Live Debate: Commons Chamber

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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that will guide this government. He was clear that 40 years of overly centralised decision making and centralised decision making and over privatisation has stripped power and resources away from communities in every nation and region of this country. That public control over the things that matter control over the things that matter so much to people's lives have been systematically eroded and become a systematically eroded and become a barrier to businesses to start and grow. That a broken economic and political model has cost good jobs and opportunities in many parts of the country, while delivering sky high prices in exchange for poorer customer services.

The Prime Minister was clear that this government will be the circuit breaker that our country needs, the government that will take power from Westminster and Whitehall and put it in the hands of the communities who are best placed to use it. That will rewire Britain so that our politics and our economy work for every person and every place. Built on a bedrock of fiscal discipline. We will build a pro-business, culture and innovation led economy that delivers good growth in every postcode.

Mr. speaker, we have wasted no time in delivering on that commitment. In the newly formed office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, we are rewiring the machinery of government so that the Prime Minister has the resources and levers he needs to deliver on his priorities. By stripping out many of the bureaucratic functions of the office, we have created a stronger, more focussed department that is capable of driving forward the Prime Minister's agenda, because this government recognises that for far too long there has been a disconnect between the Cabinet Office and number ten, and it is that lack of joined up thinking that has hampered the ability of successive prime Ministers to drive forward their own agendas across government.

We have had a dichotomy at the heart of government, the most centralised state in the G20, with one of the most underpowered centres. So in the newly established Opmc, we are ensuring that the Prime Minister has the support and resources he needs to deliver the change. The public are impatient to see, and from this office we will drive forward work across government to put the essentials like water, transport, energy and housing under greater public control to regenerate our communities, breathe new life into our high streets and to give people more room to breathe through action on the cost of living.

And that work of change has begun. Mr. speaker, working closely with the Prime Minister and Cabinet

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Secretary, we have begun the work of shifting power and resources away From Whitehall through our devolution blueprint and the devolution blueprint and the establishment of number ten North, we have created a new engine of regional economic growth that will regional economic growth that will empower places that have been overlooked by Westminster for too long. We are granting new powers to long. We are granting new powers to strategic authorities to take more control over the future of their. A control over the future of their.

A greater share of locally generated revenues, beginning with business rates, more control over housing, public transport and infrastructure. For the first time, local leaders will have the power and resources they need to invest in the things that matter most to their communities, and this government is filling in the map to bring an end to the system of two tier devolution, so that we are able to extend the same offer to all parts of England by the end of 2028 that the rest has enjoyed for many years.

This is how we can empower communities, drive local economic growth, create new jobs and deliver maximum benefit to the people who live there. This is devolution by design and devolution by default and working across government, we will build a new economic model that begins to put life's essentials back under stronger public control and make them affordable for people again. Working with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for housing, Communities and Local Governments and the hon. Member for Doncaster Central.

Building on the strong foundations laid down by my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bristol North West, who I give my thanks to for his work today. We are delivering a once in a generation rebalancing of power in this country. This is what a Rewired State looks like, Mr. Speaker, one that is relentlessly focussed on delivering for the people of this country, empowered communities, good growth in every postcode. These are the tests against which our decisions will be measured, and the metrics by which our actions will be judged.

Last month, the Chancellor and I announced reforms to public procurement that will cut red tape and unleash a new wave of British job creation. Too often, small and medium sized businesses have struggled to navigate complicated procurement processes that seem to prioritise everything. And when we prioritise everything, we prioritise nothing. So we are making the process simpler and doing things differently from next year. Businesses seeking to win a share of £90 billion in central government contracts will be left in no doubt about what we want from them.

Creating good jobs and giving young people the skills they need for the future. These new rules will ensure the £90 billion that is spent each year through government contracts supports British jobs, skills and people in every postcode and we are going further in our reforms to public procurement to ensure taxpayers money is delivering more for our communities. For the first time since 2020, we are removing the defence exemption from social value. That means billions of pounds of defence

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contracts will soon give waiting to jobs and skills for young people across Britain. Yeah.

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Yeah. This is how we back businesses in every part of the country. And in my ministerial colleagues, the in my ministerial colleagues, the hon. Member for Gateshead Central and Whickham and the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet, businesses for Chipping Barnet, businesses that are looking to build and grow here in Britain, creating those good jobs and driving that good good jobs and driving that good growth will have strong advocates in this government. Mr. speaker, the work of my Department in strengthening our national resilience and coordinating the government's response to emergencies remains central.

