Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 23rd May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I could not agree more with my right hon. Friend. As he knows, there has been a huge focus in our food strategy on ensuring that we do that, and some of our colleagues have provided additional innovation: people can now ensure that they are buying British produce when they shop at a supermarket, or order from a supermarket online. I cannot promise him a statement, but I will ensure that the Department hears what he said. I thank him for being a champion of all things British, including British produce, and for supporting our farmers.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

May I wish you a happy retirement—from this place, at least, Madam Deputy Speaker? I am sure we will see you in many other guises in times to come.

We are so grateful to our constituents for holding our feet to the fire and raising their greatest concerns. Housing injustice has been the issue at the top of my constituents’ list in York Central. However, the legislation to try to change the environment around housing does not seem to be progressing. Can the Leader of the House say what exactly is happening to the Renters (Reform) Bill, which would have a significant impact on my constituents? Furthermore, after my championing of my Short-term and Holiday-let Accommodation (Licensing) Bill, what is happening to the regulations to put controls on Airbnbs and other short-term holiday lets? Those regulations were promised by this summer, and as we enter the holiday season, 2,000 properties in my city are being used for holiday homes, as opposed to family homes.

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Lady mentions some very important legislation, and she knows that it will be partly the subject of the negotiations that are going on. I hope to be able to update her soon. I will ask the Department to provide her office with an update on the regulations, so that she knows where the Department is in that process.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 9th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am extremely sorry to hear about those decisions in my right hon. Friend’s constituency, and I am sure many Members of the House who have visited the air show previously and are very fond of Bournemouth as a consequence will also be disappointed to hear about the choices his council is making. He has done the right thing in asking the Secretary of State and the council’s scrutiny committee to look at this issue; I will also make sure that the Secretary of State understands its urgency, and I hope we can get some common sense.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

In February, after much waiting, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up announced that regulations would be put in place to curb the growth of short-term holiday lets. The summer season is already here; the Secretary of State said that those regulations would be in place before the summer, so when are we going to see the necessary regulation to stop the growth in short-term holiday lets, and to stop landlords coming in and purchasing properties that should be used for family housing in places such as York?

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Lady has raised this issue before. As she will know, a careful balance is needed between enabling economic regeneration and ensuring that people can have a good, secure home and get on the property ladder. I will make sure again that the Secretary of State has heard the her request, and will ask him to update her.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 11th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

My right hon. Friend is right that any such proposal should really be developed with input from the local community, and something has gone wrong if the community is so galvanised against a scheme that is due to come to the area. The next Transport questions are not until 8 February, but I will make sure that the Secretary of State knows about her concerns. I am afraid that the Mayor of London is the decision maker, and I hope he will listen to her and her constituents.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

When we ask written questions and when our offices require information from Government Departments, our constituents expect a comprehensive response. However, we are getting standardised responses from UK Visas and Immigration, in particular. We have desperate people who fear for their future, so will the Leader of the House talk to the Home Office about how we can have comprehensive responses so that we can know the timelines, the details and the reasons for the delays in processing cases?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sorry to hear that the hon. Lady and perhaps other colleagues are not getting the quality of replies that they need. She will know that we took some measures with the Home Office to try to improve its correspondence services to this House, including getting the permanent secretary to come in to see me. She will also know that Home Office surgeries are available for hon. Members, but I will certainly make sure that the permanent secretary has heard again what she has said. I will also make sure that my teams who work with the parliamentary clerks in those Departments have heard what she has said and will pass that back.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 7th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for bringing this to the House’s attention and mine. I will certainly raise it with the Secretary of State. It is incredibly important for the general public that staff are able to answer their inquiries. There may be more we can do in this place in providing swift answers to people in the DWP who will want to know what recent announcements mean for them, and I think we can also provide a great deal of reassurance to members of the public in that respect. The next Work and Pensions questions will be on 18 December, and he can raise the matter then, but I shall also write on his behalf.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Punitive disciplinary policies in schools are significantly harming children’s mental health, particularly neurodivergent children. It seems that multi-academy trust leaders are not accountable for their actions and are impossible to hold to account, not least at South Bank MAT, where children are experiencing significant harm, school refusal and an escalation in issues with their mental wellbeing. Can we have an urgent debate on calling the leadership of multi-academy trusts to account and ensuring that governance structures are fit for purpose?

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Lady raises a very important point. On the general point, I shall make sure that the Secretary of State has heard what she has said, and she can raise it directly with her next week. If the hon. Lady wants to pass on to me the specific details of the academy trust she is speaking about, I shall make sure that the Secretary of State has also heard about that. There are mechanisms for holding trusts to account on certain things, and ensuring that they are meeting children’s special educational needs is one of those things. I shall make sure that the Department has heard about it.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 23rd November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am very sorry to hear that. I shall certainly put pen to paper this afternoon and write to the relevant parties on the hon. Gentleman’s behalf, but I hope that Ofgem will have heard what he has said today and will be in touch with his office directly if there is anything it can do within the parameters in which it is required to operate. If he wants to give me further details about the specifics of the case, I shall also explore with the Department whether there are any other avenues of redress for his constituent.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

The rise in the number of neurodivergent children is a cause of serious concern. In 2018 there were 42 diagnoses in York, but last year there were 118, and the number will exceed that this year. Moreover, the number of education, health and care plans has more than doubled. May we have a debate on the support that is there for families, the staffing that is there to expedite diagnosis, and the ongoing support of children in schools?

