Business of the House

Clive Jones Excerpts

Thursday 19th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I thank my hon. Friend for her campaigning on this issue. When she takes up campaigns, she normally gets results. I am sure that she will get results on this issue, too, because we need to regulate these practices. We need to make sure that people are properly trained and accountable and that people can hold them to account when things go wrong. We are responding shortly to the consultation, and I will ensure the House is updated.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

Elusive Brewing, a fantastic independent brewery in my constituency of Wokingham, brews Oregon Trail, which won best IPA at the Champion Beer of Britain awards. Can we have a debate in Government time on the steps that Ministers are taking to support the people of Wokingham in enjoying great local products, such as those from Elusive Brewing and Siren Craft Brew, in their local pubs? Perhaps the Leader of the House, and you, Mr Speaker, would like to join me for a pint from one of those excellent breweries.

[Lucy Powell]

I am always open to an invitation to have a pint, although I am perhaps less open to invitations to do a run. British beer, and our brewing industry, is one of the great prides of this country, and the Government have been taking steps to support our great brewing industry and cask ales and the like. I look forward to perhaps sampling the beer from the hon. Member’s constituency soon. I do not know whether he has already done so, but the bar here in Parliament offers the opportunity for local brewers like his to share their wares with Members.

Business of the House

Clive Jones Excerpts

Thursday 12th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend is certainly a great cheerleader for his constituency and for this sport, which has been raised with me before. It provides great opportunities for people to engage with sport and showcases what can be done.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

I declare my interest as a governor of the Royal Berkshire hospital. There is a chronic shortfall of staff in radiology and oncology. Those shortages mean that people find out they have cancer later and treatments are delayed, worsening survival rates. Is the Leader of the House aware that 2,910 more clinical radiologists could be recruited if money spent outsourcing demand was spent within the NHS? Can we have a debate in Government time to scrutinise those shortfalls?

[Lucy Powell]

We have inherited a very difficult situation when it comes to cancer diagnosis and many other diagnoses across our health service. That is why we are boosting healthcare spending in the coming years, as we did yesterday in the spending review. We will publish a dedicated national cancer plan shortly, and that will include how we can identify and diagnose cancer earlier.

Business of the House

Clive Jones Excerpts

Thursday 1st May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

Absolutely, and I pay tribute to Damien for all his fundraising efforts, and for establishing Malcolm’s Retreat in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency. It sounds like a fantastic facility, which I am sure that those who have cancer or those conditions, and their families, welcome. The Dorset walk in July, which is raising money for that important charity, sounds glorious. I would love nothing more than a walk along the Dorset coast, so if I have time I will join him. If not, I look forward to hearing about it, perhaps in future business questions.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

Last week I hosted a haematology workforce roundtable to understand the significant issues in that vital part of the NHS. It is understaffed, overworked, hampered by inefficiencies, and 55% of haematology consultants will reach retirement age by the end of this decade. Will the Leader of the House seek assurances from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care that haematology will be included in the national cancer plan, and will she grant Government time for a debate to address that impending NHS crisis?

[Lucy Powell]

Absolutely, and I assure the hon. Member that the Government’s national cancer plan will consider workforce issues, particularly in relation those who are specialists in haematology and other areas of cancer treatment. I will ensure that health Ministers and the Secretary of State are forthcoming to the House in developing that plan and the workforce plan that sits alongside it.

Business of the House

Clive Jones Excerpts

Thursday 24th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I join my hon. Friend in thanking Lyndsey Allen for supporting these issues. He is absolutely right that we have to put neighbourhood policing back in our communities. We are committed to get 13,000 more officers into neighbourhood policing over this Parliament, and that is what we will do. The Crime and Policing Bill is passing through Parliament, and it will give the police the powers they need to tackle antisocial behaviour.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

Just before the recess, I was unexpectedly a guest of the NHS at the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Gateshead. It was a result of my delayed cancer diagnosis 17 years ago. I sometimes get cellulitis, and it needs very urgent intravenous antibiotics. I went in on Thursday night, and my records did not catch up with me from my local hospital until Monday. Can we have a debate in Government time, so that the Secretary of State understands the urgent need to have digital records, so that our local hospitals can pass on our details to hospitals in other parts of the country in a timely fashion, allowing treatment to be undertaken quickly?

