Christmas Adjournment

Barry Gardiner Excerpts

Thursday 18th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Barry Gardiner (Brent West) (Lab)]

Following the reduction of their grant by 9% in real terms, National Parks and National Landscapes were explicitly encouraged to use biodiversity net gain markets to attract private finance. I was disappointed, therefore, to see that in setting out their consultation on planning reform proposals on Tuesday, the Government announced plans to introduce an area-based exemption for smaller sites under 0.2 hectares. Exempting developers from BNG, and thus reducing the biodiversity net gain market, is a serious blow to our protected landscapes, removing one of the few viable mechanisms available to generate external income. Cutting Government funding to these vital landscapes and telling them to look to private finance makes no sense if that source of private funding is then taken away. I ask the Government to consider reducing the site exemption threshold to 0.1 hectares, which would approximately double the market available for biodiversity units.

Next year will be the 70th anniversary of the Clean Air Act 1956 in this country. When 4,000 people died over five days, the Government acted. Today, 262 people a year die from knife crime, approximately 1,600 people die from road traffic accidents, but 35,000 people die every year from the consequences of air pollution and the health impacts that it brings. Had they died from road traffic accidents, there would be uproar, but because it is an invisible and silent killer, unfortunately there is not the motivation to act that there should be. We need to align what we do with the World Health Organisation’s standards. I urge colleagues to back that next year, so that on the 70th anniversary we can get a new Clean Air Act through this Parliament.

Before the last election, we promised change. In fact, that single word was the title of our manifesto: “Change”. Five million households under leasehold have been demanding that change, but the property magnates and offshore interests think they can continue to exploit leaseholders with impunity. The manifesto committed our Government to ending the feudal leasehold system for good—and we must. We need to remember that the purpose of Government is not to ask what the law tells us about the status quo, but to legislate to change the status quo when it is unjust and makes no economic sense. Even Michael Gove promised to do away with ground rent, so why are this Government—my Government, the party of labour—struggling to take on the parasitical rent seekers who demand a ground rent for no service?

Business of the House

Barry Gardiner Excerpts

Thursday 18th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I thank the right hon. Member for his question. I agree with him about the importance of being able to drive, particularly in areas like his. The DVLA aims to process all applications as quickly as possible, but he will know from the National Audit Office report on driving tests, published this week, that the situation is far from acceptable, and delays can affect the lives of our constituents. I will therefore ensure that a Minister updates him on the steps that the Department for Transport is taking to ensure that the DVLA’s performance improves.

[Barry Gardiner (Brent West) (Lab)]

May the blessings of Christmas be with you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and all who serve in this place. Few of us can imagine the extraordinary difficulty of studying for university exams in a war zone, so I was delighted about, and commend the Government for, setting up the scholarship scheme for students from Gaza who won places at UK universities. These students—some of the brightest of their generation—will rebuild that war-torn place, but the Leader of the House will know that the scholarships scheme is due to end on 31 December, and there are still some students trapped in Gaza who need to be evacuated, with their children. Perhaps he could speak to the Home Secretary and ask her to set out, in good time, what provision she will make to ensure that those students and their children are not left behind, and to ensure that we honour the commitment we made to them by extending the scheme beyond the end of this month.

[Sir Alan Campbell]

Gazan students often face huge challenges in taking up their place, and we are carefully considering solutions for those yet to arrive. We want them to be able to take up their place, and to continue their education in the United Kingdom. It will be good for them, and good for our universities, too. I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets a response from the Home Secretary on this issue as a matter of urgency.

Business of the House

Barry Gardiner Excerpts

Thursday 20th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I thank the shadow Leader of the House for his questions. Can I first, through you, Madam Deputy Speaker, thank Mr Speaker for his timely reminder this week of our responsibilities in this House regarding national security? As the House will know, the Security Service issued an espionage alert to Parliament, highlighting targeted outreach by the Chinese Ministry of State Security to individuals in our community. This is a serious matter that the Government take very seriously, and I know that Mr Speaker does too. I urge all MPs to heed the advice and to report any suspicious activity immediately.

