Business of the House
Debate between Roger Gale and Lucy Powell(3 days, 2 hours ago)
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Lucy Powell
Coeliac Awareness Month is an important time and I commend my hon. Friend for raising this issue in the House. She is right that we need to do more to raise awareness of that debilitating disease, especially in relation to treatment and access to affordable gluten-free food, and that would make a good topic for a debate.
Sir Roger Gale (Herne Bay and Sandwich) (Con)
The Leader of the House will probably know that last night, elsewhere in this House, the campaign to return Ukraine’s stolen children was launched, with cross-party support and a very large number of people present. Some 20,000 Ukrainian children have been abducted and taken to the neo-Soviet Union. That is a war crime, as was the bombing of Kyiv and Kharkiv last night, and Putin is a war criminal. Will the Leader of the House consult the Leader of the House of Lords and try to ensure that no person who supports President Putin, however grand, is given a platform that would enable them to address these Houses of Parliament?
Lucy Powell
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising the issue of the stolen children of Ukraine and the event to launch that campaign in the House yesterday. There has just been an urgent question about this matter. The Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty), was very clear about our unwavering support for Ukraine and our condemnation of the continued actions of Russia and Putin, especially overnight but also over a long period of time. We stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine. We are establishing the coalition of the willing to support what Ukraine wants going forward. The only country that is stopping peace is Russia, under Vladimir Putin, who could stop this war tomorrow if he chose to do so. I am sure that we will continue to discuss these issues.
Business of the House
Debate between Roger Gale and Lucy Powell(3 weeks, 3 days ago)
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Lucy Powell
I am sorry to hear that my hon. Friend’s constituents have not had their compensation payment. Over 5,000 victims have had their payments made so far, but we certainly have more to do. She will recognise that this Government set aside the proper amount of money necessary for the first time, but I will ensure that her case is expedited.
Sir Roger Gale (Herne Bay and Sandwich) (Con)
Following the conversion from paper visas to e-visas, members of the Ukrainian community in the United Kingdom who are refugees are having considerable difficulty renewing their visas because of IT failures within the Home Office system, leaving them effectively without any proof of status. I know the Leader of the House is sympathetic to their plight. Would she be kind enough to ask the Home Secretary, given the shortage of time between now and the recess, if she would make a written statement to clarify the position for everybody?
Lucy Powell
I was not aware of the issue the right hon. Member raised. I know the matter of Ukrainian visas will be of concern to many Members across this House, and I thank him for raising it. I will absolutely ensure that the Home Office considers a written ministerial statement or some other means to communicate an update on the matter.
Business of the House
Debate between Roger Gale and Lucy Powell(2 months ago)
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Lucy Powell
Absolutely; my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Sarah Edwards) did raise this matter with me before recess. As I said then, I know that when roadworks are constantly delayed and are not delivered, it can have a huge impact on local people and on local businesses, schools and hospitals. I reiterate what I said before: Staffordshire county council is clearly making a mess of this issue. It needs to get a grip, get it sorted and get these roadworks cleared, so that the businesses and people in my hon. Friends’ constituencies can get back to work.
Sir Roger Gale (Herne Bay and Sandwich) (Con)
I understand that the Home Secretary is visiting Calais today. I hope that she will not only see the beaches from which illegal immigrants depart for the United Kingdom, but visit the facility that I saw myself a week ago today, with Michael Keohan and Jack Valpy from BBC South East, where we discovered some 800 migrants from Sudan living in total squalor, with no sanitation of any kind. I hope that the Home Secretary will have raised this matter with the Mayor of Calais, with the député for Calais, and with her counterpart, the Interior Minister of France. I appreciate that Monday is likely to be a busy day, with the Prime Minister returning from Washington, but will the Leader of the House ask the Home Secretary to come to the House at the earliest opportunity to make a statement on what she has found?
Lucy Powell
The right hon. Member is absolutely right: the situation in relation to the small boat crossings continues to be intolerable in many regards. This country cannot sustain what we are seeing. The situation in Calais, including the steps that are being taken, or not, is not acceptable either. That is why we have brought forward the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill and are working very closely with France not just on what is happening in Calais but further upstream, to ensure that those migrants do not arrive in Calais and then on these shores in the first place. The right hon. Member makes a very good point about ensuring that the House is kept up to date. I know that the Home Secretary takes that incredibly seriously, and that she is very forthcoming on these matters. None the less, I will certainly ensure that she has heard what he has said.
Business of the House
Debate between Roger Gale and Lucy Powell(2 months, 4 weeks ago)
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Lucy Powell
I am sure the whole House will join my hon. Friend in putting on record our thanks for those involved with the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit and its important work. As she will be aware, we have funding for a huge number of activities to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war. The Minister responsible will make a statement shortly about how that funding will be allocated and what activities will be involved. I will ensure that the Minister hears my hon. Friend’s pleas for commemoration of the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit to be part of those activities.
Sir Roger Gale (Herne Bay and Sandwich) (Con)
I thank the Leader of the House for her further commitment to the development of aviation in the south-east, which I am sure will extend to the development of Manston airport in my constituency. It already has a development consent order and is, in common parlance, shovel-ready. During the debate on the Climate and Nature Bill last Friday, I raised the subject of public funding for the Drax power station, an environmentally wholly unacceptable operation. At Prime Minister’s questions yesterday, the hon. Member for Canterbury (Rosie Duffield) again raised the issue of Drax and pointed to a KPMG report that suggests that the funding for Drax had been claimed illegally. Can we have a debate on that report and on the funding of Drax in Government time?