Over the summer, we saw communities across the country impacted by unprecedented wildfires, precipitated by one of the hottest and driest summers on record, a reminder of the very real and present threats to the UK posed by climate change. During the third week of August, four major incidents were declared across South Wales, Hampshire, Cambridgeshire and the West Midlands. By the 13th of August, fire and rescue services were tackling 47 wildfire incidents, 79 separate requests for additional equipment and resources were made by fire and rescue services.

In South Wales alone, more than 200 military personnel were deployed to tackle 14 separate incidents. Such was the extent of support being provided across the country. Almost every fire service was impacted or involved in the response, and some of the most stretched services face the prospect of having to deprioritize certain callouts due to the pressures on the system. The day before the national alert was issued, close to 12,999 calls were recorded in a single day, six times the average call volume.

Many services were stretched to breaking point but continued to work around the clock to protect lives, communities and properties. I am sure everyone in the House will join me in thanking our emergency services and military personnel who put themselves in harm's way to keep us safe. On the 14th of August, when the government received direct requests from fire and rescue services for urgent government intervention, we took decisive action. A national emergency alert was issued to provide the public with clear guidance on the steps they should take to avoid inadvertently contributing to an already dangerous situation.

And, Mr. Speaker, it should come as no surprise that the British public did their bit. Within 48 hours, there was a 42% decrease in the number of 999 calls, falling from 12,000 to 5200. And by Monday morning, the number of live wildfire incidents had fallen from 47 to 27. This gave our fire and rescue services the breathing space they needed to tackle existing fires and keep us all safe. Over the coming weeks, I will continue to work closely with Cabinet colleagues to ensure the government's response meets the scale of the challenges we face.

I'll be working closely with my ministerial colleague, the Security Minister, in ensuring this government takes a long term and strategic approach to the country's preparedness, and the government will continue to work closely with our frontline services and local resilience forums to mitigate against the risks posed by extreme weather and drought, including £100 million increase in funding for the fire services and a £65 million boost in support of our farmers. Mr. speaker, in the interest of brevity, I will touch briefly on the work that is happening elsewhere in my department.

I have been delighted to welcome the right hon. Member for the Vale of Glamorgan, not only to his role as the Minister for AI, but also in joining us around the Cabinet table. The Prime Minister has been clear that he sees harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence as a central part of our country's future, and the elevation of this role reflects the ambition this government has to make Britain a world leader in these advanced technologies. I am also pleased to welcome the Minister for Intergovernmental and European Relations to his role.

The right hon. Member for Lincoln has wasted no time in the vital work of building stronger ties with our closest neighbours and allies, and I was very grateful for him interrupting his honeymoon to come home and be appointed to the post. My department is also bringing forward a programme to modernise the operation of the state. We are taking public control of the way government works, cutting out the unnecessary processes and needless reviews that slow decision making and stifle innovation. At the heart of this agenda will be the restoration of Ministers responsibility and agency to deliver the change they promised.

With increased accountability to Parliament and the public for the direction they set and the decisions they take. We will bring forward new methods of public deliberation into policy developments and do away with box ticking consultation with the usual suspects. Fewer decisions will be delegated to unelected bodies, and the way decisions are made will be scrutinised in Parliament and not in the courts. Ending the warm Bath of constructive ambiguity which politics has been too happy to soak in for far too long? Mr.

speaker, I am aware and deeply honoured to be the first woman to hold the role of First Secretary of State since the late, great Barbara Castle. If I can channel even a fraction of the energy and determination that she brought to this role, then I'm confident that collectively we can change our country for the better. For too long, too many places have been written out of our national story, with their contribution ignored and their potential overlooked. People feel that the system just doesn't work for them.

That is why in 2024, they voted for change. Mr. speaker, this government is on a mission to ensure we can deliver on the Prime Minister and the public's priorities. It is a collective endeavour, and we will deliver the lasting change that people deserve together. I commend this statement to the House.

12:57

Alex Burghart MP (Brentwood and Ongar, Conservative)

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Shadow Secretary of State, Alex Burghart. and I'd like to thank the Deputy Prime Minister for advance sight of her statement and congratulate her on her appointment. It's a major on her appointment. It's a major achievement and I look forward to working with her. I'd also like to congratulate her on the wording of her statement. Rewiring the state was a phrase first coined by the Leader of the Opposition in her leadership contest in the summer of 2024, for a very good reason. You know, the state does need rewiring.

We agree on that. It's in urgent need of rewiring, needs rewiring so that politicians can make decisions. It needs rewiring so that elected governments can fulfil their mandates speedily, and it needs rewiring so the state does not continue to grow ad infinitum, ad infinitum. Now, I know that the new administration delights in nothing more than criticising the Blair government. There were many reasons to criticise the Blair government, but I just wish to talk about three. The first is quangos.

