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Commons ChamberRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Clapham and Brixton Hill) (Lab)
The Minister for Equalities (Olivia Bailey)
The Government are improving LGBT+ healthcare, equalising hate crime laws and banning abusive conversion practices. We will reject the politics of division and hate, which leads some in this House to say that families like mine are less stable, and we will build on Labour’s proud record of fighting for equality.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy
The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s draft code of practice has caused uncertainty and anxiety among the trans and non-binary community. It has also left many workplaces, businesses and single-sex spaces confused about how they should proceed. Although I am pleased that the Government have not rushed ahead with the EHRC’s proposals, we urgently need guidance on how to remain trans inclusive while also protecting single-sex spaces. Will the Minister provide an update on where her Department is with the guidance, and what assurances and guidance she can give on single-sex spaces that will fully consider and guarantee the human rights of all trans and gender non-conforming people in the UK?
Olivia Bailey
I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. I absolutely recognise the anxiety felt by many trans people at the moment. The Government are clear, as was the Supreme Court judgment, that trans people are protected in law from discrimination and harassment. The independent EHRC has submitted a draft updated code of practice to Ministers, which we are reviewing with the care that it deserves. This will provide further guidance to service providers on how to meet their legal obligations.
Rebecca Paul (Reigate) (Con)
It has been 146 days since the Equality and Human Rights Commission laid the revised code of practice before Government. Have the Government asked the EHRC to make any changes to the code of practice? If they have, can the Minister tell us what they are?
Olivia Bailey
The EHRC is an independent body. We are engaging with it to ensure that the draft code provides clarity for service providers. It is crucial that providers have legally robust guidance on how to apply the Equality Act 2010, which is why we are considering it properly. We have always been clear that proper process must be followed so that service providers have certainty over these issues and are not placed in legal jeopardy again.
Louise Haigh (Sheffield Heeley) (Lab)
The Minister for Equalities (Seema Malhotra)
I thank my right hon. Friend for her work both in this area and with Zelda Perkins, who has rightly been recognised in the new year honours list. I am proud that our Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a new measure that will void any provision in an agreement between a worker and their employer that prevents a worker from speaking out about harassment or discrimination in the workplace. My right hon. Friend will be aware that implementation of this measure is subject to consultation. We have engaged closely with the Department for Business and Trade on this policy and continue to do so.
Louise Haigh
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her answer. I could not be prouder that this Government, through the Employment Rights Act, announced world-leading legislation to protect victims of harassment and discrimination from the use of confidentiality and suppression clauses. Will the Minister confirm that the Government will soon set out the timetable and process to ensure that victims will permanently be protected from these gagging clauses—no ifs, no buts?
Seema Malhotra
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has stated that the delivery of the non-disclosure agreement measure is his personal priority. The Government will be consulting on the secondary legislation to ensure that we deliver on protecting workers from the misuse of NDAs in cases of harassment and discrimination. It is a high priority and we will move forward as quickly as possible.
Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)
The Minister for Equalities (Seema Malhotra)
The race equality engagement group, chaired by the wonderful Baroness Lawrence, is determined to tackle race inequalities and barriers to opportunity. Strengthening the Government’s links with ethnic minority communities is crucial. The group has already convened roundtables of experts and those with lived experience of inequalities in entrepreneurship, policing and maternal health. We are meeting with relevant Ministers across Government to discuss its findings and to make sure that we tackle race inequalities wherever they persist.
Janet Daby
I represent a hard-working, diverse community, yet the latest Office for National Statistics figures on the median-adjusted pay gap for UK-born black, African, Caribbean or black British employees show that they earn 5.6% less than UK-born white employees. That means that many of my hard-working constituents are not being paid fairly. The Government have committed to enshrine in law the right to equal pay for black and other ethnic minority people. Will the Government say when this welcome manifesto commitment will be met?
Seema Malhotra
My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue. The race equality engagement group is engaging with minority communities across the country to tackle inequality. We are committed to our manifesto commitment and to making the right to equal pay effective for ethnic minority people. We are also introducing mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting for large employers. Last year, we published a call for evidence on equality policy, which closed last summer. We are working to analyse the responses and will update the House on our plans soon.
Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) (SNP)
It is 316 days since the Minister announced that consultation, and it is 560 days since the King’s Speech when the draft legislation was announced. The Minister has made it clear that she expects the draft Bill to be published during this Session. Please will she update us on whether that is still her promise and when we can expect to see that draft Bill to reduce and remove the ethnicity pay gap that people are struggling with?
Seema Malhotra
As I have highlighted, we are continuing to move forward with our plans. We published the call for evidence and are analysing the responses. We will update the House on our plans soon.
Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham) (LD)
Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
We are committed through our 10-year health plan to prioritising women’s health as we build an NHS that is fit for the future. That includes renewing the women’s health strategy, investing in research that addresses health inequalities and continuing to build on vital progress in women’s health.
