Business of the House
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(3 weeks ago)
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Mr Speaker
Before we come to business questions, I am sure that the House will want to send our best wishes to Robin James, who retires today after 40 years, during which he clerked the Home Affairs Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Defence Committee, the Committees on Standards and the Committee of Privileges. Robin was a Clerk of the Committee that approved the building of Portcullis House, and as a Clerk to many Committees since, he has produced many thorough reports. I wish him a long, happy and fulfilling retirement.
Chris Philp (Croydon South) (Con)
Will the Leader of the House provide us with the forthcoming business?
Chris Philp
Mr Speaker, I echo your thanks and congratulations to Robin James, who retires today after 40 years of service. In this House, we all rely on the service of the Clerks, and I know that we are all extremely grateful to Robin for the work that he has done over four decades. I am sure that the whole House will also want to send our thoughts, prayers and best wishes to those affected by the terrible floods currently happening in Spain. Some British citizens are affected as well.
It is good that we will have such ample time to debate the Budget, because it raises some extremely serious issues. On 29 July, the Chancellor of the Exchequer stood at the Dispatch Box and told us that there was a £22 billion black hole. That claim has been repeated by Labour Ministers subsequently as a pretext for the tax rises that they planned all along. The Chancellor asked the Office for Budget Responsibility to produce a report into this matter, which was published yesterday. It is called the “Review of the March 2024 forecast for departmental expenditure limits”—a snappy title. I have read that report, as I am sure others have, and nowhere does it mention £22 billion. That number is not there at all. In fact, the only reference to a number is found on page 2 and in table 1. Even the Treasury, straining every sinew, could only find numbers that added up to £9.5 billion, and even there the OBR says that
“it is not possible to judge how much of the £9.5 billion”
might actually have been realised. When the Chancellor said that there was a £22 billion black hole, yesterday’s OBR report now proves that that was simply untrue. Will she come here and apologise for providing that number to the House, given that the OBR report shows that it was simply not true, and certainly does not justify £40 billion-worth of tax rises—the largest tax rises in any Budget in history?
Let me turn to election promises and trust in politics, because when we make promises to the public, it is important that we keep them. [Laughter.] I do not know why you are laughing, because these are your promises. The Labour party said that its plans did not require any extra tax rises. Yesterday, the Government announced £40 billion-worth of extra tax rises. They said that there would be no increase in national insurance, but yesterday they announced a £25 billion increase in national insurance.
Let me turn now to their final fig leaf: working people. Apparently, working people would not be affected. In the last couple of hours the Chancellor herself, on the BBC, has admitted what we all knew all along: that working people would be affected, as a result of lower wages. In fact, we can quantify that, thanks to the OBR’s analysis—I am now quite a fan of the OBR. It published yesterday its “Economic and fiscal outlook”. It is 205 pages long, so some Labour Members might not have had a chance to read it all, but I have. On page 54, in paragraph 3.11, it tells us exactly how much of that £25 billion national insurance increase will fall on the shoulders of working people. The OBR says that
“76 per cent of the total”
will result in “lower real wages” for working people. So 76% of that £25 billion increase will fall on the shoulders of working people. That is £19 billion a year lower wages as a result of yesterday’s Budget. That is not me; that is the OBR. So perhaps the Leader of the House would like to apologise to those working people for the £19 billion pay cut she has just handed them.
During the election campaign, Conservative Members warned that Labour’s plans would result in a £2,094 tax increase per working household, and Labour called us liars. I remember being on the radio and the TV, and Labour shadow Ministers at the time—including the Leader of the House, I think—called us liars. We now know the truth: £40 billion a year. That is £2,173 per working household, so about £100 more than we warned. Perhaps she can apologise for that as well.
We also warned that the tax burden would increase to 37.4% of GDP. The OBR says that it will be 38% of GDP—higher even than we warned when Labour called us liars. That is the highest tax burden ever in our country’s history. So the Government were elected on a false prospectus. The OBR has now told us that will result in lower growth by the end of the forecast period and higher inflation. The truth has finally come out: the Government are going to tax more, they are going to borrow more, and they are going to spend more, and now we know who will pay: working people, to the tune of £19 billion a year.
Mr Speaker
Can I just say to the shadow Leader of the House that he said “you”? I am definitely not responsible for this Budget—I want to make that very clear.
Lucy Powell
Thank you, Mr Speaker. May I, too, join you in paying tribute to Robin James, who has been a Clerk here for over 40 years, most recently on the Committees on Standards and of Privileges, which has certainly put him in the spotlight in recent years. I know he wishes to retire to Wales, with the twin ambitions of learning Welsh and finally learning to drive. I am sure we wish him well with both those endeavours. I also congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for High Peak (Jon Pearce) on the birth of his newborn daughter Connie this week.
Finally, I think, the Conservative leadership contest will finish this weekend, and it could be all change on the Opposition Benches. This could be my last exchange with the right hon. Member for Croydon South (Chris Philp). He is well known for his ambition, and perhaps today was another audition for higher office. I am sure he would welcome a promotion, from the detailed discussions we have on restoration and renewal and House procedure, and I am that sure he will be looking forward to that. I thank him for the work that we have done together. If this is our last exchange, I will really miss his—how shall I put it?—boundless enthusiasm, because God loves a trier; let us hope the next Conservative leader does too.
As the right hon. Gentleman rightly said, yesterday we saw history made, with the first ever Budget delivered by a female Chancellor. I am so proud of my friend for smashing that glass ceiling. The country voted for change and our Budget lives up to that promise. We have made clear choices. We have chosen responsibility over recklessness, reliable public services over endless crises, putting working people first, investment over decline, a Budget that is now backed by the International Monetary Fund—an unprecedented endorsement of a Budget. In many ways, it is not a Budget that we expected or wanted to make, but we have had to fix the mess left by the Conservative party—[Interruption.] I know that Conservative Members do not like to hear it, but they were not straight with people before the election.
The Office for Budget Responsibility, which the right hon. Gentleman quoted, has made it clear that, had it known the true state of the public finances in March, its forecast for the previous Government’s plans would have been “materially different.” I do not usually agree with the former Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, but perhaps the right hon. Gentleman should heed his advice today. He said that the situation Labour inherited was “structurally difficult.” In other words, we are clearing up the Conservatives’ mess.
I am a little confused, Mr Speaker. Does the right hon. Gentleman now accept that there was a black hole, but disagrees on the amount, or is he still in denial that there was even a black hole at all? It is ironic that the Conservatives spent all week undermining the OBR, but are now trying to hide behind the OBR’s figures. I am not sure—which is it? He will know that there was a huge black hole, even before the pay awards that the Conservatives left sitting on their desk, and for which they set aside no money even though they knew that someone would have to pay for it.
We make no apology for the Budget, which is about long-term investment and a decade of national renewal. That is why it is right that we consider the benefits of investment and not just the cost. This country has suffered years of decline and under-investment—we were ranked second lowest for investment in the OECD. We have chosen investment, not further decline under the Tories. We have had to be honest about the difficult choices that we have made in the Budget given what we were left with. I must ask the right hon. Gentleman and other Conservative Members: how would they fix the finances left by their Government? How would they give the NHS the money that it needs? How would they get the long-term investment that the country is crying out for?
We have absolutely put working people first, and I am proud of the pay rise that the Budget gives the poorest workers next April. There are many more things to welcome in the Budget, and I am sure that the House, and maybe the right hon. Gentleman, welcomes them. They include one of the biggest ever increases in NHS spending to deal with the record waiting lists that the Conservatives left behind, much-needed funding for special educational needs and disabilities education, a boost for carers for the first time since the 1970s, fixing the schools that the Conservatives left to crumble, more affordable social housing, money to tackle the cladding crisis, ushering in a decade of national renewal, and investing in the jobs of the future in clean energy, tech, aerospace, automotive, transport, life sciences and much more.
In particular, and I must say this because it needs underlining, this Government have finally put aside money to pay compensation to the victims of historical injustices, including infected blood and the Post Office Horizon scandal, and to deliver fairness for the mine- workers’ pension scheme. Honestly, the most shameful part of the Conservatives’ recklessness with the country is that they promised many times that victims of those injustices would receive compensation, but they put aside not a single penny—not a single budget line to pay for it—in any of their costings.
We cannot in one Budget undo the 14 sorry years of Conservative under-investment, stagnant growth, falling living standards and crumbling public services, but this Budget makes a very good first step forward.
Lucy Powell
My hon. Friend has long campaigned on these issues, and has asked about them before. He rightly raises the campaigners’ points; he will be aware that the report is detailed and substantial, requiring the Government to give proper time to considering all its findings. I assure my hon. Friend that as soon as that proper consideration has been given, Ministers will come to Parliament to report on it.
Marie Goldman (Chelmsford) (LD)
I also express my sympathies with the people of eastern Spain on the tragic scenes we are seeing there. I understand that a 71-year-old Briton may also be among the dead, and we expect the numbers to go up. It is perhaps timely that a general debate on flooding is coming up. I welcome that debate, and look forward to hearing what is discussed.
There is much in yesterday’s Budget that the Liberal Democrats welcome. In particular, we welcome the additional funds for the day-to-day NHS spending. We have long been campaigning for that, and we very much welcome it. However, there are patients in hospital who are well enough to leave, but cannot do so unless they get the care they need. Unfortunately, the £600 million that was announced for social care will not touch the sides of what is needed to make that system work properly and alleviate the pressures on the NHS. Will the Leader of the House set aside Government time for a general debate on how best to reform social care?
Lucy Powell
As an MP who also represents a number of people who live in tall buildings, I completely hear what my hon. Friend is saying. This is a very important matter, and I am sure that if she were to apply for a debate, it would get a lot of attention.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
The good news is that the Backbench Business Committee will be meeting on Tuesday. We are open for business, and a steady series of applications has started, particularly from one of our long-term season ticket holders. We are going to be open for requests for 90-minute or half-day debates; it would be very exceptional for us to grant a full day’s debate. We are also going to keep a very close eye on whether those people who make or support applications actually turn up and speak in the debates that are allocated. We had a very good meeting with the Leader of the House earlier this week, and I am looking forward to her announcing time for the Backbench Business Committee to allocate debates.
Mr Speaker, you have very graciously granted us the use of Speaker’s House for the Diwali reception on Monday, for which we thank you. To Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, I wish Shubh Deepavali for today, and Nutan Varshabhinandan for Saturday.
Lucy Powell
I thank my hon. Friend for raising important matters relating to his constituency, which is absolutely what he should be doing. He is right to say that the Conservative party starved local government of funds over recent years, which has left communities paying the price. That is why I am really proud that, in yesterday’s Budget, we saw a significant real-terms increase for local government spending power over the coming years, and they will be having multi-year funding settlements.
My hon. Friend raises a good point about flood resilience. He will know that we have set up the floods taskforce. There is a debate during the week after next on these issues, and he may wish to raise that point then.
David Davis (Goole and Pocklington) (Con)
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Indeed, this question may be of interest to you. The Leader of the House has ministerial responsibilities, but she is also the nearest thing this House has to a shop steward in the Cabinet, and it is in that context I ask her this question.
A month ago, I wrote to the Chancellor about her cancellation of the investment opportunity fund, a decision that has put at risk an investment of hundreds of millions of pounds in a new factory in Goole in my constituency, and with it hundreds of jobs. Two weeks ago, I chased up that letter and was told I was going to get a reply; I was even given a reference number. Yesterday, at 1 o’clock on the dot, I got a timed email telling me that the Treasury was not going to answer my question and was handing it off to somebody else. This was a dishonest piece of obfuscation to avoid accountability before the Budget debate. I hope it is not a harbinger of things to come, but will the Leader of the House remind her colleagues in Cabinet of their direct responsibility to us, for our constituencies, to answer such a question and treat it properly in future?
