Business of the House
Debate between Lucy Powell and Rachael Maskell(1 week, 6 days ago)
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Lucy Powell
The hon. Gentleman will know that the cladding scandal is a shocking embarrassment for our country, and we still have some way to go in putting that right. The Government set out a remediation action plan just before Christmas—that is on top of the Building Safety Act 2022, which was passed under the previous Government—but we absolutely need to be able to hold freeholders and developers to account when they put dangerous cladding on buildings and refuse to replace it.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
The Belfrey in York is losing around £1.4 million through the changes to the listed places of worship grant scheme. The National Railway Museum was promised money by the last Government—I appreciate that it was not necessarily real money—but that has been taken away. Both those projects are midway through development. Will the Leader of the House make representations to the Chancellor to say that when projects are under way but have been stripped down after development has started, money should be put in place to ensure that they can be completed?
Lucy Powell
I am sorry to hear what is happening to the Belfrey in York. My hon. Friend will know that we have had to look at making some changes to the listed places of worship grant scheme, but I will certainly ensure that her particular—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans) says that the scheme has been cut. In fact, the previous scheme, like many others run by the previous Government, was a work of fiction, and there was not the funding that people thought was there. I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets a full reply about the particular case that she raises.
Business of the House
Debate between Lucy Powell and Rachael Maskell(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Lucy Powell
The Government’s plans to take back our railways into public ownership will improve reliability, investment and the passenger experience, so I assure my hon. Friend that those plans will be of great benefit to her constituents in the way she describes.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
Next week, the commission for palliative care and end of life care will start taking oral and written evidence, and I really hope that Members will ask their specialists and their constituents to participate in that. Will the Leader of the House ensure that, when the commission reports, we have a debate on its findings so that we can optimise palliative and end of life care?
Business of the House
Debate between Lucy Powell and Rachael Maskell(3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Lucy Powell
Community pharmacies, as the hon. Lady rightly says, play a very important part in ensuring that health services are in the community and provide preventive support for local communities. That is why the Government are rebuilding our NHS. Community pharmacies will play a very important part in that. There is a debate next week on fixing the NHS, where I am sure the Health Secretary will be keen to hear her thoughts about community pharmacies.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
In Sudan, 25.6 million people are facing acute hunger, 10.7 million people have been displaced since last year, and the World Food Programme is saying that it is a race against time to stop the famine from escalating. It is a very grave situation, so can we have a debate in Government time to put a spotlight on what is happening in Sudan and the UK’s response?
Lucy Powell
My hon. Friend raises a really important matter and I think that is why Mr Speaker granted an urgent question on it earlier this week. There is a lot of interest in this House and it was raised with the Prime Minister yesterday at Prime Minister’s question time. We continue to monitor the situation very closely. I will ensure, as I always do, that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Minister and Secretary of State do come to the House regularly to update us on these matters.
Business of the House
Debate between Lucy Powell and Rachael Maskell(5 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Lucy Powell
This is a Government of service, and we are working hard to turn the page on an era of scandal and sleaze under the previous Government. We expect the very highest standards of all those in government, which is why we quickly brought in measures such as raising standards and expectations for MPs, raising standards and expectations for Ministers, being completely transparent about declarations, and ensuring that all the proper processes for appointments are followed at all times. We will continue to do that.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
The Government have stated and rightly continue to state that prevention will protect our NHS and protect lives. Being cold at home can lead to stroke, heart attack, hypothermia, pneumonia and other such illnesses. Will the Leader of the House encourage the Government to read the work of Professor Sir Michael Marmot and Sir Chris Whitty in this area so that we can take a public health approach to people being warm at home to mitigate the cost that could come without the right mitigations on winter fuel payments?
Lucy Powell
I thank my hon. Friend for that question and for continually raising these important matters. The decision to means-test winter fuel payments was not one that any of us wanted to take. It was a decision that we had to take to balance the books. As we have just discussed, it is those on the lowest incomes who pay the heaviest price when the economy crashes and the real cost of living goes through the roof. That is why delivering on living standards, getting growth in our economy, delivering lower energy bills and getting energy independence are core to the Government’s agenda. That is what we will see over the Parliament.
Business of the House
Debate between Lucy Powell and Rachael Maskell(7 months ago)
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Lucy Powell
I welcome my hon. Friend to her place, and I am sorry to hear of the tragic circumstances in her constituency. This Government are committed to tackling issues around firearms—not just the symptoms, but the root causes, as she says—and there will be ample time to discuss these matters. Of course, there will be Home Office questions next week, where she may want to raise these matters further.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
Hundreds of thousands of people will be visiting my fantastic city of York over the summer. However, many of them will be staying in short-term holiday lets, with one in 10 properties in the city centre being Airbnbs. Can we have a debate about how this Government will not just register Airbnbs, but license them, so that local authorities can control their housing stock?
Lucy Powell
My hon. Friend raises an important issue that affects many cities, such as my own and hers. This Government have a manifesto commitment to look at these issues and take action as soon as we can, and I am sure that she will be able to raise them with the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary in oral questions as soon as we come back on 2 September.
Business of the House
Debate between Lucy Powell and Rachael Maskell(7 months, 1 week ago)
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Lucy Powell
I think the hon. Member may misunderstand the policy in this area. This Government have made it clear that we are unashamedly pro-house building. We have to tackle the housing crisis in this country and meet the target of 1.5 million new homes over the course of this Parliament, and I think that his party also pledged to deliver that target in the election campaign. As he knows, the Conservatives in government withdrew the house building targets, which then reduced figures. What we are not proposing here is a developer free-for-all. This is about good, sensible, clear local plans being drawn together and then expedited with things moving more quickly. I can reassure him on that, but frankly we will take no lectures from the Opposition on dealing with the housing crisis.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
When it comes to children with special educational needs, children who have experienced trauma in their childhood or children with anxiety, local authorities carry all the risk, but do not have the resources. Our academy system is out of control and our health services are insufficient. Can we have a debate on children who experience such challenges in their early years to ensure that we address this issue early on in this Government?
Lucy Powell
May I welcome my hon. Friend back to her place? She was always vocal and committed in the last Parliament, and I have no doubt she will be so again in this Parliament. As she rightly points out, our education and care systems are not meeting the needs of children with special educational needs, often leaving them without the support they need to thrive. That is one of the issues being tackled in our children’s wellbeing Bill, announced by His Majesty the King yesterday. As she will have heard this morning, there will be a debate on education in the business next week.