Business of the House

Debate between Stuart Andrew and Jo Gideon

Thursday 10th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Stuart Andrew]

The hon. Lady raises an issue of which I have no personal knowledge, so cannot make specific comments about it, but I agree that it is absolutely important that all children get back to school. It is imperative that they do so, which is why it has been a big priority of the Government and we are ensuring that it happens. I can confirm that we are doing everything that we can to ensure that Westminster Hall debates are up and running again next month. I hope that the Leader of the House will be able to update us further soon.

[Jo Gideon (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Con)]

This week saw the launch of Onward’s levelling up taskforce, which seeks to address regional inequalities, such as those in my constituency, and to support the Government’s delivery of its manifesto pledge to level up. Will the Deputy Leader of the House make parliamentary time available to address how covid-19 has exacerbated those inequalities and how the Government seek to maintain the momentum for levelling up in historically underfunded communities such as Stoke-on-Trent?

[Stuart Andrew]

My hon. Friend raises an incredibly important point. We had an opportunity in yesterday’s debate to talk about those very issues. She is right to say that coronavirus has affected different parts of the country in different ways. We have already published work looking at the various disparities in the way that the virus has affected different people in different regions. I hope that she will be assured that Public Health England is working with the local authorities to identify the way in which they have widened and hopefully we can mitigate that. I know that we now have excellent Members of Parliament for that great city who will carry on fighting to ensure that we level up we as promised.