Commons Chamber

Tuesday 13th January 2026

(began 2 hours, 46 minutes ago)

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None Portrait Q2. What steps his Department is taking to move clinics and routine appointments into community hospitals. (907223)
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So stay.
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Luke Evans Portrait Dr Luke Evans MP (Hinckley and Bosworth, Conservative)
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Luke Evans. >> Community pharmacies are a vital part of that primary care infrastructure, including in Epping infrastructure, including in Epping Forest. So using the NHS ODS data, can the Minister tell the House how many pharmacy contracts ceased in

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England last year? I thank him for that question and congratulate him on the and congratulate him on the addition of the facial. Glad he's joining that particular club. I think that's the only club that we think that's the only club that we may both be a member of. But look, may both be a member of. But look, I, we are aware of the pressure on pharmacy. It is a major challenge pharmacy. It is a major challenge that we are facing.

But we did give pharmacy a 19% uplift in the last spending review of all of the sectors in my portfolio. That was the one that received the largest uplift. We're also looking to secure better progress in terms of the use of technology, looking, of course, at the medicines margin, looking, of course, at the dispensing fee, recognising the significant financial pressures that pharmacies are under, but through reform and investment, we believe that we can turn the corner and rebuild pharmacy in our country.

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Luke Evans Mr. speaker, I appreciate his answer, but it is 650 contracts across England and 650 contracts across England and Wales. He only has to look at the newspaper headlines yesterday to see that in his department, in his portfolio. And the chair of the IPA, Layla, has specifically warned that Layla, has specifically warned that higher business rates and increases in National Insurance contributions are to blame, both of which are set are to blame, both of which are set by the government, which drive up costs while pharmacy income remains fixed, which again is set by the government.

So does the Minister accept that these tax decisions taken by his government directly increase the costs and contribute to the loss of pharmacy contracts? And will he therefore raise it with the Chancellor immediately?
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None Portrait Q12. What steps he is taking to help reduce waiting times at A&E departments. (907233)
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>> Thank you. >> Mr. Speaker. Number 12. Romford.
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Matthew Pennycook Portrait Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)
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decision to be taken by planning Ministers independent of the rest of government. As I've said before, in this House, this government is committed to the probity of the planning process at all levels to ensure robust and evidence based ensure robust and evidence based decision making. Planning Ministers must take decisions following a quasi judicial process, meaning they must take decisions fairly based on evidence and planning rules, as the case is currently before the Department for before the Department for consideration and due to Ministers statutory role in the planning process, it would be entirely inappropriate for me to comment further on this live case.

That said, Mr. Speaker, I understand fully members interest in the case and so I can briefly set out the process this case has followed. Today, a public inquiry into the applications was held by an independent planning inspector between the 11th and 19th of February, 2025, the Department received the inspector's report into the applications on the 10th of June that year. On the 6th of August 2025, a reference letter was sent to parties seeking further information, specifically in respect of the redacted plans and some issues raised by the Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office from parties, and that was recirculated for further comment on the 22nd August and again on the 16th of October, 2nd of December and 17th of December, and recirculated for information on the 6th of January 2026.

Referring back to parties is routine when further information is required. The government does not provide a running commentary on planning casework decisions, as you know, Mr. Speaker, and it would be particularly inappropriate to make any comment on material which has been received. The reference back material will be available on request when the decision is issued. The timetable has been varied to allow full consideration of the applications. Given the detailed nature of the representations provided and the need to give parties sufficient opportunity to respond, a final decision will now be made on or before the 20th of January 2026.

The variation to the timetable is routine when additional time is needed for determination, members can be assured. And I'm afraid, Mr. Speaker, I will be required to state the following abnormal ad nauseam that Ministers will take all material planning considerations into account when the final decision is made, and Ministers will inform the House of the decision accordingly.
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Alicia Kearns Portrait Alicia Kearns MP (Rutland and Stamford, Conservative)
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Yeah. technocratic history lesson rather than an answer to the meaningful question. Exactly. 208 secret rooms and a hidden chamber just one metre from cable, serving the City of London and the British people. That is what the unredacted plans tell us, that Chinese Communist Party has planned for its new embassy. If the government gives them the go ahead. Indeed, we now know they plan to demolish the wall between the cables and their embassy cables, on which our economy is dependent.