Max Wilkinson
I am grateful to the Health Minister for coming to the House today. She is aware of the case of Cheltenham general hospital and the Aveta birth centre, which four years ago under the previous Government was closed temporarily to labour and births. There is a national rapid review, which Gloucestershire is subject to, and a local service review. The trust tells me that it cannot make any decisions on reopening for labour and births until those two reviews have completed, and even then there is no timescale for giving women in my constituency what they need: to be able to give birth in Cheltenham when they need to. Will the Minister have a word with those in charge of the reviews and the local trust to try to move things along and get us the answer that we need?
Karin Smyth
The hon. Member and I discussed this issue before he brought a debate on it to Westminster Hall, and I know that he has campaigned hard on it for local women. He raises an excellent point: we must ensure that what is happening on the ground with regard to maternity and the changes that people are proposing line up adequately with the national task. He has made that point very clearly today, and I will make sure that the local system is aware of it.
Calum Miller
My constituent Debra was advised over 20 years ago to take sodium valproate during her pregnancy. Alongside thousands of other women, that advice has had severe consequences for her family. Both her sons have faced significant challenges through their lives and remain highly dependent on their parents, as a direct result of that drug. On Saturday, I visited Debra and she shared her fears for her sons’ future and her anger that more than two years after the Hughes report was published, no action has been taken. Will the Minister meet Debra and me to hear her family’s story and to discuss how the Government intend to put right this terrible injustice?
Karin Smyth
It was the cases of many women like Debra, which have often been raised in this House, that led to that report, and we understand that people are facing serious and long-lasting conditions. I am happy to arrange for a Minister to get back to the hon. Member on that specific case and update him on the review.
Ms Abena Oppong-Asare (Erith and Thamesmead) (Lab)
I support Valerie Amos’s report on maternity services. I am very keen to hear how the Government are ensuring that black voices, particularly black women’s voices, are key during this investigation, so that their voices are heard and their experiences taken into consideration.
Karin Smyth
I thank my hon. Friend for the work that she has done, alongside many others, on behalf of black and Asian women in particular to make sure that that work is included in Baroness Amos’s report. That is central to the work that she will do. We know that there are high risks. There are engagement groups as part of that work, and I will make sure that my hon. Friend and others are kept up to date on that.
Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)
Earlier this month, Derby County Community Trust launched its “See you at your smear” campaign, encouraging women across the city to visit the pop-up cervical screening clinics that are in place until March. The trust does amazing work on women’s health. We know that increasing the uptake of smear tests is very important as, nationally, one in three women are overdue. Will the Minister outline what work she is undertaking with the Health Secretary to improve smear test uptake?
Karin Smyth
My hon. Friend raises the great work going on in that local system. The work to renew the women’s health strategy is partly about finding those good examples. We rightly talk about how the experiences of women are often poor examples of healthcare—we know that—but we also want good examples of where local systems are leading that work. We certainly want to learn from what they are doing to inform the wider strategy, and part of renewing that strategy is making sure that it is effective.
Mims Davies (East Grinstead and Uckfield) (Con)
Seventy-five-year-old Valerie Kneale died four days after a stroke due to manslaughter, a coroner ruled. Her death prompted a murder investigation, as the post-mortem showed that a forcible sexual assault directly caused her death. Surviving in Scrubs campaigns to tackle sexual harassment and, crucially, sexual assault across the healthcare system. Hospitals and care homes should be the safest places to recover from childbirth, accident or illness. What is the Minister doing to deal with predators lurking in our NHS who target women at work or, sickeningly, those who are at their most vulnerable?
Karin Smyth
The hon. Lady raises a shocking example. I think I have said this at the Dispatch Box before, but it is one of the most shocking experiences, on coming in as a new Minister, to see the scale and depth of sexual harassment of staff and other women. We have worked hard with staff groups to make sure that that is given primacy in our strategy. I am working with the Minister with responsibility for violence against women and girls—the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips)—and this is part of our attack more generally on misogyny and violence against women. We absolutely recognise that it needs to be resolved.
Marie Goldman (Chelmsford) (LD)
In September, I raised the case of my constituent Mary in the House. Mary is among the parents of at least 7,000 children who have suffered birth defects because of the anti-epilepsy drug sodium valproate after it was prescribed to pregnant mothers in the 1970s. Next week marks the second anniversary of the Hughes report into the sodium valproate and pelvic mesh scandals. Mary and other mothers like her needed redress and support for their children years ago, and the Government response to the Hughes report is long overdue. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact on the women and their children who are left in limbo by this Government’s failure to respond to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report of February 2024?
Karin Smyth
As we have discussed in this House and with the many people who have led the campaign on this issue, of course we are clear about the impact on those women. The Government will continue to review the recommendations of that report and will report back in due course.
Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
The Minister for Social Security and Disability (Sir Stephen Timms)
Our Pathways to Work guarantees will tackle the unnecessary barriers that keep disabled people out of work, Connect to Work employment support will be nationwide by April, last week we expanded WorkWell, and regular meetings of the lead Ministers on disability ensure cross-Government working.