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 22nd June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting the work of his local air cadets, whom I visited in a former role—they are absolutely wonderful and amazing. I also thank him for reminding us that this is Armed Forces Week—Saturday is Armed Forces Day and yesterday was Reserve Forces Day—and I hope that all Members will take this opportunity to celebrate and thank our armed forces and, critically, their families for their work.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

York has long had one of the greatest local housing allowance disparities, and now that mortgages are going up and prices are going up for private renters, many people are having to leave their homes. Can we have an urgent statement on the setting of the broad rental market areas and the disparity that it creates in setting LHA levels?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising that matter. She will know that she can raise it with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 10 July, and I encourage her to do so. I will also ensure that he has heard her concerns about the matter and encourage his officials to get in touch with her.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 18th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

May we have a statement on oral health for children? Last year, there were 26,741 extractions for decay of children’s teeth, involving children who were three and a half times more likely to be from deprived communities. This cost the NHS £50.9 million. Clearly, the situation is completely unacceptable; we know children cannot access NHS dentistry. Now that the responsibility has moved to integrated care boards, can we ensure that they prioritise oral health for children and have an NHS dental service for children up and running within the year?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising that important matter. Not only are regular exams crucial for ensuring good oral health; they can also detect other health conditions that need to be dealt with early. This problem has been exacerbated by the pandemic, with children and vulnerable and looked-after children in particular not getting check-ups. She will know that this issue has been a priority for the Minister responsible. In addition, the Health Secretary has created a mechanism so that we can see and compare what care boards are doing. That is an incredibly valuable tool. I have been talking to him about how Members in this place can access that data on a real-time basis and I will make sure that he has heard the hon. Lady’s comments today.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 27th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for all the work she has done in championing this issue and in supporting Dogs Trust, which does a huge amount of good work in this area. She will know that the action plan for animal welfare includes commitments to pursuing the licensing of animal sanctuaries and rescue and rehoming centres for cats, dogs and horses; I will certainly ensure that the relevant Department hears her concerns.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Residents of Acomb and Westfield were hopeful about York’s £5.8 million shared prosperity fund award for much-needed regeneration, but then horrified to wake up to find that £400,000 of it had been squandered on a half-paved high street barricaded by 136 bollards. Can we have a statement on how the Government are scrutinising that much-needed fund? York residents want to know why York’s Lib Dem and Green councillors have been allowed to waste even more public funding on a barricade of bollards.

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sorry to hear that. The hon. Lady will know that, as well as the checks and balances in place for awarding the funding, there are evaluation works that go on. I am sorry that that is not delivering a better impact for her local residents. I shall ensure that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities hears her concerns, as the next questions are not until 5 June, and I encourage the local authority to ensure that it is doing something worthwhile with the sizeable chunk of money that it has secured.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 9th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

The state of our railways is deeply concerning, with rising passenger costs set against poor service delivery on the TransPennine Express. In York, our digital and advanced rail cluster is being held back by the delayed Government announcement about the Great British Railways headquarters. Can we have a statement to set out how the Government are going to fix our broken rail network and unlock GBR?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for that statement. She knows that there may be announcements coming forward on related matters—I do not know, but it might be something that the Chancellor touches on in the Budget statement. Transport questions are a little way off, so I shall write to make sure that the Secretary of State has heard her concerns.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 23rd February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady, who has a track record of raising awareness on a variety of issues, to the benefit of us all. I shall certainly make sure that the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has heard her keenness to promote these important health messages. She will know how to apply for an Adjournment debate—we might be having more of those if I follow the suggestion from my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Sir Christopher Chope)—or she can apply to the Backbench Business Committee to secure the debate she wants.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Investment in public health matters. In my constituency, we have a 10-year differential in life expectancy. However, the White Paper on health disparities has been scrapped, we do not have the tobacco control plan, there is no follow-on alcohol strategy and the public health workforce has been decimated. Given that the public health grant runs out in 36 days, can we have an urgent statement on what on earth this Government are doing about public health?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising that important point. She will know that I cannot comment on what is in the Budget, but I shall make sure the Chancellor has heard her concerns, and I am sure she has made representations to him. She will know that we are focused on particular aspects of healthcare at the moment, to ensure that we have the diagnostics we need to reduce waiting lists, but she is right: public health is key to this. It is absolutely key to prevention, which will be a fundamental part of ensuring a thriving NHS into the future, and I shall make sure the Secretary of State has heard her concerns.