The second is the nature of the Treasury, and the third is the issue of legal constraint. Some of the worst of these problems entrenched institutional inertia on quangos. We've seen over time that they have led to Ministers having less agency over important decisions that affect our constituents lives. So it is unfortunate that the Deputy Prime Ministers today announced the creation of a massive new quango in one govt delivery agency. This is going to be in charge of government recruitment, civil service, pensions, shared services, security vetting and so on.

It will oversee considerable public money. It is a step in the wrong direction because Ministers will retain responsibility for those services, but they will lose power over them. One of the reasons why we've seen a proliferation of albs is because they have become a way of dodging the excessive bureaucracy put on by the centre and by the centre. In this instance, I really mean the Treasury. The Treasury, which was the behemoth created in its modern form by Gordon Brown, designed to control Whitehall, designed to reduce departmental authority over their spend and over their decisions.

So I was genuinely interested to hear the right hon. Lady say over the summer that the Treasury was an Imperial Finance Department, you know, and and I rather hope that she was going to lead the charge to, you know, smash, smash over the barricades and destroy this terrible imperial power. But instead, Mr. Speaker, it appears that the Empire has struck back because, you know, the briefing that we were given initially was that number ten North was going to take control of growth.

That seems to have been watered down. It's now rumoured that the Chancellor is going to give the speech on growth next week, and that the real power remains within number 11 South, you know, so will she tell the House what powers, levers and Budget will she, as head of number ten North, have to increase growth across the UK? Legal constraint is obviously a massive problem. Over the Blair years, we saw legislation like the Human Rights Act, create an environmental legislation, create endless sources of endless sources of judicial review, and it made it increasingly difficult for government to do things, to build infrastructure and so on.

It is a colossal drag on the capabilities of the state, and if the hon. Lady wishes to work on that, we would be very happy to work with her on it. What we did here today was a further exposition on devolution and on the merits of number ten North. Now, for this to be credible, the government needs to be able to give three basic guarantees. The first is that it's going to lead to an overall reduction in the size of the civil service, despite promises made after the election.

The opposite has happened under Labour since the general election. The headcount of the civil service is written by over 11,000. Is that going to be reduced by when? The second is on the nature of devolution. Whether it's driven by the interests of local people or just by those of one party. Over the summer, Labour councillors were allowed to redraw the boundaries of the very authorities that they hope to represent, and to do so before any independent review by the Local Government Boundary Commission.

Labour set about the biggest reorganisation of local government in 50 years, with no mandate to do so, and announced it on the day before recess with no scrutiny. One wonders, Mr. Speaker, how it can be localism if it is imposed and imposed with constraints. Again, over the summer, after the Prime Minister had made his interesting announcement about a signed income tax from retained business rates. Tees Valley Mayor Lord Houchen said that he would create a new rebate scheme to put money back into people's pockets and let families keep more of the money they earn.

It's an excellent idea, Mr. Speaker. It's an excellent conservative idea, was so excellent that it was immediately shot down by the Deputy Prime Minister. Will the Deputy Prime Minister tell us whether combined authority mayors will be able to cut taxes or give rebates, so that working people can keep more of their money? Or is this just going to lead to higher taxes? Because otherwise, Mr. Speaker, it appears that local mayors will not have the freedom to cut taxes. They will only have the freedom to increase them.

They will only have the freedom to increase the size of the state, not to reduce it. It appears that this government is rewiring the state, but just to grow it. And so the last point, Mr. Speaker, is simply about cost. How much is this reorganisation costing? How much is it being spent on number ten North? How much will need to be spent in order to power the localisation agenda that this administration has put forward? How much and where is that money coming from? Is it coming from other departments? In which case, from where or is it coming from tax? If so, which tax is and if it is coming from borrowing? Well, I think the bond markets will have something to say about that, because until the government can show that it is able to cut taxes and cut spending so that we can get real growth across the country, I'm afraid all of this will just be another northern pipe dream.

13:03

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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Yeah. >> Louise Haigh.

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Louise Haigh. Premiership. Let me thank the Shadow Secretary of State for his Shadow Secretary of State for his for his kind words. My, my title is the first Secretary of State. He may wish to be the shadow Deputy Prime Minister, but that's that's not in shadowing. Shadowing me. But I'm very glad we can find such common ground, and I'm very grateful for his kind words. Let me start by the cost of number ten North, which I imagine he knows already by the number and the sheer quantity of PQs and Foyle that have come in over the summer that has been fully funded within existing Cabinet Office budgets, with no additional spending pressure there.