Cables carrying millions of British people's emails and financial data, and access that would give the Chinese Communist Party a launch pad for economic warfare against our nation. The Home Office and the Foreign Office say security concerns have been addressed. So I put to the Minister, had any Minister seen these unredacted plans before the Telegraph uncovered them, and if not, why not? Was Parliament misled when we were told that all documents were publicly available? Is it true that in December a briefing was given to Five Eyes partners on these risks? And does the Minister really have no concerns at all over plans to install heavy ventilation equipment parallel to these cables? What is that for? If the government is as shocked as we are today on this.

Have the Ministers already called in the Chinese ambassador to explain these secret rooms? And if not, why not? The embassy would create a daily headache for our security services. What confidence can we have that the CCP's technological capabilities can be contained for a decade, let alone ten? I have consistently asked the government to require the Chinese to pay for any rerouting of cables if they are going to give this to go ahead. So will the government commit to that today? The Prime Minister, we understand, is planning to visit Beijing this month.

Is it true the embassy will be approved this week that the Prime Minister plans to reward the Communist Party holding a British national hostage, torturing him in confinement? Who put spies at the heart of our democracy is bad enough to turn up with a gift in hand. Begging for handouts is beggars belief because Labour promised a new relationship with China. Yet UK export goods are down 23%. Surrendering our security for Chinese trade was always a bad policy, but surrendering our security while exports plummet is frankly insanity.

The government can claim today that they had no idea about these secret rooms, and we will not that word, but they cannot now say they have no power to protect us, protect our economy, protect the British people, deny the Chinese Communist Party their embassy.
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Matthew Pennycook Portrait Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)
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Minister. >> Minister. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the shadow Minister for her questions. I am obviously not going questions. I am obviously not going to comment on speculation in the press when it comes to the specific case. That's before Ministers at case. That's before Ministers at the application stage. It was a matter for parties. What information was put forward for consideration. And it was a matter for Tower Hamlets. What information was put on the planning register and the inquiry website? We've not misled the House.

All inquiry documents are publicly available on that website. If new, potentially relevant information is drawn to the department's attention, it will be assessed. This includes consideration of its relevance and whether it's necessary to obtain that information or refer back to parties, and that is a routine process. The Secretary of State transparently sought further information on the redacted drawings, via a reference back to parties issued on the 6th of August. I again say, Mr. Speaker, no decision has been made on the case.

I cannot comment on individual aspects of the case. It would be entirely inappropriate for me to comment on any matter of national security, or on behalf of the security services. All inquiry documents, including the redacted drawings put forward by the applicant at application stage, are publicly available on the Tower Hamlets website when the final decision is published. The decision letter will contain a list of post inquiry representations, including those received as part of the reference back exercise. These will be publicly available on request.
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Dan Jarvis Portrait Dan Jarvis MP, Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Barnsley North, Labour)
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thank the hon. Gentleman for his question? And can I express my deepest condolences to the family and the friends of the man who tragically lost his life in Cornwall during Storm Goretti last week, the Met Office issued a red weather warning for wind covering south east England, with wider parts of the UK covered by amber and yellow warnings for wind, snow and rain. As is normal when these alerts are issued, the government took action to ensure the necessary preparations for the arrival of the storm were in place.

In view of the potential threat to life to Cornwall and to St Ives. Specifically, the Cabinet Office issued two emergency alerts to approximately 500,000 people on the Isles of Scilly and in Cornwall, both of whom were under a red weather warning, urging them to stay indoors during the severe winds. Storm Goretti caused disruption across the UK. However, some of its most significant impacts were felt in the southwest. The storm saw a peak gust of 99mph on the Isles of Scilly, and was the worst windstorm in parts of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly for 30 years.

The storm damaged infrastructure, resulting in impacts on transport, power and telecoms sectors, particularly impacting rural communities in the southwest, over 250,000 customers lost power during the storm this morning. 193 customers remained without power in the South-West as a result of Storm Goretti, with 82 identified as vulnerable customers who continue to be offered support by local authorities. Industry expects all remaining customers will have their power restored by later this afternoon, while Reconnections are continuing at pace.

I am aware that a small number of customers have been off supply for an extended period. These are my right hon. Friend the Energy Secretary remains in close contact with National Grid electricity distribution on the progress of restoration and to ensure remaining supplies are reconnected as soon as possible. Support is being provided to vulnerable customers by local authorities whilst power supply is restored. And yesterday the National Grid Electricity Distribution deployed 900 engineers and field staff across the southwest to further support restoration efforts and reconnect those without power as soon as possible.