Next week is Parliament Week, when we encourage young people and the public to engage with the UK’s democratic systems and institutions. In that spirit, I was delighted yesterday to meet children from East Hunsbury primary school, after my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton South (Mike Reader) mentioned them during a business questions earlier this year. The school has won the kind school award, and it was a great pleasure to meet the children. They are a credit to their school, to their parents and, most of all, to themselves. They are a reminder to us all of the importance of being kind. You will be pleased to know, Madam Deputy Speaker, that I have been made an honorary kindness ambassador—[Laughter.] I have to say, that is an honour that I never received during my time as Chief Whip.

I was pleased to announce in this week’s business that the Backbench Business Committee has chosen Ukraine as the subject for its debate on 4 December. I thank the shadow Leader of the House, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean), and the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin) for their representation to help secure the debate.

Members will welcome the publication of the men’s health strategy this week. It is an important topic that has been raised frequently during business questions. The strategy will address the stark inequality in men’s health to create a society where men and boys are supported to live healthier and happier lives. I encourage Members to contribute in the debate later, on International Men’s Day.

As the shadow Leader of the House said, it has been a good week for sport. I want to congratulate Scotland on qualifying for the world cup for the first time since 1998, and I remind the House that the only time a home nation has won the world cup was under a Labour Government.

The shadow Leader of the House complains about the amount of time that the Prime Minister has spent abroad. That reflects two things above all. One is the uncertainty of the international situation. The second is the fact that he has spent a great deal of time addressing the issue of trade and bringing investment into this country. On the issue of jobs, he surely must realise that getting good trade deals—which his Government were not prepared or able to do—will not only bring investment to our country but, hopefully, turn into jobs across our nation.

The shadow Leader of the House quite rightly raises the issue of flooding. I will draw to the attention of DEFRA and the Environment Agency the urgency of ensuring that preparations are made as far as possible, but I also gently encourage him to urge some of his colleagues to start recognising the effect of climate change.

As a constituency MP, the shadow Leader of the House has every right to raise the listed places of worship grant scheme. I have to say that his constituency and neighbouring constituencies have some fantastic churches, many of which are in need of repair. I will not comment on matters of VAT or possible tax changes, as we have only a few days before the Budget, but I will draw his concerns to the attention of not only DCMS but the Treasury.

[Barry Gardiner (Brent West) (Lab)]

The speedy passage of environmental legislation through this House is not often a feature, so I thank the Leader of the House for the speedy way in which the biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction treaty was dealt with by the Government. In contrast, I remind him that in 2023 our party said that we would bring forward legislation for a new clean air Act. I have no doubt that the Leader of the House is thinking about what may be going into the King’s Speech next year. Given that it will be the 70th anniversary of the original Clean Air Act 1956, could he put this forward as something to be looked at to ensure that we meet World Health Organisation standards?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments. The biodiversity treaty is an important step forward, and I thank him for all the work he is doing in this regard. The Government are committed to environmental improvement. Although I expect that the second Session will be quite crowded, I will certainly bear in mind his comments.

Business of the House

Barry Gardiner Excerpts

Thursday 16th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I absolutely join my hon. Friend not only in congratulating Teresa on her well-deserved award, but in acknowledging the importance of Carlisle United football club and other football clubs for the work they do across communities. Those qualities of leadership and selflessness are ones that I am sure MPs across the House will recognise in volunteers in their own constituencies. One of the aspects of business questions, I am already aware, is to share our appreciation and admiration every week for volunteers and their dedication to their communities.

[Barry Gardiner (Brent West) (Lab)]

The long-awaited report by the Joint Intelligence Committee on the link between biodiversity, sustainability and national security is still not with us. Lord Dannatt and other senior military figures have increasingly expressed concerns about the threat the collapse of global biodiversity poses to our food security and the security risks arising from climate change. Can my right hon. Friend assure us that, contrary to recent press stories, the JIC report has not been blocked, and can he tell the House when it will be published?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

My hon. Friend raises important matters. I will take that away and find an answer to the questions he poses, because they are such important matters. If something is stuck in the system, we need to get it out so that he can see what the Government intend to do.