We're very grateful to colleagues in Manchester, in Heron House for hosting us so graciously, and it's working exceptionally well. Look, can I say that I absolutely agree, and I hope that we can work together on looking at where we can streamline the state, on how we can ensure that elected governments of any stripe can make the decisions that they have been elected to do. I think there is an awful lot of common ground and frustration that people would share across this House, around unelected regulators, unelected quangos, standing in the way of democratically elected politicians.

And there is a serious commitment from this government to tear away that red tape and make sure that we can deliver on the change that we were elected to deliver. Can I just gently point out, then, the irony that he's just asked me to ensure that the quango, the Boundary Commission, takes those decisions on local government reorganisation rather than the democratically elected communities Secretary. Can I also say that we've already been very clear that the Central Civil Service is expected to shrink, that we do want it to be more streamlined, more efficient, and that there our commitment to devolution and to rewiring the state absolutely means fewer civil servants at the centre and building the capacity and capability of regional and local government with local government, of which has been a huge, huge victim, of course, of the decade of austerity and has held back growth in our local economies.

The moving of policy functions out of the Cabinet Office is in order to streamline the priorities for the Prime Minister and ensure that we can be ruthlessly committed on delivery and on delivering his priorities. I make no apologies for that. And in terms of the new functions of number ten, we have transferred a number of strategic functions into number ten north, including moving local economic growth and devolution strategy from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and local economic growth policy from Treasury.

It's a little bit of a chip on its empire.

13:06

Mr Clive Betts MP (Sheffield South East, Labour)

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Clive Betts thank. >> Clive Betts thank. >> You, Mr. Speaker. First of all, could I offer two congratulations, first of all to my right hon. first of all to my right hon. Friend and constituency neighbour for this well-deserved promotion. I'm sure she'll do an excellent job. I'm sure she'll do an excellent job. And secondly, to her and the Prime Minister for the real commitment to devolution. It's something I've wanted to see for an awful long time, and I hope it goes to local councils as first tier authorities, as well as to strategic authorities.

Could I ask about one area which isn't really covered so far and that's education. She's probably wearing my constituency that in five wards with some high levels of deprivation, there is not a single sixth form. But responsibility for that rests totally with academy trusts, and the local council has no power or influence over it whatsoever. So when she looks again at devolution to er, to bodies who have democratic control. Could she look again at the education system, which is going to be absolutely key in tackling the problem of NEETs.

OK.

13:07

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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Very quickly, to my very good >> Very quickly, to my very good right hon. Friend is absolutely right. And my constituency shares exactly the same problem in the exactly the same problem in the east of the constituency. There are very few options for sixth forms in comparison to the wealthier west of the constituency, and it's a huge issue for educational inequality for our constituents. It's absolutely something I will take away and look at with the Education Secretary. But he'll also note that we have committed to devolution of 16 to 19 as well.

13:07

Lisa Smart MP (Hazel Grove, Liberal Democrat)

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Lisa Smart, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson. >> Mr. Speaker, and I thank the First Secretary of State for advanced sight of her statement and warmly welcome her to her place. The Liberal Democrats agree strongly that the current political system is overly centralised. We believe the best decisions are believe the best decisions are those taking closest to the people they affect. But renewing communities must also mean giving councils the powers and resources they need to revitalise our high streets, support independent businesses and improve local public services.

After years of severe financial pressure, devolution cannot simply mean transferring responsibilities from Whitehall the deliver them, she mentions not say on whether the shelves are stocked and whether a family in Hazel Grove can get through a week or more of serious disruption without losing their livelihood. And the Covid inquiry was blunt. It found that we were ill prepared for emergency, never mind a pandemic, and these failures cost lives and people deserve to know the lessons have been acted on rather than Fylde away.

And there's certainly progress to welcome. We've got the Resilience Action Plan, UK Resilience Academy and Exercise Pegasus being the largest pandemic exercise this country has ever run. And these are steps my party has long called for. But announcements are not preparedness, and I'd welcome hearing from the First Secretary what plans she has to improve public awareness and understanding of what the whole of society needs to do to be ready. We're in an increasingly uncertain world. So will the government think again on digital sovereignty, so that the critical systems our constituents rely on are not dependent on suppliers this country cannot control? And I agree strongly with the First Secretary that the country has a broken political system.

Later this afternoon, we'll be debating the Representation of the People Bill, which is meant to fix it. It takes some steps in the right direction, but it fails to rise to the moment. Does she agree that there is still so much more to be done, starting with halting the scourge of big money that is poisoning our democracy by capping political donations and bringing in a fairer voting system, we need to fix our politics so we can get on with fixing the country.

