Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Afzal Khan

Thursday 7th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this matter on behalf of his constituent. As I outlined earlier, the Paymaster General is keen not just to bring forward proposals in swift order, but to meet directly with those who have been infected and affected, in order to hear their views and get feedback on the scheme to ensure that it meets with their approval. My latest information is that there will be 25 meetings around the country. I know that the Paymaster General feels strongly that that is the right thing to do. I will make sure that he has heard my hon. Friend’s interest on behalf of his constituent and that my hon. Friend is updated as soon as those dates and venues can be announced.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

Manchester has a proud history of welcoming those seeking sanctuary, but the Home Office is failing to provide support for the move-on process to those recently granted asylum. Since April 2023, there has been a 575% increase in the number of people who have presented to Manchester City Council as homeless because the Home Office has evicted them. The Government expect local authorities and the voluntary sector to fill the gap that they are leaving, but without providing the resources. Councillor Craig, the leader of Manchester City Council, has written to the Secretary of State to raise the issue. Can we have an urgent debate in Government time on the support offered to newly recognised refugees?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I would be very happy to raise this matter with the Home Office and ask for a meeting on behalf of the hon. Gentleman. Local authorities have a great deal of flexibility on who they take, under what circumstances and where they provide accommodation, so I am not quite sure what the underlying issue is. I would be very happy to facilitate a discussion between the hon. Gentleman and the Home Office.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Afzal Khan

Thursday 16th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

November marks Islamophobia Awareness Month, which is a time for everyone committed to equality and anti-racism to reiterate their position on Islamophobia, and their dedication to stamping out that hate. It has now been five years since the all-party group on British Muslims published its definition of Islamophobia, which was backed by community groups, academics, political parties, trade unions, and many councils. It is four years since the Government committed to developing an official definition, and one year since they decided that tackling hatred against Muslims is not important and abandoned that plan. Given that Islamophobia is up by 600% since October, will the Leader of the House urge the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to come to the House and give a statement on his work on tackling Islamophobia?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that important point. I will certainly write to the Secretary of State, and to other Secretaries of State who will have an interest, to ensure that they have heard what he said. I recently visited Birmingham to show support to the Jewish community there in the wake of some of the attacks that they were having to endure. I was struck by the fact that the local Muslim community had come over to the Hebrew centre to show support, to condemn Hamas, and to stand with the Jewish community in the wake of those attacks. When I inquired why they had done that, they told me that as well as being the right thing to do, in the wake of 9/11, when the Muslim community had come under attack and been associated— wrongly—with those terrorist atrocities, the Jewish community came and stood between them and an angry mob, to protect them. What is often lost in the recent scenes we have seen is the decades of quiet work between different faith communities who all believe in the same God.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Afzal Khan

Thursday 14th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I might be testing the limits of the ministerial responsibility directory if I allocate a particular individual as the Fly Minister, but the normal procedure in such cases is to turn to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. I shall certainly make sure that the Secretary of State has heard my hon. Friend’s concerns, and I wish him and his councillors well in combating this problem.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

My constituent, Judith, a cancer survivor in her seventies, has paid hundreds of pounds a month in energy bills for six years and been told that she is a high energy user. In June, Judith and I worked together to urge ScottishPower to investigate and it turns out that for six years she has paid the energy bills of a family of four next door—[Hon. Members: “Oh!”] It has been 14 weeks since ScottishPower found out that Judith’s meter was crossed, and still no progress has been made. She is still paying her neighbours’ bills. Does the Leader of the House agree that ScottishPower’s delay in correcting that error is unacceptable and that no vulnerable person should be going to bed cold at night?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I hope the hon. Gentleman has seen from the audible response from Members of all parties that we all think that that is an appalling situation. Normally, I would be putting pen to paper to write to all relevant Secretaries of State to highlight poor business practice and poor customer service, but I cannot believe that having heard this case on the Floor of the House ScottishPower would not immediately—today—seek to rectify the situation, alter what is going on with his constituent’s bill and make recompense for the overcharging. I would also expect some compensation for her. I will say to my officials in the Box that we will give ScottishPower until 3pm this afternoon before I get my pen out.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Afzal Khan

Thursday 8th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sure that I speak for all Members of this House when I say thank you, Brian, for a life- time of service to your community. What an achievement; what a service. It is an incredibly important role, not just for the knowledge that those individuals build up in their communities, but for the trust and rapport that they build. I think that that would be an excellent subject for a debate. I hope that Brian and all his colleagues will be having a good old knees-up this week.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

On the last day before recess, the House was due to debate the important topic of tackling Islamophobia, which we have not had the chance to do in the Chamber since 2019. Unfortunately, following a raft of ministerial statements, including some that did not tell us anything new, the debate had to be cancelled owing to the lack of time. Will the Leader of the House urge her Government to demonstrate their commitment to tackling that insidious form of hate by bringing forward a debate in Government time on tackling Islamophobia?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I shall certainly ensure that the Home Secretary hears the hon. Gentleman’s remarks. We are committed to tackling that scourge. He will know the other options that he has to apply for a debate, including the advert from the Chairman of the Backbench Business Committee, and I encourage him to do so.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Afzal Khan

Thursday 25th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sorry to hear about this difficult situation in my hon. Friend’s constituency. I will certainly write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to make him aware of the situation. I also suggest that my hon. Friend press the Minister on that matter on 6 June, which is in the first week back after recess.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

