Public Services

Liz McInnes Excerpts

Wednesday 16th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to contribute to the debate and to follow the hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Anne Marie Morris).

Today we are talking about public services. I was an NHS worker for 33 years, so it is a subject that is very close to my heart. Working in the NHS, I saw for myself the improvements that a Labour Government brought about, most notably the introduction of “Agenda for Change” terms and conditions for NHS staff, which ensured that they were adequately remunerated for their work, with recognition of their roles, responsibilities and training.

Following the general election and formation of the coalition Government in 2010, I saw “Agenda for Change” being eroded. The coalition refused to accept the recommendations of the pay review bodies, which were a linchpin of the “Agenda for Change” agreement, and NHS staff began to see their wages stagnate, with pay freezes, or below-inflation pay rises for the lucky ones.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for making some excellent points. Does she agree that it is not just NHS workers, but the police who are desperately in need of better pay and conditions so that we can retain the police that we have and train more, particularly in areas where we have more crime on our streets and desperately need those bobbies on the beat?

[Liz McInnes]

My hon. Friend makes the important point that all our public sector workers need to be adequately remunerated for their vital work to keep our communities safe and healthy.

The coalition Government also introduced the disastrous Health and Social Care Act 2012. It was supposed to reduce bureaucracy in our NHS, but instead resulted in the almost complete fragmentation and privatisation of services and myriad boards, commissioning groups and advisory groups, thereby increasing rather than reducing bureaucracy. The coalition Government were warned about those problems at the time, but they chose to carry on regardless.

This Government removed the nursing bursary, which impacts on not only those who wish to train to be nurses, but allied health professionals, including radiotherapists, who provide vital treatment for cancer. Again, despite being warned that this would lead to a reduction in applicants for training, the Government carried on regardless, with the inevitable consequence that numbers applying for nurse training have fallen. Cancer treatment centres are crying out for specialised staff, with 6% of therapeutic radiography posts currently unfilled, a 23% drop in those starting the courses and one out of 10 training centres for therapeutic radiography being forced to close. Nothing in the Queen’s Speech addresses that or puts right those wrongs. It is difficult to see how the NHS long-term plan will be met without addressing the urgent training needs. That training is required to provide the staff who are needed to fulfil the long-term plan. The Queen’s Speech was an ideal opportunity for the Government to announce a reinstatement of the bursary scheme. With 40,000 nurse vacancies, there is no time to waste.

I welcome the Government’s commitment to continuing with the Domestic Abuse Bill, but that in itself places demands on our public services that the Government must adequately resource if the measure is to achieve its desired aim of providing protection for victims and survivors. The Government must put the necessary funding into legal aid, support services such as mental health, and education and housing.

On mental health, recent research has found that women who suffer domestic abuse are three times more likely to develop a mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The nature of domestic abuse, whereby partners might discourage attendance at mental health appointments, means that it can be extremely problematic for sufferers to access the care they need. Within the Bill, the proposed advisory board to the domestic abuse commission must include a representative from mental health services; this is supported by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. The mental health needs of victims and survivors and, indeed, of perpetrators must not be forgotten.

The Home Secretary said that she wanted to see tough sentences and justice for the victims of crime. She said that she wanted to see sentences that fit the severity of the crime, so I am very grateful to the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) for highlighting the absence from the Queen’s Speech of tougher sentencing for causing death by dangerous driving. She, like me, has had a terrible case in her constituency. She spoke about the tragic death of Bryony Hollands and the derisory sentence given to the driver. In my constituency of Heywood and Middleton, my constituent Joseph Brown-Lartey was killed by an uninsured, unlicensed driver who ran a red light at 80 mph in a 30 mph zone, crashing into Joseph’s car and killing him outright. The impact was so great that it split Joseph’s car in two. The police said that it was the worst crash that they had ever seen on an urban road, yet Joseph’s killer received a sentence of just six years, of which he served just three, while Joseph’s family are serving a life sentence at the loss of their beloved son.

This Government announced two years ago that they would increase the maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving from 14 years to life, and that was as a result of a consultation that received more than 9,000 responses. There was a clear vote in favour of it from the public—this would have been a vote winner for the Government—yet two years on the changes to the legislation have not been made despite numerous requests, and the Government have missed the opportunity to include it in the Queen’s Speech. I and many other MPs wrote to the Prime Minister recommending that he did so, but he declined. We are all extremely disappointed not to see it there as this was a golden opportunity.

If the Home Secretary is serious when she says that she wants to see punishments that fit the crime, it is incomprehensible that this measure has not been included in the Queen’s Speech. It lets down the Brown-Larteys in my constituency, it lets down the Hollands family in the constituency of the right hon. Member for Maidenhead—I nearly said in the Prime Minister’s constituency—and it lets down all the brave bereaved families who have campaigned so hard for so many years to get justice.