And I've heard her previously in this House talk about moving fast and fixing things. I urge her to crack on first.

13:10

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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Secretary well, I'm very grateful to the hon. Lady and I can grateful to the hon. Lady and I can confirm my motto is still firmly in place and moving fast and fixing place and moving fast and fixing things. She's absolutely right that in order to deliver devolution effectively and to deliver the growth and improve public services that we need to see, it has to come with resource and revenue as well, which is why we've committed to allowing strategic authorities to take a share of income tax and business rates so that they can be incentivised to grow their economies and and take their fair share to reinvest in their local economies on digital sovereignty.

This is exactly the work that my right hon. Friend the AI Minister is looking at through his task force, and I'm sure he will update the House in due course as one of his important work streams that he is considering with colleagues across government. And as she rightly says this afternoon, we will be debating the elections bill. She and I absolutely share a commitment to stop big money and foreign money in particular, interfering in our politics, and I will be working with colleagues across government through the Defending Democracy Taskforce, which my right hon.

Friend the Security Minister chairs to look at what further steps we can take beyond this bill. Finally, in relation to preparedness, in July, my predecessor announced that we will be delivering a campaign to raise awareness of the simple steps households can take to keep themselves safe during everyday emergencies like extreme weather, and will be announcing more information and beginning the campaign later this year.

13:11

Mr Will Forster MP (Woking, Liberal Democrat)

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Paul Foster thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Lancashire has missed Mr. Speaker. Lancashire has missed out on government investment for decades. My constituents in South Ribble have been treated to nothing Ribble have been treated to nothing other than scraps of investment left in the pot. At the end of the year. We now have an opportunity like no other in generations. Lancashire needs devolution and an elected mayor. Will the First Secretary of State please facilitate an urgent meeting for myself and Lancashire colleagues with number ten North to unlock this desperately needed opportunity for real investment and prosperity in Lancashire.

Thank you.

13:12

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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I'm extremely grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for South Ribble and to hear his enthusiasm for that settlement for Lancashire. He's absolutely right that it is the way absolutely right that it is the way to deliver power and resources for his community and to unlock its potential. I'm sure the speaker agrees. Number ten North are going to be extremely busy with the number of requests that are pouring in, but I will make sure he is top of the queue.

13:12

Rt Hon Sir Oliver Dowden MP (Hertsmere, Conservative)

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So Oliver Dowden. >> So Oliver Dowden. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can I congratulate the First Secretary of State and welcome her to a very important role in government? And I agree with a number of things that she's said, particularly about strengthening the role of number ten. But I do think there's a very large gap in this statement on rewiring the state, and that's to do with civil service reform. Now, I know there are many excellent civil servants, but I'm afraid it remains a classic 80/20 model where 20% of exceptionally good civil servants do about 80% of the work.

And if we are really to rewire the state, we need to look at this and empower those 20%, not just to deliver more, but to find savings from the headcount amongst the 80%. And I would urge the Secretary of State, if she really wants to rewire the state, she should grasp this nettle while she looks at the entire picture.

13:13

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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So I'm grateful to the the right hon. Gentleman. There is a significant programme of civil significant programme of civil service reform that is underway, led by the Cabinet Secretary. The programme has already begun reforming the Civil service recruitment system to make sure it hires and promotes truly brilliant people, reviewing the talent strategy to develop and grow talent right across the civil service and the whole UK launching capability reviews to assess departmental delivery and identifying areas for improvement and building on successful transformation already underway through the places for growth programme.

But I absolutely agree we need to go further.

13:14

Rt Hon Anneliese Dodds MP (Oxford East, Labour )

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Deb Anneliese Dodds. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over recess, a number of disturbing cases became public of AI agents cases became public of AI agents escaping control of their owners and undertaking unauthorised activity that included 1200 agents collaborating on an unsanctioned message board before 700 engaged in an attack on the company. Hugging face. Can she confirm that following the governmental rewiring she described, her department is responsible for dealing with risks from so-called AI misalignment? And will she introduce regulation in this area? Given the lack of frontier model controls and coordinate with international partners on this matter here?

13:15

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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First Secretary? on this very issue, and I know she's extremely expert in this mobilise action across government and industry, asking Cabinet Ministers to work directly with regulators and supply chains, writing to UK businesses with clear steps to strengthen their cyber defences is ongoing. NCS have engaged over 1000 stakeholders in the wake of mythos release to galvanise action and share best practice, and over the summer, she's absolutely right that there was a routine under a. During a routine cyber evaluation, AC identified an incident in which AI agents took sustained unsanctioned action directed at real people and organisations.