Sarah Owen
Nearly half of disabled people in the UK say that they feel it is harder to get or keep a job. It is even worse for those with learning disabilities—just 6% find their way into the workplace. The problem is not just employer discrimination; it is the UK’s infrastructure. Three in four train stations are not step-free. Stations such as mine in Leagrave are completely out of bounds for people who are physically disabled. What is the Minister doing to ensure that cross-departmental working meets the need of disabled people to access public spaces and the workforce?
Sir Stephen Timms
My hon. Friend is absolutely right: the disability employment gap is too big. Every Department has a lead Minister on disability and I chair regular meetings. The Minister for Roads and Buses champions disabled people at the Department for Transport, and the rail accessibility road map sets out planned improvements for disabled people ahead of the establishment of Great British Railways.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
My constituent Becky relies on Access to Work, but her application was denied and it has taken eight months just to receive an acknowledgement of her complaint to the Independent Case Examiner. We cannot progress an ombudsman claim until that is dealt with. What is the Department for Work and Pensions doing to arrange for complaints to be dealt with more quickly so that people can get back into work?
Sir Stephen Timms
I would be grateful if the hon. Lady would let me have a note on the hold-up with that particular complaint. There are delays with Access to Work, reflecting the big surge in demand for it, and that is why we have proposed reform. We have consulted on reform, and we will come back with our proposals quite soon.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
Through the big shifts in our 10-year health plan, we will ensure that more tests and care are delivered in the community, improving working between services, using greater use of technology to support women who are managing long-term conditions and, crucially, learning from the work led by the pioneering women’s health hubs.
Jim Shannon
I thank the Minister very much for that answer. Arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions are the single biggest cause of pain and disability in the UK and one of the most common reasons for workplace absences. This affects women and girls in particular: 60% of those with arthritis in the UK are women, which accounts for some 6 million women across the United Kingdom. Will the Minister work to ensure that musculoskeletal health is included in the next phase of the modern service frameworks, so that the health of women and girls is made a priority?
Karin Smyth
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to say that osteoporosis disproportionately affects women and plays a crucial part in absence from the workforce. Baroness Merron, who leads on this work, and I met Charlie Mayfield when he was looking at how to get more women back into the workforce, and we will ensure that women’s health and these sorts of long-term conditions are part of that. I cannot commit to an MSK strategy, but we are absolutely committed to including this in our renewed women’s health strategy.
Patrick Hurley (Southport) (Lab)
Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)
Irene Campbell (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)
The Minister for Women and Equalities (Bridget Phillipson)
Tackling child poverty is a moral mission for this Government, and someone’s background should not determine what they go on to achieve in life. I am proud that we have now published our historic child poverty strategy, which will deliver the largest reduction in child poverty within a single Parliament by scrapping the two-child limit, expanding free school meals and backing families.
Patrick Hurley
Earlier this week, I visited the Bishop David Sheppard school in my constituency and saw at first hand the difference that breakfast clubs are making to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Will the Minister explain how the Government’s commitment to expanding breakfast clubs will tackle child poverty and reduce inequalities across the country?
Bridget Phillipson
My hon. Friend is a real champion for local families, and I would be grateful if he extended my thanks to all the staff team at the Bishop David Sheppard primary school for the work that they are doing. Breakfast clubs make a huge difference to parents and children by expanding learning and giving our children a great start to the day, and this Labour Government will deliver a national roll-out of breakfast clubs across our country.
Baggy Shanker
In Arboretum in my constituency, half the children are growing up in poverty. That means hungry mornings, cold homes and kids who are four times more likely to face mental health problems by the time they are 11. What urgent action are the Government taking, across Government, to tackle child poverty and eliminate health inequalities so that all children can grow up in warmth and stability?
Bridget Phillipson
Alongside the expansion of our new free breakfast clubs, we are massively expanding free school meals and extra childcare for families. That runs alongside our work to roll out Best Start family hubs in every area, building on the proud Labour legacy of Sure Start to support families early when their children are young.
Irene Campbell
In my constituency of North Ayrshire and Arran, healthy life expectancy is currently 52.5 years for women and 52.6 years for men. That is, shockingly, the lowest in Scotland and provides clear evidence of increasing health inequalities compared with other parts of Scotland. Years ago, the Glasgow effect was often cited when looking at life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, but I fear that we now also have a North Ayrshire effect. Does the Minister agree that this is no way for people to start their lives and that the Scottish Government must do more to address these inequalities, given that they have had the biggest financial settlement in the history of devolution?
Bridget Phillipson
Those are truly shocking statistics. I know that my hon. Friend, Anas Sarwar and all Scottish Labour colleagues are working to kick out the SNP and show how Labour can make the NHS fit for the future, alongside our child poverty strategy, which will lift thousands of children in Scotland out of poverty. That is the difference that a Labour Government here in Westminster are making in Scotland.
Shivani Raja (Leicester East) (Con)
The best way to lift poverty is to support people into work and create jobs. What assessment have the Minister and her colleagues made of the impact that their crippling national insurance hike has had on families with children living in poverty?