Lucy Powell
I join in congratulating the right hon. Member. He raises a really important matter, and he can be assured that I take a dim view when my colleagues do not respond to parliamentary written questions or correspondence in both a timely and a thorough manner. I constantly remind—and have very recently reminded—all my Cabinet colleagues and Ministers of their duties to do so. If Members have any instances of when that has not been the case, I will take those up directly, as I will if he wants to share that one with me.
Mr Speaker
In fairness, as the right hon. Gentleman has brought me into this discussion, I am also concerned. I expect Ministers to reply to hon. Members of this House, whatever side they are on. Worse than that, to transfer such a question to someone else at the last minute is totally unacceptable. Ministers are accountable to this House. I fully support the Leader of the House, and I will work with her to make sure that all Members get such letters on time. Let us get that message back to Ministers—I am sure those on the Treasury Bench are listening—and I hope that a reply is being sent as we speak.
Liz Twist (Blaydon and Consett) (Lab)
I recently had the privilege of visiting the newly created Ryton heritage garden, which includes a memorial to Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and of cutting the ribbon. Brighten Ryton is an amazing organisation that does much to help our local community, and I particularly thank Terry Docherty who led the project. May we have a debate in Government time on the importance of local community organisations in supporting our areas?
Lucy Powell
I join my hon. Friend in congratulating all those who work at the heritage garden in her constituency, and particularly Terry Docherty—it sounds as if he has does an immense job for her constituents. This topic is raised regularly, and now that the Backbench Business Committee is established, I am sure it would consider an application for a debate on the involvement of local community activists and the importance of volunteering to our communities.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (North Cotswolds) (Con)
I know that you, Mr Speaker, take a close interest in the enormous restoration and renewal project in this House, which is estimated to cost at least £10 billion of anybody’s money—[Interruption.] At least. We are currently spending £2 million a week on maintenance in this place, a large chunk of which is taken up by the costs of preparing for restoration and renewal. I put it to the Leader of the House that we need to get on and make some decisions on this matter, because otherwise we face some catastrophic failure in one of our services in this House—a flood, a fire, or something. We have been talking about this since 2014, and it sets a bad example to the rest of Government if we cannot even manage our own affairs.
Sir John Hayes
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I think the Leader of the House needs a few moments to calm down.
Lucy Powell
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that. Perhaps that joke should have referred to one of the prospective leaders of the—no, I will not go any further.
The right hon. Gentleman refers to some very important independent financial institutions that offer this country the financial stability for which is renowned around the world. When we ignore those institutions, as the former Prime Minister Liz Truss did, we see who pays the greatest price for that. Those institutions play an important role, but he is right to say that they should be accountable to Parliament, and it is my expectation that those bodies appear regularly before Select Committees.
Lucy Powell
The hon. Gentleman raises a good point about the A180 in his constituency. He will be aware that in yesterday’s Budget a significant increase in investment in our roads was announced. There are also significant growth deals and devolution plans to ensure that local people are delivering the local transport needs of their area. I am sure he can raise these issues at Transport questions or in the forthcoming Budget debates.
Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for letting me speak. [Interruption.] Genuinely, thank you very much. It is your job, but I appreciate it.
Two weeks ago, at my surgery, I met medically retired chief fire officer Rod Wainwright. Rod was one of the first attenders at the terrible tragedy of Grenfell seven years ago. Subsequently, he has been medically retired because of post-traumatic stress disorder. He did not get the support he asked for from the fire service and the in-house counselling was not enough, and he has subsequently had issues with his pension. Rod blames himself for not being able to save more people on that terrible evening. Does the Leader of the House agree that it is people like us, in this room, with suits on, who are to blame for the terrible tragedy of Grenfell, not heroes like Rod Wainwright? Does she agree that further debate needs to be had to support heroes like Rod?
Business of the House
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(4 weeks ago)
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Chris Philp
It is rather telling that only one Government Member appears to be excited about the prospect of the Budget next week. They obviously know what is coming.
Let me start by congratulating Morgan Edwards on his appointment as director of customer experience and service delivery here in Parliament. He starts his role in December. Apparently he was previously employed at Legoland in Windsor. Quite why the parliamentary authorities thought someone with experience of presiding over squabbling juveniles was well suited to working here, I really do not know.
I have to say that the business has been a little thin in recent weeks. We have a general debate today and a general debate on Monday—we have had no fewer than 10 days of general debate so far. Yesterday, we had regulations that would ordinarily be taken in Committee, and business ended early on Tuesday. We expect that at the end of a Government’s time in office, but it is a little early for this Government to be running out of steam.
At this point in the 2019 Parliament, we had had 31 new Bills introduced; we currently have only 18, a third of which had been published or consulted upon previously, and those Bills that are coming forward are being rushed. The Employment Rights Bill, which had its Second Reading on Monday, has much of its policy deferred into regulations, to be debated in Committee at some point in the future, denying the full House the opportunity to properly debate those important issues.
When it comes to the winter fuel payment regulations, which we discussed previously, we should have had the report of the Social Security Advisory Committee before we debated and voted on that important measure. The committee has now finally written its report, and it says that it is concerned about the take-up of pension credit, that the Government’s forecasts of fiscal savings have question marks hanging over them and that we need a full impact assessment, which the Government did not bother providing. The committee has also called for specific changes to the regulations. Will the Leader of the House bring the regulations back to the House for us to consider again now that we have the committee’s report and it has recommended changes?
I believe that the Prime Minister is in Samoa attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit. Will the Leader of the House confirm that he will make a statement upon his return next week? I understand that one of the topics under discussion is the question of reparations. My view is that it is totally wrong to be demanding money, amounting to as much as £18 trillion, for sins—very serious sins—committed hundreds of years ago. Will the Leader of the House confirm that it is her view and the Government’s that it is totally wrong to entertain discussions about reparations in relation to things that happened hundreds and hundreds of years ago? I believe that is the Government’s position, and I believe the Prime Minister has ruled out even entering into discussions on that topic, quite rightly. Will she confirm that that remains the position of His Majesty’s Government?
Finally, I ask the Leader of the House to organise a debate on foreign interference in elections—an important topic that concerns us all, and something that Members on both sides of the House have criticised. I understand that more than 100 Labour party staffers are enjoying themselves in the United States in the presidential election that is under way. Ministers have claimed that this is all spontaneous and has all been organised and paid for by the staffers themselves, but that claim appears, to put it politely, grossly implausible now that it has emerged in a now-deleted social media post that the whole thing was arranged by the Labour party’s director of operations, Sofia Patel. She wrote in that deleted post that there were “10 spots available” for campaigning in the swing state of North Carolina, and she said,
“we will sort your housing”.
It looks to me as though that is being organised by the Labour party’s director of operations.
Does the Leader of the House agree that it is damaging to our national interest—this is a serious point—if the governing party, the Labour party, is organising interference or campaigning in another country’s election? [Interruption.] Does she agree that it will make it difficult for His Majesty’s Government to deal with the newly elected Administration in America if the other side wins, and that that will undermine our national interest? Does she accept that by engaging in organised campaigning in this way, Labour is putting party interest before national interest, and will she organise that debate? [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. Please, I do not need further comments. I am sure Members are trying to catch my eye, but that is not the best way to do it.
Lucy Powell
I join the shadow Leader of the House in welcoming Morgan Edwards to this place. I am sure he brings great experience from Legoland that can be brought to bear in this Chamber.
I send my condolences to the family of Geoff Capes. As a child of the ’80s, I remember what a legend he was, and I believe his shot put record is still unbroken.
I take this opportunity once again to point the House to the call for views launched by the Modernisation Committee last week. Tomorrow, new limitations on MPs’ second jobs come into force. The House will remember that before recess, we voted to remove the exemptions on paid advocacy roles. I wanted to give Members time to adjust to the new rules, hence why they are coming into force tomorrow. That was a manifesto commitment and we are determined to restore trust in politics, raising standards and delivering on our manifesto commitments.
The shadow Leader of the House again mentions winter fuel payments. I gently remind him once again that we published an equality impact assessment, which we were not required to do, but we were forthcoming with it. We brought forward to this House—I do not think this would have happened under the previous Government —a full vote on the measures, and they were clearly passed by this place.
The shadow Leader of the House asks about the Prime Minister’s visit to CHOGM. I can confirm that there will be a statement from the Foreign Secretary next week about that and other matters, and I look forward to the right hon. Gentleman asking some questions. The issue of reparations is important, and I am glad that he has raised it. We recognise the horrific impacts and the understandable and ongoing strength of feeling across the Commonwealth and other communities about these matters. He is right, however, that our position on reparations has not changed. At the conference this week, we are committed to working with our Commonwealth partners on the very pressing issues that we face today, and looking forward to the future, not looking to the past.
The right hon. Gentleman raised the issue of campaigning in the United States and elsewhere. I note that he wants a full debate on that while also questioning why we are offering full general debates on other issues; I am not sure whether wants that general debate or not. Campaigning abroad happens in every election. People do that in a personal capacity, as well he knows. This is a bit rich, really, coming from the Conservative party. Its would-be leaders have spent weeks debating and arguing over who would or would not vote for Donald Trump. The former Prime Minister Liz Truss went to the Republican national convention and spent her time there discrediting the sitting President.
Lucy Powell
I feel that it is a bit rich. It is for the American people to decide who their next President is and this Government are committed and determined to work with whoever wins that election.
The right hon. Gentleman then raised issues of business, which I will happily come on to. Today marks our 30th sitting day since we won that landslide general election victory. In that time, we have introduced 20 Bills—that is 20 Bills in 30 sitting days: over half of our King’s Speech programme has already been introduced. I remind him that that is way more than the coalition Conservative Government managed in the whole of 2010, which was the last time we had a change of Government. We have passed our first Labour Act in 14 years and made 34 statements to Parliament—more than one a day.
There is still much more to come, and I am sure the right hon. Gentleman wants to know about it—on planning, border control, education, mental health, crime and policing, Great British Railways, the Hillsborough law, buses and much, much more. He and I both sat through the last Parliament, although others here did not: we both know that at the end it really was a zombie Parliament, clocking off early on seven out of 10 days in its last year. The last Government had run out of ideas and could not agree on what to do and when, so they did nothing. They dithered and delayed on their own flagship legislation, and we are getting on with delivering some of the things that they failed to do.
For example, this morning there is the Football Governance Bill, which they long promised. We have reintroduced it, strengthening the position of fans and financial sustainability in the game. We are delivering where the previous Government did not. What about the Renters’ Right Bill, which the previous Government had long planned but never fulfilled? We have taken it forward. Perhaps the most disingenuous example of all is Martyn’s law. The then Prime Minister promised to introduce it by the summer on the day before he called a general election, knowing full well that he was not going to be able to introduce it at all. We have brought it in. Frankly, we have brought more change to this country in our 30 sitting days than the previous Government did in 14 sorry, sorry years.
If the shadow Leader of the House really wants to look at effective use of time, he might ask what his own party has been doing for the last few months. It seems to have taken three and a half months to whittle five candidates down to just two—not that anyone has particularly noticed. However, it is fair to say that we have seen a few signs of life in recent days. The Conservatives have finally shown a bit of oomph, a bit of what it is all about to be the party of opposition—they have taken a really principled stance: to stand against the abolition of hereditary peers.
Lucy Powell
My hon. Friend raises an important issue that has been raised a number of times during business questions. We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care at the end of their lives. It is a crying shame that the hospice sector relies so heavily on fundraising and voluntary support. We will continue to work closely with the sector to make sure that it can survive and thrive going forward.
