Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Stephanie Peacock

Thursday 8th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am tempted to say, in response to that, that it takes one to know one. I say to the hon. Gentleman that our democracy is strong. No matter whether someone agrees or disagrees with people who sit on these Benches, the views they have or the political party they represent, they are here because their constituents have sent them here. In the vast majority of cases, they are good people who are serving their constituents to the best of their ability, and they should not be tarnished with slurs against their character that they are working for some international Illuminati or that they do not care about people in their constituencies. Our democracy is the best in the world and it will remain so, not just because of the people on these Benches, but because of the people who sent them here.

[Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

I would like to add my best wishes to His Majesty the King.

This week, the Secretary of State for Education said that she was “confident” that 15 hours of free childcare would be delivered by April, but she then refused to guarantee it would be in place on time. Nurseries in Barnsley have raised their concerns about how they will deliver the policy, and this is creating yet more uncertainty. So may we have a statement on the delivery of the Government’s childcare policy?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question on an important matter. This Government are undertaking the largest expansion of childcare entitlements and support to the people of this country. This matter is of great interest to Members in all parts of the House. I will ensure that the Secretary of State has heard what the hon. Lady has said, and she will know that the next Education questions is on 11 March.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Stephanie Peacock

Thursday 18th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

Barnsley East has missed out on all levelling-up funding. The local council has put in an excellent bid to support and develop Elsecar Heritage Centre, but in the latest round of announcements we were told that it would be decided separately from the national funding round as a culture and heritage bid, yet DLUHC makes the decision. Will the Leader of the House inform us when the Government will make this announcement?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I wish the hon. Lady and her colleagues in her constituency good luck with the bid. She will know that if a bid has not been scored to be particularly good in a round of funding, officials from that Department will quite often work with the local authority and other stakeholders to improve the bid and ensure that it is robust—I am not saying that that is the case for the hon. Lady, but it is good that she is still in the process. I will do all I can to assist her in ensuring that the bid is in good shape. I shall ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to give her an update on timing, as the next oral questions for that Department have not yet been given a date.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Stephanie Peacock

Thursday 11th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that appalling atrocity. It is one of the largest mass attacks that we have seen in recent history and will have brought absolute terror to that community. She will know that the Foreign Office is doing considerable work through the “Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria” programme. The Department will have been very shocked and disappointed to see this take place. I shall make sure that both the Foreign Secretary and the international development Minister have heard what she has said.

[Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House said that she would take no lessons on the NHS, yet in the past four years alone the number of patients waiting more than four hours in Barnsley A&E has risen by 400%. Why, under this Conservative Government, do my constituents have to wait so long for basic healthcare?

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Lady will know that we are dealing with the unprecedented challenges arising from the pandemic. She will know that we have invested record amounts in the NHS. She will know also that there has been an unprecedented uplift in the number of healthcare professionals. She will know also from the figures out today that those waiting lists are coming down, and we will continue with that work. It has taken a huge amount of investment in diagnostic centres and in providing 2 million more operations to crack through that backlog. Although covid itself is over, we are still dealing with some of the issues that were caused by that pandemic, but we will get through it, and we will return to normal business in the NHS.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Stephanie Peacock

Thursday 7th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important point, and he is absolutely right in what he says. Small shops are lifelines for communities; it is a sorry state of affairs if they are not able to thrive and are disincentivised from continuing their business. He will know that, leaving aside fraud and computer crime, we have halved crime since 2010, on roughly the same—slightly more—resource. That is a tremendous record, but there is more to be done, with a particular focus on antisocial behaviour and these kinds of crimes. He will know that the Home Office recently said that every crime of this nature needs to be followed up and investigated. I will make sure that the Home Office has heard what my hon. Friend has said. I think such issues will be the focus of many colleagues in the coming weeks.

[Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

I have written to petrol providers in Barnsley asking them to lower prices, because they are regularly 3p a litre higher, if not more, than in neighbouring areas in Yorkshire. Indeed, this week it is cheaper to get petrol in central London than in Barnsley. I simply do not believe that motorists in Barnsley should be paying a petrol premium, so will the Government make a statement on what they are doing to tackle local and regional price disparity?

