Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Coombes and Pat McFadden

Monday 9th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

I appreciate the value of skills bootcamps. They can play an important role in the mix of policies we are talking about today. I hear the representations the hon. Lady has made for more funding. All I would say to her and her party is that if we have more funding, I hope they support whatever revenue-raising measures that have to be put in place for it.

[Sarah Coombes (West Bromwich) (Lab)]

T2. The situation we inherited at the election, with one in eight young people not in education or employment, is a national scandal and I am glad that this Government will put it right. In West Brom, there are lots of opportunities in the manufacturing sector, but lots of young people often think of a different reality when they think of factories. In fact, many of the jobs are high quality, well paid and involve modern machinery and robotics, and are not the back-breaking work that many think it is. What are the Government doing to ensure that jobcentres connect young people with the opportunities in all different sectors, particularly in manufacturing?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Coombes and Pat McFadden

Thursday 24th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Pat McFadden)]

This Government believe in the power of good public services to provide security and opportunity, but we are clear that the way in which the state works has to change. That is why we are reforming the planning system to get more houses built, why we have introduced free breakfast clubs to give children the best start to their day, why we have launched the AI action plan to drive the adoption of new tech in public services, and why a combination of investment and reform has helped us to cut NHS waiting lists for months in a row.

[Sarah Coombes]

Labour was elected to get the NHS back on its feet, and that is exactly what we have been doing. At Sandwell and West Birmingham hospitals NHS trust in my area, the waiting list has fallen by 10% since the election, which means that patients are finally getting the treatment they need. One of the key things we have been doing is to look at things such as ambient AI to automate doctors’ notes and ensure that we have modern technology in the NHS. Will the Minister set out what we are doing to ensure that the NHS adopts all technology and reform to ensure that patients are being seen as quickly as possible?

[Pat McFadden]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There is huge potential to increase NHS productivity through the adoption of new technology and AI. As I have said, the combination of investment and reform has helped us meet our election pledge to deliver 2 million extra NHS appointments in England in the first year seven months early, but we want to go further. We want to adopt the technology to which my hon. Friend has referred to get maximum productivity and better outcomes for patients.

Plan for Change: Milestones for Mission-led Government

Debate between Sarah Coombes and Pat McFadden

Thursday 5th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Coombes (West Bromwich) (Lab)]

In West Brom, one issue dominates all else: the fact that people are working harder and harder, but can afford less and less. That is the record of the Conservative party, who crashed our economy and oversaw the worst cost of living crisis in a generation. Can my right hon. Friend set out how the plan for change will make ordinary people better off and deliver exactly what people voted for in July?

[Pat McFadden]

I very much welcome that question from my parliamentary neighbour. We represent very similar communities, and I agree that when people go out to work and do the right thing, they want to be rewarded, rightly. That is why we protected people’s payslips in the Budget. It is why we announced an increase in the minimum wage in the Budget. It is why we made sure in the Budget that carers could earn more before losing part of their revenue. We want work to be rewarded. We are the Labour party; we are the party of labour. When people do the right thing, they should be treated fairly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Coombes and Pat McFadden

Thursday 25th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

The great danger is preparing perfectly for the last war. The real challenge in resilience is looking around the corner for things that have not already happened. As we respond to the covid pandemic, it is important to keep that in mind, and we will try to do that.

[Sarah Coombes (West Bromwich) (Lab)]

T6. The covid-19 pandemic devastated families in West Bromwich. In our borough of Sandwell, 1,476 people lost their lives. Now the covid inquiry is exposing just how poorly prepared we were and that insufficient thought was given to how the pandemic would affect ethnic minority and deprived communities. What will the Government do to work with local government and across the board to ensure that we are better prepared in future?