Bridget Phillipson
Our child poverty strategy will deliver the biggest reduction in child poverty in any Parliament ever. That is the difference that a Labour Government are making. The hon. Members will surely recognise that the majority of children in poverty are in working families—people doing the right thing and working hard—and we are determined to support them.
Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)
We know that poor housing contributes to child poverty. I have recently heard concerns about social housing providers in my constituency failing to carry out vital repairs to tackle damp and mould—some even choose to sell off homes rather than bring them up to the standard required under Awaab’s law, because it is too expensive to do so. What are the Government doing, particularly in the Women and Equalities unit and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, to stop social housing providers selling off homes and to ensure that every child has access to safe, warm, dry and affordable social housing?
Bridget Phillipson
Housing issues were a key feature of our work on the child poverty taskforce. Colleagues across Government are taking up such work. I am concerned about the cases that the hon. Lady raises. If she would like to share some details, I will make sure that a Minister looks into them and provides a response.
Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
Of course, poverty of aspiration contributes to inequalities. As the Minister will know, over 100,000 children in this country are in looked-after care, in secure homes, children’s homes and foster care. Every single one of those children has a skill, an ability, something to contribute to society. With her Secretary of State for Education hat on, will she consider scholarships for looked-after children so that they can develop those skills?
Bridget Phillipson
The right hon. Gentleman raises children’s social care reform, which has been an important focus of the Department for Education. We are supporting more families through kinship arrangements, expanding fostering and ensuring that we support children earlier in order to stop crises escalating. I would be happy to discuss further any other ideas that he might have.
Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)
The Minister for Women and Equalities (Bridget Phillipson)
Next week is Race Equality Week, with the theme “Change needs all of us”. The Government’s race equality engagement group, chaired by Baroness Lawrence, is ensuring that we hear directly from those most affected by race inequality. Yesterday we marked Holocaust Memorial Day, and across the House we remembered the 6 million Jewish people murdered by the Nazis. We redouble our efforts to combat prejudice, hatred and antisemitism in all its forms.
Douglas McAllister
The gender pay gap for full-time employees in Scotland widened from 2% in 2024 to 3.5% in 2025. It is utterly unacceptable that, on the SNP’s watch, women in Scotland are earning less for the same hours. What can the UK Government do to improve matters for women across the country?
Bridget Phillipson
My hon. Friend is right: we must narrow that gap. We are ensuring that large employers, including in the Scottish private sector, publish plans on how they will address the gender pay gap. Of course, I am proud that, alongside my hon. Friend, this Labour Government are delivering the biggest upgrade in workers’ rights in a generation.
Claire Coutinho (East Surrey) (Con)
Nurses up and down the country, including the Darlington nurses and Jennifer Melle, are being hounded and harassed by the NHS simply for recognising that biological sex is real. I am grateful that the Minister has previously agreed to meet Jennifer and hope that she still will. The Minister takes up the cause of working-class women—these are working-class women, and they are being abused by people in positions of power—so will she go further by holding accountable those in the NHS, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the unions who have harassed and victimised those hard-working nurses?
Bridget Phillipson
I look forward to meeting Jennifer soon to discuss her experiences and what more we can do to ensure that women in the NHS are safe at work. I am determined to ensure that the rights, voices and spaces for women who work in the NHS and women who are patients in the NHS are protected.
Claire Coutinho
In the case of Gorton and Denton, we heard this week that the Muslim Vote has decided to endorse the Green party. This is overt sectarism in our midst, and we know that where we have sectarian politics, conflict and strife follow. Even one of Labour’s candidates at the last election was threatened with beheading, but nobody in the Labour party seems to be able to confront this problem. Will the Secretary of State call it out for what it is—sectarian politics that has no place in Britain?
Bridget Phillipson
I am not aware of the particular case that the right hon. Lady describes. What I can say is that violence, intimidation or harassment has no place in our politics. No political candidate or Member of Parliament should be subject to that kind of experience. I am very much looking forward to going to campaign and make the case to the people there.
Anneliese Midgley (Knowsley) (Lab)
The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr David Lammy)
Mr Speaker, I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Prime Minister, who is visiting China and Japan.
Yesterday was Holocaust Memorial Day. For the first time, a Holocaust survivor, Mala Tribich, addressed Cabinet. I found her testimony profoundly moving, especially having recently visited the Majdanek concentration camp in Poland. We owe it to every survivor, and to the 6 million Jewish people murdered in the Holocaust, to never forget. We will build a national Holocaust memorial and learning centre next to this Parliament, so that the voices of survivors are never forgotten and their courage inspires future generations.
I know that the thoughts of the whole House will be with the family and loved ones of Captain Philip Gilbert Muldowney of the 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, who died on Sunday. We will never forget the courage, bravery and sacrifice made for our country by British servicemen and women.
This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.
Anneliese Midgley
I associate myself with the remarks of the Deputy Prime Minister about Holocaust Memorial Day and that British serviceman.
