Business of the House

Debate between Marsha De Cordova and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 16th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this matter. Our ports play a vital role in the long-term growth of the economy, and provide essential access to global markets. I know that this issue is a focus for many Members across the House, even those without a port in their constituency. It would be a very good topic for a debate, and my hon. Friend will know how to apply for one.

[Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)]

It is Mental Health Awareness Week—an opportunity for us all to redouble our efforts to tackle the stigma and call for improved mental health service provision. Unfortunately, thousands of people, including my constituents in Battersea, are paying the price for the Government’s incompetence and failure to deliver their manifesto commitment to update the Mental Health Act 1983. The crisis needs to be addressed. Can we have a Government statement on the actions that will be taken to address this crisis? When will the Government finally bring forward the mental health Bill?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising this issue. I know that many hon. Members across the House have spent a great deal of time on the Bill, including those who were directly involved in the pre-legislative scrutiny of it. We will bring forward further business and announce it in the usual way. In the meantime, I will make sure that all the relevant Secretaries of State, not just the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, have heard the hon. Lady’s ask today.

Business of the House

Debate between Marsha De Cordova and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 21st March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

My hon. Friend raises an important matter. Across the country as a whole, the police have done an amazing job on roughly the same resource—if we strip out online fraud, they have halved crime, which is a huge achievement. However, there are parts of the country where that is not happening. He mentions London, but the west midlands is another such area. I know that west midlands Mayor Andy Street is very concerned about this matter. Every time we hear about the Met, the Mayor of London is nowhere to be seen. The budget has been mismanaged—there is an enormous black hole in it—and police officers in London do not feel that they are supported in doing their difficult job. The rise in violent crime in particular—knife and other crime—is shocking. There is an imminent solution so that Londoners can get a better deal: vote the current London Mayor out of office.

[Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)]

Service charges are an industrial-scale scandal, lumbering homeowners with unaffordable bills. Constituents in Battersea have raised concerns about unregulated, uncapped and exponential service charge increases, and they have also been hit by the Tory mortgage bombshell. In 14 years, the Government have failed to take action to tackle this unregulated system. Will they make a statement on the service charge scandal, and what action will they finally take?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I hope that the hon. Lady has raised that matter with the relevant Department. The next DLUHC questions will be on 22 April. I understand from the opening remarks of her question that it relates to particular accommodation suppliers rather than to utility companies and other standing charges, so I encourage her to raise any particular issues with those organisations.

Business of the House

Debate between Marsha De Cordova and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 7th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I completely understand the legitimate issues that the hon. Lady raises. She has a reputation for playing the ball and not the man or woman, and I take her question in the spirit in which I think it is intended. From what I know of the situation, and because of the oversight that is given to such matters, I believe that this issue has been dealt with in line with the rules. I refer her to what I have said about the character of the individual in question.

[Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)]

Listening to the Chancellor’s Budget this week, people would think that everything is rosy, despite our country being in a recession. However, that narrative flies in the face of the daily reality of workers and businesses. Does the Leader of the House accept that the Government cannot escape from their dismal economic record over the last 14 years?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I would ask the hon. Lady to reflect on how she thinks the hard-working people of this country will cope with having to plug a £28 billion hole in Labour’s spending plans, which could only be raised—if the party is sticking to its fiscal rules—by raising taxes.

Business of the House

Debate between Marsha De Cordova and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 8th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for affording me, and the whole House, the opportunity to join him in praising Loyd and Heidi and congratulating them on all that they are doing. Young people in this country sometimes get a bad press, so it would be very good to have time on the Floor of the House or in Westminster Hall to celebrate all that they do.

[Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)]

A recent report by London Councils found that Wandsworth is one of the boroughs worst affected by falling pupil roll numbers, with a 12% drop in demand for reception places. Many parents in Battersea have shared with me their concerns about their children’s education. It is vital that the Government ensure that every local area has excellent, financially viable schools. May we have a statement on how they will address the fall in pupil roll numbers?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I will ensure that the Secretary of State for Education has heard what the hon. Lady says, and I will draw her attention to that report. I think that is how I can best serve the hon. Lady today.

Business of the House

Debate between Marsha De Cordova and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 22nd June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my right hon. Friend for not only the question, but the typically dramatic way in which he asked it. I shall leave Confucius aside and deal with the heart of the matter he is getting at. Obviously, the Department for Education is currently reviewing guidance to schools on these matters and I understand that the Education Secretary has launched an investigation into the incident to which he refers.

[Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)]

Today, on the 75th anniversary of the arrival into the UK of the Windrush generation, which included my grandparents, I have written to the Home Secretary, along with other politicians and leading public figures, to call on her to right the wrongs of the Windrush scandal. May we have a Government statement on the compensation scheme and, more importantly, moving that scheme to an independent body so that those from the Windrush generation can finally get justice?

