Business of the House
Paula Barker Excerpts(5 months, 1 week ago)
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Lucy Powell
As ever, the hon. Gentleman raises an incredibly important issue. For new Members who do not know, he has a strong track record in this place of raising such matters. I will ask the Minister to meet him urgently to discuss this important issue.
Paula Barker (Liverpool Wavertree) (Lab)
Congratulations on your re-election, Mr Speaker. I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House; I know she will do an amazing job.
In February 2022, MPs and peers passed an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill to repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824. However, the last Government failed to set out a commencement date for repeal, while trying to criminalise rough sleepers through the Criminal Justice Bill, which did not pass. I am aware that many homelessness organisations have written to my right hon. Friend, so can she give the House clarity on when the Labour Government will commence the section to repeal that Act, since it is already law? Surely, 200 years on, it is time to consign the Vagrancy Act to the dustbin, where it belongs.
Lucy Powell
I thank my hon. Friend for her question and welcome her back to her place. I look forward to continuing to work closely with her, as I have done in recent years. She always raises incredibly pertinent matters in this House. I do not have the answer to her question, but the Home Secretary will come to the House for a number of reasons in the coming weeks, when my hon. Friend might want to raise this matter. On Tuesday we have the immigration and home affairs debate on the King’s Speech, and Home Office oral questions are on Monday 29 July. If she does not get a reply at either of those, I will raise the matter directly for her.
Business of the House
Paula Barker Excerpts(1 year, 1 month ago)
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Penny Mordaunt
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that. That is a very good idea and topic for a debate, and he will know how to apply for one. There are schemes elsewhere in the country that address air quality issues which have chosen a different path to clobbering those who can least afford it, with terrible unintended consequences —people losing their businesses or livelihoods, charitable organisations being prevented from going about their work and the knock-on economic impact to surrounding areas. It is not just those in London or potentially in certain parts of Wales who are to be affected by these schemes; it is anyone who is going there to do business or for some other purpose. It would be very good to have a debate on these matters. There is good practice out there, and there is also appalling practice, based on shoddy evidence, and the Mayor of London is the top candidate for that accolade.
Paula Barker (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab)
The Chancellor said yesterday that he had taken steps to support people through the cost of living crisis created in Downing Street, so why have 2 million citizens had to rely on food banks in the past 12 months?
Penny Mordaunt
As I stated earlier, the cost of living measures we have brought in now amount to £104 billion. We have been there through the immense crisis that was the pandemic and through furlough, helping people so that they could be at home and be supported and also, critically, keeping jobs and businesses going, which is why we were one of the fastest recovery nations. We have been there to pay energy bills. I shall not repeat the statistics I gave earlier, but the hon. Lady will know that we have protected those on benefits and also pensioners through the triple lock, and we are ensuring that those who are on benefits and trying to get into work have additional support to do so. The result of our record is 1.7 million more people lifted out of absolute poverty, 200,000 of whom are pensioners and nearly 500,000 are children.
Business of the House
Paula Barker Excerpts(1 year, 1 month ago)
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Penny Mordaunt
Many Members are hosting Ukrainian refugees, and we are acutely aware of how difficult it is for them to plan their lives in the situations that they find themselves in. We will give them as much certainty as we can so that they can start to make decisions about studies or where they might go in a year’s time. My understanding is that they must be given a year’s notice, so many will be given information next spring. I will write to both relevant Departments to flag the point that if we can do anything earlier it would be appreciated.
Paula Barker (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab)
The word “economy” was mentioned only once in the King’s Speech. Given that the country faces the highest tax burden since the second world war, not to mention the longest squeeze on wages in 200 years, does that not speak volumes about the Government’s lack of a long-term plan for our economy?
Penny Mordaunt
The hon. Lady will know that the biggest way we can help households is to curb inflation. That is the Chancellor’s priority, and it is why we have exercised restraint on spending. I am sorry that the hon. Lady did not support us in those efforts, but she will not have long to wait for the Chancellor’s autumn statement, which I announced in the business statement.