Business of the House
Sarah Edwards Excerpts(3 days, 7 hours ago)
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Lucy Powell
The hon. Lady is absolutely right. To rural communities—indeed, to any community—broadband really is the fourth utility. It is vital to her constituents and many others in their daily lives, for doing what they need to do. We have inherited a pretty poor record when it comes to roll-out, but we are trying to speed it up through Project Gigabit and the shared rural network. Nevertheless, I have heard the hon. Lady’s request for a debate.
Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) (Lab)
I wish to raise the case of my constituent Mitch Middleton, who has refractory primary central nervous system lymphoma in his brain. Following radiotherapy, the cancer has returned and the NHS has given him six to 12 months to live. The treatment that he needs is called chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, and it is available on the NHS, but not for his circumstances, although haematologists know that it can be used to treat his cancer. The price tag is about £475,000—too expensive. He is having to fundraise to fly abroad and have the treatment. Will the Leader of the House find time for a debate on licensing and access to treatment for cancer, as there are more people who, sadly, cannot access the care and treatment that they need?
Lucy Powell
My heart and thoughts go out to Mitch Middleton, the hon. Lady’s constituent, and his family, who are dealing with that. As my hon. Friend knows, improving diagnosis and treatment for cancer patients, especially those with rare cancers, is something that this Government want to get right. The issue of access to treatment and medicines on the NHS gets raised with me regularly in this House. I therefore encourage my hon. Friend to apply for a bigger debate on the subject.
Business of the House
Sarah Edwards Excerpts(4 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Lucy Powell
My hon. Friend asks a very important question. She is absolutely right: bringing back neighbourhood policing is a key task for the Home Secretary. Part of our manifesto and of our “first steps” commitments to this country was that we would recruit an additional 13,000 neighbourhood police officers; steps towards that have already been taken. It is also a key plank of the crime and policing Bill, which was announced in the King’s Speech and will come before the House in due course.
Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) (Lab)
Greenacres school in my constituency is sinking. Five years ago, it applied to the risk protection arrangement scheme after concerns about drainage. It has been closed since March, and pupils and parents are rightly worried about the school’s future. May we have a statement about what the Government are doing to review whether such schemes are fit for purpose and whether the rest of our school buildings are at risk from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete and other conditions?
Lucy Powell
I am really sorry to hear that the school in my hon. Friend’s constituency is in such a state of disrepair. I am afraid it is a familiar story. Our schools estate is in a very poor state and is in need of serious investment, for which I am afraid sufficient funding is not available at the moment. I know that these matters are of concern to the Secretary of State for Education; my hon. Friend may wish to raise them at Education questions, which are coming up after the recess.
Business of the House
Sarah Edwards Excerpts(5 months ago)
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Lucy Powell
The hon. Member raises a good point. He and I have discussed transport issues, and I support his call for greater transport infrastructure investment across our regions, and especially in the north, which I am afraid was distinctly lacking under the previous Government. I will raise that matter with the Transport Secretary, and I have no doubt that she will come before the House in due course. As I said in the business statement, she will bring forward a Bill the week after next, and he could raise those issues then if he has not heard from her before.
Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) (Lab)
May I congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on your re-election? My constituency has a large number of villages and a rural contingent. While I welcome the announcements yesterday in the King’s Speech, I wonder whether there is further information about how we will deal with flooding and, in particular, the flood resilience taskforce. Although we are in the summer, we will fast approach the winter.
Business of the House
Sarah Edwards Excerpts(9 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Penny Mordaunt
I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this question. Given that the Department’s questions are not until 18 March, I will make sure that the Secretary of State has heard his particular concerns and asks his officials to contact the hon. Gentleman’s office.
Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) (Lab)
My constituents have raised concerns with me about the number of potholes throughout Tamworth. Some are being filled in, which is positive news, but many remain unfilled, and there is a broader need for resurfacing works on roads with higher volumes of traffic and those impacted by heavy goods vehicles. What assessment have the Government made of the adequacy of the funding that has been provided to county councils to deal with our crumbling roads infrastructure?
Penny Mordaunt
The hon. Lady will know that, in part because of the particularly bad weather we have recently had, there has been a considerable uplift in money given to local authorities to tackle precisely the types of issues that she raises. Although that money was not strictly ringfenced, we want to be assured it has been spent on those things correctly, and all local authorities are required to place in the public domain, I think on 15 March, what they have done with that money and what repairs they have carried out. It is extremely important that that work is done. We want to ensure that it is being done and has been done, and I am sure the hon. Lady will be able to find out exactly what has been spent and on what.
Business of the House
Sarah Edwards Excerpts(1 year ago)
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Penny Mordaunt
I thank my hon. Friend for the diligence with which he defends the interests of his local community and this sector, which is very important to the United Kingdom and our sovereign capability. He will know that questions to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade are on 25 January, and he may also wish to raise it with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on 16 January. I thank him for his ongoing work on behalf of his constituents.
Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) (Lab)
Many families in my constituency will struggle to heat their homes and put food on the table this Christmas, and some will worry about whether they can even afford their home next year. Business should be booming, but owners are crumbling under soaring costs and business rates, yet the business of this House after the Christmas recess looks vague and out of step with their deep worries and frustration. Can the Leader of the House provide some clarity for the year ahead?
Penny Mordaunt
I thank the hon. Lady for her question. She will know that, with the autumn statement, we have done a raft of things to support small businesses in particular, from freezing business rates for the fourth consecutive year to particular support for the most vulnerable sectors. The autumn statement took our cost of living package to over £104 billion. We stand ready to assist her with any specific needs, but we made sure to take care of both households and businesses for the winter ahead.