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Lady adds her voice to others we have heard in the Chamber on this matter. As with them, I will ensure the Home Secretary has heard her remarks, and I am aware of calls for the matter to be moved to the Cabinet Office.

Business of the House

Debate between Marsha De Cordova and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 11th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend and the residents of Southend for their very kind remarks about me. As I am sure all Members would, I of course join her in saying thank you, well done and good luck for the next chapter to Mayor Robinson. I thank him for all the work he has done. I also thank my hon. Friend for giving us another example of the many hundreds of people who contributed towards making the weekend such a success, in particular by enabling 95 Heads of State to visit and celebrate such a special moment. We send them all our thanks.

[Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)]

It is shocking that the Government have yet again made an outrageous U-turn by deciding to scrap plans to abolish the feudal leasehold system. We all know that the current system is not fit for purpose and often traps homeowners, including many of my constituents in Battersea. The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities agreed with me and said that he would bring forward reforms, so will the Leader of the House let us know the timeline for when we will see a Bill on leaseholder reform?

[Penny Mordaunt]

The next questions to the Secretary of State are on 5 June. Several Members have raised these matters. As I have said, the House will not have long to wait for the introduction of the renters reform Bill, but I shall ask the Secretary of State to contact the offices of the hon. Lady and the other Members who have raised this matter, particularly in respect of leasehold reform, and update them.

Business of the House

Debate between Marsha De Cordova and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 20th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I will ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to update the House in light of this recent change. These are very serious matters that I know are shared concerns for many Members on all sides of the House.

MPs from across the House have spoken on many occasions about medical licensing and medical device licences, the processes and policies of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, our covid response and compensation for the vaccine injured, which was recently raised on the Floor of the House by my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Sir Jeremy Wright), the former Attorney General. These are totally legitimate and correct debates to have. Parliamentary scrutiny and debate is one of the many checks and balances that we have in this country to ensure that we are taking the right course of action on these and all other matters. That is what many colleagues do.

What other colleagues are not doing is promoting false propaganda, which is widely known to originate from the Kremlin, abusing and undermining colleagues and the occupant of the Chair, and using the autopsy of a 14-year-old girl as clickbait on their social media feed, all of which the hon. Member for North West Leicestershire (Andrew Bridgen) has done in the past week. He might like to reflect on that.

[Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)]

Many of my constituents in Battersea have been victims of car theft, a distressing and disruptive ordeal. Last year, on average, one car a day was stolen, but of all those incidents only five led to a charge. Tory cuts to policing in London have had a devastating impact and have led to severe consequences, so can we have a debate in Government time on the desperate need for more neighbourhood policing in London?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I hope that I am always helpful to hon. Members, but I think the hon. Lady needs to direct her questions to the Labour London Mayor. Since 2010, this Government have halved crime on pretty much the same resource. In my opening remarks, I set out the clear fact that Labour-run police and crime commissioner areas are 34% more likely to have a higher crime rate.

Business of the House

Debate between Marsha De Cordova and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 22nd September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for raising those two important points. I know that the new Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is looking with great urgency at the legislation she wants to bring forward. She will have heard his remarks today, but I shall also write to raise those issues and to ask her to get in touch with him, as he is very knowledgeable about such matters.

[Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)]

Many households in my constituency have seen their energy bills go up by more than 500% because they are on heat networks that are not regulated by Ofgem. The Energy Bill would make Ofgem the regulator and introduce a price cap, but there have been reports that the Prime Minister is set to pause the Bill or scrap it entirely. Can the Leader of the House reassure the House and my constituents that the Bill will not be scrapped and that a price cap will be introduced?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising those important points. Business will be announced in the normal way, but I will be happy to raise those points with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and ask that he contact her office.

Business of the House

Debate between Marsha De Cordova and Penny Mordaunt

Thursday 8th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my right hon. Friend for raising this important point. I will take it up with the relevant Department and business will be announced in the usual way. I would also encourage her to use all the means that she will be very aware of to secure a debate on the issue, but I shall certainly raise it with the Department.

[Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)]

Several small to medium-sized businesses in Battersea have told me how much they are struggling with the cost of living crisis. Energy bills are soaring and business costs are rising, and then there are the supply chain and staffing issues as a consequence of Brexit. These small businesses are vital to our local economy and they need help now, so the Government must come forward with a plan of support that includes a contingency fund for these businesses. We need to see a cut in business rates and the energy price cap implemented sooner rather than later. May we have a statement outlining the Government plan to support small and medium-sized businesses?

[Penny Mordaunt]

That is the reason why we have given time for a general debate this afternoon. Many Members will have ideas about what support is needed and they will have the opportunity to raise them later today. We have moved Government business around to allow that to happen, and to allow measures to help the hon. Lady’s businesses to be brought forward.