Marie Goldman (Chelmsford) (LD)
I welcomed the emphasis that the Leader of the House placed on the Modernisation Committee’s call for views. I am sure that many Members have been sidling up to her and saying, as they have to me, “Wouldn’t it be good if we could change this particular aspect of the way in which Parliament does things?” I am pleased to be able, now, to direct them to the Modernisation Committee’s website, where they can submit their own views, and I encourage them to do so.
I also thank the Leader of the House for presenting the business programme. I note that several days have been provided for the Budget debate, to which I am sure we are all looking forward—although I am not totally convinced that the shadow Leader of the House and the official Opposition are looking forward to it. If reports in the media are to be believed, they had the opportunity to change the timetable for their leadership election so that the new leader might be able to respond to the Budget, but it appears that they were not too keen on that idea. Perhaps they were not entirely confident of their own ability to respond to the Budget, but we shall see what happens.
Many of the questions to Ministers from Members on both sides of the House are regularly being answered with a rather frustrating, “Wait until the Budget.” However, while many of us understand that there are good reasons for the fact that detailed responses often cannot be given ahead of the Budget, time is ticking on, and the seasons do not really seem to care about the Government’s timetable. Winter is fast approaching, but our NHS does not have the funding that it needs to fully support local health services. According to figures from the House of Commons Library following work commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, 12-hour wait times at A&E have been going up and up throughout the country. I am extremely worried about what that means for my constituents, and I am sure that other Members will be concerned about theirs.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has previously estimated that long A&E delays led to about 14,000 excess deaths last year, which means that 268 people have been dying, unnecessarily, every week because they are having to wait too long to be seen. It really is a matter of life and death, and that is unacceptable. Yes, it is another damning indictment of the last Conservative Government’s failure to get a grip on healthcare in this country, but it is what we do right now that really matters. Make no mistake: it is a choice, and we can choose to fix this.
While the Liberal Democrats are calling for a wider funding boost for the whole of the NHS, we cannot keep lurching from winter crisis to winter crisis. Will the Leader of the House call on the Chancellor to create a new ringfenced fund—
Marie Goldman
A ringfenced fund that takes account of the average emergency winter funding for the NHS—
Mr Speaker
Order. One of us is going to sit down, and it certainly is not going to be me. The hon. Lady has already taken three minutes. She should not start speaking faster and more loudly just to try and stop me. She must come to an end now, and do so very quickly.
Marie Goldman
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Will the Chancellor set aside money to be spent on building up winter resilience and winter-proofing the NHS?
Lucy Powell
I thank my hon. Friend for her question, and she is absolutely right. The people of Gaza have endured 12 months of this conflict and are suffering from a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Over 100 hostages are still being held by Hamas in truly awful conditions, which is why this Government are absolutely clear that the fighting must stop now. We need an immediate ceasefire and the release of all the hostages. We need much more aid and support to get into Gaza, and we need long-term peace and stability. The Government are working at pace with our international partners to achieve those ends, and there should be a statement on this matter in the coming days.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am looking forward to the magical words “business to be nominated by the Backbench Business Committee” in future weeks. I think there is one remaining member of the Backbench Business Committee to be appointed, which prevents us from meeting, so I urge the House to get on with that. May I suggest to the Leader of the House that it would be helpful if she announced the business to be held in Westminster Hall at these sessions? That would elevate the status of Westminster Hall debates.
Today we have seen the Charity Commission publish a damning report on Mermaids, which concludes that the charity’s poor governance has led to mismanagement. That has serious implications following the statutory inquiry into not only Mermaids, but other charities that look after vulnerable children. Could we have a statement from the Government about what action they will take to ensure that vulnerable children are protected, and that charities do not mismanage the resources they are provided with?
Lucy Powell
In my short time in government, I have seen at first hand the exemplary work that our civil servants do every day. Much of the time they do it quietly and secretly and do not get the credit, so it is great that my hon. Friend has raised the matter on the Floor of the House.
It is up to individual Departments to negotiate with their trade unions on pay rises. I think the average award this year is 5%, but my hon. Friend is right that, working together with our partners in the trade union movement, we can end industrial action and support people getting higher wages and better working conditions.
Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)
I have served for several years on the programme boards for restoration and renewal. The existential threat to this building is fire. I have raised on several occasions, as I know others have, the importance of installing a water mist system, installing more fire doors and making sure that they all shut. This is such an important issue. I do not demand an immediate answer, but will the Leader of the House try to persuade the authorities that rather than having endless debates on whether to decant, we need to protect this building with a water mist system? The modern systems are designed so that they will not even damage paintings, but they could save the building.
Business of the House
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(1 month ago)
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Chris Philp
May I start by paying tribute to Alex Salmond, a substantial figure in our politics and personally always very popular across the House? We will all miss him. We also fondly remember Sir David Amess, whose crest is on the wall opposite me, and who was cruelly murdered three years ago this week. Sir David and his family will remain forever in our thoughts and prayers.
I congratulate colleagues who introduced Bills yesterday. The Bill on terminally ill adults has attracted particular interest. Getting the details right will be critical. If the Bill proceeds, will the Government commit to providing the time needed in Committee and on Report for full debate and votes?
We have just heard that the Budget will be delivered in 13 days’ time. There was not much enthusiasm from Labour Members when the Leader of the House announced that—I cannot imagine why. Labour solemnly pledged in its manifesto that it would not raise national insurance, so raising employer’s NI would break that promise, as well as hitting working people and destroying jobs.
But hon. Members should not just take my word for it. Paul Johnson of the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies said that Labour’s NI plan is “a straightforward breach” of its manifesto commitment. The Federation of Small Businesses said it would be “a clear manifesto breach” and will “hit working people”. UKHospitality said it is “a tax on jobs”. The British Chambers of Commerce said it will
“hobble growth and lead to…less money to invest”
in workers. The Institute of Directors called it
“a poll tax on business”
and said that
“the costs will be borne by workers.”
My final witness is Rachel, from Leeds, who apparently used to work briefly at the Bank of England. In 2021, the Chancellor herself admitted that a rise in employers’ national insurance is, in fact, in her words, a “tax on working people”.
Now, Labour Members could have been honest in the election and made the argument for the increase, but they were not honest; they pretended that they had no intention of increasing NI, to trick people into voting for them. However, this is not just about Labour’s election dishonesty. In a Radio 5 Live phone-in yesterday, I spoke to a man who is closing down his business and leaving the country because of the high taxes and increased regulation proposed by this Government. Another man phoned in to say he was closing down too. This Government are driving businesses to close and making successful people leave the country. Their policies will destroy jobs and reduce the amount of tax collected. I say to them sincerely that there is time in the next 13 days to stop and think again. I appeal directly to Labour Back Benchers, whom the Prime Minister is more likely to listen to than me, to please appeal to their Prime Minister to think again. Otherwise, his personal poll ratings—already minus 36%—are likely to plummet further.
Speaking of the Prime Minister, will the Leader of the House arrange a statement on the special police escort for Taylor Swift? It is reported that the police decided initially that no special escort was needed. Apparently, the Home Secretary, the Attorney General, the Mayor of London and, inevitably, Sue Gray then pressured the police into changing their mind and providing one, violating the police’s operational independence. We now know that among the many freebies that the Prime Minister has eagerly scrounged for himself were tickets and a backstage pass to that very concert. And it was not just him: the Home Secretary, the Science Secretary, the Culture Secretary, the Health Secretary, the Education Secretary, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Minister for School Standards and the Prime Minister’s Parliamentary Private Secretary all had free tickets too. What were they doing? Having a Cabinet meeting at the concert? Does the Leader of the House understand how bad this looks? The Government initially denied that the Met was pressured, which now appears to be untrue. Will the Government finally come clean and tell the truth about exactly what pressure was put on the Met and by whom?
Finally, will the Leader of the House arrange a debate on illegal immigration and asylum accommodation? It emerged this week that the Government are seeking even more hotels, at huge expense, to cater for the large number of illegal arrivals. Over 13,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the channel by small boat since the election. The Government must now regret cancelling the Rwanda scheme before it had even started. The deterrent effect would by now have kicked in. We have seen the same approach work in Australia. We have seen the deterrent effect work with returns to Albania. Even the European Commission is now looking at a Rwanda-style scheme. Will the right hon. Lady therefore consider reinstating the scheme, given that the European Commission itself is now looking at it? And why have the Government closed the Bibby Stockholm, leaving them instead frantically renting expensive hotels? The Government are failing on illegal immigration. The country and the House need answers.
Mr Speaker
Order. Shadow Leader of the House, you get five minutes. Please do not take advantage. If you have good points to make, please make them earlier.
Lucy Powell
I join the shadow Leader of the House in paying tribute to Alex Salmond, a great parliamentarian who has sadly passed away. I also pay tribute to the late Sir David Amess, as this week marks three years since his awful murder. We still miss him greatly in this House. I also send condolences to the friends and family of Liam Payne. One Direction was loved by millions across the world, and this was a tragic end for someone so young.
I would like to draw the House’s attention to the Modernisation Committee’s call for views on its future work, which has been published this morning. I am hoping to hear many views, and I thank the shadow Leader of the House and other Committee members for their constructive engagement so far.
As the right hon. Gentleman mentioned, the private Member’s Bills were presented yesterday. I know that many colleagues want to ensure that proper time and consideration are given to the important matter of assisted dying. As a Member of this House who was present last time we considered this issue, I know that these debates of conscience bring out the very best of Parliament in respectful and considered debate.
I am sure that we all welcome this week’s news that inflation is now lower than the Bank of England’s target, for the first time in three years. After so much political instability, economic turbulence and rising bills, it will be a huge relief for families. But it is just the first step in securing the economy. Given the state of the public finances we inherited, there is a long road ahead.
The Conservatives do not like to hear it, but they left the country’s finances in a very sorry state. They ducked the decisions on things that they knew would explode after the election, and were grossly irresponsible: pay deals left on Ministers’ desks with no money allocated; this year’s pay rise for teachers not funded, and last year’s not either; a hospital building programme that was a work of fiction, not worth the paper it was written on; out-of-control expenditure in Departments, like the billions spent on asylum hotels; reserves for this financial year spent three times over; waiting lists at a record high, with industrial action ripping through the NHS; and prisons on the verge of collapse. It was a Government who knew they were about to lose, and left us to pick up the pieces.
This is not about not just the £22 billion black hole that we have now; it is a black hole year after year. Doing nothing is not an option. If we do not deal with it, markets lose confidence and the cost of borrowing goes up. We saw two years ago what happens, did not we not? The poorest in society pay the highest price when the economy tanks. We are all still paying higher mortgages and higher costs after what the shadow Leader of the House did when he was the Chief Secretary of the Treasury in Liz Truss’s Cabinet.
I will not be discussing the measures that may or may not be in the Budget. The Chancellor is working night and day to deliver economic stability. We stand by all our manifesto commitments, and we know that we need to live within our means. I have said it once and I will say it again: I will not take the right hon. Gentleman’s advice on economic stability, if he does not mind.
The right hon. Gentleman raised the Taylor Swift concerts, inevitably. Let me say to this House [Interruption.] No, I was not there. The concerts generated £1 billion for the UK visitor economy this summer. Surely people welcome that. I know that he is interested in quoting other people; he might want to read what the Conservative peer Andrew Lloyd Webber said in The Times today: the continued attention on this concert by the Conservatives is “ludicrous”. It is about time they “Shake it off”, quite honestly—someone had to get it in.
The right hon. Gentleman raised the Rwanda scheme. Frankly, more Home Secretaries from his Government went to Rwanda than illegal migrants. We are fixing the mess that the Conservatives left behind, as we are across all policy areas. We are restoring confidence and governing for the long term. Just this week, our investment summit attracted record private sector investment—twice as much as was attracted by the same conference under his watch last year. Businesses are coming to Britain; a vote of confidence in Labour’s handling of the economy, turning the page on the instability and infighting that happened in the past.