Windrush Compensation Scheme

Liz McInnes Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

The hon. Lady makes a very important point. We want to make sure everyone feels they can, first, come forward to the Windrush scheme itself, in terms of documentation, passports and the work of the taskforce, and, secondly, make claims for compensation. For example, no information relating to those who come forward to the compensation scheme will be supplied to immigration enforcement, or in respect of any other issues and concerns that people might have.

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

Will a fixed address or a bank account be required to claim compensation? Some people will have been denied access to these under the hostile environment.

[Sajid Javid]

It would certainly be helpful if a claimant for compensation has a bank account, but we have set out to make sure that justice is done in the fairest way possible. If there are exceptional circumstances in how we pay compensation, we will of course take that into account.

International Women’s Day

Liz McInnes Excerpts

Thursday 7th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

I am pleased to be able to contribute to this debate ahead of International Women’s Day tomorrow, and I congratulate the right hon. Member for Basingstoke (Mrs Miller) on securing it.

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Balance for Better”, which is a call to action for driving gender balance across the world. For women to reach their full potential we need to address the issues that are holding women back, and very important among them is female genital mutilation. We all know that all too often the first message a girl receives about her body is that it is imperfect—too fat or too thin, too dark or too pale—but for some girls the message is that in order to be accepted by the wider community their bodies must be cut, altered and even reshaped by female genital mutilation.

In many communities, FGM is seen as a rite of passage, but it can result in serious health complications including infections, chronic pain and infertility, and it can even lead to fatalities. FGM is internationally recognised as a human rights violation, yet some 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM. If current rates persist, around 68 million more will be cut by 2030.

Where it is practised, FGM is supported, usually without question, by both men and women, yet the reasons for the practice are often rooted in gender inequality. In some communities it is carried out to control women’s and girls’ sexuality. It is sometimes a prerequisite for marriage and is closely linked to child marriage.

FGM is practised in countries around the world: in 29 African countries, in Asia, in the middle east, in eastern Europe and in South America. In many western countries, including the UK, FGM is practised among diaspora populations from areas where the practice is commonplace. Some 5,391 new cases of FGM were reported in the UK in 2016-17, but it is well known that there has been only one successful prosecution for FGM in this country.

It was my pleasure yesterday to meet representatives from the Freedom Charity at an event organised by the right hon. Member for Loughborough (Nicky Morgan). The Freedom Charity does vital work in engaging with schools in the UK to raise awareness of, and help combat, FGM, forced marriages and other crimes against children.

Although some associate FGM with religious practices, no religion promotes or condones FGM and many religious leaders have denounced it. FGM is a cultural rather than a religious practice, and now women and girls who have suffered FGM are speaking out.

Kadiga from Ethiopia said:

“I will never subject my child to FGM if she happens to be a girl, and I will teach her the consequences of the practice early on.”

Meaza, 15 years old, said:

“In my village there is one girl who is younger than I am who has not been cut because I discussed the issue with her parents. I told them how much the operation had hurt me, how it had traumatised me and made me not trust my own parents. They decided they did not want this to happen to their daughter.”

Zainab, who was infibulated at the age of eight, said:

“My two sisters, myself and our mother went to visit our family back home. I assumed we were going for a holiday. A bit later they told us we were going to be infibulated. The day before our operation was due to take place, another girl was infibulated and she died because of the operation. We were so scared and didn’t want to suffer the same fate. But our parents told us it was an obligation, so we went. We fought back, we really thought we were going to die because of the pain. You have one woman holding your mouth so you won’t scream, two holding your chest and the other two holding your legs. After we were infibulated, we had rope tied across our legs so it was like we had to learn to walk again. We had to try to go to the toilet. If you couldn’t pass water in the next 10 days something was wrong. We were lucky, I suppose. We gradually recovered and didn’t die like the other girl. But the memory and the pain never really go away.”

To eradicate FGM, co-ordinated and systematic efforts are needed, and they must engage whole communities and focus on human rights and gender equality. They must also address the sexual and reproductive health needs of women and girls who suffer from its consequences. The United Nations Population Fund, jointly with UNICEF, leads the largest global programme to accelerate the abandonment of FGM. The programme currently focuses on 17 African countries and also supports regional and global initiatives. The law provides little protection, however. Many of the countries where FGM is prevalent have laws against the practice, but the enforcement of those laws is the problem, with much of the activity around FGM being secretive and concealed. On International Women’s Day, let us remember the girls and women around the world who have been or may become victims of this barbaric practice, and let us wipe it out once and for all.