Overall, the response to the storm has been managed effectively and the local response mechanisms have worked well. This is a testament to the work of the Local Resilience Forum, which include emergency responders and utility workers, as well as the local communities who have pulled together to work so hard in difficult conditions in order to keep people safe. Madam Deputy Speaker, during these periods of disruption and damage, for so many, it is ordinary people looking out for their neighbours and those those most vulnerable who help us recover and repair and begin to get back to normal life.

I am sure that the whole house will join me in paying tribute to those communities, and commit to doing all we can to support them now. And when severe weather hits again.
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Andrew George Portrait Andrew George MP (St Ives, Liberal Democrat)
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Andrew George to the Minister for his reply, and he's described for his reply, and he's described the impact that it's had on on our communities. As you rightly says, the West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly took the brunt of the storm, but it nevertheless had a devastating effect throughout Cornwall and indeed in southwest England and, and and beyond. I mean, nursing home patients were evacuated at haste, homes were without power for for many days, and thousands of vulnerable people were isolated and still are.

I have to say, many residents in my constituency observe that if this same level of destruction, service, outrage, loss of life had happened in London and the and the Home counties, they believed that the national media would have given it a high headline billing for days, and the government would have declared a national emergency, of course. Frontline workers have been have been amazing and indeed communities have come together incredibly well. However, in spite of the minister's optimism, I discovered that utility companies reports of figures home reconnected to be unreliable.

And indeed, I also discovered that we have now a society which is now more reliant on these utilities and services and now less resilient, because many places affected by these outrages have been have not been able to communicate because all power, broadband, mobile signal had been cut. And of course, higher authorities have decided to turn off the analogue signal some time ago has actually meant that people in vulnerable positions have not been able to communicate their vulnerability. And that, I think, is a very serious matter, particularly people who are traumatised and isolated.

Service providers have told people to phone or follow advice on their website or just click the app. How can they do that if they're completely cut off? So therefore, I must ask the Minister why has the government not considered or viewed this a national emergency? And what additional support will the government provide beyond the compensation? Utility providers are obliged to provide? Will the government review the Bellwin funding formula, which seems designed not to help very small authorities like the Isles of Scilly, nor very large ones like Cornwall? And finally, will the government agree to review the resilience of systems which provide a means of communicating in circumstances like this.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.
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Dan Jarvis Portrait Dan Jarvis MP, Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Barnsley North, Labour)
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Thank you. Madam Deputy Speaker, can I say to the hon. Member that I very much appreciate the the reasonable and diligent way in which he's made his points? He's absolutely right to come here to represent his constituents, and he's done that very effectively. Whilst he will understand, it isn't for me to take a view about the way in which these matters are portrayed by the national media, I can give him an absolute categoric assurance that the government cares just as deeply about his constituents in Cornwall as we do about residents right around the country, and I personally know Cornwall incredibly well.

I think it is an extremely important part of the United Kingdom, and I represent the constituency that also feels it's a long way away from the centre, and often feels that it's neglected, and often feels that other parts of the country will get preferential treatment. So I can say to him and other hon. Members from the county of Cornwall that we take the points that they are raising today very seriously, and I give him an assurance that government departments, agencies and local partners have and will continue to work very closely together to ensure that Cornwall has the same emergency support, recovery funding and resilience measures that would be available to other parts of the country, including those parts of the country that he mentioned.

Now, let me give you a bit more detail about that, because this includes support for affected households and for businesses, and the very important issue of the co-ordinating activity that takes place with local authorities, as well as important engagement with utility providers and the emergency services, to ensure that collectively, we are working together to get services restored as quickly as possible. Now, we do fully recognise the particular vulnerabilities of coastal and rural communities, like the one that the hon.

Gentleman represents, and that the disruption and that severe weather will inevitably cause a significant amount of disruption to infrastructure and to livelihoods in areas such as Cornwall under the conditions that we've seen over the past few days. But the government remains absolutely committed to standing alongside Cornwall as the recovery effort continues, and to ensuring that no community in Cornwall or anywhere else in the United Kingdom, for that matter, feels overlooked or treated differently because of where it is located now. I do recognise the impacts of severe weather like Storm Goretti, that they're hugely disruptive and distressing for those who've been affected, and of course, this can feel even more acute for vulnerable individuals and those in more remote communities who can feel isolated from support.