It was detected within an hour. We have been completely transparent about the incident and we've immediately learned lessons from it.

13:16

Simon Hoare MP (North Dorset, Conservative)

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Simon Hoare thank you. >> Mr. Speaker. >> Can I also. >> Welcome the. >> First Secretary of State to her place? It's great to see her back place? It's great to see her back on the Treasury bench. I also welcome the creation of the office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. She's absolutely right. In a She's absolutely right. In a centralised system, it was the most underpowered organisation imaginable and it needed some turbocharging. I hope she will agree that rewiring has to be a process, not an event.

We remember my committee will remember the great fanfare that mission led government was mentioned and talked about a couple of years ago, and it died a rather slow, lamentable death. So can she assure us that she does have the personal energy and commitment to see this through to the end, but also the support resources around her in order to achieve it? And can I echo the call from my hon. Friend, the Shadow Minister, about the importance of looking at quangos and arm's length bodies, particularly within the devolution and decision making space.

Too many of them have got out of control and also outsourcing, because outsourcing takes away a lot of agency from local communities and individuals, and that needs to be looked at with some urgency.

13:17

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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Secretary Mr. Speaker, I am >> Secretary Mr. Speaker, I am loving all the common ground that we are finding with the benches opposite today. I completely agree that we need to look at outsourcing across government, and the previous administration already took administration already took significant steps to reduce spend on consultancy, and has begun the work on the largest wave of insourcing in a generation. As promised in our manifesto, I have worked with the right hon. Gentleman in the past.

He has witnessed my energy up close. He can be assured of my continued commitment to this agenda.

13:17

Kirsteen Sullivan MP (Bathgate and Linlithgow, Labour )

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Kirsteen Sullivan thank. >> You. >> Mr. Speaker, and may I begin by welcoming my right hon. Friend to her place and wish her every her place and wish her every success in her new role. Can also thank her for this statement and thank her for this statement and this government's renewed focus on reindustrialisation in the UK, bringing opportunity and economic growth to every corner of the UK. But with everything pushing towards increased manufacturing and construction, PPE is more important than ever as the last line of defence between workers and hazardous materials and incidents, and the state does have a role to play here.

It can lead by example and ensure that every worker gets the protection that they need to do their job and safety. So will she meet with me to discuss public sector procurement, procurement specifications and BS30417 on inclusive PPE.

13:18

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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Well. Friend on her sustained campaign on this area? I know she has done an extraordinary amount of work and continues to raise raise issues around PPE when they have fallen out of the public spotlight post out of the public spotlight post Covid. My. My hon. Friend the Minister for procurement will be delighted to meet with her to discuss this issue.

13:19

Steve Darling MP (Torbay, Liberal Democrat)

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Steve Darling thank you, Mr. >> Ten of the North actually moves it two hours further away from constituents of Torbay and. >> Devon and Cornwall.

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Devon and Cornwall. And whilst we as Liberal Democrats genuinely welcome devolution, that brings power closer to people. I represent a constituency that has high, high levels of deprivation. Can the Secretary of State advise of how their reforms will particularly support areas such as mine?

13:19

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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Yeah, well, he's. reforms that have been proposed through the devolution blueprint and the Cabinet statement are designed to address exactly this issue. For too long, devolution has issue. For too long, devolution has been two tier in this country, allowing certain areas of the country to steam ahead, whilst others have not been given the others have not been given the powers and resources that they deserve. Devon and Cornwall will be incentivised with potential powers and resources, including the overnight visitors levy. And you will have heard the Prime Minister, Mr.

Speaker, mention his trip to Cornwall and engagement with the authorities there, including Devon. It. I appreciate it is a long visit to Manchester. It's quite an irritating visit from Sheffield, to be honest, Mr. Speaker, but I hope he will engage with number ten North on this important issue so we can deliver for his constituents.

13:20

Mr Toby Perkins MP (Chesterfield, Labour)

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Toby Perkins you very. >> Toby Perkins you very. >> Much, Mr. Speaker. Start by congratulating my right hon. Friend congratulating my right hon. Friend on securing this role, and I've no doubt she'll do a wonderful job in doubt she'll do a wonderful job in it. I was particularly interested in her, what she said in the statement about her department strengthening the national resilience and that remaining central. We've just had the hottest summer on record. We are in now a climate.

This country was built for a climate that no longer exists, as we were told at the Environmental Audit Committee, and 2500 people are estimated to have died this summer. As a result, diabetics, asthmatics, the very old and very young, particularly threat. So can my hon. Friend tell us that whether she has any plans to bring forward the new National Adaptation Plan, National Adaptation Plan three under the previous government was widely derided, but there is not currently a plan for a new one until 2028, and it is clear that the pressures we are facing in these summers is worse than ever before.

