Progression of Bills through Parliament
Tom Rutland Excerpts(3 days, 19 hours ago)
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Siân Berry (Brighton Pavilion) (Green)
Many thanks, Sir Edward, for your firm chairing today, which I now look forward to. I sincerely thank the petitioners, and particularly Sophie Blake for all the work she does and for a very well put petition. I also thank Nathaniel Dye, and I had the genuine honour of meeting him and seeing his work before his death.
I want to add a cross-party voice to the debate. The Greens were not whipped on the issue of assisted dying—we do not whip our Members in any debates—but all four Green MPs voted for this issue of conscience. However, that is not what we are here to debate today; we are here to talk about the process. I was so impressed with it and with the seriousness with which my colleagues and colleagues across the House took this issue. We made our decisions after so much debate and engagement with the Bill text and the amendments, and debates in our offices and with our staff. In our constituencies, we all spoke with constituents from a wide range of different groups. I spoke with young people, disabled people, faith groups, several terminally ill people and people caring for those who were terminally ill. This was serious work.
I was a very new MP when the Bill went through its Second Reading, and I found it so inspiring. It is a sad topic, but I found the debate extraordinary. After all the debate in the House of Commons, which was unwhipped—by any party—and conducted with such seriousness on an issue of conscience, all that work led to a majority for the Bill. We all know what happened next: a refusal by the House of Lords to come to any kind of decision, and the effective blocking of any further consideration of this issue, into which we had all put so much work.
Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)
I thank my constituency neighbour for giving way. Many of my constituents have been deeply upset by the way a small number of peers blocked the passage of the assisted dying Bill, despite the broad support from the public and from a majority of MPs every time it was voted on. Does she agree that debate on the Bill, about which there are strongly held, principled views on both sides, is very welcome, but that intentionally filibustering to prevent its passage is unworthy of this Parliament?
Siân Berry
I quite agree. It was courageous of the House to take on this issue, consider it and then vote. We put our names to positions that we came to with some courage, I think, because we all knew there were people who felt very strongly the opposite way, whichever way we voted.
On the principle—on this and any other issue where a similar process takes place and the House of Commons has the courage to come to a decision—I agree that it is not for the House of Lords to stop that using these kinds of methods. I agree with the petition writers, who want the Government
“to ensure that when bills are supported by MPs & the public, they have the time to complete all their stages in Parliament.”
That is 114,000-plus signatories, alongside the 69% of people polled this year who believe that the debate on assisted dying should have continued until Parliament reached a conclusion.
I look forward to hearing from the Leader of the House about what can be done so that we can make the important private Members’ Bill process viable again in the future and restore the public’s faith in the health of democracy—I will not beat around the bush—and in the ability of this Parliament to make decisions on issues of such importance to so many of our constituents.
Business of the House
Tom Rutland Excerpts(2 months, 4 weeks ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
When the consultation has ended, I am sure there will be ample opportunity to raise the points that the hon. Lady has mentioned.
Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)
The Labour Government have given Conservative-run West Sussex county council £27 million to get our roads in shape, but across my constituency there are dangerous potholes that the council refuses to fill, and roads in desperate need of resurfacing, including Mansfield Road and Thesiger Road in East Worthing, which I saw at the weekend. Will the Leader of the House join me in calling on the county council to properly fix roads across Adur and Worthing, and will he make time for a debate on renewing our roads?
Sir Alan Campbell
The performance of Conservative-run West Sussex county council on potholes was raised with me only last week. I am sure that the council will have heard my hon. Friend’s contribution, which I hope will spur it into action.
Business of the House
Tom Rutland Excerpts(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
As ever, the hon. Gentleman raises a serious matter. The Yazidi population suffered immensely, and the repercussions are still being felt today. Supporting the safe return of remains to families is vital. I will ensure that he gets a response from the relevant Foreign Office Minister, but I also remind him that it is Foreign Office questions next week.
Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)
Road safety is a concern for many of my constituents: those living on the Old Shoreham Road worry about dangerous accidents and near misses along the A283; the parents and staff at Swiss Gardens primary school are concerned about cars ignoring the school street closure; and the crossing in Broadwater, near Downsbrook and Whytemead primary schools, is considered so dangerous that the lollipop person was removed by West Sussex county council. I am glad that the Government are taking road safety seriously with our new strategy, so will the Leader of the House join me in thanking the School Streets Initiative volunteers for their work around Swiss Gardens primary school, and in calling on West Sussex county council to improve the enforcement of schools streets and to move the dangerous Broadwater crossing? Will he consider providing time for a general debate on road safety and how local authorities can be held to account on delivering safer streets for us all?