Just this week, we have gone further: we have published our industrial strategy; unlocked thousands of new homes on brownfield sites; kept our promise to veterans on voter ID; tackled spiralling car insurance costs; taken our first steps on Martyn’s law and on removing hereditary peers, which Conservative Members were against; published our Employment Rights Bill; taken action on carer’s allowance overpayments; increased independent film tax credits; and, today, opened funding applications for school-based nurseries. That is the difference that just one week of a Labour Government can make, unlike the Tories.
Business of the House
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Chris Philp (Croydon South) (Con)
Will the Leader of the House update the House on the forthcoming business?
The Leader of the House of Commons (Lucy Powell)
Twenty-one today, Mr Speaker.
The business for the week commencing 14 October includes:
Monday 14 October—Second Reading of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill.
Tuesday 15 October—Second Reading of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill.
Wednesday 16 October—Opposition day (3rd allotted day). Debate on a motion in the name of the Liberal Democrats. Subject to be announced.
Thursday 17 October—General debate on the international investment summit.
Friday 18 October—The House will not be sitting.
The provisional business for the week commencing 21 October will include:
Monday 21 October—Second Reading of the Employment Rights Bill.
Tuesday 22 October—Second Reading of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill [Lords].
Wednesday 23 October—Motion to approve the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2024, followed by motion to approve the Iran (Sanctions) (Amendment) Regulations 2024.
Thursday 24 October—General debate on Black History Month.
Friday 25 October—The House will not be sitting.
Additionally, the House may wish to know that I have tabled a motion under future business confirming the upcoming dates for sitting Fridays. Subject to the agreement of the House, the first sitting Friday to consider private Member’s Bills will be 29 November.
Lucy Powell
My hon. Friend raises a very important issue, and we welcome the level of ambition from the mayor and the local authorities in the east midlands to improve transport in the region. As was outlined in Transport questions earlier, the Department for Transport is undertaking a thorough review of these issues, and I am sure it will soon come back to the House with further information.
Marie Goldman (Chelmsford) (LD)
I echo the words of the Leader of the House about the issues affecting Florida at the moment; we wish everyone safety. I also echo the congratulations of the shadow Leader of the House to the Leader of the House on her very special birthday. I welcome the statement from the Leader of the House, and we on the Liberal Democrat Benches look forward to scrutinising parliamentary business and working constructively for the good of the country.
The new Government have mentioned many times their commitment to building 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament. We Lib Dems recognise that our country is in a housing crisis, and we welcome the target. Although I know that all MPs love donning a hard hat for an all-important photo opportunity, those homes will be delivered not by central Government but by local government, largely through the planning system and partnership work with developers and infrastructure providers. That is the case in my constituency, where the Liberal Democrat-run Chelmsford city council is already delivering, with thousands of new homes being planned. However, these homes are in danger of not being delivered at all if the Government do not urgently act in two extremely important ways. First, they need to speed up their decision making around funding for large infra- structure projects, such as the A12 widening scheme. If this important scheme does not receive the funding promised by the previous Government, more than 10,000 homes may not be delivered.
Secondly, councils that are a long way into developing or reviewing their local plans, such as Chelmsford city council, are extremely concerned that they will miss the arbitrary national planning policy framework transition period deadline by just a matter of weeks. That will render all the expensive work that they have done on their plans null and void, thereby threatening the delivery of thousands of homes and leaving a developer free-for-all in the absence of a valid local plan. Specifically, planning authorities desperately need the Government to extend the transition period in the new NPPF to at least three months. When can we expect to receive assurance about funding for the infrastructure projects that are crucial to supporting the Government’s home building targets, and when can we expect a solution to the cliff edge faced by councils that are currently reviewing their local plans?
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Speaker
I do not want to embarrass Members, but I will just say that if you were late in, please do not stand. Let us take somebody who was in very early: Ian Lavery.
Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)
Responsibility for Woodhorn Museum on the former Woodhorn colliery site in my constituency—the home of the fantastic world-renowned pitmen painters—has this week been transferred to Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums by the Tory-led Northumberland county council, which has sold off the family silverware. There has been no consultation whatsoever with residents. Can the Leader of the House please make time in the parliamentary schedule for us to discuss how local people and communities can have a say on how to protect cultural assets in their region?
Lucy Powell
As ever, my hon. Friend makes a very important point. These important cultural, industrial and historical assets are for the community to enjoy into the future. I am sure that the topic he raises would make for a very good Adjournment debate, should he wish to apply for one.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
On 9 July 1944, Lily Ebert arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau with her mother, brother and younger sister, who were all murdered in the gas chambers. Somehow Lily escaped. She dedicated her life to spreading awareness of the horrors of the Holocaust and recounting her story, and hundreds of millions of people around the world have seen videos of her reciting her story. She died earlier this week. Despite the efforts of the Nazis, she leaves behind 10 grandchildren, 38 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild; so the attempts of the Nazis to wipe out her family failed. But we have a problem. Lily dedicated her life to spreading the word about what happened in the Holocaust, and we send condolences to her family. As the Holocaust survivors sadly pass away, it is even more vital that we get the Holocaust memorial and the education centre built alongside this place. The Holocaust Memorial Bill is going through its stages in Parliament. Will the Leader of the House do everything she can to speed up that process, so that before the last Holocaust survivor sadly leaves us, they can witness the monument to making sure that it never happens again?
Business of the House
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
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Lucy Powell
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important matter. I know what an amazing campaigner she has become on the issue of brain cancers, following the tragic death of her much loved sister, Margaret, whom we all dearly miss to this day. My hon. Friend and I both know many people affected by this terrible disease, which is the killer of so many, and delivers people such a terrible prognosis. It is absolutely heartbreaking. I will ensure that the Health Secretary has heard what she has said. Should she apply for a debate on the subject, I am sure that it would be very welcome to the House.
Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
I thank the Leader of the House for announcing the forthcoming business, and echo her in wishing the Princess of Wales all the best in her further recovery. May I also say how proud it makes me that the first Opposition day debate in the name of the Liberal Democrats has been announced?
Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Jane Austen festival in Bath. It is the largest festival of its kind, and a wonderful occasion to celebrate one of the city’s most famous residents. Everybody here is invited to come and celebrate Jane Austen in Bath’s regency glory. Austen is one of the UK’s best known female authors, and her writing is still known hundreds of years after she wrote her famous novels. She was a strong advocate for education and broke down barriers for women in education and literature, which makes it all the more disappointing that even today many students will not study a female author at GCSE. A shameful 2% of students did, according to End Sexism in Schools. It is not just when it comes to the authorship of novels that women lack representation; over 70% of the set texts offered by the most popular awarding body have both a male author and a male protagonist.
Diverse literature enriches children’s education. There is a wealth of inspiring novels written by women that children unfortunately do not get to read in school. If the next generation is to grow up challenging male dominance in society, boys and girls need to be exposed to empowering representations of women. We need more pride and less prejudice in the curriculum. In the light of the Government’s upcoming curriculum and assessment review, can we have a statement from a Minister on how to address the gender bias in English literature?
Lucy Powell
I thank my hon. Friend for that question. He will be aware that in the short time we have been in Government, there have been two statements to the House on the infected blood compensation scheme. Over the summer, the Government worked at pace, and incredibly hard, to ensure that our statutory deadline for establishing the compensation scheme was met by 23 August. That compensation scheme is now up and running, and money is being paid out. He is right that there is a commitment to providing further time for debate of the issues on the Floor of the House, and there is active discussion about bringing that forward.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I urge the Leader of the House to publish the membership numbers for Select Committees, and urge the usual channels to get on with populating those Committees, in particular of course the Backbench Business Committee, so that we can start to schedule the debates that Back Benchers, rather than the Government, want to table.
The Leader of the House has not announced when the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will come back. In Committee, I and many Labour Members proposed amendments to the then Government’s Bill that we will want to progress. I realise that the matter will be considered by the Health Secretary. Will the Leader of the House also take away and consider the view that shisha lounges and the sale of paan need to be included in the measures? Otherwise, we will leave escape clauses for those who want to resist taking action on mouth, throat and lung cancer.
Lucy Powell
That topic came up a lot in last week’s business questions, so I am sure that there would be wide support for the hon. Gentleman’s request. The role that hospices play in end-of-life care is critical to this country. I think it would surprise most people to understand that the vast majority of hospice funding is charitable and not from the Government. I encourage him to apply for a debate, because I think that he would get a lot of support.
Mr Speaker
I call Patricia Ferguson, whom I congratulate on her election to the Chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee.
Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow West) (Lab)
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Will the Leader of the House comment on the Government’s actions to reset the relationship with the Scottish Government? The early meeting of our right hon. Friend the Prime Minister with the First Minister of Scotland was widely welcomed, but what more can be done to ensure that both Governments work together to deliver for the people of Scotland?
Lucy Powell
My hon. Friend raises an incredibly important issue. As she has said, local authorities have a statutory duty to arrange free home-to-school travel for children of compulsory school age, but many others fall outside of that obligation. I will ensure that the Secretary of State for Education has heard my hon. Friend’s plea. If she applied for an Adjournment debate on this matter, I am sure that it would be granted.
Mr Speaker
I will be running business questions for about another 40 minutes, so to help each other, shorter questions and brief answers might be a way to get everybody in. If people are disappointed, they should look to colleagues who may have taken too long.
Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 introduced the requirement that directors and other individuals verify their identity before being listed at Companies House. I have found company directors whose registered addresses simply do not exist, which at the least means that papers cannot be served, and at the worst enables fraud and other crime. May we have a debate on the progress of two things: the secondary legislation that needs to be passed for those basic checks to take place; and an update on how Companies House’s systems are progressing to allow directors’ identities to be checked?
Helena Dollimore (Hastings and Rye) (Lab/Co-op)
Over the summer, many parents in my constituency were in touch with concerns about our local schools. Of particular concern to parents of children at Ark Alexandra secondary is a new rule that children must leave their mobile phones at home. Many parents support measures to reduce mobile phone use and social media use in school—they know how damaging it is—but they are really concerned about children having phones on the journey to and from school and the safety issues involved, and they want schools to look at options, such as lock boxes, which have been used successfully elsewhere. Can the Leader of the House advise me how in this House I can take forward that issue and the wider issue of improving our local schools?
Mr Speaker
Order. I will try to call as many Members as possible, but we are really going to have to be a bit quicker, otherwise other colleagues will not get in.
Lucy Powell
I thank my hon. Friend for that question. As the mum of teenagers, I know what an issue it is to balance the desires of parents to be able to contact their children and see where they are with their not wanting them to be on their phones all the time, especially while at school, which would be damaging to their education. Schools are encouraged to consult parents on these issues to get that balance right. The issue of mobile phones for teenagers and children is a big one, so and if she puts in for a debate, I am sure she will get one.
Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer offered assurances on 29 July from the Dispatch Box about the construction of railway stations at Wellington and Cullompton, but this was contradicted the following day in a letter I received from the rail Minister, who said that those stations were still at the design stage. The rail Minister offered a meeting in the Tea Room when the House was sitting, but given that the House is about to adjourn for three weeks for the party conferences and the next Transport questions are not until 10 October, can the Leader of the House suggest how I might progress the case for a station at Cullompton with the Rail Minister with urgency?
Lucy Powell
I was going to say the same thing, Mr Speaker. I am sure the hon. Gentleman has done that in raising the matter this morning. I will ensure that the Transport Secretary has heard that call and will ask for a Transport Minister to meet him urgently, as he was promised.
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Speaker
Order. A couple of Members are standing who came in very late. I will not be taking their questions.
Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)
Our creaking water infrastructure is rarely out of the news, and just this week my constituents in Shoreham had to endure burst sewage pipes. Thanks to years of under-investment by our water companies, record amounts of sewage are being pumped into our rivers and seas. Will the Government make time for this important issue to be discussed?
Business of the House
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(3 months, 4 weeks ago)
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Lucy Powell
I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. As I said, the footage is incredibly disturbing, and there is understandably a lot of concern, particularly in his constituency, given that his constituent was affected. Greater Manchester police have said that the officer involved was immediately suspended from all duties, and a referral has now been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. I will ensure that the Home Secretary has heard my hon. Friend’s question and is in touch with him at the earliest opportunity to discuss the matter further.
Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
I am pleased to see that the Leader of the House has survived the first rebellion of the new Parliament. Her Government should take advice from one of my Bath constituency’s most famous residents, Mary Shelley, and her creation, Frankenstein’s monster:
“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.”
I expect the Prime Minister hopes that the new group of independent MPs he has created will not become such a monster.
Scrapping the two-child benefit cap would lift around 250,000 children out of poverty. As child poverty is one of the main drivers of mental illness, it is no surprise that young people’s mental health services are now at breaking point. More than a quarter of a million young people are still waiting for support after being referred to child and adolescent mental health services in 2022-23. One of my constituents, who struggles with an eating disorder, has experienced two relapses, which they attribute to severely limited CAMHS resources in their time of need. The Liberal Democrats want to ensure that when budgets are tight, support for children and young people’s mental health is not pushed aside. Before it is too late, may we have a debate in Government time on the inadequacy of child and adolescent mental health services?
I also wish the wonderful John Tamlyn all the best in his retirement.
Ms Polly Billington (East Thanet) (Lab)
Coastal communities such as mine in East Thanet have been let down for far too long, with poor public services and a lack of infrastructure. That is made even worse by a shortage of high-quality, well-paid jobs. On top of that, one of those communities’ biggest assets—the sea and its environment—has been trashed as a consequence of Tory neglect and chaos, making sustainable economic recovery even harder. However, that has not deterred my constituents across Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate from channelling their energies into enterprises in hospitality and tourism, as well as in the vital creative industries. Will my right hon. Friend arrange for us to have a debate in this House about the way that this Government’s regional growth strategy will address the long-term challenges and opportunities for our coastal communities, with special consideration of how the visual and performing arts can drive economic—
Mr Speaker
Order. Business questions will be cut off at about 11.45 am. If we are to get it running, we will have to help each other by trying to ask shorter questions. I am sure that the Leader of the House will assist with quicker answers.
Lucy Powell
I thank my hon. Friend for that great question. Given all the new Members in the House who represent coastal towns, I am sure that the important contribution of those areas would make a really good topic for an Adjournment or Westminster Hall debate after recess.
Lucy Powell
I join my hon. Friend in thanking teachers right across the country for what they have done this academic year. Given my new duties, I missed my child’s very last day at primary school on Tuesday—[Hon. Members: “Aww.”]—so I would particularly like to thank his teachers, who I did not get a chance to see that day. I am a really bad mum, I am afraid; it just goes with the terrain. My hon. Friend makes an important point about the RAAC that remains in our schools. It is one of the scandals of the previous Government that was not dealt with. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education is looking incredibly closely at these issues and will update the House in due course.
Alicia Kearns (Rutland and Stamford) (Con)
May I start by saying what a joy it is to see the Leicestershire flag flying outside Parliament? I secured that for my county after a thousand years without one. Moving on to Lincolnshire—I represent three counties—the Government are right to build more houses, but in that process it is crucial that we make sure that councils hold developers and water companies to account. In Corby Glen in Lincolnshire there has been a stink for well over a year, yet the Labour-run rainbow council at South Kesteven refuses to meet the parish council or members of the local community. May we have a debate in Government time on how, with all the new house building, which is absolutely right, we will ensure that house builders and developers are held to account by councils and that we stop the stink in Corby Glen?
Lucy Powell
I join my hon. Friend in thanking John again, who has sat through business questions one last time as a Doorkeeper. My hon. Friend raises an important issue about supporting veterans. He will know that the Veterans Minister has moved back into the Ministry of Defence, which has Question Time after recess. I hope he will be able to raise the matter then.
Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)
I welcome the Leader of the House to her place as she takes the reins from my predecessor. In my constituency of Portsmouth North, there are houses in multiple occupation where family homes have been turned into nine or sometimes 10-bedroom houses. As one of the most densely populated cities in Europe, turning family homes into HMOs is a sticking plaster for the urgent need for affordable, social and council homes in our city. Can the Leader of the House look into when we can have a debate on planning reform to give more powers to local government to stop family homes being turned into HMOs?
Mr Speaker
Order. I know that some Members will be disappointed not to get in. That is why it is better if we can speed up questions and answers. It is a little while until the next business questions, but I have a list of those who did not get in, so please rest assured that we will try to look after everybody.
Bills Presented
Great British Energy
Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)
Secretary Edward Miliband, supported by the Prime Minister, Secretary Angela Rayner, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, Secretary Peter Kyle, Secretary Hilary Benn, Secretary Ian Murray, Secretary Jo Stevens, and Secretary Steve Reed presented a Bill to make provision about Great British Energy.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time tomorrow and to be printed (Bill 5).
High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester)
Presentation and resumption of proceedings (Standing Orders Nos. 57 and 80A)
Secretary Louise Haigh, supported by the Prime Minister, Secretary Angela Rayner, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Secretary Steve Reed, presented a Bill to make provision for a railway between a junction with Phase 2a of High Speed 2 south of Crewe in Cheshire and Manchester Piccadilly Station; for a railway between Hoo Green in Cheshire and a junction with the West Coast Main Line at Bamfurlong, south of Wigan; and for connected purposes.
Bill read the First and Second time without Question put and committed to a Select Committee (Standing Order No. 80A and Order, 20 June); to be printed (Bill 6) with explanatory notes (Bill 6-EN).
Business of the House
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(4 months ago)
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Chris Philp
First, I congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on your unanimous re-election to the Chair and your triumphant victory in Chorley with 75% of the vote. Clearly we can all learn a great deal from you about how to win elections. I look forward to working with you and, I hope, learning from your very long experience of this House. Congratulations to all colleagues elected on 4 July, including those Opposition Members who had to work so hard to survive what was an electoral tsunami of biblical proportions. I especially congratulate those on both sides of the House who were elected for the first time. It is a huge honour to serve in this House.
My particular congratulations go to the right hon. Member for Manchester Central (Lucy Powell) on her appointment as Leader of the House. I hope that she has had the opportunity to practise wielding a sword for several hours and wearing an embroidered cape with panache; her predecessor, Penny Mordaunt, was an expert at doing both things. When looking at the Hansard of previous exchanges, I noticed that in the final business questions of the last Parliament, the shadow Leader of the House, as she was then, paid tribute to Penny’s renowned, formidable blow-dried haircut. I can only apologise to the House for my own short back and sides being nothing in comparison. I know colleagues on both sides of the House will miss Penny, wish her well and hope she returns here before too long. I thank the House staff and Clerks for their work welcoming new Members, and the Leader of the House for the collegiate approach she has taken in our private discussions so far.
However, of course these exchanges are an opportunity to raise questions about House business and the associated conduct of Government. Although the new Government are less than two weeks old, there are already some questions I would like to raise.
First, the Government have announced, with no reference at all to Parliament, that the Rwanda scheme—enabled by Bills that this House passed—has been scrapped. The scheme had been due to start next week, and would have provided a deterrent to illegal immigration across the channel. We have seen deterrents of that kind work elsewhere. Since this Government came into office, more than 1,000 people have illegally and dangerously crossed the channel, with four tragically dying. These crossings are unnecessary, France being safe. When will the Government come to the House to explain the change of policy, and will there be any votes on it?
Moving on, according to press reports the Energy Secretary decided last week to cancel all new applications for oil and gas licences in the North sea. If true, that will increase energy prices and make us more dependent on potentially unreliable foreign gas imports. Why did the Government not first come to the House to explain the new policy, and will there be a vote on it?
The Chancellor gave a speech last week on housing and planning, during which the Housing Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister simply sat and listened in rather uncharacteristic silence. The Chancellor announced that green-belt protections will be scrapped—or, as she euphemistically put it, the green belt will be rebranded as the grey belt. Renaming whole swathes of green belt as grey belt is a piece of shameless spin that would make even Peter Mandelson blush. When will the Government come to the House to explain their plans for the removal of green-belt protections?
The Chancellor also made some outlandish claims about the economy and public finances. The economy is in fact in fantastic condition. Inflation—[Interruption.] Yes, it is—Members should listen! Inflation is down to 2%, lower than in the eurozone and the United States. Wage growth, in contrast, is much higher at 6%. Unemployment is low, at half the level left behind by the previous Labour Government, and the UK’s economic growth so far this year is the highest in the G7.
I understand that the Chancellor might make a statement at some point to the House on these topics. Will the Leader of the House confirm that any claims about public finance made in this House will be accompanied by a full Office for Budget Responsibility forecast, so we can be sure that any such claims are not simply being concocted by the Chancellor as a pretext for tax rises?
Mr Speaker, I have listed several major policy announcements made in the past 10 days with no reference to Parliament at all. You quite rightly said to the previous Government on many occasions that major policy announcements should be made when Parliament is sitting and first to the House. I would welcome your assistance in ensuring that the new Government adhere to those principles. Finally, then, I ask the Leader of the House to make a commitment now that all major policy announcements will be made only when the House is sitting, as the Speaker previously requested, and first to this House of Commons, where elected Members from all parties can ask questions, including the 250 or so newly elected Labour Members, who I am sure want to ask questions as well. I would be very grateful if she would confirm that.
Mr Speaker
Order. I think the problem is that people’s comments ought to reflect their previous jobs as well. Maybe that comment is from knowledge about making statements outside the House. I do not know; I do not make any judgment. The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely correct that when the House is not sitting, of course statements will be made by the Government, but when the House is sitting, I expect them to be made in the House. That has been a very clear message and the Leader of the House and I are both working to ensure that statements are heard here first. I certainly take the point on board, but I do not want to be drawn into what we should or should not be doing in the future. I welcome the ability to clarify the position.
Lucy Powell
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
I start by thanking His Majesty the King for yesterday’s Speech and join colleagues in wishing Her Majesty the Queen a happy birthday for yesterday. I also thank the staff and security services who have worked so hard both to get Parliament ready for the King’s Speech and on the huge task of transitioning from the last Parliament to this one, with so many new Members and so many leaving.
The election saw worrying incidents, including harassment and the sharing of misinformation and disinformation—it is unacceptable that some felt unable to go out campaigning, and our democracy depends on our coming together to say so—but we also saw the best of our democracy: the rapid changeover of power when people choose change.
May I thank you, Mr Speaker, for your leadership on MPs’ security? I know that that is your top and most urgent priority. May I also congratulate you on your re-election? You are always fair and considered, and always put Members’ interests first. Today might be the first big test of whether you know the names of all the new Members.
Lucy Powell
We both share a strong commitment to upholding the role of Parliament and, as we have just discussed, to restoring respect. That includes Ministers first making major announcements in the House, when it is sitting. Rest assured, I will be robust on that, and I expect to see Ministers and Secretaries of State at the Dispatch Box over the coming days as we play catch-up on the period in which the House was not sitting. Thank you for your forbearance on that, Mr Speaker.
I welcome all new and returning Members to this 59th Parliament. It is a Parliament to be proud of and one that reflects our country better than ever before. There are more women than ever, more Members from ethnic minority backgrounds and more Members from the LGBT community. It has been a real pleasure to see the excitement and possibilities of new Members—over half the House is new—as they find their way around this often baffling maze of a place. I saw that one had described it as being like freshers’ week meets Hogwarts and Buckingham Palace. Let us hope that they do not all drop down with freshers’ flu.