The government took the decision to deploy an emergency alert following the Met Office red weather warning. I was there in the Situation Room when we took that decision and we issued that alert, and we did that to ensure that all communities across Cornwall and in St Ives, the hon. Gentleman's constituency, were aware of the incoming storm and could take the necessary precautions to stay safe. Now, I'm pleased to see that communities have been coming together to respond to the impacts of the storm, and I do want to take the opportunity, and I know that the hon.

Member will join with me in doing that. In commending the tireless work of network operators to reconnect the remaining properties with power for the final 193 customers. Power restoration is challenging as repairs may be required at individual properties in remote locations, and access to these properties may be blocked still by fallen trees or by debris. Now, the Department for Energy Security and zero. I'm very pleased to see that Minister of State is here for this response, are continuing to work closely with the National Grid to deploy generators to individual properties while repairs take place.

This is in addition to the point that I mentioned earlier, to the further 900 engineers and field staff that were deployed yesterday. Vulnerable people are being supported and have been offered alternative accommodation, transportation support and hot food. I can give the hon. Member and the House an assurance that the Cabinet Office continues to work closely with DESNZ, MHCLG and with Defra to ensure that the recovery efforts are progressing.
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Jayne Kirkham Portrait Jayne Kirkham MP (Truro and Falmouth, Labour )
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Order. I very much appreciate, as I'm sure Cornish members do, the Minister's comprehensive response to that urgent question. It was twice the length of his initial

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response and perhaps answers could be slightly shorter. Jayne Kirkham thank. You madam. Firstly, I'd like. To take this.

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To take this. Opportunity to thank members of the emergency services and the utilities and the volunteers and everyone across Cornwall who's everyone across Cornwall who's looked after their neighbours and responded so brilliantly to what was a storm that tested the was a storm that tested the resilience of rural and coastal Britain to the hilt and exposed vulnerabilities in our infrastructure and our emergency planning that could affect any part of the country. Now, the hon. Member has mentioned communications technology that proved unreliable after the shift from digital to analogue that failed without power, leaving people completely cut off.

I would ask that this could be taken into account for future back up with communications, maybe satellite using satellite and moving more quickly to that. The priority response services for vulnerable people also rely on sign up and rely on being able to contact those people. So again, could the Minister please agree to look at this when it comes to future incidents? Because the climate is changing. This storm was incredibly ferocious and terrifying, but there are likely to be more like it.
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Mike Wood Portrait Mike Wood MP (Kingswinford and South Staffordshire, Conservative)
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Shadow Minister Mike Wood. >> Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I join the Minister in thanking the emergency services, the local authorities and Emergency authorities and Emergency Environment Agency staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly to recover from the storm and to keep the public safe and in sending our condolences to those families who are grieving and whose lives have been upended by the storm. Given the severity of this and previous extreme weather events, can the Minister outline what further preparations the government will make for future storms and for adverse weather? Does the government plan to carry out a further storm preparedness exercises, and to implement lessons learned from the previous test of the Emergency Alert System? In response to these extreme weather events? Can the Minister confirm what further discussions the government has had internally and with local authorities, utility providers and emergency services to coordinate the continued response to this storm? And does the Minister agree that the latest mass power outages in the South West show why the government should reconsider its drive for more electricity pylons, and instead back faster undergrounding of cables, and particularly in high wind zones? As the hon.

Lady said, many people reported that when the power failed, mobile Signal followed shortly after. So what is the government doing to ensure the telecommunications masts have sufficient battery or generator backup to remain operative during 48 or 72 hour storm cycles? And what assessment has the Minister made of the implementation and the operation of the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol to support the most vulnerable, and particularly those sleeping rough, in rural areas like Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly? Storm Goretti has led to significant rainfall across many parts of the country.

So can the Minister confirm what assessment the government has made of localised flooding, and whether support will be made available for those affected by Storm Goretti through the flood recovery network? And finally, Madam Deputy Speaker, I understand the Flood Resilience Task Force met on the 8th of September. I would be grateful if the Minister could outline what actions were taken following that meeting on the 8th of September to prepare for eventualities such as this stuff.
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