[Lucy Powell]

I was sorry to hear of the hon. Member’s admission to hospital, and it is good to see him here in his place today as fit and well as ever. He is absolutely right, and people might not understand that hospitals hold individual records, and there is not a national database for data sharing across hospitals. Many people imagine it just happens, and it does not. I can assure him that the Health Secretary is committed to breaking down these barriers and making sure we have got the data sharing we need and the digital records that he describes so that people can get the appropriate treatment when they need it.

Business of the House

Clive Jones Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

Regular attenders of these sessions will know that I am very keen on invitations to taste the culinary outputs of constituencies, particularly those that come in the form of pies, although I had not heard of a kebab-filled pie. Some might call it pie-oneering. [Laughter.] Come on, give me some credit! I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the Boyle family and all at Boghall Butchers.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

Last night, President Donald Trump announced a new 25% tariff on all imported cars going into the United States, and today the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has revealed that vehicle production declined by 11.6% in February, falling for the 12th month in a row, while Stellantis is closing its Luton plant and BMW is scaling back its investments in Oxford. The automotive industry needs greater confidence from this Government. Will the Leader of the House ensure that there is a ministerial statement to update us on the Government’s efforts to protect this vital sector?

Business of the House

Clive Jones Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

Absolutely. I was sorry I could not join my hon. Friend and other Greater Manchester colleagues at the event with the Greater Manchester hospices provider collaborative earlier this week—I saw the photos—and I fully support his work on this. I will take this opportunity to thank Springhill hospice in Rochdale. I am really pleased it has had £111,000 of extra investment thanks to this Government, and I hope it will continue to flourish.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

May I also express my sympathy to the shadow Leader of the House? I knew Torquil, his father, very well for many years. I worked in the toy industry in competition with him and worked with him on many charities. He created some fantastic toys, not just Polly Pocket, but the big yellow teapot, the a la carte kitchen and the big red fun bus.

[Jesse Norman]

Hear, hear!

[Clive Jones]

Torquil Norman created all of those when he started the very successful public company, Bluebird Toys. He brought fun to millions of children across the world and, in doing so, he had the most wonderful life. The right hon. Member and his family will have much to celebrate in the coming weeks and months remembering him. All those associated with the toy industry will have been very sad to hear this news today.

For months, one of my constituents in Wokingham has been trying every morning at 6 am to book a driving test, but is left waiting in an online queue for half an hour with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency system, which suspects that he is a bot. Actual bots somehow get through, buying up test slots and selling them off at a premium. My constituent does everything right, but the system does not work for them. Can we have a debate in Government time on how to address the frustrating shortages of driving tests?

[Lucy Powell]

First, let me thank the hon. Member for his tribute to Torquil Norman. I am sure that if the shadow Leader of the House were able to respond to his question, he would want to do so by thanking him dearly for painting another lovely picture of his father.

Business of the House

Clive Jones Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend is right that coalfield communities make a huge contribution to this country. This Government have supported them very quickly in a number of ways just in our first few months in office. I understand that his debate was oversubscribed, and I am sure that there would be a great appetite for a further debate, so I will consider carefully his question.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

ADHD assessment waiting times are too long, leaving patients and families in limbo as they are left without crucial treatments. Alongside existing medication shortages, that undermines the right to choose. Not requiring improvements in local NHS provision of ADHD assessments would be incredibly shortsighted. Will the Leader of the House hold a debate in Government time on the crisis in ADHD services, and will she ask her colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care to write to me to confirm that there will be no deterioration in waiting times in Wokingham and across England?

[Lucy Powell]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this matter, which is raised with me regularly. I am sure that he will appreciate that we inherited a broken system for ADHD assessments. There are currently unacceptable delays, as he outlined. I understand that NHS England has established a cross-sector taskforce to look at the ADHD service provision. As soon as that is ready to report with recommendations, I will ensure that it comes to this House for proper scrutiny.