We lost some good colleagues from all sides at the election. I pay tribute to my predecessor, Penny Mordaunt, who was always a worthy opponent across the Dispatch Box. She brought a fresh approach not only to this role but as the first female Defence Secretary. I always thought that she was an underused asset for the Conservative party, and she will be missed—especially by the parliamentary hairdressers.
I welcome the shadow Leader of the House, the right hon. Member for Croydon South (Chris Philp), to his new role. I know that he has always been keen. After holding very many ministerial roles, I congratulate him on finally making it as a full member of the Cabinet—albeit with the word “shadow” before his title. I hope that the role lives up to his ambitions. Debates about leaking roofs, broken toilets and the price of a bacon butty in the Members’ Dining Room all await his close attention. I am keen to work with him and we have already had constructive discussions. I am clear that I want to take the whole House with us on the changes that we need to make.
However, we need to turn the page. Recent years have been plagued by scandals, bad behaviour, disrespect, poor standards and poor legislation. That is what next week’s motions on a modernisation committee and on second jobs are about: for the House to work together to drive up standards, improve working practices and find reforms to make Parliament more effective. Let us be clear: it is not about changing the traditions and customs of this place—I know that you will be pleased to hear that, Mr Speaker—but the country voted for change. We will be a Government of service and begin that journey of restoring trust in politics and Parliament—action, not words. That is why we have hit the ground running by establishing the national wealth fund, resetting relations with junior doctors and dentists, launching the border security command, ending the ban on new onshore wind, taking immediate action on the prisons crisis, restoring house building targets and starting to tackle the water crisis—the list goes on.
The shadow Leader of the House asks about the economic record, house building and the Rwanda plan. I gently say to him that, after such a resounding Conservative defeat at the ballot box, I do not think that his best advice is to start saying that their record was actually great all along or that their policies were the best ones for us to follow. On the economic record, the truth is that living standards fell over the last Parliament for the first time on record. He was Chief Secretary to the Treasury when former Prime Minister Liz Truss crashed the economy, sending mortgage rates soaring. Since we have come into government, we have discovered that things are even worse than we thought. [Interruption.] The Conservatives do not like it but I am afraid it is true. The country—[Interruption.]
Lucy Powell
The country voted resoundingly for change because it was worse off, so the Conservative party would be best advised to look deeply at why it lost, rather than claim that people never had it so good.
The right hon. Gentleman asked about the Rwanda plan. The record speaks for itself: four volunteers were all that scheme achieved, and far from stopping the boats or acting as a deterrent, the Government presided over the highest number of small boat crossings on record. It was an expensive gimmick that will not work, and the Home Secretary will update the House on that matter in the usual way very soon. The Energy Secretary will update the House today on his plans for a clean energy superpower.
The right hon. Gentleman also asked about house building and planning. We make no apology: we are unashamedly pro-house building. We have already restored the targets that his Government took away, and will be bringing in planning reforms to make sure that the country gets the 1.5 million new homes it needs.
The King’s Speech shows that the Government are getting on with the job, with one of the most ambitious programmes ever of an incoming Government: following through on commitments on things like the Hillsborough law and Martyn’s law, which the last Government failed to do, and putting rocket boosters under growth. The guiding light will be delivering on our missions. Yesterday was an historic moment: the first legislative programme from a Labour Government in 15 years. We have a mandate for change; the journey towards that change has begun, and I look forward to working with Members across the House to get on with that job.
Lucy Powell
I thank my hon. Friend for that fantastic question, and welcome her back to her seat. She is one of the most redoubtable champions in this place, and I know that she will be really pushing that cause and many others, as she did in the last Parliament. I join her in congratulating Rhian on winning the primary school teacher of the year award, and thank all teachers across the country for the work that they do. One of the first things the Education Secretary has done since taking office is look to reset the relationship with teachers, so that we can really tackle the recruitment and retention crisis facing our schools. As we come to the end of term, we join together in thanking every single teacher for the great work that they do.
Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
May I also say what a pleasure it is to see you back in your place, Mr Speaker? I welcome the Leader of the House to her position, and congratulate her on the election results: securing such a large majority is no easy task, and her party at all levels deserves credit. The same can be said for our party, the Liberal Democrats: we are now the largest third party in over a century, with our most MPs ever. I thank all of the Liberal Democrats’ campaigners across the country who have fought tirelessly for a fair deal.
Our No. 1 priority is fixing the health and care crisis, so that no matter where in the country a person is, they can see a doctor or a dentist when they need to do so. Also central to our campaign was a fair deal for social care staff. The Government have promised to introduce a fair pay agreement for adult social care staff; while we Liberal Democrats welcome that announcement, there has been no detail of how it will be funded. The Liberal Democrats would fund a fair pay deal for social care staff by reversing the tax cuts handed by the Conservative party to the big banks. How will the Government fund that commitment?
Another issue that must be urgently addressed is our commitment to reach net zero. The report published today by the Climate Change Committee makes clear that the days of U-turning on climate commitments and diluting environmental targets must come to an end. Only a third of the emissions reductions required to achieve our 2030 target are currently covered by credible plans. The Liberal Democrats are committed to the bold, urgent action needed to tackle climate change, cut energy bills and create hundreds of thousands of secure, well-paid jobs. The Conservatives’ lack of ambition relinquished our place as a global environmental leader. With COP29 nearing, the UK has a golden opportunity to turbocharge global climate change policies.
Of course, the worst scandal of the past few years has been the sewage scandal. Can we have a debate in Government time on how we can fix this scandal, which has blighted our communities up and down the country?
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Speaker
Order. We are going to finish business questions at 10.50 am. To help each other, a speedy question and a quick response will allow us to get in as many Members as possible.
Dr Lauren Sullivan (Gravesham) (Lab)
I welcome the Leader of the House to her new position.
Worryingly, last week there was an attack at the Gurdwara Nanak Darbar in my constituency of Gravesham. Thankfully, nobody was seriously hurt, but I would like to place on record my thanks to the gurdwara first responders and all the emergency services for that. Although the facts of the case are still unclear, the attack caused understandable anxiety in the local Sikh community. Would the Leader of the House consider scheduling a debate on the importance of protecting worshippers in their sacred spaces so that they may practise their faith without fear?
Mr Andrew Snowden (Fylde) (Con)
As one proud Lancastrian MP to another, congratulations on your unanimous re-election to the Chair, Mr Speaker.
Planning on the green belt is a huge concern in my constituency of Fylde—housing is part of it, but there are also the Morgan and Morecambe wind farm proposals. Most residents back the new renewable energy being built off the Fylde coast, but there are concerns about the cabling and substation route, which appears to take the route of least resistance. It will see miles of farmland and countryside dug up, and substations built in inappropriate locations. We seem to be unable to get answers from the company on why that has been chosen as the preferred route, when other far more appropriate routes for cabling and substations exist. Will the Leader of the House assure me that the Government will work with us to get answers from the company and clarity about the other routes that could be used for the cabling, and to ensure that it works with me, local campaigners and the council to get the most appropriate route?
Mr Speaker
Order. This issue is so important that I think the hon. Gentleman ought to think about having an Adjournment debate on it—although he nearly had one just then.
Lucy Powell
I warmly welcome the new Member to his place. He is a rarity as a Conservative Member in north-west England and Lancashire. He raises an incredibly important question: connecting the national grid appropriately to our new clean energy programme is a critical issue for the Government. The Energy Secretary is here today to make an oral statement, so the hon. Gentleman may want to raise the issue with him then. There will be other opportunities in upcoming days if he is not able to get an answer later today.
Lucy Powell
I congratulate my hon. Friend, who was a real champion and vocal supporter of local government in his previous capacity. We often sat opposite each other in the shadow Cabinet. I am delighted to congratulate Telford and Wrekin’s children’s services, which went from a “requires improvement” judgment in 2016 to being outstanding today. That is incredibly hard for children’s services to achieve, and I am sure he will raise these issues many times in the House over the coming months.
Josh MacAlister (Whitehaven and Workington) (Lab)
Josh MacAlister, Mr Speaker.
Josh MacAlister
As a new Member, I was going to start my very first question by congratulating you and saying that you are the best Speaker I have seen in the Chair.
I welcome my right hon. Friend the Member for Manchester Central (Lucy Powell) to her place as Leader of the House. A number of my constituents have been directly affected by the infected blood scandal. Between the publication of the independent inquiry’s final report and the Dissolution of the last Parliament, there was not sufficient time to have a full debate on the report’s findings. Will the Government give time in the coming months for a full debate on that topic?
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Speaker
Order. I fully understand that some Members will be disappointed not to get in. We will keep a list and try to make sure that we get you in next time. Business questions last for about an hour, and you can help me and each other by asking short, punchy questions.
Business of the House
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(6 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Penny Mordaunt
First, let me mark the fact that yesterday was VE Day; I know there will be many events going on across our constituencies during the week, giving us a chance to remember the debt we owe our forebears and also to think of those facing conflict today.
May I, too, welcome the hon. Lady’s new colleague, the hon. Member for Blackpool South (Chris Webb), to his place and pay tribute to all candidates who took part in the important elections last week? I also thank her for helping me to launch the publication to which she referred. We commissioned it and I thank all the organisations that worked on it. It is important that we combat the rise of conspiracy theories, as that is part of restoring trust in what we do here and keeping trust in democracy. This publication will be a useful product, not just for Members, but for those who wish to come here too. I shall certainly make sure that the Lord Chancellor has heard what she says about the Sentencing Bill, although he will find her concern odd, given Labour’s voting record on our measures to introduce tougher sentences.
The hon. Lady mentioned her new colleagues, and I do hope the hon. Member for Dover (Mrs Elphicke) is being made to feel very welcome in her new party. I am buoyed at the news that our odds of retaining Dover have slightly improved since yesterday lunch time—[Laughter.] It is true. But I think this is a personal tragedy for the hon. Member for Dover, as was what happened last week for the hon. Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter). It has exposed a pattern of behaviour from the Leader of the Opposition, and it is a shame that we are not due an update to Peter Brookes’ “Nature Notes”, for the decorator crab is a species that covers its surface area with materials to disguise its true form, usually selecting sedentary creatures and seaweed. The Leader of the Opposition is the decorator crab of these Benches, desperate to show that he is not really leading the Labour party at all. He has channelled Margaret Thatcher; his deputy has praised Boris; he has expelled the right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn) with great fanfare, a man he was campaigning for to be Prime Minister only moments before; and his exterior shell is stuck over with St George’s flags, his Gunners season ticket and several programmes from the “Last Night of the Proms”. What next? Will it be a photo op with a bulldog? Will it be a lecture on how misunderstood Enoch Powell was? Should I ask the Whip on duty on the Front Bench if he has checked in recently with my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois)?
This is Operation Radish: the concerted effort to convince the British public that while the Labour party might look red on the outside, at its heart it really is not at all.
Even the defection from the Government Benches of one of Labour’s sternest critics cannot disguise the fact that Operation Radish is not going well. Not everyone has got the memo. The shadow Leader of the House talks about the important election results last week. Has she noticed that the first act of the new Mayor of the West Midlands was to turn his attention not to investment or infrastructure, but to Israel and Gaza? Ditto for the Mayors of West Yorkshire and London, with the latter also stating “equivalence” between the Head of State of Israel and a terrorist organisation.