Last week, five young people from Sudan, who are part of the All4One youth group and are seeking asylum in Manchester, wrote to the Minister for Immigration expressing worry for their families who are stuck in Sudan. They have no news about the safety or whereabouts of their loved ones and they are desperate to be reunited safely with their families. Can we urgently have a debate in Government time on the humanitarian support that the UK Government are providing in Sudan, and on what plans the Government have to open safe and legal asylum routes for those fleeing the violence in Sudan?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this matter. Off the top of my head, Sudan is in the top 10 of nations that we take refugees from. Grant rates for asylum applications from that country range from 86% to 94%. On safe and legal routes, more than 40% of those taken in via those routes were children. We already do a huge amount, and he will know we are doing a tremendous amount in-country as well. I do not want to give the impression that we are not taking people via safe and legal routes. The facts speak for themselves. I thank this group of young individuals for raising that issue and their concerns, and I hope what I have said has put their minds at rest.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Afzal Khan

Thursday 24th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

As someone who campaigned for Brexit and who was delighted that the nation voted that way, I must put on record my thanks to my hon. Friend for his part in that campaign. While he was wanting to loosen certain ties, he was also producing some very fetching ties, one of which he is wearing today—the GO green tie. He is absolutely right to say that leaving the regulatory orbit of the EU enables us to capitalise on some new freedoms to deepen our trading relationships, not just with the EU, but with countries around the world. I think in particular of the opportunities of a £9 trillion market in the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership. We had not been able to do those things, be they trade deals, the memorandums of understandings we are doing with US states, or opening up opportunities for our technical professions and procurement. There is a lot that we have done, but there is still more to do. I can assure him that this Government remain totally committed to that agenda.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

The shadow Leader of the House said that November marks Islamophobia Awareness Month. It is a reminder to root out this awful hatred that impacts communities across the UK and worldwide. I commend the Leader of the House for her leadership in the past and suggest that she meets Zara Mohammed, the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, who, I remind the House, is the youngest, first woman and first Scottish leader of the MCB. Whether it is the ongoing genocide against the Uyghur Muslims in China or the fact that the British Muslims suffer from the highest number of hate crimes in the UK year after year, more work needs to be done. Sadly, the Government have failed to produce a definition on Islamophobia after promising to do so for three years. Can we have an urgent debate, in Government time, on Islamophobia?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that matter. Other Members have also raised that in today’s questions. I will write on his behalf to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ask that he updates the Members who have raised that issue today. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave earlier. This is an incredibly important matter for this Government in terms not just of the programmes that we do, but of ensuring that the right policies are in place.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Afzal Khan

Thursday 20th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

9. If she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to ban the import of Chinese cotton and solar panels from Xinjiang.

[The Minister for Trade Policy (Penny Mordaunt)]

We continue to keep our policy response under close review and are working with international partners to hold China to account for any violation of human rights.

[Afzal Khan]

China is the largest cotton producer in the world, with 84% of cotton coming from the Xinjiang region. The region also produces 45% of the world’s supply of the key component in solar panels, polysilicon, which means that the supply chains are tainted with forced Uyghur labour. In a response given in the other place, the Government outlined that they would

“continue to pursue a positive economic relationship with China and…increase trade with China.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 21 October 2021; Vol. 815, c. 252.]

In light of the genocide against the Uyghur Muslims, does the Minister think that is an acceptable approach, and will the Minister now follow in the footsteps of the US and ban imports from China’s Xinjiang region?

[Penny Mordaunt]

First, I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the issue. The more we can talk about it, keep it on our agenda and raise the profile of such matters consistently, the more helpful it is. We are looking at what other nations are doing and we keep our policies under review. He is right: we need a mix of targeted responses against states and also companies that have those practices. We have a good track record on combating modern slavery and being a global leader in this field, but we also need the transparency and tools for consumers and customers of those businesses to find other suppliers if they have concerns. We will keep the matter under review, and I can tell the hon. Gentleman that we take those matters very seriously.

--- Later in debate ---

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

Can the Minister outline how much cotton and how many products to construct solar panels have been imported into the UK from Xinjiang in the past year?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I can certainly write to the hon. Gentleman with the information that our Department and others may hold on the matter. May I reassure him again that it is welcome that he has raised it today and that we are taking it very seriously?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Afzal Khan

Thursday 27th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I would gently say to the hon. Gentleman that Lord Frost and his team are working through these issues. Only next month, we will hopefully be having the first Partnership Council meeting. Those structures will be stood up, so we will have other methods where we can work through these issues. When Lord Frost goes into bat on those issues, it would be helpful if Members of this House stood up for all nations of the United Kingdom in the negotiations and got behind him. I think that would improve our chances.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

What progress the Government have made on the public inquiry into the covid-19 outbreak.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Afzal Khan

Thursday 11th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

May I thank my hon. Friend for the campaign he has been running? I have spoken at length with him on many Cabinet Office calls about the cases he has in his constituency. I know that some of his cases, and those of many hon. Members across the House, will involve older people who are taking greater risks. Many people will have gone back into work for the NHS and are deeply concerned, should they become infected, what that would mean for their fiancé/e. The Justice Secretary is apprised of the issue. I think there are some difficulties with the particular route my hon. Friend sets out, but I know that my right hon. Friend will be bringing forward measures very soon.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the (a) development of the NHS test and trace app and (b) trial of that app on the Isle of Wight.