Covid-19: PPE Procurement

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Sam Tarry

Thursday 24th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I think the hon. Lady is stretching things a bit too far. [Interruption.] I know it is lessons learned, but it is too clever and not clever enough. We will leave it at that.

[Sam Tarry (Ilford South) (Lab)]

Today’s revelations show further evidence that the Government’s VIP lane was possibly criminal and was exploited by Members of the Government party. Will the Minister today commit to publishing in full the names of the Ministers, MPs or officials who referred firms on to that fast-track lane? Stop being evasive. We need to know what corruption happened.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Sam Tarry

Tuesday 6th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Minister, this might be your last outing, but do not overperform—save something.

[Sam Tarry (Ilford South) (Lab)]

3. Whether she has had discussions with her counterpart in Pakistan on the charging of former Prime Minister Imran Khan under terrorism legislation in that country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Sam Tarry

Wednesday 13th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Sam Tarry (Ilford South) (Lab)]

A few short weeks ago, Zara Aleena was walking home through Ilford. She was dragged off the street and brutally murdered. Zara’s family made a touching tribute to her life. They said:

“She was authentic and refused to try and impress anyone, but she impressed us. She was the rock of our family.”

Last week, on 8 July, another woman was stabbed in St Johns Road, just yards from my family’s church that I have attended for 15 years, so I know the area like the back of my hand. Women in Ilford should not have to police themselves or impose curfews on their behaviour when they just want to go about their daily business. Will the Prime Minister commit to a greater allocation of policing funding targeted on specialist knife crime into Ilford and across all that part of north-east London? In addition, what measures will the Government take that will make a difference to the lives of women? Will they toughen sentences for rape, stalking and domestic violence and put in place proper police support to end the epidemic of violence in this country against women and girls?

[Mr Speaker]

Before the Prime Minister answers, let me say to Members that, although I have allowed the matter to be raised, we should be careful about going into detail on the first person because the case is sub judice. I am sure the Prime Minister can answer the question in general terms.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Sam Tarry

Thursday 30th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Sam Tarry (Ilford South) (Lab)]

Mr Speaker, I apologise for my lack of a tie earlier this morning. You know that I usually take my sartorial choices incredibly seriously, given how much the media like to comment on them.

From fashion to transport chaos. We know that the Government have allowed supply chains to deteriorate to breaking point over the past few weeks. Countless businesses are on the verge of going bust, and the knock-on impact on families has been heartbreaking given the full force of the cost of living crisis. Throughout this, the Secretary of State has been and continues to be missing in action. Time and again, he has refused to meet the Mayor of London to agree a long-term funding deal for Transport for London, jeopardising UK-wide supply chains. He did nothing—nothing—to halt last week’s rail strikes, and instead just attacked the workers, who had legitimate grievances. It is clear that the Secretary of State does not care about fixing supply chains; instead, he spends his time making TikToks. So will the Minister get a grip on the transport chaos?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Sam Tarry

Thursday 19th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We now come to the shadow Minister, Sam Tarry.

[Sam Tarry (Ilford South) (Lab)]

Well, well, well, the Minister and the buffoons on the Back Benches talk of enhancing bus services, but at what cost? Today, Labour party research—[Interruption.] I suggest the Minister listens to this. Today, Labour party research shows that ZEBRA, or zero-emission bus regional area, funding to the tune of £15 million has been awarded to Arrival, which is interesting because that bus company is run by one Mr Denis Sverdlov, one of President Putin’s closest allies. The funding will see Arrival’s buses on the streets of the UK, sanctioned by this Government.

This Government are supposed to have sanctioned everyone connected to the Russian Government as a result of the horrific war in Ukraine, so I have one simple question: why is millions of pounds of UK taxpayers’ money being handed to one of Putin’s nomenklatura? This is not Bus Back Better but buses straight to Russia.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Sam Tarry

Thursday 17th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call shadow Minister Sam Tarry.