Police: Financial Sustainability

Liz McInnes Excerpts

Wednesday 12th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hurd]

I would be delighted to accept that analysis, and I totally recognise the work that my hon. Friend does to champion West Midlands police, which is an incredibly important police force that does extremely good work. We have put additional resources into the force, and I note that the Labour police and crime commissioner has managed to go about increasing reserves by £26.9 million since 2011—the period in which he has complained about being cash-starved.

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

Like many of my colleagues, I recently spent a day shadowing Greater Manchester police in my constituency. From trainees to inspectors, they all expressed concerns about underfunding and short-staffing, not to mention having to pick up the pieces from cuts to mental health and ambulance services. What will the Minister do to ensure that the police in my constituency have the resources to do their jobs and that my constituents feel safe?

Saddleworth Moor and Tameside: Ongoing Fire

Liz McInnes Excerpts

Monday 2nd July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hurd]

I am sure that the whole House wants to put on record our admiration for not just the response to these particular major incidents and the way that firefighters have come from throughout the country to support that work, but for the work that they do back in their communities. They are one of the most trusted public services in this country, for very good reason. Day after day, dedicated firefighters get up without knowing what they are going to work towards on our behalf and for our public safety.

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

Sadly, because of global warming, we are likely to see more fires on this scale, so what extra resources is the Minister planning to allocate to emergency services and fire services to enable them to deal better with increased incidents of moorland fires?

[Mr Hurd]

On funding for the emergency services, I stated earlier that the core spending power of fire services increased this year, even though, as the hon. Lady knows, the number of fire incidents has fallen by 50% over the past decade. On the management of risk going forward, I am leading an exercise and speaking to every fire authority to understand their perception of future demand and risk, to inform decisions in the next spending round.

Kerslake Arena Attack Review

Liz McInnes Excerpts

Wednesday 28th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

The Fire Brigades Union has commented that Greater Manchester fire and rescue services is

“the only emergency service in Manchester without its own dedicated service control room.”

In the light of the communication problems identified in the report, will the Minister review this situation?

[Mr Wallace]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady, but think I need to check her assertion. I have been to the Merseyside joint control room, where they do incredible amounts of good work. The north-west fire control is a regional control room. The report does not point to that as the failure; the point was the failure in the inter-agency liaison officer not being able necessarily to take the right decisions, and their being involved in almost too many of the decisions; it was not about the location or organisation of the control room. Before we suddenly seek to change that in the north-west, we should look at the report’s findings, which were very much about the roles of a few individuals and the decisions that they took on the night.

Vote 100 and International Women’s Day

Liz McInnes Excerpts

Thursday 8th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Cheadle (Mary Robinson) and to take part in this debate. As a proud member of the Labour party in a Parliament where 32% of MPs are women—the majority of them, 57%, from my party—I know that we still have work to do to achieve true equality in gender representation, but the Labour party is heading the right direction. I am pleased that some male MPs have been, and still are, in the Chamber. I have enjoyed their contributions, particularly that of the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Matt Warman), who regrettably is no longer in his place.

International Women’s Day is for everyone to celebrate, and it is important that men have an understanding of inequality in our society. I welcome their thoughts, and most certainly would not dream of accusing any one of them of mansplaining.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

On that point—[Laughter.] I thank my hon. Friend for allowing me to intervene. Does she not agree that it is the collective responsibility of all of us—not just women, but men too—to ensure that we have equality in all senses of the word? With regard to Parliament, she rightly says that the Labour party has managed to get 45% of the parliamentary Labour party as women. For the House of Commons as a whole to have only 32% of Members as women is just not good enough.

[Liz McInnes]

I thank my hon. Friend for that point, which he has made very well. He is absolutely right: this is our collectively responsibility, and 32% is not good enough. We also need to look at equality in other representations in addition to gender balance. He makes a very good point, which I would in no way ever describe as mansplaining.

It was heartbreaking today to hear my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Yardley (Jess Phillips) recite the names of all those women who have died at the hands of men. Sadly, one of them, Linda Parker, was from my constituency. My heart goes out to her friends, family, children and grandchildren. I dream of a future International Women’s Day when my hon. Friend no longer has a list of the names of murdered women to recite, and when the figure of two women murdered every week by a current or former partner has become history due to better investment in women’s refuges, women’s safety and a complete change in attitudes.