This week, the BBC and “Good Morning Britain” have reported on the national disgrace of out-of-control waste dumps. For years, my constituents in Kirkby have lived with such a dump. People struggle to breathe, they are sick, they have to live with their windows shut and schools sometimes shut down for days. I have been campaigning on the issue with our Labour councillors, but the response from the Environment Agency has been slow and ineffective. Will the Government work with me to sort this nightmare and to stop the Simonswood stink?
The Deputy Prime Minister
The Government will work with my hon. Friend. The situation she describes is unacceptable and people are right to be furious. The Environment Agency is taking action to prevent further dumping, and we are giving it more powers and resources to crack down on fly-tipping. I will ensure that Ministers keep her updated with their efforts.
Speaking of garbage, I note that Reform UK’s spring-cleaning of the Conservative party is continuing this week. The Leader of the Opposition says that the Conservative party is full of unwanted rubbish, but the public worked that out long ago and got rid of them.
Andrew Griffith (Arundel and South Downs) (Con)
May I start by echoing the Deputy Prime Minister’s comments about Holocaust Memorial Day? We must never forget. May I also associate the Opposition with the condolences expressed by the Deputy Prime Minister to the family of Captain Philip Gilbert Muldowney. I also offer the condolences of the House to the family of Lord Flight, one of my predecessors in Arundel and South Downs, who served in Parliament with distinction for more than two decades.
After the Chancellor’s U-turn yesterday, can the Deputy Prime Minister confirm that over 90% of retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will get nothing?
The Deputy Prime Minister
I welcome the shadow Business Secretary to the Dispatch Box and join him in his condolences—I remember Lord Flight well from when I arrived in this House. It is always a pleasure to hear from the co-author of the mini-Budget and the man who said that Liz Truss had
“the best plan to deliver for the voters.”
Do you remember that?
Of course, all of us want to see our pubs in good health and to support hospitality. That is why the Chancellor announced a £4 billion package of support. Yesterday, in addition, it was announced that business rates for pubs and music venues will be cut by 15% this year and frozen for the next two years, and we will review the methodology for valuing pubs in the future. I must say that contrasts with the Conservatives, who saw 7,000 pubs close under their watch.
Andrew Griffith
The Deputy Prime Minister wants to talk about experience. I spent 25 years building businesses and creating jobs; he spent 25 years manufacturing grievance. If the Labour party knew anything about business, it would know that this is too little, too late. Our high streets—their high streets—are bleeding out, and the Chancellor is handing out—[Interruption.] Government Members do not want to hear this. Our high streets are bleeding out, and the Chancellor is handing out a box of sticking plasters. They cannot even U-turn properly. A senior adviser to Andy Burnham said yesterday:
“The Chancellor just wants a cheap headline”.
Meanwhile, our high streets are being decimated. He is right, isn’t he?
The Deputy Prime Minister
The hon. Gentleman talks about business. We know what his plan for business is. This is the man who opposed the minimum wage and said that it was
“simply something that legislators pass to make themselves feel good.”
Let me tell him that raising the minimum wage does not make us feel good; it changes lives. Labour is proud of how we are supporting small business. On small business, we are creating hospitality zones to cut red tape, creating greater licensing freedoms, which are very important, and tackling late payments. All of that is supporting business. That is a far cry from what small business saw before.
Andrew Griffith
You do not make young people better off by putting them out of work. The Deputy Prime Minister’s MPs are already banned from pubs. Where next? Shops, restaurants, hair salons—that might not make a difference to him or to me, but it would for many of them. They should back our plan to scrap business rates, but they have not got the backbone to cut welfare to pay for it. It is not just business rates; under Labour, the cost of hiring is up. Can he tell the House how much more it costs to hire a 21-year-old under Labour?
The Deputy Prime Minister
The hon. Gentleman talks about young people. The Conservatives left a shameful legacy: one in eight young people were not earning or learning when they left office. We are investing a record amount in apprenticeships, which the Conservatives had on their knees. We are creating technical excellence colleges for our young people, and Alan Milburn is doing a review on young people who are currently out of work. By contrast, the Conservatives would freeze the minimum wage and oppose giving young people an increase. They have nothing to say for the next generation.
Andrew Griffith
Mr Speaker, you can feel the Deputy Prime Minister’s frustration. The Prime Minister is away, the Business Secretary is away, and here he is—left-behind Lammy, the designated survivor, having to defend the indefensible. It is very clear that he does not know the answer, so let me tell him. The cost will be up by £3,600 a year. Under Labour, businesses cannot afford to hire, and one in six young people cannot find a job. This Government are blocking people who just want to get on in life—ambitious people like Andy from Manchester, having his dreams crushed by Labour. Could the Deputy Prime Minister explain why unemployment has gone up almost every month that the Government have been in office?
The Deputy Prime Minister
The shadow Business Secretary should check his facts—500,000 more people are in work than a year ago under us. He is in no position to lecture anyone about U-turns, by the way; this man was Boris Johnson’s net zero business champion, and now he opposes the renewable investment that is creating jobs and opportunities right across the country.