[Penny Mordaunt]

That is a very important issue which will affect many households in the hon. Lady’s constituency, as well as businesses. She will know that the Government have acted and are setting up what Fair Fuel UK has called a PumpWatch scheme. The Competition and Markets Authority is now establishing a number of measures to ensure that there is fair pricing at the pump and that competition is improved. She will know that the Government have done other things to help her constituents and to lower the cost of fuel. In the same time that Labour put up fuel duty by 46%, we have lowered it by 7.5%.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Stephanie Peacock

Thursday 22nd June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sure I speak for all of us when I say how sad we are to hear of that appalling tragedy and the loss of Sunnah. Our thoughts are with her family at this incredibly difficult time. My hon. Friend raises a timely question, because with the warmer weather more people are likely to take to the water. It would be an excellent topic for a debate. I thank him for advertising his interest and I encourage him to apply for one, as I think it would be well attended.

[Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

Earlier this year, Capita experienced a cyber incident and data breach. Among the data potentially accessed, was information relating to members of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme. Many of my constituents in Barnsley are now very concerned that their details might be used fraudulently. Will the Leader of the House commit to a statement on what is being done across Government to support everyone impacted by the breach, what discussions have taken place with Capita and what action has been taken to protect against future breaches of this nature?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am very sorry to hear that. I know that this will be a matter of great concern to all those who may have had their data hacked in that way. Obviously, I cannot discuss the individual case with the hon. Lady today, but I can reassure her that Government take a proactive role in this. Prior to the incident, they will have been working with that organisation to ensure that it had not lost information, that systems were backed up and that there were some basic tools in place. I know, too, that they will have oversight of the ongoing incident and I can reassure her on that point. If she needs any further assurance, I will write today to the Cabinet Office and the Government’s One HMG cyber lead to make them aware of her interest in this matter.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Stephanie Peacock

Thursday 15th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend and congratulate her on the vigour with which she is approaching her campaigning on this matter for her local residents. She will know that total public and private infrastructure investment is set to be about £600 billion over the next 5 years, and through the levelling-up fund we are investing just shy of a further £5 billion over the next four years, including on upgrades to local transport networks. The next Transport questions will not be until 13 July, so, although I encourage her to raise the matter there, I will also ensure that the Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up have heard her campaign today.

[Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

Local councils work incredibly hard to support their communities. In the last decade, they have been under significant financial pressure, not least as we face the cost of living crisis. Will the Leader of the House therefore join me in congratulating everyone at Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, including the leader, Sir Steve Houghton, the chief executive, Sarah Norman, and all the staff and councillors for their great achievement in being awarded council of the year by the Local Government Chronicle last week?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sure that the whole House will want to join the hon. Lady in that. Local government is the frontline of services to our communities. That is why, in addition to central Government funding that we provide directly through schemes, we give discretionary funding to local authorities through the household support fund, and of course many schemes were active during the pandemic. That is because local people are best placed to make decisions about where money should be directed and to pick up families who are falling through the cracks of national schemes. In addition to her council, we should thank all the people who work in local government day in, day out for all our communities.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Stephanie Peacock

Thursday 9th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. He will know that we have the Budget coming up and that we also have a particular system and timeframe for uprating benefits. On both benefits and pensions, we have taken the most generous approach to uprating. One thing of which this Government can be proud is reform of the welfare system—that hugely complex tangle of benefits that did not provide work incentives and that left people with nothing as they transferred between different parts of that system. Universal credit, I think, is a huge and positive transformation of that. Since we came to office, we have worked to make sure that people receive the living wage and to raise personal tax thresholds—in fact, we have doubled them. This is a matter of extreme importance to us.

[Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

Modern slavery often results in trafficking, exploitation and abuse, yet for nearly a year now the Government have failed to appoint an independent anti-slavery commissioner. Given the changes being introduced in the Illegal Migration Bill, will the Home Secretary make an urgent statement on the progress of this process and when we can expect an appointment? Perhaps the Leader of the House can show some humanity in her answer to me, unlike in her previous answers.

[Penny Mordaunt]

I hope all Members think that I am assiduous in the work that I do, raising the matters that they mention on the Floor of the House with the Departments and, if they are particularly urgent cases, doing so immediately following the session. I shall do the same for the hon. Lady, and raise the issue that she mentions with the Home Secretary.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Stephanie Peacock

Thursday 2nd March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The focus of this and the reason it is a difficult issue is that we want to make progress on the environment, and we want people to be healthy, but that cannot be done through revenue raising exercises or clobbering households, tradesmen and businesses, which we know is happening. We need innovation and smart policies that allow the acceleration to take up new technologies or buy more recent vehicles, and one way we can do that is allowing businesses to have enough liquidity to invest in this new technology. Taking money off them is not the answer.

[Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

Following the question from the hon. Member for Bracknell (James Sunderland), I also warmly welcome the Government’s statement today on welfare services for veterans in response to our APPG’s veterans survey. Can we have clarification on whether the review will independently analyse the armed forces compensation scheme and war pensions processes? Will the Leader of the House facilitate the meeting promised to me and members of the all-party group at the previous Defence questions?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for demonstrating the cross-party support that there is to look after our veterans. I shall certainly raise this with the MOD and the Office for Veterans’ Affairs. My understanding is that it is, but I shall confirm that.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Stephanie Peacock

Thursday 17th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this matter. Whether it is cooking burgers or eradicating polio, we have a huge amount to thank rotarians across the UK for. I certainly join her in congratulating her local Rotary club on meeting its centenary event. I hope that its members will celebrate appropriately, and I thank them for all they have done to support her local community.

[Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

Barnsley has the fourth highest level of tooth decay in the country, and 98% of dentistry practices across Yorkshire are not able to accept new patients. Can we have a statement on the Government’s strategy to improve dental health?

[Penny Mordaunt]

At the start of this year, we released some new funding to assist those areas that were not able to provide all of the hon. Lady’s constituents with access to dental care. Since that money was released, there has been some more flexibility in commissioning, which will help local commissioners to commission those services. I know as well that we have a catch-up job from the covid pandemic to get through. I encourage her to raise this matter at Health and Social Care questions, but I shall also raise it on her behalf with the Department.

Replacement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Stephanie Peacock

Monday 17th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

Hon. and right hon. Members of this House obviously want to ask all kinds of questions, but what the public are worried about are cost of living issues, the stability of the markets, and the energy package that we will be putting through later today to help them with the cost of living. I urge all colleagues to remember the context in which we are meeting this afternoon.

[Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

Is the Prime Minister on her way to the Palace?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I would very much like to be able to tell all hon. Members what the Prime Minister’s business is today, but there are very serious matters, as well as economic matters, in her in-tray. As Members know, she comes to this House on a regular basis, and she will be here tomorrow, but she is not able to be here at this precise moment.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Stephanie Peacock

Thursday 8th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for the work that he and his local colleagues are doing to secure the club’s future. He has done exactly as we would expect him to do in securing that debate, but time is of the essence. I will happily raise the issue on his behalf and ensure that the new Secretary of State realises it is a priority. We have previously assisted clubs, even if it is just by buying them a bit of time, and I know that the new Secretary of State will be keen to do all she can to assist.

[Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

The Government have taken £4.4 billion from the mineworkers’ pension scheme to date. The cross-party Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee report concluded that the Government

“should not be in the business of profiting from mineworkers’ pensions.”

I and 50 colleagues wrote to the two leadership candidates last month about this, but we are yet to receive a reply, so can we have an urgent statement from this new Government on this scandal?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising this matter. She can clearly raise it as a question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy or seek to secure a debate, but I would be happy to notify the Department that this is a concern to her and ask it to get in touch.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Stephanie Peacock

Thursday 14th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I absolutely agree. The Government strongly believe that VAT should not apply to these products. That is why we took the initiative in 2016 to introduce legislation to enable a zero rate to take effect as soon as possible. In the meantime, we currently apply the lowest rate that we can—5%—to these products.

[Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

I welcome the announcement this week, but has the Minister considered the provision of sanitary products in the workplace, perhaps starting with her Ministry or here in Parliament?

[Penny Mordaunt]

Yes, we have. I am sure that all Members across the House will welcome the recent announcements on schools, hospitals and colleges, but we want to look at the issue in the round. That is the job of the taskforce, and it will be about Departments, the private sector and the third sector coming together to create ways to sort this for any woman or girl who may find herself in that situation. On other issues such as primary schools, workplace settings and so forth, the taskforce is looking at all those, but I am also interested in ideas that hon. Members have, because I know that there are many great schemes out there in their constituencies.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Stephanie Peacock

Monday 9th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

I find the Minister’s previous response surprising because a response to a recent written question showed that about two thirds of decisions against awarding PIP and ESA in Barnsley East are eventually overturned on appeal, with these appeals taking an average of 15 weeks to be decided. Does the Minister believe that it is acceptable to make my constituents who are eligible for vital financial assistance wait nearly four extra months?

[Penny Mordaunt]

No. That is why we are trying to get better decisions earlier in the process. We have made progress. As I said, the number of PIP cases going to appeal has fallen by 22% over the last quarter. We will continue—