Business of the House

Barry Gardiner Excerpts

Thursday 5th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to raise this issue. It is something that we and all our constituents can relate to. Access to NHS dentistry falls far short of what any of us would want it to be. The previous Conservative Government left a huge number of NHS dentistry deserts around the country, and it sounds like her constituent is living in one of them. We are taking this seriously. We are committed to rolling out 700,000 more NHS dental appointments, and I will ensure that the hon. Lady and everybody else is kept updated.

[Barry Gardiner (Brent West) (Lab)]

Paragraph 7.36 of “Erskine May” states the process for setting out the ratification of international treaties. The Government’s treaty tracker says the global oceans treaty that the Leader of the House referred to earlier has not been ratified, and yet the BBNJ treaty—the global oceans treaty—was laid before this House on 16 October 2023. It appears the Government are misleading themselves in believing that they have to introduce legislation implementing the treaty before they can ratify it. Would she meet me to discuss the conundrum that appears to be stopping us going to the UN oceans conference next week and laying the instrument of ratification so that the treaty can come into force?

[Lucy Powell]

We are absolutely committed to ratifying that treaty and agreement. The Environment Secretary is at the summit this weekend to discuss the leading role that this country is taking to protect our oceans for generations to come. We will introduce a Bill to ratify that treaty and will do so in time for when we need to do so next year. I assure my hon. Friend that the House will be updated shortly on the matter.

Business of the House

Barry Gardiner Excerpts

Thursday 8th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

Everybody up and down this country is horrified about the crimes that have been committed over many, many years by despicable grooming gangs. That is why we are, first and foremost, implementing the very many recommendations from the recent inquiries, most of which sat on the shelf until the general election last year. Those recommendations include mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse, which is something I have campaigned on for many years, as have the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary and the Minister for Safeguarding, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips). We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the victims of these terrible atrocities get truth, justice and accountability wherever that is needed.

[Barry Gardiner (Brent West) (Lab)]

Yesterday I spoke with colleagues in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about the progress of the treaty on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction—sometimes known as the global ocean treaty. I was assured that, as far as the Department is concerned, the matter had been dealt with and was all done, and I was assured that was also the case with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, but when I spoke to colleagues from the Cabinet Office, they had not heard of it. The Leader of the House will know that the United Nations ocean conference will take place next month, and it is really important that we get ratification of that treaty for the conference. The world is looking at us, and if we want to take leadership on this issue, we need to act.

[Lucy Powell]

I can assure my hon. Friend that, given my responsibility for the business of this House, I am well aware of the need to ratify the treaty and all that that involves. We are committed to doing so, and I can assure him that we will do so in good time.

Business of the House

Barry Gardiner Excerpts

Thursday 3rd April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that. I am sure he will recognise that this Government have done more to create opportunity, jobs and investment in the energy opportunities of the future than the previous Government did in 14 years. We are committed to ensuring that places such as the Humber, and Humberside more generally, which powered this country in the past, will do so again in the clean energy sprint that we are embarked on. I will ensure that the hon. Gentleman gets an update from the Minister about what is happening with those particular issues.

[Barry Gardiner (Brent West) (Lab)]

Land-based gambling shops represent a silent crisis up and down this country, targeting some of our most disadvantaged and deprived communities. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Muhammed Butt and Mili Patel, leader and deputy leader of Brent council, on their campaign, now supported by leaders of more than 30 other councils, to reform the Gambling Act 2005 to protect our high streets from rapacious gambling and betting shops? May we have a debate in Government time about the need to change the presumption that exists in the 2005 Act and states that councils to “aim to permit” such licences?