Andrew Griffith
The thing that the Deputy Prime Minister did not want to say is that every Labour Government leave office with unemployment higher than when they arrived. There is a reason for that: they do not understand what it takes to be an employer. They do not understand business. The Government are strangling business with their red tape, and they are about to make things infinitely worse. Will the Deputy Prime Minister tell us his Government’s own estimate of the cost to business of the unemployment Act?
The Deputy Prime Minister
I will take no lectures from the hon. Member on business. My father was run out of business under the Thatcher Government—I know what it is like to grow up under a Tory Government. While we are talking about it, 26 Tory MPs and counting have already defected to Reform. Now they are all counting down, because today is 100 days until the Tory transfer window slams shut. It is going to be the longest and most disloyal transfer saga since Sol Campbell left Spurs, and the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage)—I do not know where he is—has signed three right wingers in the past fortnight.
Andrew Griffith
I do not know what is in the Deputy Prime Minister’s head; it is our party that is getting stronger. Overnight we learned that the former Deputy Prime Minister has got 80 names. On Sunday we learned that the Health Secretary’s allies claim he has got 200 names. Oddly, 50 Labour Members want the Mayor of Greater Manchester, who is not even an MP. They are supposed to be running the country.
Once again, small businesses across this country will see that the Deputy Prime Minister did not answer the question, so I will tell him. The burden to businesses of the Government’s Bill is £1 billion a year. There we have it: they have no answers for small business, and there is no relief coming. They do not care about high streets, hotels, restaurants, farmers or young people. Will the Deputy Prime Minister not admit what the Members behind him are thinking: that it is not the Prime Minister going to China that is the problem; it is the fear that he might come back?
The Deputy Prime Minister
Let us face it, the shadow Business Secretary is not going to get this gig again, is he?
I have set out our position very clearly. This was the week when the Leader of the Opposition told “Desert Island Discs” that Britain needs to learn to queue again, and Tory MPs have taken her quite literally—they are lining up outside the office of the Member for Clacton while they squabble about the damage that they did to our country. Labour this week is capping ground rents, cutting the cost of living and rebuilding our public services. That is the difference a Labour Government make, and there is much more to come.
Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab)
The Deputy Prime Minister
We are focused on fixing the SEN system so that every child, wherever they live, has the support they need to thrive. We will continue our national conversation on reforms. We are also boosting investment into SEN. That includes £200 million to roll out more training for teachers and over £100 million for Durham county council. I am sure that a Minister would be happy to meet my hon. Friend and visit the site at the earliest opportunity.
Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD)
On behalf of my party, may I join the Deputy Prime Minister in marking Holocaust Memorial Day? We will not forget. We also honour the service of Captain Philip Gilbert Muldowney, who died on Sunday.
While the Chinese regime still holds British citizen Jimmy Lai captive in prison, and while the Chinese regime continues to hunt down pro-democracy protesters on the streets of Britain with bounties on their heads, the British Prime Minister has gone cap in hand to China to ask for a trade deal, on the promise of a super-embassy from which the Chinese regime will continue to spy on us. The Chinese regime remains undeterred in its illegal actions against the UK and our citizens, so can I ask the Deputy Prime Minister to name one single consequence that the Chinese regime will face if they do not stop their campaign of espionage and repression?
The Deputy Prime Minister
China matters, and ignoring it would be a dereliction of duty. We will build a consistent, long-term and strategic approach that is grounded in reality. I set that out in the China audit statement I made a few months ago, and it is what our allies do. President Trump, President Macron, Chancellor Merz, Prime Minister Carney are all visiting and engaging. We will co-operate where we can—I am sure that, in areas like climate, the hon. Lady would expect us to co-operate—and we will challenge in areas where we disagree. That is the way that we deliver for the public of this country.
Daisy Cooper
I note that the Deputy Prime Minister could not name one single consequence if the Chinese do not stop their espionage and repression. The Deputy Prime Minister has responded as if the world has not changed, but with Russia waging war in Europe, with the Chinese hunting pro-democracy protesters on our streets, and with President Trump undermining NATO and the rules-based order that keeps us safe, we have got to act with urgency to strengthen our alliances with trusted allies in Europe and the Commonwealth, and we have got to ramp up defence spending now. Will the Deputy Prime Minister consider as a first step the Liberal Democrat plan to issue defence bonds to raise £20 billion in the next two years, so that we can rebuild our armed forces and give British savers the opportunity to invest in the defence of our nation?
The Deputy Prime Minister
I have been here long enough to remember when Labour left office. We were spending 2.5% on defence. When the Liberal Democrats were in government with the Conservatives, they cut it.
John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)
The Deputy Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is right—waiting lists are down by 3,200 in his local area—and he is also right to highlight the progress with our plan to get the NHS back on its feet. Thanks to this Labour Government’s decisions, waiting lists have fallen by over 300,000 since the election, and we have delivered 5.2 million extra appointments, slashed ambulance response times and recruited 3,000 more GPs. Meanwhile, the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) confirmed at the weekend that Reform would support privatisation of the national health service. Labour will never let it happen. Reform cannot be trusted with our national health service.
