Petitions
Debate between Liam Byrne and James Naish(4 days, 21 hours ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
James Naish (Rushcliffe) (Lab)
I wish to present this local petition on behalf of my constituents in Rushcliffe, who have signed it to signal their desire for the centre of West Bridgford to have a dedicated Changing Places facility.
As debates in this House have repeatedly noted, Changing Places facilities are a highly valued initiative. They give people with disabilities, their families and their carers more freedom to participate in activities that the rest of us take for granted. I hope that both Rushcliffe borough council and the Government will take note of this issue.
The petition states:
The petition of residents of the constituency of Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire,
Declares that West Bridgford town centre, alongside many other town centres across the country, is in need of dedicated Changing Places facilities to make the town centre more accessible, particularly for families with children who have special educational needs and disabilities.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with Rushcliffe Borough Council to explore reallocating funds to deliver Changing Places facilities in West Bridgford as soon as possible, and to make the delivery of Changing Places facilities a national policy priority.
And the petitioners remain, etc.
[P003129]
Liam Byrne (Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North) (Lab)
I rise to present this petition on behalf of the residents of Ward End ward in Birmingham. The petition calls on the city council to safeguard children and parents around Thornton and Sladefield schools, where I have undertaken school gate surgeries over the past month. Right now, children are at risk from dangerous driving on Bamville Road and St Agatha’s Road. Implementation of a one-way system on those roads, together with a proper study of a one-way system on Chetwynd Road and St Joseph’s Road, would ensure safer children, happier residents and fewer damaged vehicles. This is now possible thanks to the hard work of the city council and its transportation lead, Councillor Majid Mahmood, and his decision to earmark £3.8 million of the clean air zone revenue budget.
The petitioners therefore request
“that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with Birmingham City Council to implement a one-way system on St Agatha’s Road and Bamville Road in Ward End, to ensure the safety”
of children, residents and their vehicles.
Following is the full text of the petition:
[The petition of residents of Ward End in the constituency of Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North,
Declares that Birmingham City Council, in collaboration with local residents, must seek to address the safety of local children around Thornton School, by implementing a one-way system on St Agatha’s Road, and Bamville Road.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with Birmingham City Council to implement a one-way system on St Agatha’s Road and Bamville Road in Ward End, to ensure the safety of both residents and their vehicles on the roads.
And the petitioners remain, etc.]
[P003131]
UK-EU Summit: Policy Priorities
Debate between Liam Byrne and James Naish
Liam Byrne
The hon. Gentleman is right. As we were composing the report for the House over the last few weeks, he consistently underlined the risks that coastal communities would confront if the deal were to go the wrong way. We are all incredibly grateful to him for the voice he provided
We must ensure that we enshrine certain standards that allow us to draw closer to Europe without compromising the alliances already coming into place and those that we still need to strike in order to restore our role as the great free trading nation on this planet. The way in which the Government seek to tessellate the agreement with the trade deal with the United States, with our leadership of the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership, with the deal with India and with the deals that are still to come with the Gulf Co-operation Council, Korea and Switzerland needs to be very carefully balanced. It looks like the Government have just about got it right. However, I know that the hon. Gentleman, like me, will want our Committee to keep an extremely close eye on that as the trade talks proceed.
James Naish (Rushcliffe) (Lab)
I thank my right hon. Friend for this excellent report that is rooted in pragmatism and practical steps, which I know my constituents welcome. He has highlighted a gap—as he sees it, it is a first step —and there is a lot more to do. Will his Committee undertake to monitor the gap between what the Government have committed to and where he would like the Government to be, and will he and his Committee continue to make recommendations to the Government?
Liam Byrne
My hon. Friend is right to point that out. The good news for the Minister is that he now has the scrutiny framework in front of him that the Committee will use to judge the progress that he makes over the course of this Parliament. There is a moment that is still to come for this Parliament, however. At some point—we are not quite sure when—scrubbed treaties will need to be laid in this House. This House will then enjoy the grand total of 21 days during the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 process in which to scrutinise them. That is not very long. The Committee has therefore decided this week that we will open inquiries on the EU, India and United States deals. We will seek to hold hearings on each of those trade deals before the summer so that the House can be as well informed as possible when the CRaG process begins, and we can zero in on the issues that are at stake for our constituents.