[Lucy Powell]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising the work of Brent council and its leadership in addressing some of the issues and challenges presented on our high streets and in our communities by problem gambling. I do not know exactly where we have got to with reforms to the Gambling Act, but I will ensure that he gets a full update.

Business of the House

Barry Gardiner Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

Absolutely. I will ensure that the hon. Lady gets the meeting and responses she requests. This sounds like a very difficult and challenging case, but she is absolutely right that whistleblowers and all those involved should be able to come forward in such inquiries, safe in the knowledge that they will be protected. That is the culture we need in our national health service, so that lessons can always be learned in an open and transparent way, and so that people are not blamed incorrectly.

[Barry Gardiner (Brent West) (Lab)]

I was proud to be in this House when Tony Blair and Gordon Brown established the Department for International Development, and when they established the Drop the Debt campaign. I was proud when the Leader of the House and I stood for election on a manifesto that committed us to restoring the international aid budget to 0.7% of GNI. May we please have a debate in Government time on how it might be possible to find a lost moral compass?

[Lucy Powell]

I think we all share pride in what the previous Labour Government did on debt reduction and aid for some of the poorest countries in the world. We are also proud of our commitment, which remains, to returning our aid budget to 0.7% of GDP. We had a statement to this House by the Prime Minister on the need for us to find extra funding for defence expenditure in this changing, uncertain and insecure world, but we remain absolutely committed to returning the aid budget to the 0.7% level that we set.

Business of the House

Barry Gardiner Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I will ignore the right hon. Gentleman’s invitation to say anything other than I absolutely stand by my comment that the Attorney General is a fantastic asset for this Government, and we are lucky to have him working with us.

The right hon. Gentleman will know that this Government are absolutely committed to working towards spending 2.5% of GDP on defence, but he is right to point out that defence spending has been too low to meet our country’s strategic needs. He will also know that the last time Government spending on defence reached 2.5% of GDP was under the last Labour Government. It never reached that level under his party.

[Barry Gardiner (Brent West) (Lab)]

Could we have a debate on Thames Water, which provides water disservices to 20 million people in this country? We now know that the company received from bill payers money that was supposed to be spent on environmental measures such as stopping illegal discharges, and that that money has been used to pay bonuses and dividends. We need to discuss whether the people running Thames Water are fit and proper persons to run a public company.

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: the way our water industry has been run over recent years is absolutely shocking, with shareholder dividends being paid out over and above infrastructure spending and addressing discharges and other things in our waterways. It is absolutely shocking, which is why this Government have brought in the Water (Special Measures) Bill, which is about to receive Royal Assent and will stop erroneous bonuses. We have established a new Independent Water Commission, and there are further reforms coming, but I will ensure that the House is kept fully up to date.

Business of the House

Barry Gardiner Excerpts

Thursday 30th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

The right hon. Gentleman will know that this Government are committed to free speech and to making sure that everybody has the ability to express themselves freely and without recourse. He might want to join my neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Blackley and Middleton South (Graham Stringer), to apply for a Backbench Business slot. We have had a number of urgent questions and statements to the House on those matters, but I will ensure that we are updated.

On the lower Thames crossing, the right hon. Gentleman will know that the Chancellor gave her commitment to that project in her speech yesterday. There is, as always with such matters, the quasi-judicial process that has to be gone through, which is a matter for the Secretary of State for Transport, but I will ensure that he is kept updated on that.

[Barry Gardiner (Brent West) (Lab)]

Today, Lord Ericht has ruled that the consent for the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields was granted unlawfully by the previous Government because they had failed to properly account for the effect on the climate of burning the fossil fuels that would be extracted. Can we have a debate on the future of the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields and on the UK joining the countries that formed the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance?

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend will know that we have been clear that we will not challenge the judicial reviews in this case. We will consult on new guidance that takes into account the Supreme Court’s ruling on environmental impact assessments to enable the industry to secure jobs and invest in the economy of the future. We aim to conclude that by the spring of this year and I will ensure that the House is updated.