Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 17th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

I suspect that Councillor Curran and I would probably disagree politically on a few issues, but I am sure that in his eight years as leader of Hounslow Council he has worked tirelessly on behalf of the hon. Lady’s constituents and many others. She is right to draw attention to the fact that councillors and council leaders of all political persuasions up and down the country put in an enormous amount of effort to try to improve people’s lives. That is worthy of debate and I encourage the hon. Lady to talk to the Backbench Business Committee or apply for an Adjournment debate.

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

Can we have a statement on covid? In York, the case rate is now 625 cases per 100,000 and shooting up. In York Hospital, the bed occupancy rate for patients with covid is now greater than it has been at any previous point in the pandemic, including during the spike because of the delta variant. We were promised guidance on care home visits and for care home staff and NHS staff, but it has not been brought forward. We urgently need to know how the Government are to manage the rise in the number of covid cases, so may we have a statement?

[Mark Spencer]

There will be an opportunity for the hon. Lady to question the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care directly at Health questions on 19 April. A debate on covid is worthy of an application and she could apply to the Backbench Business Committee or for an Adjournment debate. That would provide an opportunity for the Government to set out our fantastic record on covid—how we were the first to deploy the vaccines and the first to get out there with a booster programme, and how we offered tremendous support for those who found themselves laid off.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 3rd March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

I pay tribute to the hon. Member’s constituents, who are trying to assist on the challenges that Ukraine and the Ukrainian people face. I think our response is best done at state level. I would encourage his constituents to engage with the Foreign Office to try to get assistance to unblock the challenges that they face. I shall draw the Foreign Secretary’s attention to the matter he has raised.

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

Yesterday, the children of York lined our city streets to pray for Ukraine, forming a human chain from the Minster to the Bar Convent. On Saturday, the people of York will be standing with Ukraine in St Helen’s Square. As they see Polish families opening up their homes to take in Ukrainian families, they want a response from the Government on whether there can be a reassessment of how we can support refugees in this country, bearing in mind that perfection is often the enemy of the good, to ensure that people can come into homes—not just Ukrainian refugees, but Afghan refugees?

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 10th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

I wholly agree with the hon. Lady that someone’s religion, sexuality, sex or age should not be a barrier to their career. She is one of a number of Members this morning who has asked for a debate of that nature. It is clearly very popular. I encourage her to link up with the other colleagues who have asked for that debate and to petition the Backbench Business Committee. I am sure the hon. Member for Gateshead (Ian Mearns), who Chairs the Committee, will listen to those pleas.

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

Next week is Love Unions Week. May I put on record the incredible work that our trade unions do every day, supporting workers through the very challenging twists and turns of the workplace, but also over the last two years supporting workers through the pandemic, and supporting the growth of the economy and advancing workers’ rights? May we have a debate in Government time to talk about the value of trade unions, and encourage people to join their trade union and make a difference to the world of work?

[Mark Spencer]

I should declare my interest as a member of the National Farmers Union. Unions are a force for good in many circumstances. A debate on the success of unions is something the hon. Lady clearly believes in passionately. I encourage her to apply for an Adjournment debate, so she can put on the record her desire to celebrate all that is good about UK unions.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 20th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The hon. Lady is right to raise the matter. It is noticeable how serious the concern about heating bills is, because it has been raised today by Members across the House. The Government are providing the help that I have mentioned and are doing things to help leaseholders in other areas, but I will pass on the hon. Lady’s concerns to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

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

My city of York has developed an interest in how titles are assigned and in how they can be removed from people whose title takes the name of a geographical location. In 1917, Parliament enacted the Titles Deprivation Act to remove a title for the act of treason. Will the Leader of the House make time to debate new legislation that empowers local people to determine the circumstances in which titles are awarded and removed, and reflect on the geographical location from which titles are taken? York has a global reputation not just for its rich cultural heritage, but for the social values it espouses.