[Sam Tarry (Ilford South) (Lab)]

Happy St Patrick’s Day, Mr Speaker. During the height of the covid pandemic, bus drivers worked tirelessly, often at considerable risk to their health, to keep our vital services functioning by helping NHS staff and other essential workers reach their destination. This week, a Unite the union survey said that we now face bus driver shortages in 99% of garages, which clearly severely hampers services across the country. The same survey said that an average of 90% of respondents believe that the mass exodus is a direct result of low pay and poor working conditions. Those heroes of the transport industry clearly deserve something better, so is it not high time for operators to reward the efforts of our vital transport networks and the people who work on them, and give those bus drivers the pay rise and improvements in working conditions that they thoroughly deserve?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Sam Tarry

Thursday 4th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Sam Tarry (Ilford South) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister to Transport orals for what I believe is her first set of questions.

In April, I raised the devastating impact of Government cuts on rural transport networks, which has led to what CPRE calls “transport deserts”. I asked for

“assurances…that significant investment will be offered”

to support rural bus networks and

“ensure that our rural communities are genuinely connected”.

The Minister of State told me:

“There can be no greater champion of buses than the Prime Minister”.—[Official Report, 29 April 2021; Vol. 693, c. 501.]

He then gave assurances that funding was on its way.

Six months on, rural communities are still bearing the brunt of the Government’s failure to act. Many of the funding announcements in the Budget were nothing more than rehashed and repackaged initiatives that will do nothing to tackle the transport deserts that blight the lives of ordinary people in so many rural communities, towns and villages. I ask again: will the Minister offer rural bus networks the tangible and significant investment that they so desperately need? Will she offer a firm deadline for when that will be done?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Sam Tarry

Thursday 24th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I do apologise for the noise. There is a helicopter somewhere overhead. I know it is Transport questions, but it is getting a bit much.

[Sam Tarry (Ilford South) (Lab)]

As someone who is regularly stuck in traffic on the A13, I think no one wants to return to the levels of pollution we saw before the pandemic began, particularly as emerging evidence indicates that exposure to air pollution increases the severity of coronavirus symptoms and other respiratory conditions. That is why I am so glad to see the work done by brilliant, publicly run light rail systems such as Tyne and Wear metro and Tramlink, led by fantastic local Labour administrations. Light rail networks are an effective means of reducing congestion and pollution given that they produce next to no pollution at the point of use. What assurances will the Minister give, therefore, to support projects that incorporate light rail, tram trains, and electric and hydrogen buses such as the mass transit system proposed by the new West Yorkshire Combined Authority Mayor?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Sam Tarry

Thursday 28th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We now welcome to the Dispatch Box shadow Minister Sam Tarry.

[Sam Tarry (Ilford South) (Lab)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Instead of levelling up the north, where this Government have cut £4 million from Transport for the North, the Minister and his Government clearly intend to level down London’s transport network. This is not the first time we have had to come to the House to ask about the Government’s support for TfL because it did not go far enough in the first place. At a time when public transport ridership has collapsed and we are still a long way off recovering to pre-pandemic ridership levels, we must think about redistribution. That is clearly the right approach. Vehicle excise duty, which raises £500 million from drivers who live in London, is invested almost exclusively in roads outside the city. Keeping it in the capital would enable TfL to continue to be a world-class transport provider and boost our nation’s economy, so will the Transport Secretary commit to looking at this as a way to support TfL?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Sam Tarry

Thursday 30th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Sam Tarry]

I thank the Minister for his answer. I wish quickly to bring the House’s attention to my declaration of interests. With four Crossrail stations in Ilford South and the huge economic growth potential not just across Ilford but across the whole of London, does the Minister agree that it was utterly mad to get rid of the operating grant of £900 million year on year that has crippled Transport for London? In fact, this is an example not just of another failed project by the Department for Transport, but of a Government in crisis over the delivery of any infrastructure project. Will he commit to restoring that grant and restoring London—

[Mr Speaker]

Too long!