Business of the House

Clive Jones Excerpts

Thursday 30th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I take this opportunity to once again congratulate my hon. Friend on all his campaigning and all the times he has raised with me and other Ministers the lower Thames crossing—I am sure he is pleased with this week’s announcement.

I join my hon. Friend in welcoming some of the measures outlined in our devolution White Paper around community ownership and the right to buy, so that communities like his can take on and restore, or bring back to life, vital community assets like the one he describes. I am sorry to hear that the owner of the pub in his constituency is not engaging in the way they should.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

The Secretary of State for Health made a promise to the House that the Government will recruit an extra 1,000 GPs. In a recent statement, he said they have already recruited hundreds of GPs. We have asked for evidence of that claim, but the Minister of State for Care has not been able to provide us with a specific figure. Will the Leader of the House inquire with her colleagues as to whether hundreds of new GPs have been hired, so that we can see what progress the Government are making?

[Lucy Powell]

The hon. Member is absolutely right that it is vital that we recruit more GPs. We have been left a terrible situation with the NHS workforce. That is why workforce planning was at the heart of our recent 10-year plan for the national health service. I will absolutely ensure that Health Ministers and the Secretary of State for Health regularly come to this House to update us on progress, and I will get him a correct figure, if I can, as soon as possible from the Department of Health and Social Care.

Business of the House

Clive Jones Excerpts

Thursday 23rd January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I thank my hon. Friend greatly for raising the issue of those who have been exposed to asbestos and those suffering from mesothelioma, which is now coming through strongly. In previous Parliaments we had a number of hon. Members who strongly led on those issues. They are no longer in the House, so I encourage my hon. Friend to become a parliamentarian leader in order to get the debates and continue to raise those issues, as I will now do on his behalf with Ministers, to ensure that we get further action.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

I declare my interests as a governor of the Royal Berkshire hospital and as having a family member with shares in a medical company.

My constituents are heartbroken by the Government’s decision to push the start date of the Royal Berks’s reconstruction to 2037. That decision will disappoint many patients and staff. There is a £400 million total of maintenance backlogs, statutory improvements and other capital expenditure that the Royal Berkshire hospital requires over the next 10 years. Will the Leader of the House ensure that there are future opportunities, in Government time, to debate the progress of the campaign so that maintenance issues caused by the delay to the rebuild can be raised?

[Lucy Powell]

I recognise that the hon. Gentleman and his constituents will be disappointed with what is happening to his local hospital. However, I am sure that he will recognise that the previous Government’s commitment to 40 new hospitals was not funded, there were no timelines and they were on the never-never. That is why this Government have had to take the decision to be completely honest with people and to have a programme that we think is deliverable and that there is money for. That, unfortunately, means that the timeline for some hospitals is longer than the fictional ones they were previously presented with. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care gave a lengthy statement on the matter earlier this week, and I know that he will want to keep the House strongly updated on these issues.

Business of the House

Clive Jones Excerpts

Thursday 9th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I am well aware of this issue and the legislative time that would be required. The Government are completely committed to ratifying the BBNJ agreement, and work is already under way to implement provisions in the agreement before we can ratify it. My hon. Friend will be aware that we have a heavy legislative agenda—one of the most ambitious of any incoming Government. The legislation about the treaty will come forward in due course.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

Young cancer patients are subject to a three-month qualifying period before they can even apply for disability living allowance or personal independence payments, on top of a 20-week delay for the processing of disability benefits. Children have often died before the benefits have been awarded, due to bureaucratic inertia by the Department for Work and Pensions. Hugh’s law, proposed by Ceri and Frances Menai-Davis, would seek to remove the three-month qualifying period for DLA and calls for day 1 financial support. Will the Leader of the House provide Government time for a debate on the merits of Hugh’s law?

[Lucy Powell]

I thank the hon. Member for raising the plight of young people who have cancer and face difficult challenges in their lives. He raised an important issue about the timely awarding of disability living allowance and other benefits, and described Hugh’s law. I will ensure that he gets a full ministerial reply and, if that is not sufficient, I will ensure that we make some time for it.