Can she tell us either whether there'll be a new national adaptation plan, or, if not, what she's going to do to ensure that we're better prepared next summer than we were this.

13:21

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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First? Secretary? >> Well, I'm. >> Very grateful to my hon. Friend for his continued work in this for his continued work in this important area and around the environment. Tackling the threats posed by climate change requires consistent and coordinated action consistent and coordinated action across every department, from £710 million to fund upgrades to our school estates, to the construction of nine new reservoirs across the country, this government is taking the necessary steps to ensure our country is more resilient and our communities are kept safe.

He will have heard the Prime Minister reference an upcoming wildfire summit. I hope he will participate fully in that, and I will return to him on our commitment on the National Adaptation Plan.

13:22

Rt Hon Sir Julian Lewis MP (New Forest East, Conservative)

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Julian Lewis. >> Normally. >> When functions and roles are devolved from London to another devolved from London to another area, you see a diminution in the capital and an increase in the area capital and an increase in the area concerned. There is an obvious danger of duplication by having a number ten north and a number ten south. So will the First Secretary, whom I congratulate on her appointment, be transparent about this and agree that the public should be able to see how many people are working permanently in number ten North, how many working permanently in number ten South, and how many are going back and forth between the two?

13:23

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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That is. traditionally the model of moving people or roles out of London has meant duplication in the centre. And that's exactly what we're attempting to fix. We want new senior roles across the country, senior roles across the country, just as and I pay tribute to the former Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Richmond, who who created the Darlington campus, a proper model of delivery and senior policy making and senior civil servants that sits in Darlington based around the Treasury there, that has helped to deliver and change decision making.

And that is exactly what number ten North is attempting to do as well.

13:23

Noah Law MP (St Austell and Newquay, Labour)

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Noah Law thank. >> You. >> Mr. Speaker. I really welcome the steps by the First Secretary to ensure that strategic authorities ensure that strategic authorities like Cornwall have the capacity to deliver on our growth agenda, but I want to ask specifically what steps she has taken to ensure that both local and national government has the financial analytical capability to identify those most promising investment cases and help shepherd them towards success?

13:24

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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It's an. Excellent question, Mr. >> It's an. Excellent question, Mr. Speaker, and something that my hon. Friend, the Minister, who we share with the Treasury has been working with the Treasury has been working on through number ten North. We are planning a brand of civil service reform that will move civil servants from the centre to regional and local government in order to share expertise and provide them with the AI and data expertise that we currently have at the centre. In order to do exactly that better.

13:24

Graham Leadbitter MP (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, Scottish National Party)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can I remind the Minister that during the remind the Minister that during the summer, my own constituency experienced the extensive Cairngorms wildfire, also a major Cairngorms wildfire, also a major incident in difficult terrain that 2 hillside and forestry threatened home. The efforts of over 500 firefighters and volunteers. There are actions required of UK government, devolved governments and numerous public agencies and landowners, and impressing all of them on these issues with a growing risk. My ask is that the first Secretary is that the lack of military aerial firefighting capability within the UK is urgently reviewed, so that aerial assistance can be provided in these extreme and often prolonged incidents.

And what work is being done with our European neighbours in respect of mutual aid in tackling wildfires, we must recognise that exceptional local effort cannot substitute for national and international preparedness.

13:25

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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Secretary. Gentleman for his question and my thoughts and sympathies are with all those affected in his all those affected in his constituency by the wildfire. 100 million has already been invested in fire and rescue services, and we will continue to look at the issues that he raises with equipment in future budgets. We are engaging with our European neighbours on exactly the deal and the issue he raises, and we're well aware of the of the opportunities that arise from it.

13:26

Amanda Martin MP (Portsmouth North, Labour)

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Amanda Martin thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to welcome the first Secretary Secretary to her place and to thank for making her place and to thank for making her first constituency visit to Portsmouth North and the fantastic Griffin Marine. Mr. speaker, as a coastal city, residents in coastal city, residents in Portsmouth are rightly furious that Southern Water continues to pump sewage into our seas. We've had hardly any rain this summer, yet sewage pollution and rising bills continue while private companies make profits.

It's abundantly clear that under the Tories, privatisation has failed again and again the British public. So could the First Secretary of State set out a little more detail of the government's plans to reforming the industry and giving the public greater control over our water companies?

