Oral Answers to Questions

Kim Leadbeater Excerpts

Tuesday 14th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Hunt]

I will take this question as well because my hon. Friend has lobbied me personally on this issue. Literally no one in this House has worked harder on it than he has. I have an example of the very problem he is talking about in my own constituency. He is right that it takes too long for housing development capital to reach NHS primary care projects. We will look into the issue carefully.

[Kim Leadbeater (Batley and Spen) (Lab)]

T2. In my constituency we are faced with the potential closure of vital public services such as Cleckheaton town hall, Claremont House dementia care home and Batley sports and tennis centre. Ultimately, that comes down to cuts imposed on Kirklees Council of more than £1 billion since 2010. Ahead of next week’s autumn statement, what conversations has the Chancellor had with his colleagues in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ensure that our local authorities are properly funded and the future of our vital public services is protected?

[Jeremy Hunt]

I am answering a lot of the topical questions today because I have a new team. I want to reassure the hon. Lady that we are very aware of the financial pressures that local authorities are under. I am having extensive discussions with the Communities Secretary.

Cost of Living Increases

Kim Leadbeater Excerpts

Tuesday 25th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Tulip Siddiq]

My hon. Friend is always fighting for her constituents, and she is absolutely right. As someone who was on the shadow Education team before I came to this role, I know that if our young children are not fed or looked after properly, they will not fulfil their potential in this country. We should be looking at the future generations, and the Government are ignoring them.

The Government’s mishandling of the cost of living crisis is just another chapter in the long story of 13 years of economic failure. More than a decade of Conservative rule has seen our country fall behind as the British economy has experienced low growth, rock-bottom productivity rates and chronic under-investment.

[Kim Leadbeater (Batley and Spen) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making an important speech. I find it deeply offensive that Conservative Members are laughing at some of these statistics. That just shows how out of touch they are with the reality of life for so many people across this country. Does she agree that it is an absolute travesty in 2023 that we have families where children are having to share beds, sleep on the floor or sleep in the bathtub because people cannot afford to move house, to pay their rent and to pay for food for their families? That is not a laughing matter.

[Tulip Siddiq]

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. Having campaigned in her constituency, I know there are huge levels of poverty in certain places. Someone from the back said that we are lucky here because we are MPs and get paid a decent salary. We certainly should not be laughing at people who are struggling to make ends meet.

I remind the House that, when Labour was in government, real GDP growth averaged 2%. If growth had continued at the same rate under this Tory Government, we would have £40 billion more to spend on our public services, without having to raise a single tax. Instead, a lack of strategic policy making, economic uncertainty and the absence of an industrial strategy mean that the UK is going through the slowest economic recovery in the G7.

Household Energy Bills: VAT

Kim Leadbeater Excerpts

Tuesday 11th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kim Leadbeater (Batley and Spen) (Lab)]

I am really concerned that some Conservative Members simply do not understand the reality or scale of this problem and just how many people are truly fearful of the impact of the cost-of-living crisis that is coming down the line.

Of course, first and foremost we need to help those in the greatest need—people in serious poverty who are struggling to put food on the table—but the reality I see in my constituency of Batley and Spen, and which I am sure is the same across many other areas, is that people in many households are already experiencing genuine anxiety and hardship. There are many families that the Government are putting under huge pressure; they are not desperately poor but they are not rich either, and often both partners are working full time. They are trying to do the best for their kids, but they are really struggling through no fault of their own.

I have heard from many such families in my constituency. They are proud, hard-working people, but too many face the embarrassment and—I know some would say—humiliation of having to rely on food banks. When I see Conservative Members on social media going to food banks and telling them what an amazing job they are doing, quite honestly I think that they are the ones who should be embarrassed. Those food banks are there for a reason: the policies pushed by the Conservative party over the past 12 years.

I was contacted last week by a couple whose story really shocked me. He works full time helping people with drug and alcohol problems, and she is a children’s crisis counsellor. They cannot afford to pay this month’s gas and electricity bills and are worried about what will happen if they fall behind on their rent. They are desperately trying to ensure that their kids do not suffer, but things are so tight that they cannot afford to go to the shops for the next two weeks. He described it as a

“matter of survival getting to the end of the month.”

These are good people trying to help those even less fortunate than themselves, and we should not be making their lives even more difficult in the coming months.

I also have elderly constituents and constituents with disabilities who are trying to navigate complex procedures around heating costs, reductions in benefits and a lack of housing provision. Many are struggling with anxiety and depression on top of their physical health issues. Indeed, this afternoon we are focusing, quite rightly, on the financial impact of the cost of living crisis, but we should also take a moment to remember that the past couple of years have had a huge impact on people in other ways. Many have already paid a heavy price with their physical health and mental wellbeing. So why would the Government want to add extra stress and pressure to people who are already struggling by not supporting the motion, which would help them? There are things that we could do to make a real difference to people’s lives. For me, it is very simple: if we can act, we should act. I urge Members on both sides to recognise the seriousness of the crisis that many people are facing by supporting the motion.