Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Angela Rayner

Wednesday 23rd October 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

Tory Members do not like to hear it, but this Labour Government were elected to end the Tory chaos, and that is exactly what we are doing, with £600 more in the pockets of insecure workers, 30,000 new dads given paternity leave and 10 million working people better off. While their so-called leadership candidates argue about what went wrong, this Labour Government are getting on with rebuilding Britain.

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

Q2. I, like many MPs, have heard many heart-rending stories of constituents who have had poor end-of-life support. Had palliative care been available alongside an end-of-life plan, their experiences could have been so different. Will the Deputy Prime Minister agree to set up a commission for palliative and end-of-life care, so that everyone can access the very best support when terminally ill and have a peaceful and dignified death, and will she meet to discuss that?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising what is an emotive subject for Members on both sides of the House. From my work in this area before I was in this place, I know what incredible work this is, and what an honour it is to be there for somebody at the end of their life. Discussions have begun on how to improve access to palliative and end-of-life care, and I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets a meeting with the relevant Minister to discuss this issue.

Employment Rights Bill

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Angela Rayner

2nd reading
Monday 21st October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Angela Rayner]

There will be statutory guidance, but of course, it would depend on the various different circumstances. We saw during the covid pandemic that people were able to be incredibly flexible in their work. It is with that mindset that I ask employees and employers to look at how they deliver services, because far too much talent goes out of our economy because of inflexibility. Employers should think about how much talent they can retain in their business by keeping people in work; many of the good employers already know that, and offer way more flexibility than we are suggesting in our Bill.

The current parental leave system is also outdated, which is not right. Under the Bill, fathers and partners will be able to give notice of their intention to take paternity leave and unpaid parental leave from their first day in a new job. New mums also lack the protection they deserve. We know that the Conservative party’s solution is to go back to the dark ages and scrap maternity pay altogether; if the Conservatives had their way, as a single mum, I would have been left with nothing. It was a Labour Government who introduced the maternity allowance as the number of mothers in the workforce grew, and while the Conservative party—out of step with modern Britain—cannot wait to get rid of it, I say that we will never, ever stop defending it.

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

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way—what an incredible legacy she is setting down today!

Adoptive parents clearly need time with their children as they bring them into their family, but self-employed adopters do not have the same privileges. Will my right hon. Friend look at how we can ensure that those parents also have proper statutory rights to take leave and receive pay?

[Angela Rayner]

I thank my hon. Friend for making that really important point. This is the start of a process. There are a number of consultations, such as for the self-employed and on a single category of worker, and they will continue, because some of these things are more complex than what we can deliver in this Bill. But I say to my hon. Friend and to other Members: please come to this in the spirit of what we want, which is to improve working people’s lives. As I have said, many employers already go above and beyond what we are saying in this Bill. I hope we can start to celebrate those employers who do so and to spread that across the economy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Angela Rayner

Monday 2nd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Angela Rayner]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his comments on my dance moves; that opinion is subjective, like beauty, of course. On a serious note, I find it astonishing that Conservative Members, after running down the economy in the way that they did, and after the Chancellor has had to come to the House and talk about the billion-pound black hole, are now trying to claim that this Government are about raising taxes. This Government are about making sure that working people are better off, and we intend to do that.

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

Given that winter fuel payments will no longer be there for older people who are not entitled to pension credit, what steps has the Secretary of State taken to extend the household support fund, so that local authorities can provide emergency grants, as well as warm spaces?

[Angela Rayner]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about people on pension credit and, in particular, about the household support fund. It is incredibly important, first, that the many people who are entitled to those benefits but are not claiming them do so, and secondly, that the household support fund and the work that we can do to support people is well known. We work with local authorities, which administer the fund, to make sure that the money is given to the people who need it the most. We inherited very difficult circumstances because of the previous Conservative Government. The Chancellor has set out how we can expand the fund to help people who desperately need it.

Building Homes

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Angela Rayner

Tuesday 30th July 2024 Commons Chamber

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

This has to be the most important statement I have heard since being in the House. York has really suffered from the proliferation of luxury accommodation, second homes and short-term holiday lets, so I very much welcome this statement. Where developers have plans in the system, what steps can be taken to ensure that we pivot to hit the targets for the affordable and social housing that we desperately need right now?

[Angela Rayner]

I absolutely agree that we desperately need affordable homes. It depends on where my hon. Friend’s local authority is in the process, but we will be setting out the targets, which are likely to be increased for her area, so that the local authority can engage in the process. The golden rules will allow more affordability where there is restrictive release of grey belt. We will ensure that we provide support on affordability and that there is no gaming of the system, so that we get the best we can out of section 106.