Business of the House
Tom Rutland Excerpts(1 year, 2 months ago)
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Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)
Order. We are expecting an important statement at midday, so if Members keep their questions short and the Leader of the House provides snappy answers, we might get everyone in.
Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)
Like 1% of the population, I suffer from coeliac disease, an autoimmune disease in which the gut attacks itself if the sufferer eats gluten. There is no treatment other than a gluten-free diet. The cheapest loaf of gluten-free bread can cost six times the price of one that contains gluten. Despite that, prescriptions for gluten-free bread are being restricted across England by integrated care boards, leading to coeliacs facing economic hardship and putting themselves at risk of cancer and osteoporosis. This must be reversed. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on the availability of gluten-free prescriptions across England?
Lucy Powell
My hon. Friend has made a strong case—I did not realise that gluten-free products were so expensive. He is right to point out that they are necessary for coeliac sufferers such as him. I am sure that that would make a good topic for debate.
Business of the House
Tom Rutland Excerpts(1 year, 3 months ago)
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Lucy Powell
I love to hear of those intergenerational schemes in which young people such as Skye go into care homes and really lift the lives of those at the end of their life. I absolutely join my hon. Friend in saying that we should all be a bit more like Skye.
Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)
As we have heard, today is World Book Day. Like many in this House, I have fond childhood memories of dressing up as a character from my favourite book, but research from the National Literacy Trust shows that the number of children reading in their spare time has fallen to its lowest in almost two decades. That comes at the same time as soaring smartphone usage among children, which is causing concern to parents in my constituency. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on how we can reinvigorate a love of reading in young people and tackle smartphone harms?
Lucy Powell
I am glad that my hon. Friend enjoyed dressing up. As I said at the beginning, scrabbling together an outfit is a bit of a stressful thing for working parents. He is absolutely right: we have to get our young people enjoying the love of reading and actual, physical books and libraries, and Bookstart and the National Literacy Trust, which my hon. Friend raised, are crucial parts of that. I was really pleased that my youngest understood what a contents page and an index page were when reading a book. I know that sounds remarkable, but these days, when they can google everything, they do not know how to use an index.
Business of the House
Tom Rutland Excerpts(1 year, 4 months ago)
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Lucy Powell
I am a close neighbour of my hon. Friend, and my husband works in Warrington and uses those roads regularly. I share her frustration that the road networks in the north-west, around our region and across many parts of the north of England are in a poor state, and insufficient to cope with the increased traffic that she mentions. I will ensure that the relevant Minister has heard her pleas, but this subject would make a good topic for a debate.
Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)
My constituents in East Worthing and Shoreham, and all those served by Southern Water, face a 47% increase in their bills after years of mismanagement by the company and the previous Government. Will the Leader of the House assure me that the Government will ensure that the additional money that my constituents will be paying will be put into fixing our broken water system, not into the pockets of executives and shareholders?
Lucy Powell
Water customers in my hon. Friend’s constituency, and in many others, have been left to pay the price of many years of Conservative failure. The Conservatives allowed water companies to spend billions of pounds on bonuses and shareholder payouts, instead of investing in our crumbling infrastructure. I assure him that the money raised from increased water bills will go to water infrastructure.
Business of the House
Tom Rutland Excerpts(1 year, 5 months ago)
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Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
The honour of asking the last business question of 2024 goes to Tom Rutland.
Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and a very merry Christmas to you.
Like many MPs, this year I held my first Christmas card competition, and I was blown away by the talent of local primary school children. Will the Leader of the House indulge me, and join me in congratulating the winners, Franco, Akithra and Lauren, and extending a massive thank you to the teachers in my constituency, who work tirelessly, day in and day out, not only to educate our young people but to unlock their potential and creativity?
Lucy Powell
Many of us undertake Christmas card competitions every year. They are one of the most wonderful things that we take part in as MPs. I congratulate not just my hon. Friend’s Christmas card winners but my own from Seymour Road academy in Manchester. I also congratulate him on getting the very last business question of 2024 under his belt. As you were not in the Chair earlier, Madam Deputy Speaker, I wish you a very merry Christmas as well.
Business of the House
Tom Rutland Excerpts(1 year, 8 months ago)
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Mr Speaker
Order. A couple of Members are standing who came in very late. I will not be taking their questions.
Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)
Our creaking water infrastructure is rarely out of the news, and just this week my constituents in Shoreham had to endure burst sewage pipes. Thanks to years of under-investment by our water companies, record amounts of sewage are being pumped into our rivers and seas. Will the Government make time for this important issue to be discussed?
Lucy Powell
The state of our waterways in this country is shocking, as is the decriminalised way in which our water companies have been run over many years. That is why the Government have taken quick action to clamp down on the water companies. Just last week, we introduced the Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will eventually find its way to the House. My hon. Friend might want to take part in its Second Reading when it comes.