Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Harry Miller last night at an event in support of free speech. Free speech is fundamental to this nation. Of course the Government have heard the very powerful judgment of the High Court in his case. The Home Secretary made it extremely clear yesterday that she will hold the police in this country to account for reducing crime, because that is the job of our wonderful police.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

During National Apprenticeship Week, I visited a number of excellent local businesses in my constituency and met apprentices, who told me about the opportunities that their apprenticeship provides, but there are concerns from many, including the Education Secretary, that the apprenticeship levy is not working as it should, with too much focus on already highly skilled workers, not on those with no or low skills. May we have a debate in Government time on much-needed reforms to the apprenticeship levy?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I seem to remember that the apprenticeship levy came out of a Budget. We will have the Budget debate fairly shortly, which would be a suitable time to raise that important issue.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 23rd January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Last but certainly never least, Judith Cummins.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Will the Leader of the House, and indeed the whole House, join me in paying tribute to the rugby league legend Rob Burrow, who was recently diagnosed with motor neurone disease? The moving testimonial at Headingley showed the true spirit of the sport. Continuing on the rugby league theme, and following on from the prestigious award to our very own Mr Speaker by the all-party parliamentary rugby league group for his outstanding service to the game, may we have a debate in Government time on the opportunities that the 2021 world cup being held in England will bring?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

May I join the hon. Lady in her tribute? Motor neurone disease is a terrible and frightening disease, and coping with it, and coping with it in public, must be a great burden. The debate that she has suggested would, to my mind, be a wise suggestion for the Backbench Business Committee.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The Equitable Life issue really ought to have been finished by now, but of course it concerns many Members and many of our constituents. I was a member of the all-party parliamentary group for justice for Equitable Life policyholders, so I share my hon. Friend’s concerns.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

What is happening in Kashmir is an outrage. The UK Government must do everything they can to bring about lasting peace and stability and to restore human rights to the region. May we have an urgent debate in Government time on the crisis in Kashmir?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady. I understand that the matter was covered very fully in Foreign Office questions, and the Foreign Office is taking it with the utmost seriousness. An opportunity to debate it will of course follow the Queen’s Speech.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 11th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mel Stride]

I join the hon. Gentleman in congratulating Dr Jennifer Garden on her achievement and her important work, and on serving as an exemplar for other women. We wish to encourage more women to work in science, not least in the area of the environment. He will know that we are leading the pack in the world on getting to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, which we have legislated for in this House. This would be an excellent matter for debate, perhaps in Westminster Hall.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

This August bank holiday weekend, the north of England plays host to the Ashes at Headingley, the Ebor festival at York racecourse and the Leeds festival. Meanwhile, rugby league fans will be heading to Wembley for the Challenge cup final. On the same weekend, Network Rail has chosen to shut the east coast main line for engineering works. This baffling decision, with such short notice, will cause misery to thousands of northerners. Will the Leader of the House arrange for a Minister to make a statement on this decision as a matter of urgency?

[Mel Stride]

May I first say how delighted I am that so many of our important sporting events are held in the north of our country, where there is a huge and enduring tradition of exactly that? On the rugby and the matter of trains, I point the hon. Lady to Department for Transport questions on Thursday 18 July.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 25th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am very sorry to hear of this situation, but as my hon. Friend will know, blanket restrictions on effective treatments are unacceptable. NHS England should take action if there is evidence of rationing of care, and if the CCG is breaching its statutory responsibility to provide services to the local population. He may like to seek an Adjournment debate so that he can raise this matter directly with a Health Minister.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House join me in thanking the brave firefighters and emergency workers who have been dealing with the fires on Ilkley moor and other moors nearby? They are overstretched, and working hard in extremely difficult conditions to bring these damaging and dangerous fires under control. May we have a debate on properly funding our fire services and, crucially, on the importance of informing the public about fire prevention?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I certainly join the hon. Lady in thanking and paying tribute to all those firefighters working so hard to put out wildfires, which are a problem right across the UK. She is right that we should do everything possible to ensure the public are aware of the risk of these wildfires, and I encourage her to seek an Adjournment debate.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 11th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

It is interesting how the Scottish nationalists opposite are trying to shut my hon. Friend down—obviously because this is a devolved matter. He rightly raises a frustrating issue. A number of colleagues have raised concerns about trains, stations and network projects in their constituencies. I am sure that a debate on those matters would be very welcome. He might want to speak to the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee, the hon. Member for Gateshead (Ian Mearns), so that all hon. Members can share their concerns.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