The anti-nuke shadow Foreign Secretary is currently trying to walk back from calling a candidate for the presidency of the United States a neo-Nazi-sympathising KKK sociopath. The hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) sought to smear a decent candidate for Mayor of London as a white supremacist. Object to ULEZ and you are a child killer. If you are a woman advocating for your rights and dignity, you are a bigot. Want to strengthen our borders? You are a racist. If you have made money through hard work, you can’t possibly get Britain. That is today’s Labour party—just as it has always been.
The politics of the PLP is more the politics of the PLO and the JCR: more comfortable in university tented encampments and on picket lines than on the international stage; more interested in thought policing than actual policing. Labour has not changed—not its behaviour or its record. It is still high crime rates, high waiting lists, higher taxes, higher levels of poverty, less pay, less opportunity, less money for the NHS and less freedom. The British people can see what is going on. They like their radishes in salads, not in No. 10.
Sir Peter Bottomley (Worthing West) (Con)
My right hon. Friend indicates in provisional business for the week after next the remaining stages of the Holocaust Memorial Bill. She is familiar with early-day motion 711.
[That this House notes the First Special Report of the Holocaust Memorial Bill Select Committee, HC121, on the problems with the current proposal and the restrictions faced by the Committee considering the hybrid Bill; respects the conclusions and recommendations on page 20; agrees with the list of matters related to the current proposals for a Holocaust Memorial and believes these need updated attention on deliverability from the Infrastructure Commission, from the National Audit Office on likely capital costs and recurrent annual costs, from the Chancellor on future funding control, and from the police and security services on maintaining unfettered public access for use of Victoria Tower Gardens while protecting the Memorial; asks His Majesty’s Government and the Holocaust Memorial Foundation agency to commission the views of the property consultants on a comparison of the current proposal by Sir David Adjaye in Victoria Tower Gardens with viable alternatives, to commission the full appraisal and to hold a public consultation on the selection of site; and further asks His Majesty’s Government to commit to having this or an amended proposal considered first by the local planning authority before considering whether to call in the application, noting that an open-minded observer could doubt another minister in the Levelling Up department should be asked to make an independent decision on an application by the Secretary of State.]
Will she arrange, at least seven days before the House returns to the Holocaust Memorial Bill, for there to be answers to the questions on recurrent costs, the total capital costs, the amount of money going to education and how much the cost of the project has risen in the last year?
Penny Mordaunt
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. As I always do, I shall ensure that the Ministers in charge of the Bill have heard his specific requests and that the business managers take his asks into account.
Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)
First, may I say on behalf of my party and in the spirit of congenial politics, led by our new First Minister and all our independence-minded Ministers, how delighted I am to see the Leader of the House still in her place after her party’s catastrophic results in England? They were not catastrophic enough to mobilise her PM for PM rebels, apparently. With her weekly ill-informed comments about Scotland, she is an extraordinary recruiting sergeant for independence and I am sure she will not disappoint today.
May I warmly welcome the launch by the Leader of the House this week of the guide to recognising conspiracy theories, such as those around 5G masts and 15-minute cities? It will be useful reading for some of the Members on her own Benches, and perhaps those on Labour’s increasingly busy right wing.
Given the Leader of the House’s personal interest, and what is supposed to be a central role of this House in protecting democracy and protecting us, will she be pressing for a wider debate on disinformation and the malign influence of secretive social media groups that perpetuate these damaging myths? I am thinking, for example, of the 36 so-called grassroots Facebook groups that I raised with the Prime Minister last week. They are forums full of vile racism, conspiracy theories and Islamophobic abuse of Sadiq Khan, all with links to Conservative party HQ staff, activists and even politicians. There is reason to suspect similar groups are quietly spreading their poison across the UK, including in Scotland. Does the Leader of the House agree that this needs to be investigated and brought to light, not laughed off as the Prime Minister did?
Last week, I asked the Leader of the House about the chaos of the Tory trade tax—the border checks that Brexit now requires—or, as former Tory Ministers have called it, “that act of self-harm on the UK”.
She swerved that with a boast about Brexit boosting UK financial services. Brexit is doing its damage to Edinburgh’s trade and talent in that sector, too, but services is a sector not affected by the serious issues that I raised of rotting food, crippling import charges, biosecurity risks, and delays and chaos at the ports. The Leader of the House and the shadow Leader of the House might be content to ignore the exporters and importers, the farmers and the fishers, whose businesses have suffered while she pretends that all is well on the Brexit front, but my party and I are not. So I ask again: when can we put the record straight—after last week’s twaddle—and have a debate in Government time on the ruinous impact of Brexit all across the economy?
Penny Mordaunt
I congratulate my hon. Friend on all the work that he is doing to ensure that his constituents have the provision that they need. We have had a huge uplift in the general teaching staff; there are now 30,000 more teachers than when we came to office. Obviously, we have also been expanding special educational needs provision, but the need is growing and we are determined to keep pace with that. I think that a debate on the subject would be welcomed by many in the House, and I encourage him to apply for it in the usual way.
Ian Mearns (Gateshead) (Lab)
I thank the Leader of the House for the business statement and for announcing the Backbench Business debate for Thursday 16 May. If awarded time on 23 May, we would propose debates on UK arms exports to Israel and on potholes and highway maintenance. Those would be the two debates immediately before the Whitsun recess. Although all Chamber slots until the Whitsun recess are now pre-allocated, we would still welcome applications for Thursday debates in Westminster Hall, where the new time seems to be working quite well.
Can we have a debate in Government time on the vexed question of leasehold reform? In my constituency, developers are selling, or proposing to sell, packages of property freeholds to third-party companies and denying leaseholders themselves the chance to buy the freeholds of the properties that they live in. This is a really complex legal question, but an awful lot of leaseholders do not have the wherewithal to fight the property development companies and third-party companies buying such investment portfolios. Taylor Wimpey is a company with an interest in development in my constituency that is currently doing this. Can we have a debate in Government time to try to sort out this vexed question?
Business of the House
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(6 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Penny Mordaunt
First of all, I would like to join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to Lord Stunell of Hazel Grove, who sadly passed away on Monday. He entered the House of Commons in 1997, leaving for the Lords in 2015. He was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in the coalition Government and I know Members on all sides of the House will mourn his loss. On our Benches, we are particularly grateful to him for being an effective and collaborative Minister in the coalition, working alongside colleagues to bring in the Localism Act 2011 and drawing up the national planning policy framework. I hope that the many tributes paid to him in the coming days will be a comfort to his loved ones.
I join with the many remarks made by colleagues regarding the tragic loss of Daniel Anjorin, and also the incident in Sheffield. My thoughts, and I am sure those of the whole House, are with all those affected, especially Daniel’s family. I also pay tribute to the police for their courage. They often get a hard time from us in this place, but we should never forget the risks they take and the service they do us. I know the House will also be glad to see His Majesty the King out and about with the public again. I wish all candidates in today’s elections good luck.
The hon. Gentleman tempts me, but I am going to resist, because there is nothing I could say that would be more detrimental to the hon. Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter)—to his character, his integrity, his standing in his community and his future prospects—than what he has done to himself. I think that is just about dawning on him.
I, too, welcome the progress on the infected blood issue. The hon. Gentleman knows that the Paymaster General has set out the timetable for the body to be established on 20 May. We now have a clear timetable that I hope will give confidence to all those infected and affected by this terrible scandal.
I will certainly make sure that the hon. Gentleman’s comments on Tata Steel are heard by the Secretary of State.
I have to break it to the hon. Gentleman that it is not going to be Pimm’s with Penny. I am more of a pints with Penny person. But yes, I too have read that I am to be installed, rather like a new boiler, into No. 10 next week. I have to say, Mr Speaker, that there is as much truth to those stories as there is to Labour’s assurances to its business community that it is not actually going to do the things that it has been saying it is going to do and has promised its union paymasters.
Let me say again that I support our Prime Minister, and I will continue to support him after this weekend and beyond, because his plan is working. I will do everything I can to ensure that Labour does not get a chance to wreck the nation again. The nation has chosen a new trajectory to protect its border, to enable growth, and to trade more with the world to strengthen its partnerships with allies. Our exports are 2% above 2018 levels, and we are the fourth largest exporter overall and the largest net exporter of financial and insurance services in the world. Trade barriers have led to a £15 billion uplift for UK businesses in the last five years, and since 2010 UK manufacturing growth has been higher than that of any other G7 nation. We are on the right path, and we have to stick to it. I do not want to give Labour the chance to unpick all that we have done, from Brexit to trade union reforms.
The hon. Gentleman asked about a general election, and whether something was going to crop up. I think that something is going to crop up. Whether it is pensions, the NHS, rail, tax or welfare, the Labour party claims that it is going to do one thing but is planning another, and I think that the public will see through that. It is the most audacious deception since the big bad wolf donned a winceyette nightie and asked Little Red Riding Hood to admire his upper dentures, but unlike red Riding Hood the British people have met this wolf before, and they remember that the story does not end well.
The British people remember how disastrously Labour ran our trains, and we have read this week that to improve efficiency, Labour plans to run fewer trains. They remember MRSA-infected hospitals, and they are now seeing the unforgivable state of the NHS in Wales as it struggles with a reduced budget. Labour is responsible for that, as it is Labour that cut the NHS budget. They remember Labour council tax hikes for pensioners and others on fixed incomes, which constituted the largest increase in their outgoings. In government Labour doubled council tax, and in Wales it has tripled it. The British public will look at the council league tables, out today, and notice that the worst services are provided by Labour councils, those charging the highest taxes are Labour local authorities, and the areas with the worst crime rates are Labour-controlled; and where do we see the lowest employment rate, the smallest pay packets and the worst NHS waiting lists in the whole UK? In Labour-run Wales.
Always, every single time Labour is in office, every single time the British people give Labour a chance, they find themselves worse off, poorer and less safe, badly served and with more unemployment, and they see that the nation is weaker. At least those in the Labour party are consistent. So I say to the British people, “Don’t give them the chance to do it again.”
Further business will be announced in the usual way.
Sir Peter Bottomley (Worthing West) (Con)
The question of local council elections has been raised. Those who want some amusement can read Acts 5:41, quoted in today’s Times and provided by the Bible Society, although I am not suggesting that my right hon. Friend should read it now.
I walked here today through Victoria Tower Gardens, where it is still impossible to walk along the river because of the barricades around the Buxton memorial fountain, which are far too extensive. If people care about memorials in Victoria Tower Gardens, they ought to make sure that the gardens are properly accessible whenever that is possible.
The Select Committee on the Holocaust Memorial Bill reported recently in document HC121, and I have tabled early-day motion 711—I do not expect my right hon. Friend to respond to this today.
[That this House notes the First Special Report of the Holocaust Memorial Bill Select Committee, HC121, on the problems with the current proposal and the restrictions faced by the Committee considering the hybrid Bill; respects the conclusions and recommendations on page 20; agrees with the list of matters related to the current proposals for a Holocaust Memorial and believes these need updated attention on deliverability from the Infrastructure Commission, from the National Audit Office on likely capital costs and recurrent annual costs, from the Chancellor on future funding control, and from the police and security services on maintaining unfettered public access for use of Victoria Tower Gardens while protecting the Memorial; asks His Majesty's Government and the Holocaust Memorial Foundation agency to commission the views of the property consultants on a comparison of the current proposal by Sir David Adjaye in Victoria Tower Gardens with viable alternatives, to commission the full appraisal and to hold a public consultation on the selection of site; and further asks His Majesty's Government to commit to having this or an amended proposal considered first by the local planning authority before considering whether to call in the application, noting that an open-minded observer could doubt another minister in the Levelling Up department should be asked to make an independent decision on an application by the Secretary of State.]
As the Committee has clearly indicated, before the Government think of bringing the Bill back to the Chamber of the House of Commons they need to do a number of things. First, they must review security. We have seen the Holocaust memorial in Hyde Park covered up because of marches going on around London, and everyone knows that a memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens of the kind that is proposed would be a major target. The only way of providing security is to exclude the public from this park, which is the only park for local residents.