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The Titles Deprivation Act 1917 is an extremely interesting Act of Parliament. An unusual process was adopted: rather than simply attainting the dukes who were on the wrong side of the first world war, it was decided to use classification. That was a successful means of legislating, although I understand that the successors to the dukes who were deprived could petition to have their titles restored if they so wished. As regards the award of territorial designations, that is a matter for the sovereign.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 6th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising those appalling and absurd crimes. How could somebody register a goldfish as a waste dealer? The Government are preparing significant reforms to continue to increase the pressure on illegal waste operators. Our planned electronic waste tracking reforms will make it harder to misidentify waste or dispose of it unsuitably. Our planned changes to the carriers, brokers and dealers licensing regime will improve licensing and make it harder still for rogue operators to escape detection, but I suppose it is to some extent reassuring to my hon. Friend, and to me, that the gentleman he referred to has been found guilty, convicted and sent to jail. Sometimes the law does take its course, in all its majesty.

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

Some 8.5 million people entered this year in debt. With one in six people struggling to pay bills, escalating food, fuel and housing costs mean that the situation is getting more and more acute. In York, we have launched a poverty truth commission to start addressing the issues, but we know that a lot of the solutions lie in this House, so can we have an urgent debate about the impact of poverty and the solutions that need to be brought forward urgently?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I wonder if I may divide the question into two parts—one on providing support for people in debt, and the other on what the Government and taxpayers are doing to support people in poverty—because I think the two questions, though related, are not identical. Some people get into a spiral of debt for which there are very good organisations in all our constituencies that do amazing work. We should all, as individual MPs, try to point our constituents in the right direction to get help. Often interest rates and repayments can be significantly reduced simply by entering into a conversation with the lenders.

With regard to what the Government have been doing on poverty, the Government are aware of the difficulties, and there is £4.2 billion of support available. Raising the national living wage to £9.50 next year will help. Giving nearly 2 million families an extra £1,000 a year through the cut to the universal credit taper and the increase to work allowances will also be important. Both of those things will help work to pay, and work is unquestionably the best way out of poverty. There are a number of other schemes, but time is pressing, so unless I get another question on the matter I will not go into them all.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 16th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Let me make this as clear as I possibly can. Those most affected by the pandemic, including those who have sadly lost friends and family, must also have an opportunity to play their proper role in the process. Once the terms of reference have been published in draft, Baroness Hallett will take forward a process of public engagement and consultation, including with bereaved families and other affected groups, before the terms of reference are finalised. I hope that gives the hon. Lady the assurance she is looking for.

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

Happy Christmas to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and to all the House staff.

Christmas should be an exciting and fun time of year, but for too many children it simply is not. Since my question in the House last week, we have heard of another tragedy involving a child. I therefore ask the Leader of the House not if, but when, will we have a debate in this House about the safety of children, the overloaded casework of social workers, and the revolving door of leaders of children’s services, which also adds to the risks?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

There is so little that I can add to what I said last week to the hon. Lady. I am grateful to her for raising these just tragic, tragic cases. I read in the newspapers about this little baby, and it is unbelievable that fellow human beings can behave in this way. I am sympathetic to her request for a debate. She knows that I cannot promise debates like this in Government time. They are essentially matters for the Backbench Business Committee, but it is a matter of importance to us all and anyone who has any emotion within them when these terrible things happen to those who are so entirely unable to defend themselves. When the state fails to defend the defenceless, it is perhaps the greatest failing of the state.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 9th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend because I think I share the concerns and frustrations of her constituents. I do not think anybody wanted to be in this position. I think she is right in saying not only that we should learn to live with covid, but that we are in the process of doing so in that through the vaccination programme—88% of people over 12 have been vaccinated—we are getting life back to normal. Some temporary measures have been introduced to try to delay the seeding of the omicron variant, but if variants keep on coming, ultimately we are going to have to return to normal life, and I think that is just the way it is going to be. I think we are beginning to learn to live with covid, and that must be the way policy is going. That is why these temporary measures are both proportionate and go with the consensus among the British public that we have constantly worked with the grain of public opinion in any restrictions that have been imposed, and I think that is the right thing to do.

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

In York, I am really worried about vulnerable children and children at risk, I am very worried about vulnerable parents, I am very worried about social workers working in children’s services and I am very worried about the level of funding that is going towards those services. I do not want to hear that we have to have another serious case review, and that we have to learn lessons again. We have heard that too many times, so can we have a debate about children within the care system, the risks that are faced and how we can resolve this issue once and for all?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

What can I say to the hon. Lady? I think the angels weep over what happened to little Arthur. It is so just mortifyingly sad to see those pictures of that sweet little boy, who was so brutally treated. I share her frustration that we talk about lessons learned, and I have got in my notes today that I am meant to say lessons will be learned, but that is what we always say, and it is not good enough. We need to protect little children.