Today is International Women’s Day. It was my pleasure yesterday to attend the launch of a report commissioned by the all-party group on population, development and reproductive health, of which I am an active member. The report is entitled, “Who Decides? We Trust Women” and concerns abortion in the developing world and the UK. I pay tribute to the chair of the all-party group, Baroness Jenny Tonge, for her tireless work. As a retired GP, she really knows her subject and demonstrates the value that can be brought to the other place by experts in their field. The report makes the important point that from 2010 to 2014, one in four pregnancies worldwide ended in an abortion. Abortion rates have been declining in the developed world since 1990, but the rate in developing countries has remained fairly constant.

An estimated 56 million abortions occur worldwide each year, with three quarters taking place among married women. Significantly, abortion rates are roughly the same in countries where abortion is legally restricted and those where it is liberally available. Restrictive abortion laws do not prevent women from seeking abortion; they only endanger women’s health and lives as women seek unsafe procedures. There is a clear correlation between restrictive abortion laws and higher rates of maternal morbidity and mortality. In the group of countries where abortion is completely banned or allowed in very narrow circumstances, three out of four abortions are unsafe. Lack of money prevents women and girls from accessing safe abortions in the private sector. In addition, fear of being reported to the police prevents women and girls from seeking medical attention when they are faced with life-threatening complications due to unsafe abortions.

The report makes the important point that more family planning will reduce abortion worldwide. Family planning is one of the most cost-effective strategies to prevent maternal deaths and suffering from unsafe abortion. Indeed, the lowest rates of abortion in the world can be found in Germany and Switzerland, where family planning is widely and easily available. Yet only last week I heard from Marie Stopes International that due to President Trump’s global gag, which blocks US funds going to any organisation involved in abortion advice and care overseas, its funding has been cut drastically, severely restricting its ability to provide contraceptive services to women and girls in the developing world. The international campaign SheDecides says that every girl and every woman has the right to do what she chooses with her body. She must have access to education and information about her body and her options, modern contraception and safe abortion. Only when women are in control of their own fertility will they have control over their own lives.

[Anna Soubry (Broxtowe) (Con)]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her very thoughtful speech, and she is absolutely right. Those of us who, many years ago, marched and took to the streets to protect the Abortion Act 1967 and ensure that it was not in any way interfered with did so because we knew about the extremely important point that she is making. It was not because we wanted people to have terminations of pregnancies; it was all about women having a right of control over their bodies. That is about empowerment, a lack of prejudice, their freedom and a lack of discrimination.

[Liz McInnes]

The right hon. Lady makes an excellent point. We have to allow women the world over to control their own bodies and therefore their own lives. However, there is still much work to be done, both nationally and internationally. Today, on International Women’s Day, I call upon our female Prime Minister to call on President Trump to reverse the global gagging order. A woman Prime Minister who is prepared to stand up for women around the world would do that.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Lindsay Hoyle)]

I call Dr Stella Creasy.

Harassment in Public Life

Liz McInnes Excerpts

Monday 18th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

I agree that there is nothing wrong with argument and a little bit of rudeness, but that the sorts of examples that we have been quoting are absolutely unacceptable. We need to work across the House to ensure that we have a proper answer and strategy to combat them.

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

Does the Home Secretary agree that it is high time we brought back respect in public life? This is not just about MPs, but about the people who provide our public services. When I was told by a constituent during the last election that it was part of my job to take abuse, I spoke to a local police officer about it and he said, “Welcome to my world.” Does she agree that we must lead by example on these Benches?

[Amber Rudd]

I agree completely with the hon. Lady. I had a similar experience when I was a Back-Bench MP, when somebody said, “Well you’re an MP—you can take it.” MPs are not blushing wallflowers, but nor should we have to take that sort of abuse. I would welcome the sort of approach she sets out.

Online Hate Speech

Liz McInnes Excerpts

Thursday 30th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

I do not accept that there are double standards. What I accept is that we have been totally consistent in ensuring that we call out hate crime and take aggressive action in order to stop it. That is why my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister responded so strongly to the tweet, and why other Cabinet Ministers have taken action as well. We will always ensure that we take action to stop the vile hate crime that sometimes takes place.

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

Has any member of the UK Government asked for these tweets to be taken down?

[Amber Rudd]

I shall have to come back to the hon. Lady on that.

Forensic Evidence: Alleged Manipulation

Liz McInnes Excerpts

Monday 27th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

I used to work for the NHS as a clinical scientist, and every test that we did in our laboratory, including toxicology testing, was subject to rigorous internal and external quality control standards. It is my understanding that the Forensic Science Regulator has no statutory authority over private forensics laboratories. When will the Minister give the regulator statutory authority?

[Mr Hurd]

In the 2016 forensic science strategy, we committed to placing the Forensic Science Regulator on a statutory footing by the end of this Parliament. We are seeking the appropriate parliamentary opportunity to do that.