Jim Allister (North Antrim) (TUV)
This week marks two years from the attempted great deception on the part of the former Government and the Democratic Unionist party that the Irish sea border was gone. “No checks, no paperwork” was the strapline. Yet within the first few months of this new year alone, we have seen the imposition of a veterinary medicine border and a ban on new GB cars being sold in Northern Ireland. Now the European Union says that it plans to impose a €3 charge on small parcels coming into Northern Ireland from July onwards. What sort of Government allows a foreign power to impose a tax on parcels coming into its own territory?
The Deputy Prime Minister
I looked at this specifically when I was Foreign Secretary. We have provided a wide range of guidance and support for businesses and we have not seen evidence of significant disruption to the flow of parcels, but of course His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs stands ready to provide support wherever businesses have difficulties.
Mr Alex Barros-Curtis (Cardiff West) (Lab)
The Deputy Prime Minister
Of course I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets a meeting with the appropriate Minister. Look at the difference that Labour is making in Wales: NHS waiting lists have fallen six months in a row thanks to the largest ever devolution settlement; £445 million has gone into Welsh rail; and we have new offshore wind projects, AI growth zones and the UK’s small modular reactor in Anglesey. That is the difference a Labour Government make.
Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)
The Deputy Prime Minister
Well, I will get a licence if I do!
My sympathies are with the hon. Gentleman’s constituents who have been affected by the recent floods. We are investing a record £10.5 billion in flood defences to protect 890,000 homes. The flood defences are of course inherited from the Conservative party, which was shameful, but we have committed to net zero and to the Paris agreement; it is good for lowering bills, and good for jobs and investment in the UK.
Mrs Elsie Blundell (Heywood and Middleton North) (Lab)
The Deputy Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We on this side of the House believe in council housing. We are investing £39 billion to deliver the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation. That will deliver 300,000 social and affordable homes, with at least 60% for social rent, and we will bring forward legislation to strengthen councils’ ability to buy back homes sold under the right-to-buy scheme.
John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)
The Deputy Prime Minister
The people of Scotland have a big decision to make later on this year—certainly not to vote Conservative, but to get rid of the SNP and vote Labour. I and my colleagues will be campaigning every single day to bring that about.
Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham North) (Lab)
The Deputy Prime Minister
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this issue. Britain has always been a fair, tolerant and compassionate country that has offered safe haven to those fleeing peril, and this Government will always defend those values. We are introducing the largest overhaul of asylum policy in modern times to restore control, contribution and fairness. That includes creating new, capped safe and legal routes for refugees. Asylum claims are falling across Europe, but in Britain they are rising, so we must make it less attractive for those who are coming here illegally to come to Britain, and easier to remove them, and that is what we will continue to do.
Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)
The Deputy Prime Minister
Real wages have risen in nearly every single month since we came into office.
Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)
The Deputy Prime Minister
One of the greatest privileges of my life is visiting our servicemen and women who are stationed abroad. We are renewing the contract with our veterans, providing millions to eradicate veteran homelessness, and investing £50 million into a nationwide network of support centres.
I want to take this opportunity to pay my respects to Private Jonathan Kitulagoda. He was the first British soldier killed by enemy action in Afghanistan, on this day in 2004. He was just 23. The valour and heroism of those who have served our country to keep us safe must never be forgotten.
Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) (LD)
The Deputy Prime Minister
I utterly condemn the Iranian regime’s brutal repression of peaceful protesters. It is a long-standing position under successive Governments not to comment on whether a specific organisation is being considered for proscription. We have long criticised Iran’s authoritarian regime and taken robust action to protect UK interests from Iranian state threats, and that includes over 220 sanctions on Iran and placing the entirety of the Iranian state on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme. We are working at pace, of course, to explore what further measures can be taken to respond to these horrific events.
Feryal Clark (Enfield North) (Lab)
Violence is again escalating in north-east Syria—Rojava. A humanitarian crisis is unfolding and the city of Kobane is under siege yet again. The Kurdish communities who fought and helped defeat ISIS feel abandoned by their western allies. Will the Deputy Prime Minister commit to working with our allies to hold the Syrian regime to the March 2025 agreement by securing protection for Kurdish civilians, pushing for a meaningful and immediate ceasefire, opening humanitarian corridors into Kobane and supporting constitutional recognition for Kurdish regions?
The Deputy Prime Minister
Recent events in Syria have been deeply concerning. This is a significant moment for Syria’s future, and we are using every diplomatic lever to urge all parties to stop the violence, protect civilians and ensure humanitarian support can be accessed. The Foreign Secretary has highlighted to Syria’s Foreign Minister this week the importance of protecting the rights of the Kurdish community, and we have consistently advocated for an inclusive political transition. We remain committed to standing with the Syrian people as they seek to build a more stable, free and prosperous future.
Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Reform)
Mr Speaker
Order. I did not want to have to get up. Mr Anderson, one of us will have to sit down, and it is not going to be me. [Interruption.] Order. Who was speaking out then? If they have not got the guts to admit to shouting somebody down, they should leave the Chamber.