At Foxhill Primary School, which I visited last week, a reduction in funding has forced it to consider cutting parts of its arts programme despite having an amazing brass band and choir. May we have a debate in Government time on the importance of arts and creativity in the school curriculum?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I join the hon. Lady in paying tribute to the schools in her constituency who are doing a great deal to try to ensure that culture and the arts are alive and well—and music in particular, which many children enjoy so much at a young age; some continue with it. She is right that schools need to protect as wide a curriculum as possible, and she will be aware that this year there is more than £43 billion of core funding for schools—the highest figure ever—and 1.9 million more children are being educated in “good” and “outstanding” schools than in 2010. The Government are committed to allowing headteachers the flexibility to provide the kind of education that young people deserve to receive.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 14th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am delighted to have been able to announce a debate on antisemitism for next week. It is incredibly distressing to see cases of antisemitism on the rise in this country, and it must stop. Antisemitism is despicable and it has no place in society. What I can say to my hon. Friend is that the Leader of the Opposition’s own MPs tabled and unanimously passed a motion last week calling on the party leadership to adequately tackle cases of antisemitism, as a failure to do so seriously risks antisemitism in the Labour party appearing normalised and the party seeming to be institutionally antisemitic.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

This week, Bradford starts to celebrate its 10th anniversary as the world’s first UNESCO city of film. In those 10 years, numerous films and TV shows have been shot in Bradford, including: “Victoria”, “The ABC Murders”, “Peaky Blinders”, “Miss You Already”, “The Limehouse Golem” and “God’s Own Country”. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating all those involved in Bradford City of Film? May we have a debate on what the Government are doing to support the creative sector and in particular Bradford’s pioneering film industry?

[Andrea Leadsom]

That is a fantastic line-up. I certainly join the hon. Lady in congratulating Bradford on its excellent work on some very well known films and programmes. I wish it every success in the future. I know that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is always keen to consider, with Members across the House, what more can be done. I will take that point away and see whether Government time can be found for such a debate.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 6th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Gentleman paints a horrendous picture of the plight of the Christians who have been so badly treated by Daesh and the terrorist attacks that have taken place. He is absolutely right to do so, and I encourage him to seek a further Westminster Hall debate. I know that he secured one recently and will have raised a number of these issues then, but it is very important that the House always remains aware of what is going on, and, of course, that we continue to support all those who are being so terribly abused.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

Recent figures released by IPPR North show that the north of England has seen the biggest spending cuts of any UK region; in fact, public spending in the north has fallen by £6.3 billion but has risen across the south. People in Bradford and across the north know that austerity is not ending for them; this is fact, not assertion, and to say otherwise does my hon. Friend the Member for Heywood and Middleton (Liz McInnes) a great disservice. So may we have a debate in Government time on these unfair disparities in public spending and what urgent steps the Government are taking to invest in the north?

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady will recall that it was this Government who introduced the northern powerhouse, devolved so many powers to local government, introduced mayoral authorities and invested over a quarter of a trillion pounds on infrastructure since 2010. Public investment has been 14% higher on average than under Labour, and we have embarked on the biggest rail programme since Victorian times and the largest road-building programme since the 1970s. The northern powerhouse and the north of England have significantly benefited from this Government’s commitment to developing an infrastructure that is fit for the 21st century.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 18th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Lindsay Hoyle)]

I call Judith Cummins.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

Thank you, and congratulations, Mr Deputy Speaker.

We are one year on from the Government announcing tougher sentences for dangerous drivers, but despite repeated calls from across the House for the legislation to be brought into force, we are still no further forward. One family member of a victim said:

“The Government’s delay in implementing tougher penalties has denied my family the justice that we need.”

Will the Leader of the House tell us when these families can expect the justice that they deserve?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I pay tribute to the hon. Lady for her campaigning on this subject. I know that it means a great deal to her, and the whole House appreciates the work she has done. I do not have a further update for her right now, but if she would like to write to me, I can take it up with the Department on her behalf.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 11th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

First, I should like to pay tribute again to my hon. Friend for his Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, which the Government were proud to support. It creates new duties on public bodies, from the NHS to prisons, to enable interventions at an earlier stage to prevent homelessness. That is absolutely vital. He is right to point out the 48 projects right across the country that the Government are supporting to try to prevent rough sleeping. It is unacceptable that we have people sleeping rough in this country, and the Government are committed to stamping it out once and for all.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

This week has been a bumper week for Bradford. First, our rugby league news: the Bradford Bulls were returned to the championship. Secondly, this is the very first Bradford Manufacturing Week. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the Bulls, and all those involved in Bradford Manufacturing Week? May we have a debate in Government time on the skills that young people need to access manufacturing jobs?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising those fantastic achievements. She is a great champion for her constituency, and I am delighted to join her in congratulating the Bradford Bulls and all those involved in Bradford Manufacturing Week. She has raised the important issue of what more we can do to give young people the skills they need to get into those valuable manufacturing jobs, and I absolutely encourage her to seek an Adjournment debate so that she can take this up directly with Ministers.