13:26

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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Secretary. >> Well, I'm very grateful to my hon. Friend, and it was indeed a great pleasure to visit her and announce our procurement reforms at announce our procurement reforms at Griffin Marine in her constituency. The Prime Minister has been repeatedly clear that more public repeatedly clear that more public control of our water industry is not just desired. It's absolutely necessary that the current system that that invokes poor infrastructure investment, higher water bills and the kind of sewage and leakage and poor quality that she has described cannot continue any longer.

And we will set out our plans for reform shortly.

13:27

Rt Hon Sir Julian Smith MP (Skipton and Ripon, Conservative)

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So, Julian Smith. >> So, Julian Smith. >> I welcome. >> The right hon. Lady to her post. I'm sure she'll be very effective I'm sure she'll be very effective at this job. On the issue of wildfires, could I urge her to talk wildfires, could I urge her to talk to DEFRA who are putting further constraints on moorland owners? Moorland owners have traditionally undertaken controlled burning, and they're really worried at the moment that this change in DEFRA policy will make more London areas, such as the one I represent, more vulnerable to wildfires in the future.

13:28

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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Well, I'm extremely grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his characteristically constructive and thoughtful contribution. I will, of course, raise that with Defra and

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course, raise that with Defra and look into that specific issue on his behalf. Andrew Pakes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and it's a pleasure to welcome my right hon. Friend to her place. Mr. speaker,

13:28

Andrew Pakes MP (Peterborough, Labour )

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the greatest shift of power in rewiring this country we have seen rewiring this country we have seen started in Rochdale in 1844, when the Rochdale pioneers came together and created an inspired a world and created an inspired a world wide movement. We now have our first ever Labour and co-operative Prime Minister and a historic Prime Minister and a historic commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutual economy, highlighting the vital role of highlighting the vital role of double devolution not just to institutions but powers directly handed to people to form and take part in creating their own solutions and their own power in their communities.

Can I ask my right hon. Friend what assessment she has made of the machinery of government and its ability to deliver on this fantastic ambition?

13:29

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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For. My honourable. >> Friend has put it incredibly poetically, better than better than I ever could. He's absolutely right. The machinery of government and the culture across Whitehall needs to be challenged, and the Prime Minister has been clear that this government will bring about an end to local government and regional government coming to Whitehall with a begging bowl, Whitehall, Whitehall and government as a whole has been told in no uncertain terms. They will now be required to justify why policies are not round.

13:29

Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP (Orkney and Shetland, Liberal Democrat)

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Mr. Carmichael. transition to clean energy could be an opportunity to build a different model that would, to use the First model that would, to use the First Secretary's own words, end the overly centralised decision making and over privatisation. The development thus far has simply concentrated power in the hands of the big corporates and left communities feeling left behind and disempowered. In Shetland, we host one of the largest onshore wind farms in the country, but we have the highest levels of fuel poverty and we.

Last year the developer, SSE, was paid £9 million in constraint payments not to generate electricity. That is regulatory madness. So in this rewired state, will the communities that host renewable energy developments control and get direct financial benefit from.

13:30

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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Them here? >> Them here? >> First Secretary. >> Will the right hon. >> Gentleman raises a number of really important and interesting issues that will absolutely be considered as we look to greater considered as we look to greater public control of our energy system. Local and community control is absolutely central to the Prime Minister's vision for public control. And the madness, as he describes it, is is something that will absolutely drive our energy reforms.

13:30

Joe Powell MP (Kensington and Bayswater, Labour)

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Joe Powell thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Deputy Speaker. Secretary. >> To her place. >> And welcome today's statement. And the one in July, the first English devolution settlement was, of course, London. And despite some of course, London. And despite some incremental improvements since 1999, our capitals mayor, the GLA and the 32 London boroughs are not currently set up to deliver on the full potential of our capital, whether that's on productivity and growth or dealing with our housing crisis and the massive increase in temporary accommodation spending to combat homelessness.

So I wonder if you can outline whether revisiting London's devolution settlement would also be on the agenda for her and her team.

13:31

Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Sheffield Heeley, Labour)

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Secretary. absolutely been involved in continued talks through number ten North on on their devolution North on on their devolution settlement, and we will continue to consider what further powers and resources London deserves.

13:31

Rt Hon David Mundell MP (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, Conservative)

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David Mundell thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I congratulate the First Secretary on her appointment. First Secretary on her appointment. Can she confirm to me and to the House that the intergovernmental relations responsibilities in her Department will be given the the weight that they require? And indeed, that part of that is making the case for the continuance of the United Kingdom. We have three first Ministers across the United Kingdom whose position is to break up the United Kingdom. The Scottish Government have already brought forward a time wasting and unnecessary Bill to hold another divisive independence referendum, and it is vital that this government plays its part in pushing back against independence

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