Oral Answers to Questions

Kevin Bonavia Excerpts

Wednesday 19th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Darren Paffey (Southampton Itchen) (Lab)]

3. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.

[Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)]

10. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.

[Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) (Lab)]

13. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.

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[Jess Phillips]

I absolutely agree. I am more than happy to meet my hon. Friend and his constituent. Allegations of any crime involving serving police officers should be investigated robustly and independently by the police. Outside of criminal investigations, disciplinary investigations, including those involving serious assault and sexual violence, are referred to the IOPC under mandatory referral criteria, but there is more to do.

[Kevin Bonavia]

In my constituency of Stevenage, we have an excellent charity called SADA—Survivors Against Domestic Abuse. Such charities rely on multi-agency working to deliver essential services to those affected by domestic abuse. How are the Government continuing to support organisations in working closely together to continue to provide effective services to those who have suffered domestic abuse?

[Jess Phillips]

I thank SADA for the amazing work that it does. In December 2024, we prioritised confirming funding for those delivering frontline services. In the next few weeks, we will work on agreeing decisions about our wider budget that will support the Government’s ambition of halving VAWG in a decade, to deliver on our manifesto commitments.

Oral Answers to Questions

Kevin Bonavia Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Georgia Gould]

The Prime Minister is determined to uphold high standards of conduct in public office, unlike the previous Government. That is why decisive action has been taken. This is a Government in the service of working people, and we will not hesitate to take action against any Minister who fails to meet those high standards.

[Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)]

16. What recent progress his Department has made on strengthening national resilience.

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Pat McFadden)]

We are taking action to strengthen the UK�s resilience. Next month, the UK Resilience Academy will formally launch with the capacity to train over 4,000 people a year. Later this year, we will undertake a full national pandemic response exercise�the first of its kind in nearly a decade. Of course, resilience has to protect the most vulnerable, so we are mapping vulnerability around the country to ensure that in our resilience strategy we can protect people from all backgrounds and of all incomes.

[Kevin Bonavia]

The covid inquiry found that years of under-investment under the Conservatives meant that our health services were already struggling to cope even before covid struck, with waiting lists rising years before the pandemic. Does my right hon. Friend agree that investing in our NHS and tackling the terrible delays that patients, including many of my constituents in Stevenage, experience in receiving treatment are vital to improving our country�s resilience?

[Pat McFadden]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to point not just to specific resilience measures but the most fundamental thing for national resilience: the underlying strength of the country and its services. Nowhere is that more true that in the national health service. We are investing in the national health service and are already seeing the early results of that, with the first fall in NHS waiting lists for years. It is a good start; it is not enough, and we want to build on that progress to treat patients more quickly and, indeed, build our resilience in the process.

Oral Answers to Questions

Kevin Bonavia Excerpts

Wednesday 5th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We were doing so well. [Laughter.] What we inherited was insecurity in our economy. We inherited a £22 billion black hole, and we have now turned that around. We have got the highest investment coming into our economy. We have got wages higher than prices, and interest rates have been cut three times. That is the difference between stability with Labour and instability with the Conservative party.

[Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)]

Q2. I commend the Prime Minister for the decisive leadership that he has shown in Europe and at home to bolster our collective security. The £13.4 billion increase in defence spending has been very much welcomed in my constituency. Will the Prime Minister outline how that increase in defence spending will boost jobs and growth in places such as Stevenage, and will he join me in visiting some of my constituency’s businesses?

[The Prime Minister]

Our plan for change is built on national security and that has to go hand in hand with economic security. As we return to 2.5% for the first time since the last Labour Government, that investment must mean UK skills, UK jobs and UK apprenticeships. I was very pleased that on Monday we were able to announce a new hub and new spending targets to help 12,000 small and medium-sized enterprises access the supply chain, which will boost economic growth. That will be really important in so many constituencies—and of course I will consider my hon. Friend’s invitation.

Defence and Security

Kevin Bonavia Excerpts

Tuesday 25th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

This is a really important issue, and it is important that, as well as sanctions, we bear down on those providing assistance to Russia, whether that is countries or individual businesses. We shall continue to do so, working with allies.

[Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)]

My right hon. and learned Friend the Prime Minister is absolutely right to say that this is a generational moment for this country’s security. I pay tribute to this generation’s armed forces and all those who work in the defence sector, including in Stevenage, where they are refitting the Storm Shadows for use by Ukraine for its security and our security. Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that the increase in defence spending he has announced today will, done properly, also help the wider economy?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend’s constituents working in Stevenage for their important work. It is important that we make sure that this spending is measured in jobs and secure jobs across the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Kevin Bonavia Excerpts

Thursday 23rd January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dr Allison Gardner (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Lab)]

2. What recent progress his Department has made on strengthening cyber security.

[Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)]

6. What recent progress his Department has made on strengthening cyber security.

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Pat McFadden)]

The battle to ensure protection against cyber-attacks is constant and ongoing. I made a speech to the NATO cyber-defence conference a couple of months ago, and said that the Government are taking action to strengthen our cyber-security and protect our digital economy to deliver economic growth. Last week, we announced important proposals to protect UK businesses from ransomware, the most harmful cyber-crime, which can often cost a lot of money and do a lot of damage. Those measures will complement the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which is being introduced this Session, to help to make the UK safer from cyber-threats.

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[Pat McFadden]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s question. The AI opportunities action plan gives us great opportunities and shows how seriously we take this matter. I know that organisations such as Code First Girls are doing important work providing free coding courses for women. I thank them for that. It is really important in pursuing this plan that we have the skilled people to do it. I am pleased to say that much of the cyber-security work in Government is led by outstanding women. We want more people with the right skills, so well done to Code First Girls, which we look forward to continuing to work with.

[Kevin Bonavia]

Between July 2023 and 2024, over 150 cyber-incidents were reported by the local government sector in the UK. Last year, the average ransom demand from a ransomware attack was over £2.2 million. As the local government sector does not pay ransoms, the average cost to our councils of recovering from a ransomware attack is approximately £12 million. Will my right hon. Friend therefore make additional support available to local authorities to enhance their cyber-security and protect local services for constituents such as mine in Stevenage?

[Pat McFadden]

My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the threat to local authorities. This is a whole-system threat. It can affect central Government, private businesses and local authorities. In October, my colleagues at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government launched the cyber assessment framework for local government, which sets a clear standard for the sector. They also provide monthly cyber clinics and support local authorities to improve collaboration, share intelligence and tackle common vulnerabilities. There has to be constant dialogue and a constant fight against this growing threat.

Oral Answers to Questions

Kevin Bonavia Excerpts

Wednesday 13th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

The hon. Gentleman has raised an important issue. It is crucial for teachers and school staff to have what they need in order to tackle harmful behaviour and language in schools. Sadly, sometimes the very staff he talks about are on the receiving end of such attitudes and behaviour, which is completely unacceptable. As Education Secretary, I will do all I can to ensure that school staff and teachers in England have the support they need in tackling behaviour of this kind.

[Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)]

2. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to tackle violence against women and girls.

[Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)]

8. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to tackle violence against women and girls.

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Jess Phillips)]

This Government are committed to using all the levers at our disposal to deliver our mission to halve violence against women and girls. We have already announced our intention to embed specialist domestic abuse advisers in 999 control rooms, launched pilots for the new domestic abuse protection orders, and implemented a duty on employers to anticipate occasions when sexual harassment may occur and take responsible steps to prevent it.

[Kevin Bonavia]

I am very pleased to hear that from the Minister. I am proud that in Stevenage, independent domestic violence advocates and independent sexual violence advocates working for Survivors Against Domestic Abuse—also known as SADA—do brilliant but challenging work supporting those who are at risk and suffering as a result of domestic or sexual abuse throughout Hertfordshire. There is no doubt that IDVAs and ISVAs are a key part of domestic abuse provision across the country, so will the Minister assure me that the Government will continue to support them in the vital work that they do?

[Jess Phillips]

Having done that work myself, I am more than happy to champion and praise the work of IDVAs and ISVAs. As my hon. Friend might imagine, we will use every tool available to us, including those vital roles, to target perpetrators and address the root causes of abuse and violence.

Ministerial Code: Policy Announcements

Kevin Bonavia Excerpts

Tuesday 29th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

I will certainly pass on that request to the relevant Health Minister. Putting aside the point that the hon. Gentleman makes about scrutiny, I am sure that he joins us in welcoming the focus on radiotherapy, and there will be a real desire to work on it with him across party lines.

[Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)]

I was elected to keep the promises that we made in our manifesto. The Conservative party broke nearly every promise that it made in its 14 years in government. Does the Minister agree that it is only right for this Government to confirm that we will honour the pledges we made at the election?