Lucy Powell
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for welcoming the Government’s commitment to alleviating passenger congestion in the south-east, and for his local airport’s commitment to doing that, which I am sure we all welcome. He raises some serious matters, which were mentioned at Prime Minister’s questions yesterday, about the Drax organisation and whether public funds have been used appropriately. This Government take such reports incredibly seriously, and I will ensure that the House is updated in due course.
Business of the House
Debate between Roger Gale and Lucy Powell(9 months ago)
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Lucy Powell
I strongly support what my hon. Friend has said. We all wish Team GB the very best in the forthcoming Olympics in Paris, particularly Dan and the rest of the swimming team. We wish all our competing athletes all the very best.
Sir Roger Gale (Herne Bay and Sandwich) (Con)
When in opposition, the present Administration made some efforts to criticise the then Conservative Government’s record on animal welfare. The King’s Speech, of which the right hon. Lady indicates she is so proud, contains not one word relating to animal welfare. Was that a deliberate omission, or a careless and uninterested oversight, and when might we have a Bill to outlaw the proceeds of trophy hunting?
Lucy Powell
I am glad to answer that question. The right hon. Member will be aware that outlawing trophy hunting was absolutely in our manifesto, which we have been resoundingly elected to deliver. We have set out our King’s Speech for this first Session; it is not for the whole Parliament. Given how much we need to do, we have had to prioritise what we are doing in this Session, especially to deliver on our missions and those first steps we promised the country we would deliver, but I am sure that will come forward in due course.
Business of the House
Debate between Roger Gale and Lucy Powell(11 months ago)
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Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Roger Gale)
Before we proceed, the Leader of the House has made it plain that she will make a further business statement tomorrow morning. Of course, I will take a contribution from the Opposition spokesperson, but this is a very narrow statement indeed. I do not expect a business questions session after this.
Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)
I thank the Leader of the House for that emergency business statement—I think many across the country will thank her too, although I am not sure many on the Government Benches will—that Parliament will be dissolved for a general election. The country has been crying out for change, and this election means that people can finally vote for it. It is a chance to change this chaotic, weak and incompetent Conservative Government, who have crashed our economy, hit working people with sky-high mortgages and left the NHS and public services in crisis. Labour is ready to deliver that change, and change this country for the better.
With Parliament prorogued on Friday, can the Leader of the House tell us which Bills will be brought forward for wash-up this week? There are some Bills that we support that could receive Royal Assent, should the Government choose to do so. With so little time remaining, it seems unlikely that many of their flagship Bills will now become law. What the Leader of the House and her Government seem to be saying today is that the vast majority of the King’s Speech programme will not be realised, including important issues such as the compensation scheme for victims of the infected blood scandal, committed to just this week. I want to reiterate that Labour stands ready to do whatever is necessary to pass the Victims and Prisoners Bill with these important amendments this week. I look forward to what may be our final business questions tomorrow.
Penny Mordaunt
As the shadow Leader of the House will know, discussions are ongoing through the usual channels. I thank her for her offer of help on these important Bills. Certainly, we would like our legislative programme to get through and if the Opposition were minded to assist us on those important Bills, I am sure that could be achieved.
I will be making a further business statement tomorrow morning. I reassure people who will be affected by, for example, the infected blood issue that we will make that statement, and the sentiments that were expressed at this Dispatch Box earlier this week still stand. I think that all parties want that and other important legislation to get through. The Whips are discussing these matters and I will update the House tomorrow morning. I also look forward to our exchange tomorrow.
Commons Scrutiny of Secretaries of State in the House of Lords
Debate between Roger Gale and Lucy Powell
Mr Deputy Speaker
I thank the right hon. Lady. We will now take questions to the Chair of the Select Committee, and I call the shadow Leader of the House.
Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)
I thank the Chair and all members of her Committee for their diligent work, which was carried out in good faith in the expectation that their recommendations would be taken forward. Does she agree with me that there is wide support across this House—cross-party support—for her recommendations, and that the Government have misread the mood of the House? What plans does she have for the House to express its view on her Committee’s report and perhaps to take forward its recommendations, despite the Government’s response to them?
Dame Karen Bradley
I thank the shadow Leader of the House for her question. She is correct that we as a Committee took evidence from all Members of this House. We listened to representations and we conducted an all-Member survey. It was very clear from those responses that there was a desire to ensure there were opportunities for proper scrutiny by Members of this House of the Foreign Secretary. We are not as a Committee proposing to do any further work on this matter. As I said in my statement, I urge the Government to rethink their response and perhaps come forward with some other suggestions.
Business of the House
Debate between Roger Gale and Lucy Powell(1 year ago)
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Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Roger Gale)
Order. I understand that the hon. Lady wishes to raise a point of order arising directly from matters that have been raised at business questions. For that reason and that reason alone, I am prepared to take it now in order to ensure that the Leader of the House is here.
Lucy Powell
On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I want to give the Leader of the House the opportunity to clarify something she said in response to me earlier when I asked about the allegations relating to the hon. Member for Fylde (Mark Menzies). She suggested that some allegations had now been referred to the police. Was she referring to these allegations or to allegations regarding other Members? If it was the latter, I think people outside this place have been given the wrong impression.
Mr Deputy Speaker
As the hon. Lady has indicated, although that is a point of order, it is not strictly one for the Chair. Given that the Leader of the House wishes to respond, I am quite prepared to permit that as well.