Are there easy solutions? No. Are there problems that we can identify? Were there issues with covid that meant people were not going out to work? Why do hon. Members think I keep on saying in this House that there are jobs people need to do face to face? People have to get out and do some of these jobs. The limitations are on people who can work from home, and we should not turn that into being on people whose jobs are essentially done out of the home.

There are so many things that need to be put right, and the spirit is certainly willing, but can I promise the hon. Lady that tragedies will not happen again? No, of course I cannot. However, as I say about the sadness over Arthur, I found it almost impossible to read the news stories because I was thinking of the children I know and my own children, and how could somebody behave like that? I sympathise with what the hon. Lady says.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 25th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

This country should be proud of the hospice movement. The fundamental point is that every life is valuable up to the point of natural death and should be preserved, helped, aided and kept free of pain as far as possible. The hospice movement does truly heroic work, and the people who work in hospices are such noble and good people. I join my hon. Friend in thanking the people working in Bury Hospice and in the hospice movement across the country.

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

On Sunday I marched with midwives in my constituency and heard their stories about the real pressures bearing down on their services. Babies cannot wait, and it is emblematic of the real crisis facing our NHS at the moment, ahead of even worse conditions over the winter. At this time of year, surely it is right that the Government schedule a debate on the winter crisis facing our NHS so that we can discuss some of the solutions that are urgently needed across all our constituencies.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 4th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Yes, I would very much like to congratulate St Joseph’s Catholic club on its 1 o’clock club and its efforts to tackle loneliness. I note that loneliness can be greatly helped by spiritual fulfilment, which many people find through their religious practices; I am therefore delighted that the Catholic Church is involved in helping to tackle loneliness. I fear that I cannot promise the hon. Lady a debate, but it may be that the Backbench Business Committee would be keen to help.

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

May I thank you, Mr Speaker, for all the work that you are doing to ensure that Parliament is kept safe for staff and Members? May I say to the Leader of the House that this place is not safe? Around voting time, the Lobbies around the Chamber are rammed with many of his colleagues who are not wearing face masks, putting us all at risk. I ask him to review that with you, Mr Speaker, and with others in this House.

The housing crisis in York is growing and it seems that the Government’s proposals around planning have run into the long grass. Could we have a debate in Government time to look at housing need and tenure need in order to address the housing crisis that we are seeing in our constituencies?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The hon. Lady raises a matter that is of concern across the country: how we have a planning system that provides the number of houses that we need and ensures that the right number of permissions are granted every year to achieve the targets and to allow people to own their own home, which is the fundamental aim of planning reform. It was announced in the Queen’s Speech that there would be a planning Bill, and it is the intention of Her Majesty’s Government to deliver a planning Bill.

Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 28th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

This is a very important point. The civil contingencies secretariat in the Cabinet Office makes preparations for the unexpected. The difficulty is that the unexpected we expect sometimes turns out not to be the unexpected that eventually happens, and therefore the planning does not always directly answer the difficulty that arises. The more one thinks about it, the more one debates it and the more one works out what the risks are, the better prepared one is likely to be.

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

This weekend will mark 140,000 people dying from covid. Every public health measure taken helps save lives. As a result, it is crucial that face masks are worn, social distancing is maintained and high hygiene standards are met, in addition to testing. Will the Leader of the House talk to his director of public health to learn more about public health measures so that he can model them? Can we also have an urgent statement on Monday so that we can discuss the tragedy that is still unfurling?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Nobody denies the great tragedy of 140,000 deaths from covid and the sadness for every single one of those families and for the friends of those who have died. There is a plan B, which includes going back to masks, but we also have to get back to normal. That is what the vaccines and lateral flow tests have allowed us to do. We have to ensure that life returns to normal and that we carry on with our business.

We also have to deal with the other consequences of the various lockdowns: the mental health issues, the disruption to children’s health and the economic consequences. Lower economic growth has health consequences, too, as is well known and well established. Plan B is there if things get worse during the winter, but we should stick to plan A. That is the right thing to do. Normalisation is where we want to get to.