Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Luke Charters and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 29th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I extend my sympathy for what the hon. Member experienced—it must have had a profound impact on him and his family. I, too, have seen the power of restorative justice, which enables victims to receive answers and perpetrators to face the human costs of their crimes. Under the victims’ code, all adult victims must be told about restorative justice and how to access it. We can always do more and I will ensure that he gets the meeting that he wants with the relevant Minister.

[Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)]

Q7.  I am pleased to announce that this summer I will be going on paternity leave again for baby No. 2. May I congratulate the Secretary of State for Scotland on his new arrival? The Chancellor spoke brilliantly this morning about growth, and I am pleased to reveal that new research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that by increasing paternity leave, we could increase economic growth by £2.6 billion a year. Will the Prime Minister review statutory paternity leave? From one father to another, will he meet me and The Dad Shift to discuss how we can support new parents?

[The Prime Minister]

I wish my hon. Friend and his wife well with their new arrival. We are conducting a review into parental leave, because we cannot grow the economy if parents have to choose between work and their children. Thanks to the Employment Rights Bill, which the Conservatives oppose, 30,000 more fathers will get paternity leave. That is the difference: the Leader of the Opposition wants to roll back parental rights; we are extending them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Luke Charters and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 4th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We are committed to the necessary transition to renewable energy, which will lead to cheaper energy, energy independence and the jobs of the future. But let me be clear: oil and gas will play their part for many years to come, and that is why I have been clear about the support that we have for them. I am sure the hon. Member and others will want to celebrate the fact that, just this week, contracts for difference secured a record 131 new clean energy projects—enough to power 11 million homes—and they are the jobs of the future.

[Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)]

Q6. The Prime Minister will remember visiting my constituency in June, when we toured Germany Beck, a fantastic development of 600 new homes, but because of Tory dither and delay, it took the best part of a decade for that site to get through planning. [Interruption.] Opposition Members can grumble all they want, but my families are paying the price for their mistakes. Can the Prime Minister reassure me that this Government will speed up the planning process so that we get more homes built, and will one of his Ministers meet me to discuss the housing crisis in York?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes. I remember that visit well, and was struck by the delays in planning because the system was broken by the previous Government. We will deliver 1.5 million new homes, drive economic growth and fulfil the dream of home ownership shattered for 14 years under the former Government. That means changing the planning rules—a tough decision they were not prepared to make—to make that happen and to grow our economy.