Lee Anderson
Unlike the Prime Minister of our country, I have never been thrown out of or barred from a pub, and after yesterday’s disastrous announcement to save our pubs, it is no wonder he has cleared off to China, but I have one question for the Deputy Prime Minister. Will he come with me to Ashfield to visit some pubs, speak to some landlords and explain to them why over 500 pubs have closed since this Labour Government came into power and why another 500 pubs will close in the next year? Come on, be a man!
The Deputy Prime Minister
I think I once campaigned with the hon. Gentleman when he was a member of the Labour party. It has been said of him that, when he left, he enhanced the IQ of the Labour party and the IQ of the party he went to. I wonder what job he is pitching for in Reform’s shadow Cabinet. They have Nadhim Zahawi to advise on tax and the right hon. Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick) to open up the borders, and now they need Liz Truss to crash the economy!
Ian Byrne (Liverpool West Derby) (Lab)
I hope you get well soon, Mr Speaker.
Lillia Jakeman is 19 years of age and has been given a devastating diagnosis of motor neurone disease. When she was told that she has a very rare form of the disease that can be treated with a groundbreaking new drug called tofersen, her family were given hope. They have since discovered that although the drug is being made available to the NHS free of charge, her local trust has declined to deliver it. This afternoon, her family will be arriving at Downing Street, having walked from Southampton, to highlight this injustice. Will the Deputy Prime Minister work with me, MPs from across the House, Ministers in the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS bosses to deliver fair access to tofersen for all living with this rare form of motor neurone disease?
The Deputy Prime Minister
I am sorry to hear about those who are waiting for this treatment. Of course, I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets the appropriate meeting with the relevant Minister.
James McMurdock (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Ind)
The Deputy Prime Minister
The hon. Gentleman will remember that we stepped in to save British Steel, and we committed up to £2.5 billion to rebuild the sector. We will publish a steel strategy setting out how we are going to achieve that shortly. The British industry supercharger will also bring down energy costs for strategically important UK industries.
Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow West) (Lab)
At a time when the Government are promoting a duty of candour to ensure that all public servants, including Ministers, have a legal duty to act with transparency and frankness, and when the Scottish Government have indicated that they hope that that legislation will apply in Scotland too, does the Deputy Prime Minister support calls for the current First Minister, a former First Minister and a former Health Minister to appear before the inquiry into the deaths of adults and children as a result of contaminated water at the Queen Elizabeth university hospital in Glasgow, a scandal widely thought to be the worst since devolution began?
The Deputy Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is right to raise that serious matter. It is a scandal—one of the worst failures in modern Scottish public life. The SNP Government must acknowledge the grave failures at Queen Elizabeth hospital. When whistleblowers raised serious failings, SNP Ministers sided with the health board and dismissed families who went through tragic circumstances. That should be condemned as wholly unacceptable, and there is no clearer example of why Scotland needs change with Anas Sarwar.
Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
The Deputy Prime Minister
The right hon. Gentleman raises an important issue. It is why I was pleased to work with the Defence Secretary on the strategic defence review and why we are investing £270 billion over this Parliament in defence.
Alex Sobel (Leeds Central and Headingley) (Lab/Co-op)
I know that the Deputy Prime Minister takes a deep interest in Uganda. Two weeks ago, there was a sham election in which people were prevented from voting and Government officials stuffed ballot boxes. Now, the military is pursuing Bobi Wine, the leader of the opposition, with deadly intent. I am gravely concerned about Bobi, opposition activists and British citizens in Uganda. What can we do to safeguard those people and ensure that we do not see violence and bloodshed on the streets of Uganda?
The Deputy Prime Minister
I was very grateful to meet Bobi Wine with my hon. Friend when I was shadow Foreign Secretary. We call for peaceful and credible elections. This dispute must be resolved peacefully and legally. Opposition candidates must be able to campaign freely. We will, of course, continue to make representations forcefully.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
The Deputy Prime Minister
I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman. He and I have worked cross-party on these issues over many years, particularly as I represent Stamford Hill, one of the historic homes of the Jewish community. He is quite right: the rising antisemitism we see and the nature of some forms of protest is intolerable and unacceptable. That is why the Home Secretary has set out her plans. I will continue to work with her closely to drive antisemitism out of this country.
Bills Presented
Local Government Reorganisation (Requirement for Referendum) Bill
Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)
Mr Peter Bedford presented a Bill to provide that any reorganisation of local government in England involving changes to electoral boundaries, the establishment of combined authorities, or other specified changes may not be undertaken unless such reorganisation has been approved by a simple majority of residents of any affected local government area voting in a referendum; to make provision about the organisation of such referendums; and for connected purposes.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 27 February, and to be printed (Bill 374).
Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pension Scheme (Report) Bill
Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)
Josh Babarinde, supported by James MacCleary, presented a Bill to require the Secretary of State to report to Parliament on the potential merits of disregarding compensation received under the War Pension Scheme and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme for the purpose of calculating entitlement to Pension Credit and to other means-tested benefits for which such payments are not disregarded in full; and for connected purposes.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 27 February, and to be printed (Bill 375).