Secondly, the National Infrastructure Commission has said that this project is undeliverable. Will the Government please ask the members of the commission whether they have changed their minds? Last year the National Audit Office reported that the costs had risen in one year from £102 million to £137 million. Will the Government please ask its members whether that can be reviewed? How will the Chancellor agree to pay running costs of between £5 million and £10 million?
I think that the Government ought to delay, do what is suggested in my early-day motion, and then report back to the House.
Mr Speaker
It might be more helpful if the Father of the House applies for an Adjournment debate.
Penny Mordaunt
I am sure that my hon. Friend knows how to apply for a debate and will listen to your encouragement, Mr Speaker. I will certainly ensure, as I do every week, that the Secretary of State has heard the issues that my hon. Friend raises—I will feed them in. On the matter of security, he will know that there is a working group, led by the Houses of Parliament and those in Government, to make sure that all these very important issues are looked at.
Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)
Just when we think the Government can stoop no lower, they release a sickening detention video, using real-life trauma to show their voters how tough they are. Who instructed the civil service to produce such a piece? Can we have an apology from the Home Office for its appalling misjudgment in electioneering with this footage, and a debate on whether the concept of electoral purdah still exists? If it does, who the heck regulates it?
Meanwhile, the disastrously handled Brexit border checks are causing further chaos, as predicted. The Leader of the House may have seen the reports from the Sevington inland border facility about lorries with perishable goods, the prospect of rotting food and flowers being binned, compromised biosecurity and, of course, crashed IT systems. We have confusion, delay and additional crippling costs—otherwise known as Brexit. I was in the House yesterday for the statement that the Business and Trade Secretary hurriedly brought out, and she seemed to brush aside these failures to prepare as mere supply chain issues, preferring to brag about Brexit. The thing is, her figures rely on a growth in service exports—City pals are doing very well.
Meanwhile, the British Chambers of Commerce, which knows a thing or two about the issue, describes the much-warned-of mess at Sevington as
“the straw that breaks the camel’s back”
for many UK businesses. This is terribly serious for our small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly our farmers and fishers. Do the Government care? For the third time, I ask the Leader of the House for an urgent debate specifically on the Tory trade tax so that someone can be held responsible to the House for this cack-handed mess. Will she take it up?
It seems that business questions have become nothing more than a venue for parading opinions. As Madam Deputy Speaker had to remind the Leader of the House and the shadow Leader of the House last week, business questions are about the business of this House, so can we leave the scripted opinions on Scotland and her Government to one side for once and have a debate, in Government time, on the unbelievable mess at Sevington and its impact on the wider supply chain? Or will she, too, just ignore this crisis of her own Government’s making, raise a laugh for her nervous Back Benchers and opine on Scotland instead—a country about which she knows little and cares less?
Penny Mordaunt
I thank my right hon. Friend for all the work he is doing alongside the all-party parliamentary group on endometriosis to raise awareness of this condition and to ensure that there is improving care. He will know that we have invested £25 million to roll out women’s health hubs across the country, not just to tackle backlogs but to provide information and raise awareness. I will ensure that the Secretary of State for Education has heard what he has said today.
Ian Mearns (Gateshead) (Lab)
I apologise to the House for my absence over the last two weeks. I am glad to say that things are improving as we deal with a very difficult family situation.
The Leader of the House was kind enough to mention that the Backbench Business Committee has been allocated Thursday 16 May, and it will be our intention to put on a debate on the parliamentary ombudsman’s report on the state pension age for women.
All Chamber slots up to the Whitsun recess are now allocated, but we still have several Westminster Hall slots to allocate for the new, improved start time of 12.30 pm on Thursdays, which seems to be working quite well. We have three slots to allocate between now and the Whitsun recess, and we would welcome applications.
Penny Mordaunt
The hon. Gentleman will know that, on any such proposals that the Liberal Democrats wish to put forward, they can question the Chancellor next Tuesday when the House returns. He will also know that the Government have done a huge amount of work with both energy companies and their suppliers to assist in alleviating the cost-of-living issues that households and businesses are facing.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
Thank you, Mr Speaker. These are the strongest legs in the Chamber, without a doubt.
I thank the Leader of the House for the opportunity to highlight the prevention of violations of freedom of religion or belief. It has been more than a year since the outbreak of the civil war in Sudan, and Sudanese civilians certainly bear the brunt of the atrocities committed due to the fighting, with thousands killed and millions internally displaced. While His Majesty’s Government are working with others to resolve the crisis, the vulnerability of Sudanese Christians has been overlooked. Christians and their churches are being targeted, and there have been reports of rape, kidnap and looting against Christians. Even when the war ends, religious minorities fear future persecution. Will the Leader of the House join me in condemning the atrocities against Christians in Sudan, and what can she do with the Foreign Secretary and the Government to combat these crimes as they work to find a solution to the conflict?
Business of the House
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(8 months ago)
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Penny Mordaunt
I have briefly emerged from under the hairdryer and put down my Take a Break magazine, and not only found my way to the Chamber this morning but remembered on which side I am supposed to sit, to be present and correct for business questions, which is quite a feat if media reports are to be believed.
I am buoyed by what the hon. Lady has said. After all, we have seen inflation fall to 3.4% this week. Real wages are rising, we have positive growth, household energy bills will fall by £250 a year in a couple of weeks’ time, average disposable incomes are growing and we have signed the accession treaty to the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership, which will create a huge number of high-wage jobs. It is confirmation that the plan is working when, on Thursdays, the Opposition focus not on these real-world facts but on the Westminster rumour vortex.
I will address the hon. Lady’s points in turn. First, I join her in congratulating Vaughan Gething. I wish him well in his new post.
I am glad that the Opposition welcome the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and the Football Governance Bill, and I look forward to their support and involvement. I am still in time to respond to the Procedure Committee’s report on the Foreign Secretary’s accountability to this House, on which their lordships will deliberate.
The hon. Lady brought up Rwanda, and I wish to clarify that I have no wish to blame their lordships for the delay to that Bill. I make it clear that I wish to blame Labour Lords for the delay. For all Labour’s talk of being tough on borders, it has voted against our plans 111 times, and it has voted against our measures to stop the boats 98 times. Despite its tough talk on crime, Labour has voted against our plans for tougher sentences and new police powers.
This week we have learned that, despite all the armed forces frottage coming from Labour Front Benchers, they are planning an EU defence pact at a time when all efforts should be with NATO, which has standards and clear and agreed principles about what it will do and under what circumstances, and it has been busy—Ukraine, Kosovo, Iraq, support for the African Union, Baltic air policing, Aegean maritime security, Operation Sea Guardian, a standing naval force and, of course, disaster relief. In contrast, since its creation in 2007, the EU battle group, which has no such agreed threshold for deployment, has never got out the door.
There could be no greater metaphor to illustrate the differing approaches between our two parties: Labour is all talk, including 126 minutes on ferrets last week, whereas we offer practical action. It is virtue signalling over there versus results over here. It is unfunded policies over there versus costed proposals over here. It is no plan versus a plan that is working. To borrow from the Opposition’s new-found heroine, Margaret Thatcher: if you want something saying, wait long enough and Labour will say it. If you want something doing, vote Conservative.
Further business will be announced in the usual way.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
As the House may be aware, the Chairman of the Backbench Business Committee is not able to be here because his daughter-in-law is seriously ill in hospital, and it is right that he is by her side at this time. I am sure the whole House will wish her a speedy recovery. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.]
On behalf of the Committee, let me say that our debates in the Chamber are now full until 9 May, provided we are allocated the time by the Leader of the House. Equally, we are full in Westminster Hall until 2 May—obviously, we will have control of that time. So all those who wish to get applications in before the summer recess should do so quickly, as the Committee has been working overtime to process these applications.
The shocking rise in antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred has been well publicised, but what has not been is the anti-Hindu hatred occurring on our campuses and across our country. I have the honour of chairing the all-party group on British Hindus and it has recently published a report on that hatred, on which action is clearly required all round. So will my right hon. Friend allow time in the Chamber for a debate on hatred of British Hindus and enable us to celebrate the contribution they make to this country? Given that it is Holi on Tuesday, will she also join me in wishing all Hindus “Holi hai!”?
Penny Mordaunt
First, may I, on behalf of all of us in this place, send our good wishes to the hon. Member for Gateshead (Ian Mearns) and his family at this time? I thank my hon. Friend for stepping in for him and assisting Members with an advert for future business from the Backbench Business Committee.
On the all-party group’s report on anti-Hindu hatred, I will make sure that the relevant Secretary of State has heard what my hon. Friend has said today. I know that he has been campaigning on this matter for some time and that he will have listened to what the Minister for Equalities said about it at Women and Equalities questions yesterday.
Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)
May I associate myself with the remarks about the new Welsh First Minister and pass on my best wishes to former First Minister Mark Drakeford?
Of course, we are grateful to the Leader of the House for making time in her hectic schedule to pop along to the House of Commons today; all that leadership plotting and scheming does not just happen by itself—she has been a busy bee. We can only pray that we are nearing the season finale of this endless Tory soap opera, but her leadership campaign has not stopped her coming here today so that she can ignore our questions in person. Every Thursday, she displays some essential qualities to be the next Tory Prime Minister. For a start, she regards questions as a bit of a nuisance, something to be avoided at all costs. They get in the way of her important work recording all those YouTube videos about Willy Wonka, escaped monkeys or whatever. If Members do not take my word for it, they can check Hansard.
The Leader of the House was right to say last week that I had not sent her through details of my many unanswered questions—there are just so many to compile. However, I am happy to offer a few reminders now. We have had no answer on whether Baroness Michelle Mone is a paid-up member of the Tory party, as she herself claims; we have had no answer on the startling increase in child poverty in England—the Leader of the House is far too busy to deal with those distractions; and we still have no idea how much taxpayers’ money was wasted on her Government’s initial “State of the Union” report to the UK Cabinet, which was written at the height of the pandemic and was still kept firmly under wraps until we got some insights at the covid inquiry. The report is still for strictly for Tory eyes only; even now, Scots are not allowed to know the costs or decisions taken to stifle our democracy.
But with the revelation that 80% of young Scots said that they want independence, it is no surprise that the Cabinet panicked and swung into fervent Union-Jackery action. So will the Leader of the House take a moment from her busy campaign diary to answer these questions— I make no apology for asking them again: how much taxpayers’ money was spent on that “State of the Union” paper? What was the strategy the Cabinet was asked to endorse? And when can we see the paper in full? Perhaps we could have a statement from the relevant Minister, if she does not have those answers to hand.
Sir Peter Bottomley (Worthing West) (Con)
I wish to raise two brief things. First, the Leader of the House will soon see the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s report on women’s state pension age and its findings on “injustice” and associated issues. The report is about the WASPI women—Women Against State Pension Inequality. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) who campaigned with me on these issues and saw various Secretaries of State. Will the Leader of the House say how the Government intend the House to respond to the reference to Parliament considering the recommended remedy? It is not a massive remedy, but it is an important one.
Secondly, the Leader of the House may have heard me question the Prime Minister yesterday about planning and building over prime agricultural fields. Yesterday afternoon, Arun District Council planning committee considered an application. All the members of the committee looked as though they were going to turn it down, until the planning officer said the costs of an appeal by the developer were more than the Council could afford. All the members of the committee, except for the Conservatives and one Liberal, then voted to leave it to the council planning officers to make the decision.
Can we have a debate on intimidation on costs by developers that make district and borough councils feel they have to approve something or allow something to go through that should be opposed? Will the Leader of the House join me in recommending the council calls in the proposal and, if it does not, the Secretary of State does?