their job of investigating this terrible atrocity; indeed, the police are out there now, providing reassurance to parents and people in the community. I am sure I speak for the whole House when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and those who witnessed the atrocity. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] Will the Prime Minister now look at what needs to be done to combat knife crime across the country? It is absolutely wrong that people are carrying knives in the first place—they do not need to—and that they are drawn into such terrible atrocities. We owe it to the victims to ensure that that happens.

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this case: it is one of the most powerful and important things that we do as MPs in this place, particularly when there are such awful cases. He is absolutely right; we must everything that we can to reduce knife crime. There are initiatives and steps that we have taken to remove the accessibility of knives, in relation to where they can be bought. We need to do much more work with our schools and young people to ensure that people do not carry knives, and we need to work with the police and law enforcement to make sure that these incidents are investigated as quickly and effectively as possible. I think that is an endeavour shared by Members from across the House.

[Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) (Lab)]

In my constituency, the beautiful grade II listed Chetwynd bridge on the A513 between Edingale and Alrewas has been restricted to cars and light vans since October 2023, so farmers face a 25-mile diversion. With severe flooding hitting Edingale multiple times a year, this vital route risks being cut off for emergency response times as well. Bridges like this one, with a clear economic impact on communities, should be the focus of the Government’s new structures fund, which I welcome. Will the Prime Minister encourage his Ministers to meet with me so that we can find a solution to this issue for my rural constituents in Tamworth?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. Just hearing her makes it absolutely clear that we need to find a solution, so I will make sure that she gets the meeting that she requests with the relevant Minister so that we can move as quickly as possible.

[Ayoub Khan (Birmingham Perry Barr) (Ind)]

Rubbish is building up right beneath my very nose. [Laughter.]

[Ayoub Khan]

It is becoming a serious problem. In Birmingham, bin strikes have now been running for close to two years. May I gently ask the Prime Minister to intervene? Will he perhaps speak to the leader of Birmingham city council to see if he can re-enter negotiations with Unite the union?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise this issue. We are doing everything that we can to resolve the situation, which absolutely needs resolving.